Some interesting points of discussion!

Benny: I was skeptical myself, but the newer consoles allow for more input methods than just the standard controller. For instance, here's a Joystick and throttle control for Ace Combat 6 for the Xbox 360:

http://www.engadget.com/2007/09/21/hori-ace-combat-joystick-for-xbox-360-on-display/

Hmm.. I'm kinda freaked out by the parallel connectors, which I always had bad luck with on the PC. But there shouldn't be a problem with making a USB version I would think.

EDIT: Oops, curse my slow typing, Brigstock commented before I could