Tried everything suggested on here but can't get it to work. I press the ` button and nothing happens. The game seems great - I love the art and atmosphere - but I don't have time to add a grindy and excessively difficult pc game to my busy work/family schedule.

Is there some other workaround not mentioned on here? I have an old Asus laptop running Vista.

Would buying a cheap usb keyboard be worth a try?

I use a laptop, and a key to open the console for me is ¸ (it looks like that tail the French use under the letter c) and not ~ (=tilde), located on the left key from number 1, above the tabulator key and under the Escape key, but I use slovenian keyboard

Maybe KeyTweak could help you - you can use this application to remap your keyboard. As far as a USB keyboard goes, I have tried that with my Logitech wireless USB keyboard (plugged in to my Asus N53S notebook) and the console works.

Thanks. I tried KeyTweak already but I it just maps ` to another key. I couldn't find a way to get ~ without pressing the shift key (which doesnt work in the game)

I could buy a USB keyboard but all of them also have the ~ key as a second function to the ` key. I wonder if I might run into the same problem?

Well, it's not important what you have to press to type "~" (in Word, for example). If I want to type "~" in Word I have to switch from Czech to English keyboard layout, press Shift and "~" first and then one more key for the "~" glyph to be displayed. And both my Asus notebook keyboard and my Logitech USB keyboard display four various glyphs (~, `, °;) on the "~" key. But in the game, I just have to press the "~" key (without Shift or switching to another keyboard layout) and the console works - a small ">" displays below my character's portrait in the top left corner. Also, the Shift + "~" combination works for me in the game as well.

To sum it up, while I can't guarantee that a USB keyboard will solve your troubles I don't think that it matters if it has the "~" key as a second function. Of course, the least expensive solution would be to borrow a USB keyboard from a friend/work/school/neighbour - just in case.