I'm bringing back this topic with few questions. New DX SDK comes with XBox controller support and similar. I was wondering, what is the real adventage of providing support for XBox controllers? If they are plugged in to PC, can't they be accessed through regular DirectInput interface? Finally, what is advantage of getting XBox controller for PC instead of a third-party gamepad? I mean, I have a gamepad which I got for about $20 (12 buttons, two joysticks, 2-way force feedback, one arrow-pad and some misc buttons) and it looks more advanced than XBox gamepad.

Clootie, you know anything about this?