Originally Posted by Magnum50

NP, I thought it kinda funny, the diehards defending the mouse... I was that way 1 month ago, really... I was being sarcastic in my response, came out wrong.

Hm, are you being sarcastic here too? Seriously, I can't tell. I'll just reply assuming that you aren't. If you are, disregard my reply.

Why do you label those who think the mouse and keyboard is more optimal than a gamepad for first person shooters 'diehards'? A diehard, as I understand it, is someone to stubbornly clings to apparently hopeless or outdated causes or ideas. You even seem to understand it this way when you say, "I was that way 1 month ago," implying that you now clearly see that the mouse and keyboard are inferior input devices for first person shooters and that anyone but a diehard should also clearly see this. But, that doesn't seem to be the case with people who think the mouse and keyboard gives one more precise control in a first person shooter. In what sense is the mouse, as an input device for a first person shooter, hopeless or outdated? Are developers going to stop making first person shooters for the PC in the near future? There aren't any diehards here, because the mouse/keyboard input device for first person shooters isn't a hopeless or outdated idea.

In your other thread, you basically compared the in game performance (kills, number of shots, etc...) between the console version and the PC version. Since you did better in terms of kills in the console version, you seemed to conclude that the gamepad was superior. Afterall, more kills must mean better control over your in game character right?

But, I think those that have responded to that thread already pointed out that console games give you a handicap in terms of registering hits. At least, there's reason to find out if the software is programmed to give you a handicap when you're using a gamepad. An interesting question is whether the PC version gives you a handicap when it detects that you're using a gamepad. But you gave us evidence that it does when you said that you would register hits while playing with the gamepad so long as your target was in the general circle, where the mouse would only register hits when the center dot of the general circle was on the target. That's evidence that the software is giving you a handicap when you're using a gamepad.

But, here's an analogy if the software does give a handicap to gamepad users:

Kobe Bryant makes about 83% of his free throws during NBA games. The diameter of the rim is 18". Now, suppose I can make 95% of my free throws on a 30" rim. Does that mean I'm a better free throw shooter than Kobe? Does it mean that I have better shooting mechanics, and better control over the ball than Kobe? No. I've got a handicap. I'm shooting at a larger target, which gives me a lot more leeway for mistakes than the target Kobe is shooting at. But, your conclusion, if we reason parallel to yours in the other post would be that I am better. I perform better than Kobe. I think it's clear in the basketball case that my shooting a higher percentage than Kobe isn't any indication that I perform better than kobe.

So, while doing better in the console version statistically doesn't show that the mouse and keyboard is superior, it certainly doesn't show that the gamepad is superior. I think, however, if there is a handicap on console vertions and not PC versions, it lends evidence to the thought that the mouse and keyboard is a superior input device for first person shooters, in terms of control, over the gamepad.