Why do PC Gamers Oppose Using a Controller?

[archvile93]

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.

This, so much this. Imagine you were playing an Xbox (any xbox, I'm not picky) game and the instructions said "for gaming experience that doesn't suck, buy our completely different controller from the one that came with the system, only $50. Yeah you'd probably assume this was just a shoddy cash grab, and you'd most likely be right. I get that some games just plain work better with certain control schemes (I'll never play a fighting game with a mouse) but if your going to put a game on a system, you'd better at least attempt to make it work with the most basic layout.

 

[Vigormortis]

Perceived complaint in the thread:
"PC gamers are such jerks! They go on and on about how stupid and pointless controllers are and how vastly superior keyboard/mouse is!"

What virtually every PC gamer response in the thread has been:
"Uh...I use both, actually. Don't know what you're on about."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I don't know. I just find it funny that the only time I see this "controversy" brought up at all is when someone is complaining about PC gamers complaining. I never see any actual threads or discussion regarding "Why controllers are dumb".

But anyway, for many game types the keyboard and mouse is a superior control-input method. That's not some nebulous claim, it's generally true. Not for all game types, granted, but the speed and accuracy of the digital input is better.

That said: Who the hell cares?!

I say, and have always said, use whatever damn input method you want. Whatever's comfortable for you. To hell with which is superior, go with what works for you.

If you want to play a fighting game using foot pedals and a track-ball, go right ahead. I don't care.

And, neither should any of you. It's okay to talk about which form is better than the others in a given genre/style. But if anyone decides to tell you you're "wrong" for using one over the other, tell them to fuck off.

 

[vashthblackseed]

I use both my 360 controller and Kb+M. With several game not being ported to make the best use of Kb+M (like the Darksiders I & II) why care. Hell, most of my PC gamer friends ended up buying a controller after seeing me use mine.
For the record, I own a 360 but get up on the PC.

 

[Amir Kondori]

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.

OK, so let us examine what is wrong with this post.

1. "plenty of groupthink pseudo superiority" - You are denigrating the people who prefer the use of keyboard and mouse, implying that they don't really prefer the keyboard and mouse for any practical reasons but rather have been pressured into it or goaded into it. It is a great example of attacking the person or people and not the argument, that keyboard and mouse can be a better control device for some games and for some people. Then your say "and a sprinkle of media marketing aimed at said segment". Again you side step the actual argument and imply that people don't really hold the opinion they do for any appreciably sound reasons but rather they have been swayed by marketing.

2. "It's silly" - Name calling, again since there is nothing you can argue against the point of the benefit of keyboard and mouse you resort to saying that people who prefer the input method are silly and not thinking rationally.

3 "It's... on the way out thanks to the likes of Steams big picture" - I think now that you've started to make some actual arguments, although again not on the merits of keyboard and mouse use but rather whether they will continue to be used or not, I can point to some evidence to show you that you are wrong. You can purchase ~2119 games on Steam right now. Guess how many have full controller support? 166. That is just shy of 8%. Less than 8% of titles on Steam, the largest digital games distributor in the world, have full controller support. If you include any game that has any kind of controller support at all that figure jumps up to around 20%.
Finding out how many people use big picture mode was harder, as I don't see the stats on Steam, but I did find this article from last year:
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-11-22-steam-still-at-50-million-users-500-000-use-big-picture
it said that out of 50 million users 50,000 used Big Picture mode. That may well have changed some since but I don't have hard numbers. In any case it is obviously a small share.

4. "PC gamers starting to use HDTV as their main viewing device en masse" - Do you have numbers to back this up? I looked around a little and couldn't find any. Since I couldn't I will at least give some anecdotal evidence, since it is better than nothing. I use a 27" 2560x1440 monitor, higher resolution than HDTV, with the exception of the new 4k models, and so do two of my co-workers. One of my coworkers games on his HDTV but here is another problem with your claim, even though he games on an HDTV he uses a keyboard and mouse primarily.

