Your ideal gaming controller?

[Blackbeard]

I was tempted to include the option "All of them", but have the sneaking suspicion that in the next generation of Console/PC hybrids, all of those control methods (and more) will be available, creating much confusion and expense for the consumer.
Also, I would urge you not to choose what your accustomed to, but how you would really want gaming to fit in with your lifestyle. eg: Your New Year's resolution might've been to get fit, so being able to play games/browse the net while jogging on the spot is a dream come true - or maybe you would love to be able to play Shogun 2 etc. on a Touchscreen while curled up in bed.
Who knows? You decide.

[Codemaster]

If I compare the options I must confess that I would prefer keyboard/mouse for some reasons which might get obvious comaring with other controllers:

• Playing ego-shooter games with a joypad is terrible in my opinion. Using a mouse makes it more easy to aim more precisely in a shorter time. I tried playing Halo a few times... but I failed, although I must confess it takes some to get used to.
• Motion controls make me move... to much sporting activity
• Touchscreen: Current consoles like the Nintendo DS and the Wii (U) do not offer me the games I would like to play. They are too casual! But I see an advantage in exactly these games... playing Age of Empires with Touchscreen would be not the true thing!

Hope that's enough for now.

[Feud]

In general, keyboard and mouse.

But, if I were to narrow the focus to what I like the most, joystick.

[Xocrates]

I doubt there could ever be an "ideal" controller, but the best one is keyboard + mouse out of sheer versatility.

That said, I do keep a controller at hand.

[bert_the_turtle]

so being able to play games/browse the net while jogging on the spot is a dream come true

I did that for a while, but now my wife says it confuses the baby

For standard game-games, the 'traditional' dual analog stick controller is my favourite. It's versatile yet easy to use, game-specific layouts are limited to the available buttons so you don't have to hunt for stray keys on the keyboard. If there is one thing that needs improvement is that there's one set too many shoulder buttons and the stick buttons need to die. YES THAT'S ONE THING. Too many buttons.

Everything else is for special needs. Wiimote or mouse if 'aiming' is to be a main verb in the game, keyboard if you really need that many buttons, Kinect if the player's movement is supposed to be the main part of the fun.

[Cooper42]

Keyboard + Mouse

Controller only if it's really necessary.

In games such as GTA or Saints Row where analogue for driving would be nice, but aiming is important too I plump for Keyboard and Mouse.

One day there'll be a usable interface that provides analogue WASD...

[Phelanpt]

Voted for mouse and keyboard, but I also loved the slim Sega Saturn joypad.

[prozak]

I use the OCZ nia and the good old mouse/keyboard.

[Keio]

I voted "Other"

Because I really think the best controller is the one you can hold separetly in both hands. (So one part for each hand)
I think the only controller that does this is the wii remote. But it is really good.

Then, of course, you could add many more buttons, the important part is that you don't have to hold your hands together!

Oh.. and I think a Little, ocasional, motion control like juste shaking the remote is OK. But exessive motion control is crap.
As for shooting games I really think the wii mote is a good alternative to the mouse. (that's basically the only good use of motion detection).

[xyzyxx]

Mouse and keyboard all the way for FPS games. I can't stand that dual-analog configuration on gamepads. Keyboard and mouse is also good for a game like The Binding of Isaac or Spiral Knights, where it's a top-down perspective and you use the mouse to aim.

For everything else, I prefer to stick with the joypad, especially sidescrolling platformers.

[bert_the_turtle]

Because I really think the best controller is the one you can hold separetly in both hands. (So one part for each hand)
I think the only controller that does this is the wii remote. But it is really good.

Well, the Move does that, too. It's my favorite bit of the Wii control setup, actually; its symmetric layout also makes it possible to swap hands. Go lefties! There's one problem, though: only A, B and dpad-down can be accessed easily, for the rest of its buttons, you need to seriously twist your hand. And since most game developers think that they have to use every button available...

[shinygerbil]

There is no "one true control setup". Different games have different requirements. Kb/mouse for fps/rts/etc, twin sticks for, say, twin stick shooters etc...and touch screens and motion controls both allow for entirely new types of game, so they're all good.

I don't even know where to put my vote!

I bought a £60 arcade stick for fighting games, and it was totally worth it.

[trickser]

Light-Pen comes to my mind, but disqualifies for being SciFi.

[Blackbeard]

Light-Pen comes to my mind, but disqualifies for being SciFi.

Ugh! waa?

I voted for Joypad, because it's the only controller I know that allows me to sit on a couch and make as little movement as possible (what can I say? I'm a lazy git). Also, I believe, it's possible to play and enjoy nearly all genre of games on a Joypad (yes, even top down RTS).

Touchscreen comes a close second, but I tend to get shoulder ache using my tablet for extended periods (from constantly leaning forward to peer into the small-ish screen), and it doesn't seem suited to all types of games (a tablet with a larger screen, and physical analogue controller would possibly remedy all that of course).

I feel a bit like a minotaur out of water here, but I've never really warmed to Keyboard and Mouse, even for everyday computing tasks. But to paraphrase Winston Churchill "It's the worst solution to the problem, apart from all the other solutions".

I hope to be able to use controller-less motion controls in the future (for when arthritis turns my fingers into talons), as long as they don't try and force me into keeping fit, or waving my arms around like a lunatic.

[RMJ1984]

I prefer Keyboard and Mouse, but ofc the advantage of the mighty PC platform, is free choice, you can use whatever you want. all at once. thats FREEDOM!