Yea it is a little strange. I got a MadCatz Game Cube controller for my Wii, and it took some time to get used to. Now it's almost second nature.
To a point. There are some games (*cough*Fable*cough*) I wish weren't exclusive... since I'd never get an Xbox. There just aren't enough games out on it to warrant a purchase.
Yes it helps with competition, but it can be a double edged sword, when a company starts to rely on them and not on developing new ips to draw in customers.
Fable 1 and 3 got a PC release....
Fable 1 is 66% off on Steam right now, Fable 3 was available last year but no more it seems...