Major League Gaming, the premiere console-only competitive gaming league, has said that PC gamers are geeks and that computers are not meant for gaming – they are meant for checking your email. It’s a marketing stance from their top leadership. MLG believes that console gamers are “cooler” than PC gamers.

But is MLG going to have to change their stance soon? Will keyboards and mice be making their way onto MLG events?

I think they will sooner than later without the introduction of PC’s per say at MLG events.

You see, the discussion about console gaming versus PC gaming really boils down to input devices. Console gaming doesn’t currently support keyboards and mice as native input devices. But, one day it will. When that day comes to console gaming, you’re basically limited to handheld input devices like the XBOX controller.

But what happens when a MLG flagship title supports keyboards and mice natively?

I think it will happen. Perhaps it’s already in development. A game for XBOX 360 will natively support keyboards and mice input devices sometime in the future. Whether it is 2007, 2008 or 2009, I think it will happen.

Could that first title be HALO 3?

Bungie likes to be the first to do things. They revolutionized the FPS button/command layout when they launched HALO. With HALO 2 they revolutionized the way online multiplayer worked on XBOX Live. They definitely care about gameplay and now they’ve got a new platform to utilize. Will HALO 3 be able to detect if a keyboard and mouse is connected to the XBOX 360 console?

At this time, it’s only speculation but it wouldn’t be that hard to do. The XBOX 360 already has drivers installed for most all USB keyboards. XBOX 360 games are developed first on a PC with keyboard and mice. Will Bungie slip in the code for keyboard and mouse support in HALO 3? There’s no way to tell and the question is probably a philosophical question that relies on the feelings of a handful game developers (and possibly Microsoft executives).

But let’s assume for a moment that HALO 3 launches with keyboard and mouse support. How will that affect the competitive HALO gaming community? How will it affect Major League Gaming?

Gamers would have to make a decision: do you play HALO 3 with a keyboard and mouse or do you play HALO 3 with a controller? MLG will have to make a decision: do we allow keyboards and mice at our events or keep this league as handheld controllers only?

I think the answer to both questions will be settled inside the game themselves. I predict that keyboard and mouse players will, in general, play the game better than handheld controller players. It’s a matter of human ergonomics and the freedom of the fingers. And since I think keyboards and mice will allow for more advanced gameplay and since MLG will want to have to the most skilled gamers at their events, you'll see them at the events.

Whether they have more aiming accuracy or not, keyboard and mouse gamers are able to input more commands faster than handheld controller players. This gives them an advantage. Who’s going to be able to pass more information into the game? A player that can max out eight fingers with a keyboard and mouse or a player than can max out 4 fingers with a handheld controller?

Some of the top HALO 2 players recognize that being able to input more commands faster is important. Walshy, one of the top 5 HALO 2 players in the world, grips in the XBOX controller in a style called “the Claw”. Typically, a gamer with an XBOX controller can only use two fingers on their hands to input commands; the thumb and the index finger. After all, this is how the controller is designed. However, with “the Claw” technique, console gamers are putting their right index finger (the finger normally used to pull the trigger to fire their weapon) on top of the controller to input button commands while the middle finger is used to pull the trigger. “The Claw” gives gamers a third finger to use to input commands. It's like they are wanting more fingers to get access to more buttons. With "the Claw" Console gamers can now input more commands faster. “The Claw” is a technique that is catching on. Still, that technique, won’t out duel a keyboard and mouse. In a typical setup, a keyboard and mouse gamer has two to three different buttons per left hand finger to input commands. And all buttons (keys) are located right under or right beside each finger. In reality, a keyboard user has about 16 buttons readily accessible will a handheld controller user only have 3 or 4.

The input commands to perform some of the advanced shooting glitches in HALO 2, like the double burst on the Battle Rifle or the double melee, would be distributed across two or three fingers with a keyboard and mouse. These commands could be entered instantly. With a controller, console gamers have to wait for their thumb to travel from button to button before the command can be completed. Keyboard users think ahead and have fingers resting to input the next command. Handheld users don't have this luxury due to the way the controller is designed and held. In the world of competitive HALO 2 gaming, a split second is often the difference between life and death.

So, assuming a competitive XBOX 360 title gets launched with keyboard and mouse support and assuming that game is played at MLG, MLG will have to pick a side. Either keyboards will be allowed or they won’t. In my opinion, MLG will be forced to allow the keyboards and mouse in the league since they’ll allow for a higher level of gameplay (as well as increase their fan base by allowing a new kind of gamer in the league).

Are the boundaries between a PC and console fading away?

Imagine a device where you can get online, chat with your friends, listen to music, watch recorded TV, play games, download movies, buy music, and spit out an HD video signal. Those are things that used to only be done with a PC, but you can currently do them with an XBOX 360. The XBOX 360 even has a VGA monitor output cable so that you can use it on your computer monitor.

I think the consoles are inspired by what can be done on the PC. I image in the future the PS3 and XBOX 360 will both have non-entertainment related applications running on their platforms. With PS3 reportedly running a version of Linux and the XBOX 360 running a version of Windows, these operating environments will be conducive for non-entertainment apps.

Live Anywhere

Microsoft has announced a technology that will allow gamers on a console to play against gamers on a PC. Live Anywhere is a new initiative and it is going to be embedded in future Microsoft games. Where will this take us? If the tech pans out, we’ll eventually see a face off between the top PC gamers and top console gamers – each on their preferred platform.

PC titles support handheld controllers as well as keyboards and mice. XBOX 360 titles will soon support keyboards and mice as well as handheld controllers. The next-gen consoles seem more and more like PC’s. Companies that have taken a stance against one platform or the other will be forced to rethink their stance due to technology changes.