At this point, I'm even willing to drop Real Capitalist Dollars at "pro gamer" kit if it's actually built to survive contact with actual use.
@fluffy Ooh. If using one of my long-neglected PS3 controllers doesn't do the trick, I just might go that route. Thanks!
@ElectricKeet I usually use a PS3 controller on my Mac although getting it to work on Windows is a bit of a challenge. It has a pretty good d-pad though.
Also a lot of developers I know use the Switch Pro Controller which apparently works perfectly out of the box. And being Nintendo, the inventors of the d-pad, the d-pad is pretty darn good.