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Xbox will block third-party controllers to "preserve the console experience"

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Re: Xbox will block third-party controllers to "preserve the console experience"

#221

Post by tennis_80 »

fra wrote: post #215
serf wrote: post #74

This is a money grab with the polish of a pro-gamer cheat-cleanup. Why do I say that? Microsoft can fix most of the 'cheats' that a software controller can implement in software. Auto-fire is trivial to detect, as is a KBM setup where it doesn't belong. Out of the ordinary joystick characteristics/speed/hysteresis/range would make it obvious to them which controllers are aftermarket if they cared to disallow them aft…

I guarantee you that the total profit generated from selling XBOX controllers is immaterial to Microsoft. Anyone with an ounce of understanding of hardware business models will tell you that this has nothing to do with selling more controllers.

It looks pretty clear cut to me - and just because MS is massive doesn't mean that someone somewhere hasn't seen this as an opportunity to improve their personal / department KPIs.

I'm not familiar with hardware business models though, so what do you think it is about instead? Reducing hardware cheating?

Re: Xbox will block third-party controllers to "preserve the console experience"

#222

Post by RajT88 »

jeroenhd wrote: post #118
qalmakka wrote: post #80

> players have been encountering error “0x82d60002” OT: Microsoft should be banned by decree from showing naked error codes to people, I've been fighting them for decades now

No. The exact opposite. I'm sick of modern software telling me "something went wrong, try again later". Unless every possible error scenario gets its own descriptive error, that error code is a necessity. And nobody is going to accept a dev adding error messages to every possible error, because localisation to 180+ languages will cost a fortune. Your choice is between "something went wrong" and "something went wrong…

Search all the *.h files in the Xbox and Windows SDK's for that hResult.

AKA "Partying like it's 1999"

Re: Xbox will block third-party controllers to "preserve the console experience"

#223

Post by ckbishop »

hospitalJail wrote: post #209
dschuetz wrote: post #201

I wonder when Microsoft start selling ad pop-ins on Windows and Xbox. You know, for better and enhanced user experience.

This makes me so happy to be in Linux land free from M$'s grip.

You can stop using M$ if you want. It's not the 90's anymore. Every company could have a $.

Re: Xbox will block third-party controllers to "preserve the console experience"

#224

Post by mmkos »

qalmakka wrote: post #80

> players have been encountering error “0x82d60002” OT: Microsoft should be banned by decree from showing naked error codes to people, I've been fighting them for decades now

That is such a weird position to take on the matter, that offers literally no advantages and a several disadvantages.

Re: Xbox will block third-party controllers to "preserve the console experience"

#225

Post by phone8675309 »

rootlocus wrote: post #82
TeMPOraL wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's the problem though: pampering to competitive gamers ruins the experience for the vast majority of people, who just want to, you know, enjoy a game . Unfortunately, competitive gamers are the only ones that matter - they're the cash cows of this part of the industry, which now focuses on creating as many such players as they can, and milking them for all they're worth. Consider how cheating was handled back bef…

This reminds me of Wildstar. The MMO was intentionally dedicated to hardcore players, making progression nearly impossible for casuals. They were pretty smug about it as I recall. It eventually died, as there weren't enough players paying micro-transactions to keep the servers online.

There's actually a Wildstart server emulator for those who want to play after shutdown - https://www.emulator.ws/

Re: Xbox will block third-party controllers to "preserve the console experience"

#226

Post by giraffe_lady »

RunSet wrote: post #195
belugacat wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The day Valve falls, for whatever reason (greed, incompetence, some impossible to predict market shift/tech innovation... Gabe doesn't have decades and decades left as CEO after all) - the open world of PC gaming as we know it will probably fall, to be devoured by the Microsoft/Epic/Ubisoft/etc of the world. Compared to most other tech/gaming companies, it's shocking how non predatory and customer friendly they are.…

> Compared to most other tech/gaming companies, it's shocking how non predatory and customer friendly they are. That is a low bar indeed. Steam got its initial install base because Valve bought Counter-Strike and then made Steam a functional requirement to play it.

I mean this in the nicest way but "we used to hate steam you know" is some sure-grandma-lets-get-you-to-bed meme shit.

Re: Xbox will block third-party controllers to "preserve the console experience"

#228

Post by jasonlotito »

_xivi wrote: post #104
Cthulhu_ wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not every way; you have more control over quality and experience in a closed system. I mean yeah it sucks, but so does spending money on a controller that isn't good enough. edit: I'm reading somewhere else it's to stop cheat enabled controllers. Wouldn't want to play multiplayer games if someone has an unfair advantage like that.

> you have more control over quality and experience > I'm reading somewhere else it's to stop cheat enabled controllers No, it's always been about revenue. I never understand why people take company's word and run with it. Are they actually fooled? Of course, the company won't be blunt and say to the consumer: honestly, we force you to buy from us because it make us more money. This is really weird "solution". They l…

> I never understand why people take company's word and run with it.

They aren't. The customers are the ones complaining about this. Microsoft is doing what its user base wants. People on XBox typically use a controller and do not want to face people on a KBM.

Sure, it's about revenue. That revenue is not from controller sales. Rather, it's about keeping it's customer-base happy, and the general sentiment from the community is that these tools aren't good for the overwhelming majority of players.

You might disagree with that opinion, but I can't take you seriously if you aren't aware of the general sentiment of the community and how Microsoft is doing what it's paying customers want.

Re: Xbox will block third-party controllers to "preserve the console experience"

#229

Post by Sharparam »

paulryanrogers wrote: post #185
endisneigh wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can play games on Linux.

Some games. Sometimes. Depending on the game, Linux distro, library versions, hardware driver support, etc. I can also bake my own bread. But I'm tired of all the tweaking and debugging at the end of the day.

Most games. Most of the time. You make it sound like there's only a small subsection of games that can be played on Linux when that hasn't been true for some time now.

There definitely still exist games that have issues running on Linux, but they are few and far between now.

Re: Xbox will block third-party controllers to "preserve the console experience"

#230

Post by macNchz »

paulryanrogers wrote: post #185
endisneigh wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can play games on Linux.

Some games. Sometimes. Depending on the game, Linux distro, library versions, hardware driver support, etc. I can also bake my own bread. But I'm tired of all the tweaking and debugging at the end of the day.

In my experience these days, across several dozen games in my Steam library (admittedly largely omitting competitive multiplayer games other than CS), it has been most games, most of the time, on a basic Ubuntu install on hardware I chose mostly without checking for Linux compatibility. If you want to play video games without paying Microsoft for user-hostile systems, Linux has definitely become a genuine option in recent years.

I have a Windows 10 install on my machine that I have been thrilled to discover I’ve only needed a handful of times in three years (mostly to disable the rainbow vomit RGB that Linux doesn’t recognize).

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