You guys are absolutely doing the right thing by combining your Win32 and Xbox development environments and, personally, I am 100% on board with that. It’s not only the right business decision, it’s great for gamers and developers too.
However, you cannot bring the legacy of PC gaming forward into your next-gen hardware and software platform without including a precision input like a trackpad. So many PC games have interfaces designed for a Mouse (& Keyboard), and then there are of course the PC games that are legitimately unplayable without a Mouse like RTS games. I know the vast majority of games nowadays launches with controller support but there are still a large number of existing games that have not and will never get controller support added.
Do the right thing. Add a Trackpad (or 2!). (Also add back buttons… NOT paddles, buttons!)
That isn’t the point. Of course there are games on PC that don’t require precision input. There are also games on PC that DO require precision input. Xbox literally just released Warcraft and Warcraft 2 Remastered onto Game Pass. Games that cannot be played with Xbox’s current controller. Games that will not be able to be played using the ROG Xbox Ally/X.
My point is if Xbox truly wants to merge their Windows and Xbox development environments and wants to bring the best of both worlds together then that should include a precision input device somehow.
I get your point. But if games are designed for mouse and keyboard, why would anyone play them with a controller? That sounds like a nightmare. (Never mind on a tiny handheld screen.)
“Precision input devices” already exist. Connect them to the PC/console and off you go. People playing such games on a controller would literally be one in a million (or probably less.) It wouldn’t make much sense to add touchpads with the associated extra bulk and higher costs to controllers.
For those that absolutely need something like this, I’m sure there’ll be some third-party options available.
This is all part of a larger trend that has been happening for years…
Xbox doesn’t need to change their controller to match the competition.
PS4 / PS5 has a trackpad and it’s stupid.
There are a multitude of other dumb features on the Frankenstein PlayStation controller that people always try to pressure Xbox into copying, but I’m glad they don’t cave. The PS5’s Adaptive Triggers are probably the worst controller invention of all time and yet people will tell you with a straight face that Xbox should add that to their controller.
I could go on, but let’s just say my position is basically that the Xbox controller is perfect and they should just leave it alone.
Yep I already have a wireless keyboard and mouse (Logitech set with its own USB dongle, works great) hooked up to my Xbox for when I want it - and they’ll transfer to the new Xbox with me.
On PC I’ve got both a M/K and controller - use the latter for most games but yes the mouse is useful for some.
However a track pad isn’t the answer, they suck balls for the most part as for an RTS for example you end up swiping loads to move the screen around or move units (ever tried playing one on a laptop?) - either something like the Switch 2 mouse option or the simplest which Xbox already supports “plug in your own mouse” are much, much better..
I definitely agree with back buttons. That’s mandatory.
Xbox would have actually outsold the PS5 this generation if they had back buttons on their main controller. That’s how critical they are.
But are track pads as precise as mice? I haven’t used the steam deck so I don’t know. Do people use that to aim in FPS games? I don’t think people have been using the PlayStation trackpad for aiming.
The PS5 controller is the first comfortable controller Sony has ever had, and some of the features can be fun… for a bit. But yes, mostly they’re unnecessary, if not annoying a lot of the time.
It also costs €20 more and has pathetic battery life - even without using all the extra stuff. I jump back and forth between Xbox and PS5 and I can’t say that I miss anything when I’m on Xbox.
Back buttons would be nice for a minority of players, cheap enough to add, and wouldn’t need a redesign of the controller. But I don’t think most people care all that much.
I have a Steam Deck with back buttons and haven’t used them once. I just keep pressing them accidentally because they’re in the way. (But maybe I just have weird hands.)
I played one game that required mouse inputs and found the trackpads so awkward that I just used the touchscreen instead.
I know that some people love them and that’s fine. But for the mainstream - no. That’s why most handhelds don’t have them. They can be handy for navigating a desktop OS occasionally. But if MS nails the “Xbox UI,” they’d just be unnecessary.
They are very accurate, however I personally wouldn’t use them over a mouse, it just doesn’t feel right.
In fact I haven’t really used them much at all, I originally thought I would as it did help sway my purchasing choice but it’s just not really practical in most games. The back buttons however have been very handy, I have programmed them for quite a few different games.
That’s how critical they are.