Why do people seem to think Gamepads are better than KB+M?

[ngl42398]

This is an incredibly situational subject. On the subject of First Person Shooters, KB+M is objectively better. Objectively. There are also several genres which only work with KB+M. Have you ever tried playing a 4X game with a controller? Or a MOBA? Tell me how it goes.

However, keep in mind there are genres that are better on gamepad than controller. What specifically come to mind are Platformers(2D and 3D) and character-action/CUHRAZEE games. Fighting games, which do best on Arcade Sticks, are infinitely better than KB+M on controllers.

It really is dependent on the genre. But FPS games are objectively better on KB+M than controllers. Anyone who argues this is objectively wrong. I actually would love to see a Highlander TF2 match with 1 team on KB+M against 1 team on gamepads and watch how fucking stomped the gamepad team would get.

 

[bartholen_v1legacy]

Because for some types of games they are better (action games like Devil May Cry, God of War and the like, fighting games, racing games etc.), just like KB+M is better for some types of games (shooters, RPGs, strategy games etc.)

 

[DementedSheep]

What is broadly better isn't going to matter much to most. It's what they are are use to and is better for the games and style they like to play in. Some types of games are better with a controller and even for some genres that aren't but are still playable with one like FPS using a controller is more relaxed and using Kb & M only matters in a competitive scene.

 

[Aesir23]

For me, I have a massive preference for Gamepads but it also depends on the game. For an RTS or some RPG games I prefer to use keyboards but for almost everything else I prefer gamepads. I think it's because I've been gaming on a console since I was but a wee lass but I find keyboards to be just too unwieldy when it comes to playing many of the genres I prefer or I just find the movement of a character more visually appealing on a controller. Yes, that's silly but it's also the reason I prefer analogue sticks for movement as opposed to using the directional buttons.

All in all, it's just a bunch of little preferences that will change what a person will choose to use. Some might view something as inherently "better" and maybe, objectively, it is but it doesn't mean much if that isn't what another person prefers to use.

 

[DanielBrown]

I've often felt third person-camera games are awkward with a keyboard. Dark Souls, Sleeping Dogs, Kingdom of Amalur were all awful to play. Managed to learn with Dark souls, but it was still better with gamepad.
First person games however are definetly superior with keyboard and mouse since you often need good precision.

 

[ivarsa15]

I use both. Some games are just better suited for gamepads and others are better suited for kbm.

 

[TrevHead]

I play with all controller types and every controller is valid as long as the game is designed well and is a good fit. I find it quite sad that there are big swathes of the gaming community out there who play all their games on KB&M or pad and won't put in the effort to learn other control types even if it will enhance their gaming experience in the long run.

IE playing Dark Souls or DMC with M&K or avoiding modern racing games because they use analog accell / braking. Or pad users tying to compete in MP PC FPS and not been able to win a match.

 

[Mad World]

Doesn't matter to the controller user. The keyboard is just too foreign a thing to use to get used to using it for PC is all there is to it. I grew up on controllers, from the NES to The Duke and beyond.

You could get used to it. I also grew up on controllers.

 

[Artaneius]

I find it more hilarious how people still claim that controllers are equal to or better than m/kb. Just watch these two videos that absolutely proves that players with m/kb have a HUGE advantage over players that use controllers. It's two Quake Live matches that proves without a shadow of a doubt that controllers can't keep up with players who use m/kb. The second video is so brutal with the constant humiliations... makes my pc elitism on the inside cry out with pride.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJN1VvfHO4M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DF5hqdc510g

I'm sorry, but this is definitive proof by using the most skilled FPS in shooter history that controllers are garbage compared to M/KB. Except for platformers and Fighters.

 

[Mir Teiwaz]

I find it more hilarious how people still claim that controllers are equal to or better than m/kb. Just watch these two videos that absolutely proves that players with m/kb have a HUGE advantage over players that use controllers. It's two Quake Live matches that proves without a shadow of a doubt that controllers can't keep up with players who use m/kb. The second video is so brutal with the constant humiliations... makes my pc elitism on the inside cry out with pride.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJN1VvfHO4M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DF5hqdc510g

I'm sorry, but this is definitive proof by using the most skilled FPS in shooter history that controllers are garbage compared to M/KB. Except for platformers and Fighters.

Now show me an example that doesn't involve a first person shooter or RTS.

 

[Artaneius]

I find it more hilarious how people still claim that controllers are equal to or better than m/kb. Just watch these two videos that absolutely proves that players with m/kb have a HUGE advantage over players that use controllers. It's two Quake Live matches that proves without a shadow of a doubt that controllers can't keep up with players who use m/kb. The second video is so brutal with the constant humiliations... makes my pc elitism on the inside cry out with pride.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJN1VvfHO4M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DF5hqdc510g

I'm sorry, but this is definitive proof by using the most skilled FPS in shooter history that controllers are garbage compared to M/KB. Except for platformers and Fighters.

Now show me an example that doesn't involve a first person shooter or RTS.

I already said that controllers are better for platformers and fighting games at the end of the reply mate. And that's all they are better at, unless you include sports games. Every other genre it's a pure fact that you can do much more with a m/kb. Whether the person cares if they can or not is up to them. For me, I'm going with what gives me the most advantage for the win.

 

[sabercrusader]

I don't know, I just prefer a controller. Started with console gaming when I was 5, now I'm 19, and I'm still a big console gamer, little to none PC gaming really. I admit, KB+M is much better for shooters once you get used to it, and we won't talk about any real-time strategy games in terms of whether a controller or KB+M is better, but for the most part, I just prefer a controller.

