As far as the D-Pad thing goes, this is really just a quibble. The D-pad on the DualShock 2 is worse, simply because the buttons aren't connected on the surface, meaning that you tear your fingers up trying to do diagonal moves in fighting games. (At least, I do.) The Xbox controller (it needs a name) doesn't have this problem, from what I can tell. I only notice the fluttery sensitivity when I'm trying to enter my initials on keypad interfaces, so it's not a gamebreaker or anything.
As far as the black and white buttons go, I just looked at a close-up picture of the Controller S, and I can't say that I really think they did that great of a job in relocating them - now it looks like I'd have to readjust my grip downward to compensate for the buttons being so low! I'll hopefully be able to try this sucker out before I buy it.
As far as the buttons go, I suppose this is a symptom of button-mashing. I hit buttons hard, which isn't good in any situation, but the oval shape of the Xbox buttons really starts to dig in, limiting me to 2-3 hours of play at a time. Not that that's a problem (always something better to do), but it does hurt after a while.
Edit: I really need to think up a better way to start a paragraph.
www.matthewrorie.com
This comment was edited on Jun 2, 23:54.