Live data from Hacker News

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

nme.com

311–320 of 371 posts

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

#311
post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Real problem here seems to be games doing aim assist in multiplayer

I'm competitive. I simply won't play FPS that have aim assist in multiplayer. If a controller has a disadvantage to KBM, they should learn to use KBM, not give them a built-in aimbot.

Not an issue if you use the claw-style of holding your controller

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

#312

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> PC games have cheaters since forever, they’ve worked around that problem despite having less operating system and hardware control. Have they though? Cheaters are rampant in most games, meanwhile consoles have been highly successfully in preventing cheaters from using things like wallhacks and aimbotting.

Please quantify "rampant". How likely is the average player to encounter cheaters?

Once you get into certain skill levels in matchmaking it is very common to run into cheaters, depending on the game. If you think about above average lobbies, the number of cheaters will go up until you get to another MMR threshold just due to the fact that the cheats enable people to move up MMR. The average low MMR players will see less, and the top of MMR will see less, but the middle-upper bracket cheating is very, very bad.

Companies are trying to battle this with anti-cheats, heuristics, shadowbanning, etc but it is still noticeable at above-average MMR.

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

#313

Earlier quoted context omitted.

macro controllers and AI controller inputs are a thing and are actually rampant in certain games. Just look on youtube for some of the Street Fighter 6 cheat videos that have popped up in the last few weeks. Also if you play games like Apex, Valorant, etc, there are macro controllers that will not only perform movement tricks for you but will do things like correct aim for automatic fire drift/spread or even (on PC)…

I just don't get it. I genuinely don't get it. If you're cheating, you're not winning; the software or hardware is. What is the point? What do people get from this?

I cheat on games that i got cheap (or "free" via xbox for windows) because i want to "finish" the game, but i also have dozens of other things vying for my time and attention.

I also watch old TV shows at 1.2x-1.4x speed, for many of the same reasons. It makes the filler less obnoxious, i get roughly the same experience, and i can honestly say "i've seen every episode of ". Like Law and Order, for example.

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

#314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

in the hundreds of hours I've played of multiplayer console FPSs, which are what these controllers are marketed towards[1], I think I saw a player with a modded controller once. yes they got an advantage from it, but FPSs are mostly about how fast you can aim not how fast you can shoot, so it wasn't exactly game-breaking also in Call of Duty at least, often semi-auto fire rates are capped at a human level anyway even…

macro controllers and AI controller inputs are a thing and are actually rampant in certain games. Just look on youtube for some of the Street Fighter 6 cheat videos that have popped up in the last few weeks. Also if you play games like Apex, Valorant, etc, there are macro controllers that will not only perform movement tricks for you but will do things like correct aim for automatic fire drift/spread or even (on PC)…

As we used to say at Blizzard: "Uninstall Cosmos, for the win"

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

#315
post #94
post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So should they just give up on cheating devices?

When it comes at the expense of legitimate user freedom, and is arguably useless? Probably.

That really sounds like the argument of someone that never plays multiplayer games online. There’s no way you would say that otherwise.

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

#316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just don't get it. I genuinely don't get it. If you're cheating, you're not winning; the software or hardware is. What is the point? What do people get from this?

I cheat on games that i got cheap (or "free" via xbox for windows) because i want to "finish" the game, but i also have dozens of other things vying for my time and attention. I also watch old TV shows at 1.2x-1.4x speed, for many of the same reasons. It makes the filler less obnoxious, i get roughly the same experience, and i can honestly say "i've seen every episode of ". Like Law and Order, for example.

He’s talking about cheating in multiplayer games

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

#317

Earlier quoted context omitted.

macro controllers and AI controller inputs are a thing and are actually rampant in certain games. Just look on youtube for some of the Street Fighter 6 cheat videos that have popped up in the last few weeks. Also if you play games like Apex, Valorant, etc, there are macro controllers that will not only perform movement tricks for you but will do things like correct aim for automatic fire drift/spread or even (on PC)…

I just don't get it. I genuinely don't get it. If you're cheating, you're not winning; the software or hardware is. What is the point? What do people get from this?

Some people are just shitty. There are scammers, rapists, etc. Everywhere. Video games cheaters are just the scummiest people online.

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

#318
post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

you are on hacker news

I often make the mistake of thinking HN is populated mostly by ... well, hackers. While there's plenty of us here, most users are from the startup crowd, where "hacker" is more of a buzzword than anything. Of course this makes sense, it's just something that slips my mind every once in a while.

The dissonance is really something at times. I get facepalms, giggles, sighs. I haven't made it to the acceptance stage yet and I have no plans to advance to it soon.

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

#319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

in the hundreds of hours I've played of multiplayer console FPSs, which are what these controllers are marketed towards[1], I think I saw a player with a modded controller once. yes they got an advantage from it, but FPSs are mostly about how fast you can aim not how fast you can shoot, so it wasn't exactly game-breaking also in Call of Duty at least, often semi-auto fire rates are capped at a human level anyway even…

macro controllers and AI controller inputs are a thing and are actually rampant in certain games. Just look on youtube for some of the Street Fighter 6 cheat videos that have popped up in the last few weeks. Also if you play games like Apex, Valorant, etc, there are macro controllers that will not only perform movement tricks for you but will do things like correct aim for automatic fire drift/spread or even (on PC)…

I agree with what you're saying except for the Escape From Tarkov bit. They are in a real pickle. They have a live service game they sold at a fixed price without any of the typical live service game monetization methods.

Battlestate games has no incentive to actually ban RMT and cheaters when they are first detected because a ban too quickly will break the economic model of the RMT cheaters. Who, once banned, will buy another copy of Escape From Tarkov. I know a few people who write game cheats for a living and they have multiple clients who regularly buy over 100 copies of Escape from Tarkov nearly monthly.

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

#320
post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Ah, I see you haven't ever stepped inside an Apple store, where DRMed dongles and cases are a multi-billion dollar business.

>Anyone with an ounce of understanding of hardware business models

This line is important, as there is a clear difference between Apple's high margin, high markup hardware business, vs consoles which tend to be sold at cost, or even at a loss.

Post reply on HN