What the deal, PS3?

thejokell

Shared on Sun, 02/08/2009 - 11:46

I consider myself a semi-hardcore gamer.  I own both a 360 and a PS3 (and for a while, the Wii, which collected dust until I sold it).  I don't really prefer one platform over the other, although my game purchasing history says otherwise.  I currently own 31 games for the 360 and zero for the PS3.  Yep, zero.  Some of that is due to XBox Live - I have more friends on that service than on the PSN.  Some of that is due to achievements - I'd rather buy a multiplatform game for the 360 just to boost my gamer score (lame, I know).  But there is one big issue that keeps me from buying games on the PS3 at the moment.

Keyboard and mouse support.  I must say, I really thought I'd be buying a TON of games for the PS3 when I first bought it.  I love FPS games on the PC (TF2 ftw!) but have never enjoyed them on the consoles.  Sure, I own Halo 3 and have played through the campaign, but I have never been able to get used to the controls.  There is just something wrong with using an imprecise analog thumbstick to control my view.  If I jack up the sensitivity, precise aiming becomes an impossibility.  But if I keep it low, turning around can seem like a lesson in futility.  And because of that, I tend to get "pwn3d" quite often in multiplayer. 

However, when I play on the PC with my keyboard and mouse I tend to be one of the better players on the field.  That is why I was excited when I first bought my PS3.  At the time UT3 had just been released with full keyboard and mouse support.  I thought that FINALLY console game developers were catching on.  The PS3 was the first console to offer full compatibility with off the shelf keyboards and mice, and I just knew that we were entering the golden age of console gaming - the time when console and PC gamers would finally be able to compete on an even playing field together.

Unfortunately, that never happened.  UT3 remains the only game that I know of with keyboard and mouse support, despite a myriad of FPS games being released for the platform.  The latest one that got my attention was Killzone 2 (the demo recently dropping on the PSN store).  I had hope for this game, as at the Liepzig conference the developer had done some demos using a keyboard and mouse for controls.  Unfortunately, I just discovered that there is no keyboard/mouse support in the demo, which means the chances of them being supported in the retail game is about 0%.  Which saddens me, as I would have bought this game the day it was released if the support was there.  As it stands, it looks like yet another PS3 game I'll be passing on.

What possible reason could there be for this?  I have seen the question posed on various messageboards, with most timmies crying about an "unfair advantage" the keyboard and mouse gamer would wield.  This makes little sense.  The option wouldn't be open to just the "l33t" gamers, everyone would be able to use the control scheme they felt most comfortable with. The people whining about the keyboard and mouse being an unfair method would themselves be able to use it.  It's not as though these devices are rare or expensive.  Most people would already have a set they could use, and if not a new set costs much cheaper than a new Dual Shock 3 controller would.

So I remain confused.  Game developers are missing out on my money due to this lack of support, and my PS3 remains unplayed.

Comments

ImMrPete's picture
Submitted by ImMrPete on Sun, 02/08/2009 - 13:33
I'm with you on this. I just am unable to play FPS's on consoles. I just don't feel like I have the control that I should. Maybe the ps3 games don't use this feature in order to keep the games fair. Controller players are no match for KB&M.

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