Keyboard And Mouse For Xbox Please!

[Rezzak]

I sincerely hope for us "PC-only" gamers there will be a mouse and keyboard option soon for XBOX 360. I have been playing First Person Shooters only on PC because trying to aim, shoot and move all at once on an Xbox controller or PS2 controller sucks. Besides the fact that it really hurts your wrists and fingers after 12 hour+ gaming sessions the realism and perfect accuracy achieved from the mouse and Keyboard combo cannot be beat by any single controller. I sold my XBOX because of the fact they never came out with a keyboard and mouse option. If Xbox 360 doesn't either, than I will only buy and play racing games and RPG titles. If Microsoft wants to truly attract PC gaming freaks that probably spend an average of 3,000 dollars per PC system, they will get us some keyboards and mice. Microsoft and Sony ,I hope, will someday just give us what we have all been waiting for... a Gaming Console that will take the place of all our electronic needs. I would love to buy a product that does everything my PC, Tivo, Cable Box, DVD player, cd player etc can do. They are almost there and will get closer if they would just give us the keyboard and mouse. I would like it if I would not have to spend $5,000 on my PC every 3 years just to play games and surf the net. Microsoft could cash in on us PC freaks and our crazy spending habits if they would GIVE US A KEYBOARD AND MOUSE!

[Reclaimer]

If you look around on certain websites, they sell an adapter that lets you plug in a mouse and keyboard to use as controls on the Xbox.
You shouldn't have sold your Xbox because this adapter is real and from what I hear, it works very well.

There's no telling what future hardware MS will release with the 360. The 360 has USB2 ports installed so that opens a lot of doors up.

[Rezzak]

Please be serious when voting so if the people at Microsoft read this they may take it into consideration.

[Duke]

By the way if you happen to vote NO on the poll than you truly must not play games for more than a few hours a day. I really mean it when I say I cannot play a PS@ or an Xbox for more than a few hours at a time because of the pain involved in using their controllers. It is much more relaxing for extended periods of time to use a keyboard and mouse.

you should go tell microsoft this right now or else they may make a horrible mistake and then

[ShannonX]

I voted no and I can much play an xbox game for 5 or 6 hours much easier than I can play a pc game using a mouse and keyboard. I tend to relax more in my couch then sitting in a desk chair pounding away at a keyboard or mashing mouse buttons.

[swivel]

I would at least like the option to do either one. But Microsoft has said that the Keyboard and Mouse will not be for game control, only for text input and surfing.

[wulkar]

its a console game, its meant to tbe played on a couch that is a room away not within 12 inches like a computer.

[SloppyMcProfey]

Also why would u invest in so much on games tht are console based..Everyone know that a console can't handle every single function a pc has so they narrow them down so that people can enjoy...Think about it PC(400 key funtions:macro,shortcuts,ect...) Console(50-100:macros,postions,ect...) so you investing in a console to use a keyboard and mouse is a total lose.

[ShadedNine]

Also why would u invest in so much on games tht are console based..Everyone know that a console can't handle every single function a pc has so they narrow them down so that people can enjoy...Think about it PC(400 key funtions:macro,shortcuts,ect...) Console(50-100:macros,postions,ect...) so you investing in a console to use a keyboard and mouse is a total lose.

I agree that consoles don't need keyboards until they finally do merge the console together with a media center. However, your logic is flawed...consoles are more than capable of doing everything a computer can do. Granted, by the end of a console's lifecycle, its abilities are not on par with a high-end computer, but the xbox can still keep pace with the vast majority of mainstream computers out there. The Xbox360, at this point in time, could, if consumers demanded it and Microsoft decided to go with it, run windows, do spreadsheets, surf the internet, download porn, you name it.

[icarusfountain]

There is an adapter out for the XBox (and one for the PS2). However, they'r enot as simple as you'd like to think. You can check them out at http://www.smartjoy.com/

I've got one, and while its nice, it doesn't quite offer the same control that a keyboard/mouse does on PC/Mac. Basically, it lets you map controller buttons to buttons on your keyboard, and lets you use a mouse to aim. The mouselook is about the best benefit to the SmartJoy Frag. I'm hoping it'll still work for the 360.

[ShaDovV RyDer]

Something tells me that with MS trying to make people use an Xbox 360-like controller for gaming on their PC they want people to get used to the controller because its gonna be here for a while.

[vman]

I voted no. It's not a feature that is necessary for the 360's success. But i do agree that it will be a nice feature. but not a feature i will drool over or take advantage of if it does happen. its more likely that a third-party company does this feature than MS.

[Shadow20002]

It is a CONSOLE if you know what i mean by saying that. Why you need a keyboard and mouse for playing a console system? Yes, i'm sure that third parties developers will make it for Xbox 360 but don't hold your breath for official ones. Another thing, why will you buy Xbox 360 to play FPS? And from what i know mostly games on Xbox 360 will be available also for PC so no need to get it.

