Crazy expensive 360 mod gives gamers mouse and keyboard use
by Dustin Burg 
{ Jan 5th 2009 at 4:00PM }
If you've inherited a small fortune and have an obsessive urge to use a mouse and keyboard on your Xbox 360, then the hardware modding folks over at XIM360 have a solution. Behold, the $179 (that is not a typo) XIM 2, pre-built, plug and play mod that gives 360 gamers complete freedom to use a mouse and keyboard. We can think of numerous better ways of spending $179, but if you must, slap a pre-order down over at XIM360's online store ... richy rich.
[Via Engadget]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
blucuzzin216 @ Jan 5th 2009 4:05PM
thats pretty sweet
wa27 @ Jan 5th 2009 4:05PM
I've never understood this. If you want to play with a mouse and keyboard, go play PC games.
BLucuzzin @ Jan 5th 2009 4:06PM
well 360 has a large amount of fps, and everyone knows you get better control from a keyboard and mouse..
wa27 @ Jan 5th 2009 4:23PM
There's a ton more FPSs on the PC...
Matt @ Jan 5th 2009 9:46PM
And a lot of the FPS that hit the 360 are also on PC. Call of Duty anyone?
RedSonRising @ Jan 5th 2009 4:10PM
is that 1% accuracy improvement really worth 200 bucks? me thinks not.. i play console games (among other reasons) because mouse and keyboards arent necessary..
for 200 bucks ill live with 1 or 2 fewer kills per match.. the only thing i could see this being really useful for it rts/strategy games.. selecting units with a controller is a b!tch..
Sam @ Jan 6th 2009 11:26AM
1%?
Please, try 100% or more.
The best controller using gamers in the world couldn't even come close to beating a low-mid level player in the same game using a keyboard and mouse.
Worth paying 200 dollars to play on xbox live where the netcode means it doesn't really matter how accurate you are anyway? No, but keyboard and mouse are still infinitely better than a contoller.
This is not an insult, flame, or challenge, i'm just saying, keyboards and mice and vastly more superior for control than you seem to believe.
RazLeBoL @ Jan 5th 2009 6:21PM
1 or 2? Somebody good with the mouse will dominate people who play with controllers.
Tell me if you have ever seen someone so accurate like in this video on the 360 version of COD4.
http://www.vimeo.com/2191559
Sev @ Jan 6th 2009 7:19PM
I play on PC and Consoles, and I think Im more accurate using a controller than a mouse. Some people are just better with controllers I suppose.
ryuk @ Jan 5th 2009 4:24PM
not trying to start anything, but ps3 has mouse and keyboard support for free
Ian @ Jan 5th 2009 4:27PM
Only if the dev codes for it... and most don't.
dabilee01 @ Jan 5th 2009 4:27PM
for games?!
Alex @ Jan 5th 2009 4:57PM
Doesn't the XFPS thing do this for £45?
RazLeBoL @ Jan 5th 2009 6:22PM
yeah but I heard the xfps sucks. Maybe this is better.
guidedbyvoip @ Jan 5th 2009 11:58PM
Doesn't have the latency issues the XFPS has.
r-deezy @ Jan 5th 2009 5:04PM
Come on... $179 is not THAT much money.
KFelon @ Jan 5th 2009 6:29PM
The website makes it look like you have to have it hooked up between the console and your pc in order to have keyboard and mouse support. Checked out a youtube video and it appears that way as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JV2Fnj_QFcA
KFelon @ Jan 5th 2009 6:31PM
Only $20 more and you have enough to buy another 360.
r-deezy @ Jan 5th 2009 9:12PM
Would you say the Arcade costs a "small fortune"?
I was just surprised that $179 was made to seem like a humongous sum of money, when most people make more in less than 1 week.
xenocidic @ Jan 6th 2009 8:18AM
a couple days, really.
Bac0nator @ Jan 5th 2009 5:12PM
yeah Alex your right that XFPS adapter does the same thing for way less money...
f3l1x @ Jan 5th 2009 6:44PM
Not the same thing.. the XFPS sucks hard. You should read up son. Maybe next time you could read up _before_ posting nonsense.
