That would be one of these babies:


Combined with one of these:

I hear good things of the XBOX pad in vista?
http://www.ehow.com/how_2030651_us [...] oller.html

I've got one of the 360 controllers (wired, alas) and am using it on XP. It is the best controller I've ever had for the PC;

Feels sturdy
No annoying dimples that mark your thumbs after a while
Long cable

I have a Saitek cyborg FPS rumble pad... It's pretty good so far, very sturdy.. the only thing I don't like about it is the cord, which isn't THAT bad seeing I don't sit waaaay back from my computer to play anyways... maybe if I had a large widescreen...

My friend came over last weekend to LAN and we went out to a store where he ended up buying a x360 wireless gamepad for his PC. I was suprised at how many games he fired up and it worked without him touching a thing... was pretty impressed by that...

they both aren't bad options. The thing I like about the cyborg is that you can flip the positions of the analog and joystick for the left thumb... very usefull for different games... as well for games that don't support gamepad's (let alone the x360 one) the Saitek Cyborg can be programmed to act as a keyboard and you can use it in any game for anything... pretty neat little feature...

EDIT: Sorry forgot to include link http://www.saitek.com/uk/prod/p3600v2.htm

I rarely use a gamepad for my PC, but when I do I just plug in a Dual Shock 3 via a usb cable and it works great. I've heard good things about the Xbox360 controller, but you have to buy an adapter to use the wireless ones, and that's all I own.

xbox360 controller is awesome - great for sports games as you mention. i also use it for racing games and MAME32. i had an xbox already so i just bought the $20 usb receiver so i can use my wireless controllers on it - works great.