Most recent update to this thread:
July 15th, 2018:
Thank you once again to Your Overwatch for shedding light on some of our concerns. You guys have the gratitude of all of us!
Older Updates to this thread, from most to least recent:
June 30th, 2018:
Thank you to Overwatch Central for shedding light on Console Player concerns on June 23rd! I cannot stress to you guys how appreciative I am of this!
https://youtu.be/dvm_wIQE-00
June 4th, 2018:
If you’d like to read even further in-depth on the concerns listed in this post, plus others, feel free to take the time to read this thread at your leisure: https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/overwatch/t/a-heartfelt-message-to-the-overwatch-development-team-from-a-concerned-console-player/
Or you can alternatively just read the details just below this.
Main Concerns
If you’re going to reply to any of these concerns, please read the information regarding said concern before you do so!
Short, medium, and long term plans for Console specifically
Yes, some things take time to implement; that’s fine, and inarguable. But there’s been way too much time allotted to give something even as simple as a response; which is the absolute least that this thread is truly asking for.
Lack of a Console PTR
Both Sony and Microsoft have been very flexible with Blizzard, and Jeff has even admitted to this himself as well as the fact that this is something that can be done. Yes it would come at the cost of slower balance due to certification; or it would be, if it wasn’t for the fact that Sony and Microsoft offer same day certifications. Even then, the pros would definitely outweigh the cons. Examples, it would help the Overwatch Team develop better connections with their Console Players, it would better help them get PTR Feedback from us on Console, and it would help them nail down any potential Console-specific bugs, among others. And don’t try to argue to me that Sony/Microsoft charge for patch updates. For one, Sony/Microsoft only charge these days for patch updates if certifications fail multiple times. For two, if you think that money is a problem for a company as massive as Blizzard, then you should look somewhere else.
Lack of OFFICIAL Console E-Sports Representation
If Blizzard gives even a small fraction of attention to Console that’s similar to their focus on Overwatch League, it would take off. Console gamers are anything but uninterested in E-Sports. The success of Halo, Gears of War, and Call of Duty with MLG has proven that. Not to mention even Paladins and Smite on Consoles as well. And don’t try to say that I’m saying this as a means for me to get in for E-Sports; because you’d be wrong. I’m a high-plat to low diamond player and haven’t truly played Comp since Season 4; trust me, I know I wouldn’t be able to. I’m saying this as a means for OTHER Console Players to get in for E-Sports. And yes, ‘official’ was capitalized on purpose. Also, it’s worth to note that I’m NOT asking for a Console Version of OWL here. Even the simplicity of just sponsoring tournaments for Console Players regularly would be fine. Not much to ask for, y’know?
Lack of other Console-Specific Balancing
Seriously, Console-Specific Balancing was promised on Day 1. And what do we have that’s different? Torbjorn and Symmetra Turret nerfs that can honestly be completely reverted now, and Ally Aim Assist for Ana. Now, I will agree that the game is not too out of balance on Console. But there’s definitely some changes that can be made to Consoles specifically to improve said balance. I’d give examples of such changes that can be done, but that’s for a different thread. Although, I’ll say that Ana, Widowmaker, and Pharah come to my mind as examples. Likewise, I can also agree that Ana needs help on PC as well; however, she needs even more help on Console than PC to be able to even remotely contest for a team spot than all of the other healers on Console, and even pre-rework Symmetra as well. Yeah, her Console pickrate for comp is just as bad, and at some higher level ranks, even worse, than pre-rework Symmetra.
Mouse and Keyboard Users
It’s solvable on Consoles before anyone states, given Blizzard’s current stance for it on Consoles; and I’ve already covered this in a different thread. This is the thread that I’m referring to.
Missing QOL options on Console, which are ALREADY LIVE ON PC
To name some examples for this:
FOV Slider
Text Chat (I know someone is going to try arguing to me that it would take a while to type a message in chat. So I’m going to give my own response to this right now before that happens. They can make it so that it opens the Keyboard Interface of the Console. The same thing happens when you are trying to explain why you are reporting someone. And while the Console Keyboard Interface is open, USB Keyboards that are plugged in to a Console DO work; I’ve tested this very thing myself. Apply this same concept for text chat, and you’re good to go.)
