Kotaku: The Fight Over How To Play Ovewatch On Consoles

[OBsIV]

As many of you already know, the director of Overwatch posted his disapproval of the use of devices like ours on consoles.

After this, Kotaku approached me to comment on this for the purpose of an article they were writing about it (which I did).

For the record, I wanted to give you my full response to Kotaku so you can understand our stance on this and share with others:

Why did you create XIM?

XIM started 9 years ago as a goal of mine to be able to play Halo with a Wiimote (http://youtu.be/Rk4WLtuf-ME). I published my method which was then picked by up Engadget and people stated contacting me asking if I could make a mouse and keyboard work on consoles. I quickly discovered that making a mouse feel right on a console shooter is a really hard problem and what made it harder is that every game is different. Over the years I developed and perfected the proprietary technology behind XIM’s mouse translation system which makes a mouse feel natural on a console. It is this quality that XIM is known for and is what sets us apart from all the rest.

How do you respond to allegations that XIM gives an unfair advantage to its users and could make games like Overwatch less fair for everyone?

Mouse vs. Controller is a very heated and confrontational topic that you see all the time online (as we are seeing here now). When people talk about “mouse” they are always thinking about it in the context of PC shooters, not console shooters – which is a big difference. All shooters have an aiming system that governs how the reticle can move on-screen. On PC, this system is unrestricted – you can aim at incredible speeds. This isn’t true for consoles – where the game is designed for controllers. This restricted aim means that you cannot achieve aim beyond what a controller can do. XIM works in this framework (just like all console peripherals – Elite and Scuf controllers, steering wheels, arcade sticks, etc.). XIM isn’t about an advantage, but, for the many people out there like myself who cannot game well using a thumbstick, it’s about not having a disadvantage. It’s about using a control method that simply suits you best. It turns their console gaming experience into something fun where people can game again with their friends.

How do you respond to Overwatch game director Jeff Kaplan's strong statement against your type of hardware?

It’s unfortunate really, but understandable given all the false information you see out there. I mentioned before about PC “unlimited” aim vs. console “limited” aim – this means that XIM doesn’t give you PC aim on consoles (it can’t). It doesn’t transform the user into a gaming god (as any XIM gamer can attest to). Also, there are also blatant cheating devices out there that provide the ability to rapid fire and exploit the game. XIM specifically doesn’t and will never support features like this – it’s not in the spirit of the product. All this being said, people will always want to use XIM even if games like Overwatch were to add native mouse support to their game. Reason being is because controller players, in general, don’t want to be matchmade against PC mouse players online. That is certainly unfair and will cause fragmentation in their user base. This all comes down to perception. I hope that those that still have a negative perception will see XIM as just another console input device that you choose based on preference.

Do many disabled gamers use XIM?

Yes! It’s incredible to see XIM grow to where it is today – it’s an incredible achievement. But, nothing humbles me more than when I get a mail from someone with disabilities thanking me for making it possible to play games with their friends. Or a parent thanking me for giving their child joy through that experience – as a parent that’s a big deal to me. This is why I want XIM to be the best way for people with disabilities to enjoy console gaming and will continue to make that happen.

[buckshot50]

Man that's so cool how you started this product and really inspiring! I'm a web application developer and have a few projects of my own (totally not console related), but to see the longevity and quality of the product, is really an inspiration. Thanks for sharing!

[OBsIV]

Thanks, what the Kotaku article didn't mention that I wanted to stress is that gaming is a social thing -- people want to game with their friends. Even all major game publishers include native mouse and keyboard support, that doesn't "solve" their issue.

What I don't understand about these arguments is that, by their definition, no one plays on a "level" playing field. Elite controllers, thumbstick extensions, higher resolution monitors, better headsets, steering wheels, etc. If you are talking about PC too -- higher refresh rate, higher DPI mice, more mouse buttons, higher polling rate, etc. What's great about consoles that people don't see is that it has a single unified restricted aiming system. You cannot go beyond that. You cannot break those rules -- unlike on PC.

[TSARGA]

Disallow mouse and keyboard and input conversion devices

You should have wished him good luck.

