As of this writing, the best value for this device is yet to come.  Xbox 360 owners will enjoy being able to reuse all types of Xbox 360 wireless controllers on their PC games, but there are two major hangups that will have to be corrected with time.

1) It has been reported this item does not work with Vista yet.  I can't comment on this.

2) The "Games for Windows" brand is just getting off the ground.  As this brand evolves, each game with this logo on the box will support this controller natively.  There won't be any need for mapping software.  That means, for old games... you'll have to find something to map the controller.

If you are interested in XNA, get this.  XNA (nutshell) is MSFT's platform for future game development, and it includes tools hobbyists can use to make games at home and play them on Windows or their Xbox 360.  That makes this item a must-have if you plan to join XNA Creators Club and deploy your games onto your Xbox 360.

Still, the potential of this is really yet to be realized.  XNA is in its fledgling state, even though to this point it has to be considered a success.  "Games for Windows" has just a couple of titles on the shelf as of this writing, but is intended to explode by the end of the year.  It might be that if you're willing to pony up for the Xbox 360 Wireless Headset and Racing Wheel, you may get more value out of this and you can use those items on your PC.

When I compared buying a wired controller versus buying this (I already had two wireless controllers), this is obviously the better value.  Just consider the facts above, and look at how things have changed since this writing, and decide for yourself.
As of this writing, the best value for this device is yet to come. Xbox 360 owners will enjoy being able to reuse all types of Xbox 360 wireless controllers on their PC games, but there are two major hangups that will have to be corrected with time. 1) It has been reported this item does not work with Vista yet. I can't comment on this. 2) The "Games for Windows" brand is just getting off the ground. As this brand evolves, each game with this logo on the box will support this controller natively. There won't be any need for mapping software. That means, for old games... you'll have to find something to map the controller. If you are interested in XNA, get this. XNA (nutshell) is MSFT's platform for future game development, and it includes tools hobbyists can use to make games at home and play them on Windows or their Xbox 360. That makes this item a must-have if you plan to join XNA Creators Club and deploy your games onto your Xbox 360. Still, the potential of this is really yet to be realized. XNA is in its fledgling state, even though to this point it has to be considered a success. "Games for Windows" has just a couple of titles on the shelf as of this writing, but is intended to explode by the end of the year. It might be that if you're willing to pony up for the Xbox 360 Wireless Headset and Racing Wheel, you may get more value out of this and you can use those items on your PC. When I compared buying a wired controller versus buying this (I already had two wireless controllers), this is obviously the better value. Just consider the facts above, and look at how things have changed since this writing, and decide for yourself.