Really though I could have forgone this whole little exercise. Perhaps this is just an effort to get people like me to waste my time writing replies, I don't know.

What I do know is that your attitude is terrible. Why do you feel compelled to belittle other people's choices and opinions on something like how to control a game? Are you personally invested in this somehow, do you own a controller manufacturing plant?

As I have said earlier in this thread I use both my keyboard and mouse and a controller where appropriate. Some of the games I play you just couldn't play with a controller, not without a major redesign of the game. I wish everyone would just calm down before stepping up to post comments with more hate than thought. It happens in politics, it happens with religion, it happens with gaming and it needs to stop.

 

[m19]

Because the mouse is just more precise and comfortable in terms of anything with aiming or camera control. Analogue stick is a step back.

 

[Jadak]

Barring flights sims, nobody really gave enough of a shit about joysticks one way or the other, so the topic simply didn't garner much opinion be it good or bad.

Or from a different perspective, given that to my knowledge, they are generally only used for flight sims and given that actual flying uses sticks, it's highly appropriate and doesn't really merit any objection from the mouse and keyboard crowd. Gamepads on the other hand, can cross into plenty of other genres where such acceptance does not exist.

Also, Joysticks are generally a one handed tool, used as an alternative to a mouse in addition to a keyboard while a controller is a replacement for both. So, an alternative merits less hate than a complete replacement.

And in some part it may also come down to the relative status of the two gaming platforms. Back in the day, I don't really recall "console vs PC" being as big of a cluster fuck of stupid arguments as it is now, and much of the hate talk from PC gamers against gamepads is likely a misplaced extension of that same argument.

In any case, I prefer using a controller for pretty much anything other than strategy games and certain top down type RPG clickfests, and if anyone has a problem with that, too damn bad.

 

[J.McMillen]

I always find it crazy that people who would spend hundreds, even thousands, on a gaming PC can't shell out $35 for an XBox 360 controller. Seriously people, they aren't that expensive. My mouse and keyboard each cost more than a controller.

I still use the K+M for many games, but some games I just find the controller just works better for me. Plus, using a controller to play games on your computer goes all the way back to the early 80's. My old Commodore 64 could use the Atari 2600 joysticks. And some of those games required a joystick, there was no keyboard option. Even Apple and IBM had joysticks for their computers back then.

So people, just buy a controller. Compared to your PC it's a minor expense and sometimes the better option.

 

[Guitarmasterx7]

On this forum every time I even suggest the possibility that an ergonomic device designed around playing games is more comfortable and natural feeling to me than devices designed around indexing and cataloging information at least one person dives down my throat. And while I can agree that a mouse is more efficient for FPS games, honestly non-competetive modern FPS games are generally not that hard to begin with, so I don't find it to be objectively "better" for that either. I think that's the main thing that hits the PC Elitist hot button; the suggestion that the native control scheme is not objectively better. You can say you PREFER playing with a controller but the second you suggest it's legitimate or viable or improves the experience in any way, that's crossing the line for some people.

 

[Frankster]

As someone who got grew up with consoles and feels more comfortable with a controller i'm grateful when i do get to play a game that is suitable for its use: fighting games/side scrolling beat em ups/platformers/action games

Got mine from the old xbox , would have prefered a ps1/2 controller but sadly those ones dont have usb

 

[Joccaren]

1. I don't own a controller. I don't want to have to spend a stupid amount of money on one [$5, fine. Anything more you're asking too much. A KB+M works, I don't need to spend more money on something else]
2. It represents laziness in a PC port. When the KB+M is the most used control scheme on a PC, and controls could EASILY have been appropriately mapped to that instead but have had a terrible job done of it, then its like having a control stick just be a WASD input on a controller - simple on or off and only 4 directions [8 if you include two directions at once]. I doubt console players would like that, but that's what we have to put up with. Its like not including auto-aim for a console release, resulting in console players being unable to aim. Its just poor porting.

