yeah, yall are right about the analog stick/joystick age

i was more referring to general mainstream console controllers. the traditional progression has been directional pad => analog stick => pointing mechanism.

What gaming joystick came out in 73? I was a kid then and we were one of the few first to get the early game machines in OHIO. I don't remember one with a joystick until about 1976.

The early joysticks were not analog based. Trust me on this, I played with them then and STILL have some in my basement. They were on/off switches. The early ones were even only 4-ways. Not even the colleco had an analog stick (one I still have).

I don't remember analog sticks coming out for arcade machines until the mid-80s. They didn't hit the console/pc market till the 90s.

Mice prior to the macs were usually "joystick emulation" based. I had one on my VIC20 and it was pretty crappy. Even the later ones were crappy. Not until the early 90s did they truely become a dedicated device.

Actually Im pretty sure it would be quite even. If you have been playing on the computer for along time odds are that your use to the mouse, same goes for someone on a game system. So it shouldn't matter.