Well, the Sega controller wasn't very good... I played on it too :D. But then again, I can say the same about every Xbox after the first generation (great, but too big a pad, not for my European hand, only for an American Hamburger). Subsequent Xboxes didn't have a pleasant controller for me.
RE: Which controller did you start your journey with? / ¿Con que mando empezaste tu viaje?