Why do PC Gamers Oppose Using a Controller?

[00slash00]

Periodically I see people taking about using a controller to play PC games. Sometimes I see people who prefer to use a controller but more often, I see people complaining about the fact that they need a controller to play in correctly. I never really understood why so many PC gamers have a problem with playing their games using a controller. I remember back in the early to mid 90s, when owning a joystick was practically a requirement for PC gaming. Owning a usb controller seems to be the modern day equivalent of a joystick, in the sense that so many games (mostly ports) require once for the best gaming experience. So why do you feel/think there's more opposition from PC gamers to using a controller, than there was to using a joystick?

-Edit-
I think some people are missing my point. I am primarily a PC gamer and this thread was not about attacking PC gamers. What I'm saying is that I can remember PC gaming in the 90s and owning a joystick was practically as necessary for gaming as a mouse and keyboard. I have heard many current PC gamers describe needing a controller for a PC game as "heresy," and a lot of the replies to this threat seem to support that. My question is, if needing a joystick to play PC games was acceptable back in the 90s, why is the same not true of controllers?

 

[Albino Boo]

I have used a keyboard and mouse to play games on the PC since the early 90s. I know instinctively the WASD setup and mouse aiming and I really don't feel the need to spend money on a new controller which I will have to speed ages trying to remember what key does what.

 

[GoaThief]

Kids who were brought up using a m/k and nothing else, add plenty of groupthink pseudo superiority, and a sprinkle of media marketing aimed at said segment.

It's silly and thankfully on the way out a little thanks to the likes of Steams big picture and PC gamers starting to use HDTV as their main viewing device en masse.

 

[Strelok]

Not sure really, now they are just awful for FPS games and if you are playing multi-player FPSs such as Battlefield with one you should prepare yourself for a bad time. I myself hate them for all but fighting games, I have a Phillips PS3 knockoff I use for Mortal Kombat 9 Ultimate Edition and it works great, I like developers that drop this because it's a PC they must love XBox controllers attitude, cause I for one hate game pads, but XBox gamepads are the worst thing ever.

 

[Eduku]

It's very simple: people go with what they're comfortable with. PC gamers tend to be more averse to having to use a controller because they have little (or sometimes no) experience with them, and thus haven't trained their brains to use them properly, whereas using a PC tends to be more or less and integral part of the majority of people's day to day lives since they were young, and thus even console gamers have some level of skill at using a mouse.

At least, that's how I theorise it anyway.

 

[Zhukov]

Because a lot of gamers have a bit of complex that compels them to point out how oh so superior their platform of choice is. When it comes to PC gamers, this often takes the form of a great big wank-off over how much more precise a mouse and keyboard are compared to a controller.

Personally, I don't have anything against the idea despite not owning a USB controller. Just never really needed one, although there have been a few games where it would have been nice - mostly PC ports of XBL games (eg. Shank and They Bleed Pixels).

The only games where I would outright refuse to use a controller are FPSs. I'm comfortable with the ol' M+K and having to relearn all that muscle memory is more effort than I can be bothered with.

 

[TelHybrid]

For me it depends on the type of game. If it's FPS or RTS then I'll always prefer keyboard and mouse.

For platformers, driving games, fighting games, I'll always use a controller.

Different control schemes work better on different game genres.

Anyone who thinks a controller is better for FPS by the way... aim assist. Enough said.

 

[ohnoitsabear]

For some games, using a controller just plain works better than mouse and keyboard, which is why many pc gamers (like myself) own a usb controller and use it occasionally. However, not everybody does, and there is not much worse than a game being basically unplayable because you don't have it. If you're going to release a game on PC, you should at least make sure that it's playable using the control method that you know everybody who buys your game is going to have. Otherwise it just feels like a shoddy port with zero effort put into it.

 

[The Madman]

Beats me. It's a pretty recent thing too, I remember a time when multiple input methods was upheld as one of the greatest strengths of the PC. Joystick, racing wheel, controller, mouse & keyboard, being able to choose how you want to play is a strength of the PC.

Hell, I love my old 360 controller. It gets a ton of use and even today it's the most comfortable controller I've ever used.

 

[GoaThief]

.

Anyone who thinks a controller is better for FPS by the way... aim assist. Enough said.

I play the vast majority of FPS with a controller these days as they're made with them in mind. Borderlands, Metro, Mirror's Edge, Bioshock, Duke Nukem Forever, the list goes on... most are borderline broken, some even outright like Metro with a mouse and keyboard due to weird sensitivity issues and odd XY ratios. I use a HDTV too so there's that also.

Sure, I'm much better with a mouse and keyboard and wouldn't play a hardcore multiplayer title without one but for the rest of the time a controller is the better option for multiple reasons. To be brutally honest I'm put off if a game doesn't support a controller and will think hard over if it's worth it

*edit*
Forgot to mention VSync. I can't stand the input lag when using a mouse, yet can tolerate and adjust when using a controller (because it's less accurate in general? Conditioning to it whilst using a controller? IDK). So no more ugly, irritating screen tearing for me.

 

[TelHybrid]

.

Anyone who thinks a controller is better for FPS by the way... aim assist. Enough said.

I play the vast majority of FPS with a controller these days as they're made with them in mind. Borderlands, Metro, Mirror's Edge, Bioshock, Duke Nukem Forever, the list goes on... most are borderline broken, some even outright like Metro with a mouse and keyboard due to weird sensitivity issues and odd XY ratios. I use a HDTV too so there's that also.

Sure, I'm much better with a mouse and keyboard and wouldn't play a hardcore multiplayer title without one but for the rest of the time a controller is the better option for multiple reasons. To be brutally honest I'm put off if a game doesn't support a controller and will think hard over if it's worth it

With sensitivity and x/y ratios games should typically have settings so you can customise them. I get what you mean though. Also in regards to Mirror's Edge, I prefer a controller for that game. It's based more on movement than aiming and the actual shooting isn't the main aspect of the game.

