While you won’t hear it from me, most first-person shooter fans have always preferred using a keyboard and mouse to any other option out there, as the more accurate aiming makes it a top choice for those who take gaming seriously. Preferences be damned, though, as Blizzard has now spoken out against the use of these setups on consoles for their hit shooter, Overwatch.
Speaking on behalf of the developer over on the Battle.net forums, Overwatch Director Jeff Kaplan encouraged Xbox One and PS4 gamers to not use a mouse and keyboard.
The Overwatch team objects to the use of mouse and keyboard on console.
We have contacted both first-party console manufacturers and expressed our concern about the use of mouse and keyboard and input conversion devices.
We have lobbied and will continue to lobby for first-party console manufacturers to either:
Disallow mouse and keyboard and input conversion devices
OR
Openly and easily support mouse and keyboard for ALL players
I encourage you to reach out to the hardware manufacturers and express your concerns (but please do so in a productive and respectful way).
Some could see this as a power play of sorts from Blizzard, but the actual reasoning for the discouragement is probably much simpler. Those that choose to shell out the extra cash for a converter could hold an advantage over those who continue to play with a controller. Overwatch has succeeded because it keeps everything on a level playing field, and an advantage such as this would completely throw the refined balance of the game off.
It’ll be interesting to see if Microsoft or Sony do anything about this. Both companies seemingly support the use of keyboard and mouse setups, so it would be surprising to see them dropping any sort of ban. However, Overwatch is one of the biggest games available on both consoles, and I’m sure neither party wants to lose the massive audience it brings to the table.
Tell us, would you be opposed to console makers cracking down on keyboard and mouse use in Overwatch? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
