Time to hook up a controller?

[ViRAliC]

Vague thread names aside, I would like to ask the community a question:

I have been playing the Dolphin emulator for a few good months now, and had lots of fun doing it. It was only recently (I don't know how i missed this for so long) that one can in fact connect a XBOX360 controller to the computer and use it for Dolphin-gaming.

The newest gaming project is Xenoblade which (great game that it is) is not done justice on a keyboard.

The problem is that i do not in fact OWN an XBOX360 controller, and am for that reason considering purchasing one.

I just want your advice, is this worth it? Will a comfortable controller work fluently for Dolphin? Is it really worth paying retail price for an XBOX360 controller with exclusivity for Dolphin?

Or should I just grin and bear it with the keyboard?

Thanks for any advice