Collected from Internet sources...BLOG – New software will let World of Warcraft players use an Xbox 360 controller for the MMO… but is that what you really want?
Blue Orb is offering what it’s calling Switcblade, “a software package designed to allow gamers to play Blizzard’s massively popular World of Warcraft using an Xbox 360 controller.”
Available only from community platform Xfire, Switchblade’s first compatible game will be WoW, with other titles to follow. The software launches for free today.
From the press release: “In addition to its ‘plug and play’ pre-configured options, SwitchBlade is a highly customizable application. Experienced World of Warcraft players get extensive opportunities to reconfigure button mappings to match their unique style of play.
“’We all know that World of Warcraft is popular, but a lot of gamers are just hooked on the console controller experience,’ said Aaron Levin, Blue Orb’s Vice President of Business Development. “With SwitchBlade, they can relax on the couch with a gamepad instead of hunching over a keyboard and mouse.’”
Personally, I like hunching over my keyboard and mouse, because my posture is entirely too good.
Clearly, this is targeted towards console gamers who might have been waiting for console-like controls before jumping into WoW, but how about you experienced WoW players? Would you make the switch so you can “relax” a little bit? The 360 controller does have quite a few buttons…
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World of Warcraft on an Xbox 360 controller? This is madness! Earlier this morning Mr. Osborn and I had a chance to check out Switchblade, the new software that will allow you to play World of Warcraft with your Xbox 360 controller. For me, when I think of an immersive experience such as WoW I often associate it with needing my mouse and keyboard to control what’s going on.
Well, the gentlemen at Blue Orb have done a bang up job making the transition from mouse and keyboard to gamepad painless.Right from the get go Switchblade has a whole set of preconfigured controls designed specifically for WoW. Everything that would be on the screen by default has a key bound to it in some way shape or form, allowing players that don’t use UI addons or extra bars to do whatever they would usually do, all straight from the controller. Doubt me? Check out the picture below, you’ll find everything required for the WoW experience. Now, if you’re anything like me you’ve been playing World of Warcraft since release and have been doing so happily with the mouse and keyboard.
As you can imagine I was a little skeptical at first. After having a chance to get down and dirty with Switchblade I must admit, it’s very well done. I can see myself grinding Marks of Sargeras in Netherstorm in a very laid back setting with no problem using this method. So if you’ve got some spare time and an Xbox 360 controller sitting around, give this a try. Head on over to www.switchbladegaming.com and snag the free download. Don’t worry about getting yourself into something that you don’t want to, your mouse and keyboard are still active while it’s on. So what have you got to lose? Go and check it out. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.
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A new application called SwitchBlade brings World of Warcraft a tiny bit closer to console gaming by making it possible to play it on your PC with a 360 controller.
The software preconfigures WoW's "most popular" commands to the controller buttons, but if those don't suit your fancy you can reconfigure them to meet your needs. At the moment, WoW is the only game that supports SwitchBlade. Future versions of the application are expected to support more games and other controllers. You can download SwitchBlade from Xfire for free. Does this appeal to anyone? It doesn't seem terribly likely that the people who've held off playing WoW because it's on a PC are going to be mollified by the ability to use a console controller, and those already playing would, I imagine, feel like cramming their commands into a controller to be too limiting.