Showing what mode your friends are playing in the friends list (as in, are they in Comp, are they playing QP, are they currently queuing, etc.)
Group Privacy Settings (Yeah, this is on PC, and it has been since launch. Why is something like this not on Console as well? Especially since I’ve known this was a possible thing to implement on Consoles for over 5 years)
Requiring permission to join group
Region Select (I know this is more difficult to implement, so asking for it might be too much; and I wouldn’t blame Blizzard for not wanting to implement this on Consoles. Believe it or not, this is indeed something that can be done though, as it is implemented in Paladins on the Consoles.)
The ability to hide the chat (the commands from the communication wheel, i.e. ult charge/acknowledge, do appear in the chat; this is what I’m referring to. It is its own control on PC, but it doesn’t even need to be a Control; it can be a thing just by making it a toggle option in say, the Social sub-menu in Options.)
Hold to Crossfade for Lucio, among others.
And yes, ‘already live on pc’ was also capitalized on purpose.
Other missing QOL options on Console
To name some examples for this:
The ability to play Console Overwatch in all of PC’s 13 playable languages without issues, regardless of where one’s copy of Overwatch was bought (half of those 13 languages will still cause Overwatch to play in English, despite the fact that the Consoles themselves already support these languages)
The ability to bind a control to Double-Tapping a button (For example, Double Tapping ‘Square’ (on a PS4 Controller) to bind the Interact control for Symmetra’s Teleporter. Think using C4 in CoD, where you can detonate it by double tapping your Reload Button (‘Square’ on PlayStation, or ‘X’ on Xbox). This was already a thing in the Retribution game mode with the Breaching Device. If your reticle was over the Breaching Device, then it would set the Breaching Device; if it wasn’t, then you’d reload. Why not restore that functionality?)
The ability to bind a control to activate from pressing multiple buttons at once (If I can help to explain what I’m saying, I’m referring to pressing a combination of buttons together to activate a Control. For example, pressing ‘Circle’ and ‘Triangle’ together on a PS4 Controller to activate the ‘Hello’ command from the Communication Wheel.)
Sliders for things like dead zones and magnetism, among others.
Lack of a way for Console Players to appeal in-game bans
Yeah, did you know that there’s no way for us Console Players to appeal in-game bans, no matter how wrongful said ban is? Before I go any further, so as to avoid any possible confusions with this, I am NOT referring to competitive bans, or Console-wide bans; I’m referring specifically to in-game bans, where you’re only banned from playing Overwatch, but you can play other online games on the network just fine. Just as another note, I see suspensions and bans as the same thing; temporary versus permanent are the only differences between the two. Now that those items out of the way, let me give you guys a sample scenario.
Assume that an account gets banned in-game for Overwatch on PS4. It’s not a competitive ban, or Console-wide ban; said account can still play other online games on PSN just fine without any issues. Said account wants to appeal their in-game ban for Overwatch: well, tough luck! That account has literally no way to appeal it, no matter how wrongful said ban is. If that account files a ticket with Blizzard attempting to appeal it, Blizzard will tell that person to go to Sony/Microsoft. If that account files a ticket with Sony/Microsoft attempting to appeal it, they will tell them to go to Blizzard, because they don’t handle in-game bans; only Console-wide bans. So who is in the wrong on this front as a result, given the example case noted above? It’s Blizzard that’s in the wrong here. Sony/Microsoft both let Developers manage their game how they want to, and they have no influence in things like in-game bans. However, Blizzard leaves their Console Players in the loop that nothing is being done for them on this issue.
Perfection is not being expected here, that’s simply too much. What IS being expected of this is just some transparency to your Console Players in your guys’ future plans for us. Is this too much to ask for?
Note to other Console Players:
Keep in mind that I did not mention anything about smurfs until this bit right here. I know that they are an even larger issue on Console than PC, don’t get me wrong. But this problem lies in the designs of the Consoles themselves, and as such it’s more or less out of the control of the Overwatch Development Team. However, there’s a lot more things that are IN the control of the Overwatch Development Team that they CAN address.
