Gamecontrollers, D-PADs and Wells?

[krille]

Heya!

For my new build I'm going to get the Microsoft Xbox 360 Controller in order to play all those console ports made for game controllers as I've heard it's the best PC gamepad available. In fact, I'm getting the wired version because I don't really trust/can't be bothered with wireless stuff at this point for a few reasons.

My first quesiton is simple. I'm not sure how good the 360 controller is for older games (like NES/SNES/SEGA/etc roms, PS1 and PS2 ports/roms, last-gen games, etc) as the layout is quite different from the older Nintendo SNES and Playstation layouts (the 360 D-PAD is in a weird position). Moreover I've heard the D-PAD of the 360 is terrible, a real pain to use and older games (ROMs especially!) rely on the D-PAD all the time! Thus, maybe getting a secondary controller with PS-style layout and a better D-PAD could be good. So, I would like suggestions on a PC gamepad with a really good D-PAD.

Btw, do you think there will be any use for rumble functionality on this one? (Obviously not for SNES games, but maybe if I manage to get some PS1/PS2 roms running. And there are a few ports too like the RE and Silent Hills series.)

While getting an actual DualShock controller + PS-to-USB converter may be best, it's seems a bit on the expensive side. So I'm looking for a native PC gamepad, the following seem widespread around here:
a) Logitech Rumblepad 2
b) Saitek P380, P480 and P580 (they appear to be the same, except P380 lacks rumble though and is the cheapest)
c) Saitek P990 and P2600 (They should be newer and fancier than the above Saiteks, but they look really ugly with all the "leet" LEDs - sorta like Razer mice - and the question is do they actually bring anything new to the table? Otherwise they appear to be the same, except that the P2600 comes with rumble.)
d) Speed-Link Strike2 : Round welled (see below)! Don't know anything about Speed-Link though, so the quality could be terrible, I don't know.
e) Logitech Precision Very cute! If the buttons are good (and not hard and stiff) it could be excellent for emulators. However, it lacks analog sticks. Essentially a copy of the original PlayStation controller (Cheap, so quality is probably cheap too, but if the D-PAD is good...)
f) ThrustMaster Dual Trigger 3-in-1 Rumble Force Round welled (see below)! Don't really know much about ThrustMaster either.
g) Stick with the 360 controller for everything (newer and older games and roms alike). If the D-PAD on this one is really bad, perhaps one of the Analog Sticks can be used instead (for older games and emulators)?

What do you think?


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Now for where things get weird (but interesting)!

The Mystery of the Analog Sticks
The analog sticks on most console controllers have a round (circular) well (without any corners). However, most modern PC gamepads have "square welled" analog sticks (with slightly rounded corners).

For example, Saitek's latest Cyborg Rumble Pad and Logitech's Rumblepad 2 PC gamepads both have these square welled analog sticks, as seen in these pictures:
http://z.about.com/d/compactiongames/1/0/I/A/1/gp1.jpg
http://z.about.com/d/compactiongames/1/0/J/A/1/gp2.jpg
Most other Saitek and Logitech controllers are "square welled" as well, with the notable exception of the Logitech Chillstream (for PC).

Essentially all console controllers have round welled analog sticks, including the 360 Controller and all the official PlayStation controllers:
http://news.cnet.com/i/ne/p/2005/101...ller550x50.jpg
http://uk.gizmodo.com/dualshock%203.jpg (DualShock 3)
http://www.scubb.com/images/products...ntroller-1.jpg (Sixaxis)


What's up with this? Why not just agree on one unified standard (for some reason DirectX comes to mind) for both PC gamepads and console controllers? Logically, most computer games are developed for the Mouse + Keyboard combo, while all console games and ports should be made with either a round welled controller in mind. Thus most games intended to be played using a gamepad should realistically be made with round-welled analog sticks in mind. So what, if any, is the purpose of all these square welled PC gamepads that are flooding the market? Do they serve any purpose/function/benefits at all?

Anyone?

edit: After reading this thread:
http://www.pinnaclegameprofiler.com/...a01c9495684190
And maybe most importantly, this post in another thread: http://www.pinnaclegameprofiler.com/...?p=10428#10428

It appears that having both a round-welled 360 controller and a square-welled either Logitech Rumblepad 2 or some Saitek may be the best compromise. For those games where all values (x,y) from (0,0) to (65535, 65535) need to be accessible (probably older games if any), a square-welled control may be better. Or does the round-welled 360 controllers compensate for it's round-welled-ness and indeed report a "full" bottom-right push as (65535, 65535)? Anyone know/have any ideas?