Summary
- Many console games now support keyboard and mouse
- Most games have existing PC versions with KBM support
- Controller support in PC games shows KBM support is feasible in console games.
Modern consoles all have USB ports, and they all technically support keyboards and mice, but just because the hardware is capable, doesn’t mean the software is. Yet, today there is no real reason for game developers not to include support for PC-style peripherals, and if you ask me, they all should.
The List of KBM Console Games Is Short
There aren’t many of them, but more than a few console games already natively support keyboard and mouse. I played the entire Halo Master Chief Collection on my Xbox Series S using a wireless Logitech Keyboard and Mouse combo. Many Call of Duty games on console support this control method, as do games like Cyberpunk 2077.
You can check out Pure Xbox for a comprehensive list for that console, and in most cases, the PlayStation 5 version of the same game also has this support. So, in absolute terms, that’s a lot of games. However, taken as a percentage of the total number of games on each platform, it’s essentially a blip.
Most Games Have PC Versions Now
The thing is, developers have already figured out mouse and keyboard controls for virtually every PC game that also has a console version. Which is most of them. So the basic labor to implement keyboard and mouse support on their console games has already been done. The platform holders (e.g. Sony and Microsoft) already allow it, so it’s 100% a choice that developers are making.
Controller Support Is Virtually Universal on PC
While barely any games have mouse and keyboard support on console, just about every cross-platform PC game has native controller support. This is because PC gamers like options, and the developers have already done all the work for controller support on the console version. So why not have it on PC? You have to go back to games like the original Dragon Age to find games that have console versions, but inexplicably don’t support controllers at all. Forcing me to connect a mouse and keyboard to my handheld PC.
It takes little to know effort to include controller support in modern cross-platform games, so why not do the same for console gamers?
There Are Ways Around the Multiplayer Objection
The usual objection I hear comes from people who don’t want to use a controller to play against people using a keyboard and mouse. This is entirely fair, but it’s also a non-issue. Games that support both schemes already let you filter games by control method. So you never have to play against someone using a different control system to you.
People using keyboards and mice to cheat are using special devices that translate keyboard and mouse input into controller input. So it works even with games that don’t have native support for keyboard and mouse.
This renders the entire “people will cheat” argument against native mouse and keyboard support irrelevant. There are people who play with lap desks on their TVs, and people who connect their consoles to monitors and play as if it were a PC at a desk. So, even the argument that no one would use this input method rings hollow.
Some Games Are Just Better With a Keyboard and Mouse
First-person shooters, real-time strategy games, CRPGs (e.g. Baldur’s Gate) and many more styles of game are easier and better to control with a keyboard and mouse. If you don’t like the keyboard and mouse scheme, that’s fair, and you should use what makes you comfortable.
However, no matter which way you slice it, simply adding this support will cost developers basically nothing, and only benefit players. Which is why I believe every console game should offer native support for keyboard and mouse. Thanks for listening to my TED Talk.
