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Microsoft perhaps prepare a new weapon that could change the balance in the endless console wars: the mouse. Wait, do you say, did not they promise that years ago, and are not there any devices available yet? Type of. But embarking on PC-style controls allows Microsoft to create powerful synergies with Windows, performing an accompanying maneuver against rival Sony.
The mouse and keyboard are, of course, the control method of choice for many PC games, but it remained elusive on the consoles. Some fancy accessories have made it possible, and years ago Microsoft announced that it would add mouse support to the games on its console, but the feature has proven frustrating in practice. More pointing on the screen was done with Wiimotes by far.
Windows Central has received an ostensibly Microsoft internal presentation that details what could be a full-court press on the mouse and keyboard, which the company is best able to attempt.
In fact, you may very well ask why this has not been tried before. The problem is not the implementation but the changes that need to be made downstream of this implementation.
One of those things? Why not?
On the one hand, almost no game will support the control method out of the box. They have all been designed with very specific hardware and it is not useful to add a pointer to the menus, to change the relative motion of the camera to absolute motion and so on.
And for another, the mouse and keyboard are simply a form of superior input for some games. Certainly for the tastes of real-time strategy and simulations, which involve a lot of precise menus and clicks – which explains the relative lack of those on the consoles. But more importantly in the game economy, first-person shooters are overwhelmingly dominated by mouse users.
It may seem a bit like a glove between PC and console players, but this argument has been played out many times and mouse and keyboard players always come first, often with embarrassing margins.
Usually, this is not a big problem, because, for example, competitive Call of Duty leagues are pretty much all on console. You simply do not have any correspondence between the mice and the controllers.
This is beginning to change, however, with the introduction of large multiplatform games like Fortnite. When you have Xbox, Switch and PC players on the same server, the latter probably has a huge advantage for a number of reasons.
You do not bring an analog stick to a sniper fight.
And on the other hand, the Xbox One is lagging behind the PlayStation 4 in terms of attractive sales and exclusives. A new game that extends the Xbone into a growing niche – for example, professional and competitive games – would be a huge advantage at the moment.
This is why the document received by Windows Central is entirely logical. The presentation suggests that all Windows-compatible USB mice and keyboards will work with the Xbox One, including those that work wirelessly via a dongle. This would dramatically change the game, so to speak.
The devices should relate and be monitored, of course: it would not be good for a game to think that it is getting a controller input but rather a mouse input. And that leaves the door open to cheating and so on. Device IDs and others will be monitored carefully.
If and how to implement the mouse and keyboard controls will always be left entirely to the developer, note the slides, which obviously leaves us with the same problems as before. But allowing any mouse to be used, combined with a huge amount of players doing it on a major property like Fortnite, is to create some kind of critical mass.
At the moment, the handful of players with custom and expensive configurations to put the mouse in a handful of games is not enough for developers to devote significant resources to accommodate them. But let's say that a few hundred thousand people decide to connect their spare devices to the console? All of a sudden, it's an addressable market – it provides a competitive advantage to the developer who supports it.
Mouse support can also be the bridge that allows old Microsoft to merge at least some of its Xbox and Windows ecosystems. It unifies the experience, allows for better sharing of the library and generally transfers the Xbox One console from a dedicated console to a standard gaming PC at low cost and high performance.
This may have the additional effect of putting pressure on Valve and its Steam store, which dominates the world of PC games to the point of near-monopoly. Being able to play on Xbox or Windows, share exploits and save games, have gameplay parity, etc., this is the kind of fascinating multi-platform experience that Microsoft has been flirting with for years.
Imagine this: a Microsoft ecosystem that covers PCs and consoles, which encompasses competitive games at all levels and is easy and simple to set up. Sony would have little recourse, having no office activity to exploit, and Valve's own attempts to cross the console gap were largely unsuccessful. In a way, it seems like Microsoft is ready for a critical hit – if only it manages to take advantage of it.
Will this be the last chapter in the long story of the failure of mouse support by consoles? Or is Microsoft planning a major change in its approach to the video game world? We have not seen anything at E3 this year, so the answer will not be given, but Microsoft could be encouraged by this leak (assuming that is true) to make the program a little bit more public and to speak more concretely about this potential change takes place.
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