I sometimes will use a controller for FPS too (e.g. playing local split screen games). I don't think it's unplayable, just not as good and not an optimum scheme for aiming. For movement it's great.

Just as well for you controller support is kind of a standard these days.

 

[frobalt]

I'm so used to the K+M combo that it's pointless switching to a controller. Especially since I don't own a controller.

With the SkyUI mod for Skyrim, I can switch spells/weapons in my hand using the number keys. Make it far easier to switch spells than using a menu. Well, makes it more streamlined.

I'm not narrow-minded enough to say that the M+K way is the best way to play though. It's just that, for me, it is the best way to play.

 

[GoaThief]

.

Anyone who thinks a controller is better for FPS by the way... aim assist. Enough said.

I play the vast majority of FPS with a controller these days as they're made with them in mind. Borderlands, Metro, Mirror's Edge, Bioshock, Duke Nukem Forever, the list goes on... most are borderline broken, some even outright like Metro with a mouse and keyboard due to weird sensitivity issues and odd XY ratios. I use a HDTV too so there's that also.

Sure, I'm much better with a mouse and keyboard and wouldn't play a hardcore multiplayer title without one but for the rest of the time a controller is the better option for multiple reasons. To be brutally honest I'm put off if a game doesn't support a controller and will think hard over if it's worth it

With sensitivity and x/y ratios games should typically have settings so you can customise them. I get what you mean though. Also in regards to Mirror's Edge, I prefer a controller for that game. It's based more on movement than aiming and the actual shooting isn't the main aspect of the game.

I sometimes will use a controller for FPS too (e.g. playing local split screen games). I don't think it's unplayable, just not as good and not an optimum scheme for aiming. For movement it's great.

Just as well for you controller support is kind of a standard these days.

"Should" being the operative word! Haha, if only those options were available but the vast majority do not, we're lucky to have ansio options in some games so I don't hold much hope for things to change.

I actually find advanced movement from a first person perspective easier with a m/k, love me some defrag, jump maps and first person platforming:


Nearly all that stuff would be impossible with a controller, except for the double jumps but they'd be very linear and without bunny hop.

 

[Sack of Cheese]

I'm too lazy to plug it in, yes, that's right, that's my excuse.
Still, I do prefer controllers. Feel nicer than keyboard and mouse.

 

[GoaThief]

With the SkyUI mod for Skyrim, I can switch spells/weapons in my hand using the number keys. Make it far easier to switch spells than using a menu. Well, makes it more streamlined.

Got mine mapped to the 360 controller's d-pad with a mod, I find 8 is enough really and it's almost the same as the numerical keys. If I were using a keyboard I'd probably have them mapped around WSAD anyhow.

Not sure why Bethesda didn't offer two menus for each input method or map anything at all to the d-pad. Both seem pretty obvious to me.

*edit*
Damn phone breaking quote tags and text, arrrrrgh

 

[Glaice]

Unless it is a very specific genre (Racing, fighter/brawler, platformer) then I use mouse and keyboard because of precision.

 

[shrekfan246]

Because a lot of gamers have a bit of complex that compels them to point out how oh so superior their platform of choice is. When it comes to PC gamers, this often takes the form of a great big wank-off over how much more precise a mouse and keyboard are compared to a controller.

Which is kind of funny when you think about it, because you'd figure that if they really wanted to have a wank-fest about how much better their platform is, they'd go on and on about how their platform natively supports keyboards and controllers for most games without any convoluted peripherals, and how with a bit of software and a proper Bluetooth connection or input transformers you can connect anything from a Wii-mote to a SNES-pad to the PC and use it just fine.

But nope, controllers are the devil, apparently...

Anyway, I use a gamepad when it makes more sense. Modern Sonic games on PC? Practically unplayable with the keyboard. Dark Souls? Poor enough port that playing with the gamepad is far more fun. Fighting games? Too many buttons on the keyboard to confuse you with! Platformers are a bit more nuanced; 2D usually controls fine with the digital input and since they're far more common I can generally get away with using the keyboard, but 3D platformers are almost always better played with analog controls.

Bastion was one that played much better with a controller as well, mostly because the aiming with the mouse was just slightly off-center from the actual crosshair, and with the controller you got an auto-aim that was far more convenient to use.

 

[Muspelheim]

Because I am an elitist cretin of a dinosaur that can't think independantly, it would seem.

It's just what I prefer. It gives me more control, at least that's how it feels for me. Not to mention, the games I like the most are those which require plenty o' buttons.

Preferences. It has nothing to do with tribalism.

 

[J Tyran]

I'm so used to the K+M combo that it's pointless switching to a controller. Especially since I don't own a controller.

With the SkyUI mod for Skyrim, I can switch spells/weapons in my hand using the number keys. Make it far easier to switch spells than using a menu. Well, makes it more streamlined.

I'm not narrow-minded enough to say that the M+K way is the best way to play though. It's just that, for me, it is the best way to play.

No need to do even that, get a mouse with number buttons on. Using either the vanilla UI or a mod you can set everything up to switch spells or weapons.

I have never been comfortable with a keyboard so I buy multi-button mice and a gaming keypad, [http://www.shamoozal.com/nerdlog/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/n52_d.jpg] This way I have all the comfort and ease of use a controller has with the precision of a mouse. Macros are good too, lets use Skyrim as an example. You can set up a single key press to change what your character is wearing, or a chain of potions. Like a boss fight and you want to guzzle the elixirs to increase magicika amount and regen with a spell effectiveness potions and maybe resist magic potions, you can take loads of potions with one key press.