Unless its a racing game, I can't really see any point to a controller. The KB+M wins out for pretty much everything else. And if you can't be bothered porting from a controller to a KB+M properly, I think I have the right to be annoyed [*cough* Skyrim *cough*]

 

[4RM3D]

I am a PC gamer and I do not oppose a controller.

Strategy and FPS games I play with mouse and keyboard
Platform, arcade and fighting games I play with a controller

The mouse + keyboard is superior in some situations, a controller is superior in other situations.

 

[Syntax Error]

Aside the enhanced precision and other advantages, using a mouse and keyboard is part of the whole PC package. Take that away and there'd be no difference with playing on a console.

 

[T3hSource]

I don't mind games being better with a controller, however it is very 'meh' when a game requires a controller.
But either way it means that I can't play it, because I don't have a controller. I have to choose to buy a cheap one, which does not include the PS3 or Xbox controllers because I don't live in the US, nor Western Europe for that matter, which means those things are bloody expensive.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Then let's say your next console game comes with that tiny caveat of "whoops looks like you need KB&M to play this".
Obviously not one of you would mind that right?
It's not that this topic originates from your preference right?

Simple fact is people will find their platforms default control method the most convenient and if your game does not support the user base will be inconvenienced... really stupid move for a developer, and if you don't tell users beforehand their shit wont work you are a scummy one on top.

And do I really need to explain why children of the 90's didn't offer accurate critiques of the one game they would get per year?

 

[talker]

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.

agreed. It's really hard to get the crosshairs over an enemy five meters down the corridor.

I personally prefer to use the keyboard and mouse, but I occasionally use the joystick when playing older games such as Red Ace Squadron

 

[infohippie]

Speaking for myself, I simply don't like controllers. I don't like how they feel in my hand, I don't like how imprecise they are, and I don't like how my entire hand starts to ache after using one for half an hour. I don't care if a company wants to include controller support in a game but if it requires a controller, or the KB/M control scheme is so poorly implemented that it might as well require a controller, then I sure as shit won't be playing that game. That is also why I do not play on consoles - I don't mind consoles themselves, I can put up with the low-res graphics and comparatively crappy textures, but if I have to use a controller I am not playing.

 

[Kristian Fischer]

I mainly use keyboard and mouse, because that's what I'm used to. Depends entirely on the game, though; for platformers, I have a controller.

 

[Vhite]

This thread is wrong from it's very name. I use controller every time game can be comfortably played with one.

 

[DarkhoIlow]

I've been playing PC games for 15+ years so I'm used to the mouse and keyboard setup.

I succumbed eventually and bought a x360 controller to play Dark Souls, but I only use it for platfomers exclusively, but that's about it.

I don't despise controllers, but I do prefer the "original" setup of the PC. The only thing that I despise with all my being is when porting their games to PC, developers tend to keep that awful wheel and interface that is meant for controllers.

-STOP BEING LAZY AND MAKE A DAMNED M&K INTERFACE!-

Had to take that off my chest, sorry about that.

 

[OneCatch]

I prefer a controller for first person shooters, if only because turning all the way around doesn't require a massive swipe of the mouse or on a touch pad. Still pretty accurate for me.

Though I'm sure someone will still try to convince me of the superiority of the mouse anyways despite the whole argument being subjective.

Don't take this as a criticism of controllers, but if you're massively swiping with a mouse I'd suggest turning up the sensitivity a fair bit. I find that about 2-3cm real movement to get the cursor across the screen is a good balance, with a bit of mouse acceleration.

Just thought it might be useful for if you come across any games that don't have decent controller support.

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OT, I use mouse/keyboard for strategy and most FPS. Because those are my most frequent genres I end up using m/k a lot more than controller.
There are a few FPS I use a 360 controller for because the controller layout is better, but mostly keyboard/mouse.

For third person or flight games though, it usually has to be a controller. I find that flight games are impossible without controller, and most third person games seem to gel better with a controller. I use a controller for emulating older consoles on PC as well.