It can probably be boiled down to simply whatever feels more comfortable. Doesn't really matter which one's "better", it's all about what you feel comfortable playing with.

 

[timeformime]

Having had rampant RSI issues for a couple of years, if there's a choice for a PC game, I usually choose a gamepad these days for comfort, even though I grew up playing on the computer. All of your shoulder muscles having to move your mouse around, and also having to hover above the keyboard and navigate all around that square area is something I rarely bother with anymore - a controller just forms to your hand (at least the 360 controller does) and is easier to passively use, just because you don't have to keep that spatial awareness of where your keyboard and mouse are in the back of your mind. You use your fingers for it, as oppose to your arms. Gamepads are definitely more "sit back and play" while k+m is "sit up and play."

I'd wager most people who want a comfortable play session who are comfortable already with a gamepad will use a gamepad. There is a significant breaking in period for PC gamers - it took me 2-3 years for gamepads to become completely second nature.

But as others have said, usually none of this matters because the genre dictates the input style. No one uses a keyboard for a fighting game, or a controller for Starcraft. It's not a coincidence that I didn't start to really like racing games until I built up controller proficiency through easier games. Thank you, Assassin's Creed series.

Edited because you all are right, this thread doesn't need another needless use of "objectively."

 

[Shadowstar38]

But FPS games are objectively better on KB+M than controllers. Anyone who argues this is objectively wrong.

So many people in this thread have no idea what "objectively" means.

It's very likely someone can put time and effort into learning both control schemes and end up having better performance on a controller.

 

[Shadowstar38]

FML. Double post.

 

[SmallHatLogan]

A mouse is technically better, but a keyboard gives you less freedom of movement (8 directions) than an analogue stick (360 degrees).

Mouse + flightstick, best of both worlds.

My ideal controller is a steering wheel with a trackball in the middle.

 

[Mudokon]

im a console gamer and pc gamer, there are games that are designed with gamepad in mind and others with keyboard and mouse, its easier to become a decent player with kb+m if you are playing an fps, rpg, mmo, strategy etc and easier with gamepad for platform, action, racing, fighting games. i prefer both kb+m and gamepad cause in the end it really depends on the genre im goin to play.

 

[elvor0]

Because kb and m controls are terrible. There akward and all over the place. Turning is a nightmare in fps's ,camera control sucks on a mouse and reticule combat on mmos is horrible on kb and m. Theres so many games that just play smoother on a controller and so many games that would play better on a controller that are forced to use kb and m cause there trapped on pc for some damn reason. Oh and all you "but kb and m are better on shooters" ppl can shut the hell up. No, no there not. Period.

hah hah-what? I'm all for opinions and whatnot but that was...the complete opposite of what KB+M is good for. If camera and turning in an FPS is "a nightmare" then you clearly just can't use it. Reticle targeting is a lot easier with a mouse, because it's essentially the same as selecting an icon on a desktop. You can do that right? I mean you navigated to this forum. On consoles you have to cycle through enemies, not useful in a raid situation.

The ENTIRE RTS, 4X and MOBA genres is better played with KB+M. That is not a matter up for debate, there is no way in hell you'd ever reach the capabilites of pro starcraft players with a pad. Ever. Even the matter of KB+M for shooters isn't, not really. I mean you may /prefer/ using a pad, which is fine, but the amount of fine and precise movement you get with a mouse over a stick isn't something debatable.

Especially not when the person making the argument can't use the thing he's making an argument against. Just to make it clear, almost all shooters on consoles have a slight to massive (Halo 3 I'm looking at you) degree of auto aim. If the pad was so SUPERIOR, why does it need crutches, exactly? If nothing else, explain that one.

That would be like me attempting to repair a car engine (my knowledge on which is tagental at best, by which I mean, I drive a car and I am aware the engine is there), with all the best tools for the job, failing, then telling all the experienced mechanics in the room that they're wrong, these tools are shit and they should shutup if they attempt to pick holes in my uninformed opinion. Nevermind the fact that I've clearly got no experience, couldn't fix that car with the best tools in the world and have next to no knowledge on the subject. No it's clearly the tools.

Normally this wouldn't bother me, but your post was so incredibly arrogant and ill informed that I felt to correct you, so that you can be better informed.

 

[andago]

Even the matter of KB+M for shooters isn't, not really. I mean you may /prefer/ using a pad, which is fine, but the amount of fine and precise movement you get with a mouse over a stick isn't something debatable.

Especially not when the person making the argument can't use the thing he's making an argument against. Just to make it clear, almost all shooters on consoles have a slight to massive (Halo 3 I'm looking at you) degree of auto aim. If the pad was so SUPERIOR, why does it need crutches, exactly? If nothing else, explain that one.

Just a wee point, for yourself and the guys throwing the word "objective" around, for me the superior control is the one i'm going to have the most fun using. For something like a MOBA where competitiveness is part of the fun of the game, then i'd say yeah, KB + M. For things like shooters, sometimes the pad is superior when i'm just playing to relax for completely subjective things such as comfort, which completely override for me whether or not i'm using auto aim or whether or not i'm netting headshots every round. When i was playing the new xcom, there were times i would hook it up to my tv and just sit back with a controller, and while the movement and action selections were less precise at those times the gamepad was still "superior".

As has often been said in other topics, the idea of one thing being objectively better than another in gaming just never exists. Better will always be the more enjoyable option, and that is always subject to taste, in my opinion. That's the beauty of gaming.