The best replacement for joystick is gamepad.

The best alternatives to joystick are rated as following:
★★★★★  gamepad
★★★  yoke
★★  mouse war thunder
★★  ball head
★★  mouse bf3
★  mouse world of warplanes
★  keyboard
★  hotas
★  analog stick
★  flight yoke
★  diablo
★  hero
★  yoke fsx
★  keyboard bf3
  d'pad
  wasd
  mouse battlefield 3
  whammy bar
  d pad
  keyboard mouse
  dpad
  mouse fps
  4 way

Your alternative for joystick is not listed? Suggest!
Speaking about joystick, one probably shouldn't forget about kerbal space program.

Other search terms related to joystick and their ratings are:
★★★★★ kerbal space program
★★★★ trackball
★★★ planetside 2
★★★ bf4
★★ classic arcade games
★★ rudder control
★ wow
★ world of warcraft
★ rudder
★ battlefield 2
★ doom 3
★ world of tanks
hawken
bf2
You have in mind a companion for joystick and it is not yet here? Propose!



Google Trends

Scale is based on the average worldwide traffic of joystick in all years. Click on graph for more.
joystick
gamepad
yoke