I said this for years but PC is the biggest thread for the Xbox and Sony, not mobile.
Well, yeah. Racing games, platformers, and action games are generally more comfortable with controller. Third person shooters, FPS, anything that requires aiming, or RTS games are still best done with mouse.
I don’t really like playing platformers with a controller.
I played through Celeste, Super Meat Boy and Rayman on PC only with keyboard and played Super Meat Boy, Rayman and N++ on the switch. I prefer the keyboard.
For 3D games (even platformers) I prefer the controller though.
I prefer games that can be played with a controller to be played with a controller just to mix up the ways I fuck up my wrists
Games need to support it well with remapping and better UI and ways to control that make sense.
Fr. I can’t play Bayonetta cause they want me to dodge with one of the buttons on top (can’t remember if it’s r1 or r2) and holy shit I can’t do it. It’s either A or B otherwise I literally nvr get the timing right even once
Big picture mode is great.
I’m glad this was mentioned here already. Big Picture mode in Steam is really something that I think might also contribute in increased popularity of controllers on PC. Back in the day it was really a struggle to get your already existing controller working on the PC (with Xbox it was easier after 360, PS needed extra stuff) but nowadays all one has to do is to pop into Big Picture mode and “it just works” given you’ve paired your controller with PC. This is with perspective over 15 years, I guess the support has been quite good multiple years already.
For me, it’s linked with the amount of “local multiplayer” titles on Steam. There was fucking nothing! Ok, we could play nes or sega games, but it was strange to not have a lot of modern games. Thankfully, it’s slowly changing
Usage triples <-> 15 % increase
Pick one. Triple is 300 % increase. Article says 15 % is the proportion using them, not the increase.
Yeah, this is just an issue with the Lemmy post’s title. The article is clear that 15% are using controllers now, up from 5% in 2018.
Thanks for bring this up, now I’ve fixed from “15% increase to " increase to 15% from 5%”. Should be more clear
That 15% is the Steam Deck users with Steam input always on and required.
It’s maddening that I can’t get PC glyphs to show on Doom Eternal.
Yeah, this sounds more like a win for handheld PCs than some sudden shift across gamers. The Steam Deck has done well enough to spawn a sea of copycats, it’s not surprising that it’s making a statistical impact now too.
I think it’s most likely that more people are playing genres like platformers and fighting games that are designed for controllers on PC than before.
I wouldn’t call those genres particularly popular atm
It’s not that PC gamers were opposed to using controllers. PC gamers love are peripherals. The problem was support for it. Most of the controllers beforehand had proprietary connectors that would never work in the PC. And then even if you could connect the controller there was no guarantee it would work. But now with more standardization around USB and Bluetooth adding in better driver support for the controllers we can finally use them.
yeah, I’d have to solder a PS1 controller to printer port back then. even when controller moves to wireless(like dual shock 3) the protocol was proprietary until windows have a proper driver for them.
Most of the controllers beforehand had proprietary connectors that would never work in the PC.
That was in the 90s… 20 years ago I was gaming on PC with a PS1 dual shock using a cheap adapter, and then switched to the Xbox 360 controller which used a standard USB port.
Not here to comment on whether you are right (because you are) but more to report the whiplash of realising 20 years ago is still in the 2000s. Mentally, 20 years ago puts something early nineties to me.
I don’t understand controllers. I can never get to use them properly. I grew up playing on computers all my life. My brain simply can’t grasp them and I always forget where all the buttons are.
Steam Deck and the console users that pivoted to PC gaming during the scalpers riddled PS5/Xbox launch are probably the most likely causes for this.
Right, PC gamers aren’t embracing controllers, console gamers are embracing PC gaming.
The truth is, for me at least, my wrists aren’t getting any younger and the controller is easier for me to use.
I do still use M+KB for games and activities that need it, but if there’s a reasonable controller option I’m going to go that route.
deleted by creator
Thank God, this changes everything
/s
Edit; I attached a link to the best selling Bluetooth controller in the description.
Really depends on the games.
Yeah, most 3rd person games I like to play with a controller, first person not so much.
