Microsoft are taking unlicensed controllers quite seriously. If you are rocking newer Xbox hardware such as the Xbox Series X, and using an unlicensed controller, you may want to turn off automatic updates. This is not just controllers though, this is third party accessories that mask themselves as controllers – ultimately, could cheaters be the culprit here?
Image credit - Android Authority
What is a third-party accessory
This is anything not licensed by Microsoft. Rather easy to understand. The difficult part is everyone seems to claim this is controllers only. It is not. I see this ban expanding to more accessories that plug into your Xbox, or connect to it.
According to Android Authority, accessories that allow gamers to use mouse and keyboard setups, but the console sees this as a controller, are not effected yet. This is interesting as these give users an unfair advantage against other Xbox players using a controller.
I do see in the future those spoofing devices being included in this ban, maybe even being the reason for the ban.
So far, this ban is hurting the fighting game community quite a bit as most fighting sticks are not licensed by Microsoft (denoted on the packaging with a “Designed for Xbox” symbol.
Is this overreach or protecting the gaming community?
It is too early to know the extent of this action by Microsoft. I think it is partly due to devices such as the Cronus, that give unfair advantages to those using them. It can also be Microsoft attempting to curb game breaking bugs caused by controllers that may not be interacting with the hardware correctly.
Right now, the safest option is to purchase accessories with the “Designed for Xbox” logo and leave “compatible with” accessories on the shelves. This will mean more expense on the users end as the allure of third-party accessories is the cheaper price.
What do you think? Let me know in the comments.
This kind of sucks on many levels, my fight stick will not work lol. M$ will probably rake some more revenue when vendors are forced to apply for licensing.
I know a lot of gamers in a similar situation as you, it sucks. I wonder how it would work if an unlicensed company gets licensed, would that license be retroactive or only apply to upcoming hardware?
I don't like this decision from Microsoft. Third-party accessories can be a nice option to save some money. Especially because gaming is a really expensive Hobby.
I agree, gaming is expensive but shouldn't those that spend their hard earned money on these games be able to enjoy them rather than being annihilated by people using controllers that allow multiple button presses be mapped to one button? Or playing an FPS and having your opponent have unreal targeting because they are playing with a keyboard and mouse via a spoof accessory so they appear to be using a controller?
In a perfect world, these gamers would just be put in their own server away from those playing "legitimately", unfortunately, we don't live in an ideal world.
Blocking these accessories completely is the only way to make online play fair for all on the Xbox platform. Microsoft owes that to people as they are the only one that charages for online play, that I know of - PlayStation and Nintendo Switch offer some form of free play, I think (I could be wrong, I stopped playing consoles at the 360 and PS3 personally).
Nooooo!!! Bro I do not know if it is good this method that makes xbox, but in part it is good because it would decrease or eliminate players who use rare controls that have advantages, but in part it is bad because if you do not have a control or steering wheel that does not have the validation of microsoft, is a waste of money for the user, I feel it is a strategy a bit badly done by them.
It does feel like a cash grab of sorts on the part of Microsoft. I feel it may level the playing field in certain games but man, as tight as money is nowadays for many gamers, this could be detrimental to them getting to enjoy the games they bought.
I think its the right decision. Xbox gaming is ment to be equal for all. With additional hardware you gain advantage ower others. besides its a company who needs to make profit. so i would do the same. and sell licenses to third party companys
Over on Facebook, I see a lot of hate for Microsoft over this. Usually by the same people that herald good times when Sony or Nintendo do something similar. I have no idea why. I agree with you, it should be equal for all and this is a step in making that happen. I have heard of people using those keyboard/mouse spoof accessories going in and just wiping the floor with controller players. Where is the fun in that?
They have fun in litterly harrasing people. Same like Cheater. I think they would be too bad otherwise and would look for other ways to beat their opponents.
On the other hand, I also see companies that want to create demand through supply and of course make money. A restricted market is always manipulation
I know what you mean, I play a lot of Fortnite and I encounter cheaters all the time - perfect shots (landing 100% of their shots against a moving target with a rifle with HIGH recoil), shooting me through walls (literally destroying the wall between us, one shot killing me, and taking causing half damage to the wall BEHIND me), and more.
I completely agree with you on the restricted market. That is a big reason I play on PC and stopped with consoles around the 360 and PS3 era. Even now, you can easily emulate that generation on PC so why lock yourself to lower resolution, no onine support, and more?
Restriction is the name of the console game since Nintendo launched the NES. Others saw how successful (with gamers and financially) Nintendo was that they followed suit. The closest we had to an open console after the NES was the 3DO and that platform was plagued with high costs for the console then a lot of trash games on the market, but devkits were basically then current gen Macintosh computers, and low licensing fees, and you were in business with 3DO.
Don't tell the Apple fans that part about a restricted market, they might explode. Lol
Consoles are not bad. they are cheap for the mass. you dont have issiues with Updates and hardware and thei are quiet powerfull. I used to have nearly every console since the NES back than. but now i own a high end pc and sold my xbox one recently.Some day my xbox 360 will have to move. its just a dirt catcher. Back in the days of the old Call of Duty 3 the cheaters arised and the community gets worse every day. we played in CSL, ESL and others and with every year it was getting worse. in the end we had to record every game to proof who was cheating.... so we closed our clan and this was the last time i played in a competition. it was about 9 years ago and i dont want to know how they behave today.
I completely agree, consoles themselves are not bad. I am not a fan of how online play on them is being handled though - this "always on" or "needs to check with a home server" before you can play certain games is a little much. When companies end support for these consoles that have that type of thing on some games, I wish publishers would release a patch to remove it from the game, but if they do that, what would be the incentive to buy it again on the next console? Lol.
At least with PC gaming, there are developers that find work arounds for that stuff.
I agree, competitive play is horrible. I play a lot of ranked mode in Fortnite for instance and it is just ridiculous how vile most players are in that mode of the game. I find myself going to unranked to play for making content on YouTube, there are more cheaters but I usually only run into them when in the top 5 left in the match and it is painfully obvious they are cheating (using flying mods, overpowered weapons, can pinpoint you in an area easily, etc).
I have never played competitively outside a few times I played an old Quake II engine game called SiN on PC back in the late 90's. I lost my butt but it was interesting. I used to rock Unreal Tournament when it came out but quickly lost interest due to cheaters. Then I didn't really try online games like 3rd or 1st Person Shooters till I started playing PUBG Mobile on my phone, then moved to Call of Duty Mobile. Tried Call of Duty Warzone on PC but gave up due to massive amounts of cheaters and moved over to Fortnite where I can at least have a bit of fun in the couple hours a week I have to dedicate to playing games.