NukeAssault @ Jan 5th 2009 6:37PM
Only unreal tournament 3 supports it. I actually bought it a few days ago. I initially plugged in my KB/M and played with that. So about a day later i tried the controller and it was terrible or at least i was with one. I truly wish all games on both systems would support it. If they want to separate rooms by input preference so be it! Actually UT3 also does this =P. Ah, if only.
In A World (XBL) @ Jan 5th 2009 8:17PM
Were you playing the PS3 or 360 version? I know PS3 ver. supports m/kb, but hadn't heard anything about the 360 version.
NukeAssault @ Jan 5th 2009 8:44PM
Ps3 i didn't mention it cause i thought it was obvious. =P
Redlightxbox360.com @ Jan 5th 2009 8:24PM
Who really needs that though?
I DeX I @ Jan 6th 2009 1:56AM
Dear Toysrme,
Even playing ground you fool. 99.9 percent of console users do not and will not ever use a modded mouse and keyboard input. To do so, gives an unfair advantage to the rest of the players and RUINS the fun for the rest of us. Get over yourself genius. If owning everyone possible in a video game is your greatest sense of achievement in life, then congradu-fuckin'-lation.
jalannom @ Jan 6th 2009 5:39AM
Sorry for commenting on Xbox site when I'm a PS3 owner. I'm not here to troll but I just wanted to mention that mouse and keyboard is a great advantage over regular controllers. But, I own XFPS for ps3 and it really sucks hard. DO NOT GET IT. It's button saving feature is trash and it turns off automatically during game plays. I ended up buying FragFx and it is definitely a great alternative to mouse and keyboard. It may not feel as accurate as mouse and keyboard but it works 90% as good.(I say 20% for XFPS) but... only if they make it for Xbox360.....
John @ Jan 6th 2009 5:21PM
I have been a Hardcore PC gamer for years (DOD). I just jumped to Xbox a year ago. The hardest thing for me to this day is the horrible controller. I can't stand the lack of precision in the games and the inability to program the controller to the button layout that I want and not what the devoloper thinks is good.
The FPS games on XBOX are amazing and in my opinion Microsoft is missing the boat on not incorporating a KB / M setup in games. To see this product finally come to the market is well past due. I can't wait to see what major controller company decides to buy them out to mass produce this product.
You want to see the demise of PC gaming just add a KB & M to the consoles.
Jdegid
meme @ Jan 11th 2009 3:40AM
Anyone with a clue knows that for aiming a mouse is a better device than a thumbstick, and those denying this are either fanboys or ignorants. But this is not the point.
A console is built for relax and enjoyment purposes. I understand that Microsoft does not want to put pressure on "competitive" gamers by promoting a setup which forces people to sit at the desk. It would be against what the console stands for. Moreover all xbox fps games have been fine tuned to reduce the problems related to the thumbstick. Their speed has been reduced so that the aiming factor counts less compared to tactical aspects. Auto aim has been introduced to make aiming less frustrating. If you are good at halo is not just because you master the crappy thumbstick, but it's because you understand the game. It's the brain that makes you win, not the hand. And if you suck, no godsend device can make you win.
The thing would be different if xbox games were faster, like competitive Painkiller or Quake on PC. There aiming is much more important, since the relative speed between you and the target changes continuously, and combats are resolved in a fractions of the time it takes on xbox fps. A thumbstick for those games would be useless.
So in the end is a matter of perspective. If you are a geek that wants to play competitively an fps and seriously improve, be aware that this is not the purpose of a console. The situation might change in the future, if the aspect of competitive gaming becomes more important. But at that point there are other things that have to be introduced: the client-server paradigm with independent hosted servers (lol at the “host” in gow), the ability to really see your ping, making sure that all the players have a similar latency (at the moment consoles are a joke in this respect). And yes, mouse and keyboard plus the ability to customize the controls.