Next you get asked that, silently eye the person up and down for a couple seconds in a very obvious manner, lick your lips and say: "We hunt."

A controller isn't that bad if you're on the road either. Unless you're using a trackpad on the laptop, a mouse always needs some space and a flat underground, while you can just hold the controller in hand wherever you sit. Just saying, of course it isn't a viable alternative for working but for games - depending on the genre - it can be more comfortable than mouse and keyboard. Before I caved in and bought a controller, I was like you, not able to understand what all the fuss was about and thinking controllers were rather unnecessary and useless on the PC, but it turns out I really like mine now. Sometimes you just can't relate to something because you never tried it yourself. Of course, other times, I try things and find out they're not for me and exactly what I thought they were. ;)

There's nothing more entertaining than watching someone try to type a search query into Google using a gamepad from their couch. Seriously, I wish I took video of it! Of course that was a friend doing it on an Xbox or Playpotato, but it was stunningly amazing to witness. I could probably type better using the buttons on the side of my mouse but hey... :)

No roaches up here. NOT ONE! No shit! 8 million kinds of beetles and spiders but not one single roach.

I'm reminded of this old gem, which now seems quaint in the touch screen era:

http://www.theonion.com/video/apple-introduces-revolutionary-new-laptop-with-no--14299

I will always play and use keyboard + mouse by default. However due to problems with the nerves in my neck, my hands cannot type as much as I use to, it causes lots of pain and generally makes computer use a pain every now and again, so this kind of thing is quite a good idea.

Controllers are comfortable and would be good for people with problems.

Well then, substitute for beetles and spiders, make a northern variation of the dish.

That doesn't cover it.

Did that ever actually get released?

Anyway your post reminds me of perhaps the most infamous breakthrough in game control.

BEHOLD!

I'm writing this sitting on the couch, using a wireless keyboard and mouse just fine. :)

I can understand mimicking a mouse with a gamepad (hey, laptops have had those small clitoris-like thumbsticks for decades I thing, basically the same thing), but how does the gamepad mimic a keyboard? Some kind of virtual keyboard on the screen, where you click on the keys with the mouse pointer controlled with the thumbstick? Or something like that? EDIT: Ok, so some kind of "keyboard spiral"? A bit like in that fake Onion News Apple Wheel device?

I don't see myself caring much for that feature (the wireless keyboard sits just nicely on my lap, and the mouse I'm moving against the couch), but apparently some do. All the power to them.

I have this for years and even played some Worms Armageddon and point'n'click adventures with it via beamer and couch. It definitely has more functions than a gamepad, is smaller and the battery doesn't seem to fail me ever.

It's a virtual keyboard wheel (more of a spiral) that allows you to use one thumbstick to scroll through the letters, then hit a button to press that "key". It's not all that different from what is already available on consoles.

Hey, that's the same one I have! It's actually manufactured under multiple names from multiple companies, but they are all the same cheap (but effective) Chinese product.

As in Beyond Good and Evil?