In the first person shooter genre, there have been a number of feuds, but one of the most contentious has to be the battle between keyboard and mouse users versus gamepad users. For the most part, the two groups have had little cross-over; gamepad users play mainly console-based shooters, while keyboard and mouse users favor PC gaming.

There have been some minor skirmishes when the two classes have been able to play online. Because the Dreamcast had its own keyboard and mouse controller available, gamers on that platform could match up online against gamepad players in Quake III Arena. PC users could also hook into the Dreamcast servers, but really, the disadvantages of the console platform made the battlefield uneven. PC gamers on the original Halo could configure a PC gamepad, but lack of standardization again made comparisons somewhat ineffective.

However, when Halo 2 for Windows Vista and its integrated Xbox 360 gamepad support is released, gamers will be able to take on their console brethren over Xbox Live to try and prove which controller will lead to ultimate dominance. In a preview of this battle, Bungie’s latest Humpday event had members of the Halo 2 Vista development team put their mouse and keyboard skills up against the Bungie Community Team’s gamepad talents. Of course, the Bungie Community Team swept all three rounds, and most weren’t very close. While disparities in overall skill levels make this hardly a scientific test, it seems clear that the gamepad isn’t the handicap that mouse and keyboard gamers would have you believe.