joysticks are better suited for certain things. especially driving, flying, steering.
whatever floats someone's boat. if they like it that's fine. i still remember around 95-97, there were still as many joystick users as mouse users with each side as vocal as the other.
unlike now, everything was cyclical. at that time, flight sims absolutely dominated PC gaming. then RTS's had their day, then FPS's, then RTS's again, etc.