I never understood this - form factor is one thing, but I never had any performance issues with the US D-pad. I think it's as good as any of Sega's floaters. Loved it out of the box before any of us knew the controllers had been changed, and didn't for a second understand the bitching once the comparisons to the Japanese started getting out there.the only thing that makes the US controller's d-pad so awful is the ridiculous board placement
Now, I love the Japanese pad as much as anyone. But the US version did me just fine. Maybe I got the only two good ones to roll off the production line?
Regarding the board placement: how else would you expect them to work around the shape they chose? I mean, you said yourself the form factor isn't that big a deal. Fact is, if you don't have your contact points lined up along an even plane, something will have to give.