[mindworm22]

I think the article did a good job explaining how many people will be negatively affected by the proposed suggestion.  It almost read like the author was shocked at how large the gaming community was for disabled members. Opening people's eyes in this regard is always a pleasant surprise.

Specializing in pediatrics myself, whenever I have a kiddo who wants to game "like the other kids", I always suggest the XIM to my families and point them in this direction.

Well done OBsIV....Well done.

[GuNStArHeRo]

XiM is def in the spot light now lol.

[antithesis]

Polygon posted a similar article. More free publicity for Xim - http://www.polygon.com/2017/2/8/14548674/overwatch-mouse-keyboard-support-means-a-lot-to-players-with-disabilities

[Od1n]

i like how they used mine and dojos Overwatch videos for demonstration purpose lol
they arent even our best vids but more like in the 20-30% range of what they could have picked

either way this is another great platform to get exposure from, and for those in fear of a potential ban just read Kaplans response, all the power lies on Sonys and Microsofts side and seeing how eg Sony lately stepped into the M&K market together with Hori theres nothing to worry about at all


also probs to Obsiv for evading that unfair advantage question from the article in a clever and short way, i couldnt think of a better and honest response

[kojsdojo]

lol thats the reason why my channel has been visited in the last 24 hours 30.000 times
Lets see what happens i think its a big chance for a official Mouse and Keyboard support

If sony decide to ban xim users i would rather say they @#$% theirself with the Tac4 Hori.
Will be interesting to see what happens.

[OBsIV]

i think its a big chance for a official Mouse and Keyboard support

Even that's added I doubt it would change anything because: 1) controller players won't want to be matchmade online with native m&K players, 2) people want to game with their friends -- many of which will still be on controllers, 3) adding native m&k for consoles will take significant sales away from premium PC gaming hardware.

[Od1n]

i think its a big chance for a official Mouse and Keyboard support

Even that's added I doubt it would change anything because: 1) controller players won't want to be matchmade online with native m&K players, 2) people want to game with their friends -- many of which will still be on controllers, 3) adding native m&k for consoles will take significant sales away from premium PC gaming hardware.

plus the mouse and keyboard group would be a fraction of the actual player base, means if those are only matched up against each other some games most likely wont have the necessary player pool for a smooth experience

[AKs0n-]

i think its a big chance for a official Mouse and Keyboard support

Even that's added I doubt it would change anything because: 1) controller players won't want to be matchmade online with native m&K players, 2) people want to game with their friends -- many of which will still be on controllers, 3) adding native m&k for consoles will take significant sales away from premium PC gaming hardware.

I must say it was rather interesting seeing an official stance from Blizzard. There have been countless Thread complaints against m+kb for what 6mths now? I'll I can say is that I have nothing but praise for Sony. I dont think many if any at all will be sending them hate mail anytime soon. Sony took the right stance. If Blizzard does not wish to support m+kb then that's on them.

[OBsIV]

i think its a big chance for a official Mouse and Keyboard support

Even that's added I doubt it would change anything because: 1) controller players won't want to be matchmade online with native m&K players, 2) people want to game with their friends -- many of which will still be on controllers, 3) adding native m&k for consoles will take significant sales away from premium PC gaming hardware.

plus the mouse and keyboard group would be a fraction of the actual player base, means if those are only matched up against each other some games most likely wont have the necessary player pool for a smooth experience

Correct. That's what happened with the GoW4 Crossplay experiment they did a couple of months ago. If you read the comments on their forum, the GoW4 PC group was really thrilled because they could finally find matches to play in.

[OBsIV]

Sony took the right stance.

They did, they license 2 different M&K adapters and have had support for developers to add M&K support to their games since the beginning. Nothing is stopping Blizzard from adding support to their game on PS4. I do feel the reason they haven't is because of the things we've been mentioning here.

[antithesis]

i like how they used mine and dojos Overwatch videos for demonstration purpose lol
they arent even our best vids but more like in the 20-30% range of what they could have picked

I think they chose appropriately for what the typical skilled m/kb player should expect. It doesn't show that m/kb is insta-God mode or an aimbot, which is what we've been saying here all along.

If the videos were montages of headshot-only, 360 no-scope kill-streaks, then we'd have more to worry about from the anti-m/kb brigade.