gamepad: directinput vs. xinput

[VJ]

Hello,

I'm looking around to buy a (pc) gamepad, and came across a thread that warned about many current gamepads beginning to lack game support. The explanation given is that the "older" gamepads use DirectInput, whereas new games are beginning to use XInput (as this makes recompiling games for consoles easier). The suggestion was to get an Xbox compatible gamepad, and download the XInput drivers from microsoft (drivers are for XP and up).

So, simple questions:
Any truth to this claim (are directX gamepads indeed not working on some new games)?
Can I play older games (not below XP) with an XInput gamepad?

Thanks!


Jörg

[VJ]

Just for reference, here is what I learned:

1. There is an XInput emulator, that allows the use of DirectInput devices on games that only implement the XInput standard:
   explanation: http://forums.pcsx2.net/thread-9802.html
   downloads: http://virusdev.ovh.org/files/ (then xinputemu)
2. XInput devices can be used with DirectInput games, as they are enumerated as DirectInput controllers.

(haven't bought a controller, but knowning this, it will be an XInput based controller)