February 18th, 2018:
Thank you to Your Overwatch for giving the original thread some attention! I can’t stress how appreciated I am to you guys for it!
https://youtu.be/axr0OPjntec
Original threads:
The one made by Vidiot: Overwatch Forums
NOTE: I’m fully aware that Vidiot’s thread got a response from Jeff. The reason why I brought this issue up again is because hardly anything has changed since then. Especially even more so because of the lack of responses given to the Console Players of Overwatch from the Overwatch Dev Team.
The one made by Eternity (a.k.a me): Overwatch Forums
----------[Original Post Below.]----------
DISCLAIMER: Just to start, I apologize if this seems like the wrong way to go about this. Considering how long we on Console have been effectively shafted though, this was the best option I could think of. Please also note that this opening post is not intended as a means to attack Blizzard or anybody who works at Blizzard. The intent of this thread is to try and raise some awareness to Blizzard of the issues that Console Players are facing and to give Console Players a voice on said issues.
[Warning: Wall of text incoming.]
If it was planned, from day one, to release Overwatch on both PC and Console, then why are the concerns of the Console player base not being addressed, or at the very least, acknowledged? We had no choice but to buy the game for $60 (we didn’t have an option of being able to buy the game for just $40 like PC does). This means that we are having to spend more just to be able to even get the game to begin with.
Furthermore, we not only had to wait 15 months for a report system, but said system is super abusable. If you guys on PC think that the report system and automated bans is rough, allow me to enlighten you: it’s even WORSE on Console. If we file a ticket with Blizzard as a result of a ban in-game on Console, we will be told that the Consoles have separate systems that Blizzard can’t access, and will thus be told to file a ticket with Microsoft/Sony. If we file a ticket with Microsoft/Sony, they state that they don’t handle in-game bans, only gamer-tag bans. This means that neither party knows anything with regards to Console in-game bans. Why are we being told to file a ticket with Microsoft or Sony, even though they’ve already stated that they do NOT handle in-game bans? Something has to be known from this so we can at least HAVE a chance to be able to appeal our in-game bans. There was a thread made by someone who plays on Console who has had to deal with this very thing.
NOTE: Figured I should clarify this as well, but ban and suspension are one and the same in terms of their context in the above paragraph (despite me not mentioning suspension). I’m clarifying this because suspension is literally a ban; the only difference is that a suspension is only temporary rather than permanent in this sense. Mentioning this just to clear up possible confusions with regards to this.
Then, there’s the 25+ things that we on Console lack (some of which are already on the PC version), and the extreme most part of those things which can quite easily be implemented. If all feedback is welcome, then why is our feedback not being addressed, much less acknowledged? Why are threads asking about when new cosmetics are coming being addressed, but not our consolidated feedback thread with regards to Console issues? A thread by the way, that has been going strong for 8 months and counting. If elaboration on this is further needed, then I direct you to this thread here:
Most of the items in the OP of the above thread and why they should be done for Console Players
Items that are already live on PC:
- FOV slider
- In-game text chat
- Need permission to join group
- Group privacy settings like public or friends or invite only
- Showing what mode your friends are playing in the friends list
- Region Select¹
- Hide chat²
- Hold to Crossfade for Lucio
Items that other similar-genre games on Console have been able to implement:
- Bind a control to activate from pressing multiple buttons at a time
- Sliders for things like dead zones and magnetism
- The ability to change the spoken language without changing the text language³
- Be able to bind a control to holding or hitting a button twice
Items which can be implemented to improve the overall Quality of Life in-game on Consoles:
- Additional seperate hero balancing from PC
- Custom bindable text chat messages
- Be able to increase and decrease your sensitivity more
- Multiple pages of the communication wheel, and more commands.