[SH4MR0CK]

I dont understand how you can say it hurts to play with a controller for more than 12 hours. I played Halo2 from 1 oclock in the afternoon to 6 AM in the morning and I had no pain at all.

[swivel]

I don't see why anyone would argue against having the choice. It doesn't mean you have to. And online games can make sure that various control types only play against each other. To say you do not want fellow gamers to make their own decision on this is fanatical and facist.

[ShadedNine]

I don't see why anyone would argue against having the choice. It doesn't mean you have to. And online games can make sure that various control types only play against each other. To say you do not want fellow gamers to make their own decision on this is fanatical and facist.

The same reason you don't offer a range of video cards and such. The beauty of the console that allows games to have fewer bugs, fewer issues, and make for a much simpler, installation free experience is that there's one set of hardware to develop for. You don't have to design an interface that accepts two wildly different control schemes. Adding a keyboard would imply that developers will need to choose or support both, and looking at console games that have gone to the PC and vice verse, the controls always feel akward with one or the other (depending on what was developed first).

[StudioAlex]

There are pretty good reasons why developers don't want to make a game for both keyboards and controllers. First of all, they have to spend that much more time and resources on the controls of the game. Secondly, as the PC version of Halo demonstrated, the difficulty has to be increased for mouse players because of the easier and faster aiming. Developers probably don't want to have to create two unique gameplay experiences to cater to both groups. Lastly, some games are pretty much unplayable without a keyboard and mouse, so then you're making a game that can only be sold to whatever percentage of the user base has a keyboard and mouse.

But then I'm apparently a fanatic and fascist.

[Herne theHunter]

To say that keyboards and mice have no place for video game systems isn't true...think back to the Fantasy Star games for the PS. Not only WAS there a keyboard and mouse available for the games, the games were much more playable with the use of them. Alternate controllers are perfect for the X360, and since it will use USB ports for plug-in controllers, not to mention that microsquish themselves has alread stated that the X360 controllers will be compatible w/ Windows based PC's, what better way to go. Another example, although not quite as good, would be the games Steel Battalion & Steel Battalion II, the first of which came with one hell of an alternate controller If it's possible to create an alternate controller w/ 40 buttons, not to mention dual-joysticks, for the original Xbox (using the original controller ports), think of the possibilities for alternate controllers for the X360, especially when you consider the fact that USB ports _can_ have USB hubs plugged in, thus expanding the number of available ports ???

Another way to look at it is like this - the original Xbox had 4 controller ports. While the X360 has 3 USB ports, the one on the back is clearly for the wireless ethernet adapter, thus leaving only 2 front-mounted USB ports, and unless they believe that everyone out there who plans on playing 4-player games plans on using 2 wireless controllers AND 2 USB-based wired controllers, they MUST have something planned to add additional USB ports for the system. If they have that planned (which, logically speaking, they must), and we can only assume that they DO (for we do know they have in the works a USB-based webcam for the X360), then they MUST have some sort of accessory planned for expanding the number of available USB ports, which opens the potential for alternate controllers even more. True, any alternate controllers may NOT actually be made BY microsquish (such as the controller for Steel Battalion, which was designed specifically for that game, and its sequal), but that does NOT mean there will not BE any alternate controllers to come along.

Even though Sony called the PS2 a "computer entertainment system", the truth is that the original Xbox was closer to an actual computer than the PS2 ever was, and with the X360, the lines between video game systems and computers will be blured even further. As for that other "next-gen" system coming out sometime next year with the "Spiderman 2" type logo...lets just say the X360 will leave it in the dust.

[swivel]

The same reason you don't offer a range of video cards and such. The beauty of the console that allows games to have fewer bugs, fewer issues, and make for a much simpler, installation free experience is that there's one set of hardware to develop for. You don't have to design an interface that accepts two wildly different control schemes. Adding a keyboard would imply that developers will need to choose or support both, and looking at console games that have gone to the PC and vice verse, the controls always feel akward with one or the other (depending on what was developed first).

Hmm. Tell that to Microsoft who now has a HD system and a non-HD system. Users with 480, 720, and 1080. Users with dial-up, no internet, and broadband. Users with surroundsound, and those without. Users that buy the fighter controller, with six big fighting buttons and a big joystick knob, and those that are stuck with the regular controller. People with a dance pad, and people mashing buttons.

Nice try. You are just an evil person. Admit it. You big baddie.

[StudioAlex]

To say that keyboards and mice have no place for video game systems isn't true...think back to the Fantasy Star games for the PS.

I have no clue on God's green earth what in the hell you are talking about, and I don't think you do either. "Phantasy Star" was a japanese rpg line for the master system and the genny. Phantasy Star Online was made for the DC but was subsequently ported to the Gamecube,the Xbox, and the PC.