A feature modern consoles should have had by now

[Anayo]

I was hoping for this before the current generation was out in stores, but it never happened. Namely, I'm convinced modern consoles should have built-in USB ports that can take standard USB keyboards and mice. I've been thinking about this a lot since I've been playing a lot of Halo on my computer and I watched the review for Killzone 2.

[Flak Beard]

You can use a USB keyboard on the 360 to navigate the dashboard. Also, I played Half-Life and Red Faction 2 with a USB keyboard and mouse on my PS2.

Developers have the option, they just have to enable it in the game.

[thejamessea]

Errrrr... PS2, PS3, XBOX360, and Wii all have built in USB ports.

[Unleaded Logic]

Unreal Tournament 3 plays awesome on the PS3 when you attach the mouse and keyboard to it as well.

[Anayo]

Yikes, I sure feel silly. I didn't know this was so!

What games have the feature?

[vejita]

my roommate tried to connect his phone into the usb on his 360, but it wasn't compatible for some reason...

[MrPopo]

Generally I've seen that developers decide not to even put in functionality for mouse and keyboard in their FPS's. I think this is due to a couple of reasons:

1. The game console is usually in some kind of family room, with the TV a good distance away from the console. You would need to snake a USB cable across the floor, and it would require an extension. Wireless is an option, except I can't think of any wireless keyboards/mice that are wireless without an install of some kind of software (but please prove me wrong).

2. Leading off of point one, running a mouse and keyboard on a couch is less than ideal for an FPS. I do it because I've stopped playing multiplayer, but I still experience problems if I load up single player UT and play against the bots. You really need to have a nice desk to properly enjoy mouse and keyboard.

As a result, the demographic that would really use a mouse and keyboard effectively is the people who are using a PS3 in leu of a gaming PC, and thus are more likely to hook it up to a monitor and desk instead of the 50" plasma in the family room. And it will give them a very large advantage over their dual analog bretheren. So I think most developers see that it would be only a slightly used feature and will make the game less fun for most of the people who play. Thus, they leave it off (even though it should be trivial to include, most of the pain being the actual key binding GUI).

[RadarScope1]

Pretty sure the PS3 supports any mouse and keyboard. I know I've seen Bluetooth keyboards with a trackpad designed for the PS3, and bluetooth is not some proprietary Sony tech. Been surfing the Web just a bit on my PS3 recently, mostly the youtube.com/tv site and Hulu, and I've been thinking of picking one of these keyboards up.

As Popo said, it's up to the devs to choose whether or not to build in support for their games. I can see why most wouldn't bother.

[RCBH928]

how can you use them comfortably on a couch with screen far away?

[Unleaded Logic]

how can you use them comfortably on a couch with screen far away?

Its extremely hard to be comfortably, thats why most develoepers stay away from doing it on consoles.