- “Come in voice chat” in the communication wheel
- The ability to disable the “Are you with us?” cinematic
- Customizable communication wheel
Other items which can improve Quality of Life for Console Overwatch Players outsite of the game:
- Share cosmetics between linked PC and console accounts
- Be able to use the PC PTR, if we link our blizzard account⁴
- Our own section on the forums
- The ability for Console bans to be moderated and reviewed by devs
Notes:
¹Please note that I am acknowledging that this item is more difficult to implement. However, the Consoles are not region locked, and Paladins has this feature in on Consoles as well. So yeah; though I won’t say it’s easy to implement, I will say that it can be implemented on Consoles
²This shouldn’t even have to be a Control to be implemented; it could be removed from the Controls area of Options, and moved over to a different submenu in Options; like Video, Sound, or Social, and then be made a toggle-able option. The only things that are seen in chat on Consoles are the commands from the Communication Wheel; and we already hear those as is.
³There are 13 languages that PC-Overwatch supports. How many of those 13 languages work on the Consoles without issues? 6; English, both types of Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Japanese (for PS4) or German (for XB1; though don’t quote me on this one). The other 7 will still cause Console Overwatch to play in English; please note that the Consoles themselves already support all 13 of PC Overwatch’s Languages as is. The other 7 would be Korean, both types of Chinese, Italian, Polish, Russian, and Japanese (for XB1; again though, don’t quote me on this one).
⁴Any way that would allow Console Players use a form of PTR would suffice, this is but one option. Yes, I could state simply putting PTR on Consoles; they can certainly do that as well. If you’d like to see the elaboration of this, see the first details section in this post.
Simple little standard things like this really press home the second class citizen vibe that we console players receive. With all this said, can we at least get an update on when our current issues will be addressed please? We don’t want our player-base to fade away completely because our feedback is not being listened to. The game started out very strong with the platform support, but now it feels like it just got dropped. I’m simply asking that we actually GET the value of the money that we spent on the game.
If you read all the way up to this point, then you have no idea how much I appreciate this, because it shows that you really do care.
Just to reiterate this again: I do apologize if this is the wrong way to go about this. We on Console have been shafted for too long now, and this was simply the best option I could think of to give our concerns.
Original thread: was formerly capped, went in 35 pages, had 370 upvotes, and lasted 3 months…
This thread: 400 likes on the OP; 25,000 views; and 9.5 months later…
Overall: 1 year later…
Threads with no response yet, and have not yet been implemented into the game:
Well, most of the items in this thread:
Threads with known responses, but either have not yet been implemented, or not known to be implemented into the game:
- Error 404: Threads not found (none as of right now)
Suggestions that got known dev responses, or items that have been implemented into Console Overwatch since the creation of the original thread:
- Rayshalum: HOLD to crouch/crouch not restricted to just toggle, implemented on January 9th, 2018
- Haezurath: Ally aim assist for Ana, implemented on January 9th, 2018
- Communication Wheel bindings, implemented on January 9th, 2018
- SleepyBear: Xbox One X Graphics Updates (4K Support), Implemented on January 30th, 2018
- Push to Talk Control Option, implemented on March 20th, 2018; the ability to change Voice Chat Modes for this was implemented on April 10th, 2018
- Toggle UI Control, implemented on March 20th, 2018
- Improvements to Aim Assist: implemented on September 11th, 2018
Other bits (regardless of whether or not it’s gotten a dev response):
- A final verdict on Mouse/Keyboard users on Console (note that the dev response is to not report them for the time being; but there is no true verdict for this issue as of yet)
Noteworthy bits to keep in mind for this thread. If you're only going to post to state either of these, be prepared to be redirected to the appropriate posts:
The “It’s because of Sony/Microsoft” excuse won’t fly:
Don’t disparage this thread (note that discussion is fine. However, if you don’t care about wanting to help us Console Players get our concerns addressed, then you’d be better off not posting):
tl;dr: The issues that Console Players are facing that are addressable by the Overwatch Development Team are not being addressed. I’m not asking for a lot, just for some transparency from the Overwatch Development Team regarding said Console-specific issues. Console-specific threads aren’t getting responses from the Overwatch Development Team, no matter how well written they are; it’s time for that to change.
