the psp analog doesn't rotate, and it certainly is very annoying to play with rotating analogs over time (believe me, I used to play psx at my uncle's with a rotating-analog like this and it was pretty annoying)
at 0:23 you can clearly see it can get seriously bent to scratch the pandora surface. the problem is that the friction will cause your movement to stop, and this is horrible to experience (because everytime you'll have to keep thinking about it, because you don't want that hadouken to fail)
some answers:
schnitzelboy: wrong, beeing a portable doesn't mean it needs to rotate, nor bend that much, loot at the psp analog.
CoMiKe: it may not bend that much (to touch the pandora), but it definitely bends a lot (from 0:23 to 0:28 he SHOWS it).
DAP/Ashwin: they have chosen one that doesn't click (center button) but has a longer travel(you can pull it further).
CronoTriggerfan: it definitely can ruin your gameplay. cmom, you are emulating systems that DON'T have a rotating analog! grip is everything.
"I'm sure that the stick will inevitably touch the case over time, but so did the PSP stick and I really didn't care then" - well, the psp did it but thank god it wasn't that much, because its awful to play with an analog that gets stuck (and the psp one didn't ever get stuck). plus, the psp analog is easily changeable, for anyone tastes
javaJake: oh yeah, as if I was supposed to make my mind over what the developers say, and not what I have used to play with my whole life.
magicman5421: which old one? the one with center click and shorter travel? well, I don't care, the problem is that the final analog stick that was chosen has those problems!
Defo: I'd hate to have to mod it as soon as it arrives... sounds too gp2x'ish
Tinnus: I'm definitely more worried with something that is crucial when it comes to gaming: the controls. I hope no one gets sad to receive a hell of a nicely-planned product like this with an analog that sucks.
Gruso: the rotation certainly isnt a good thing, it's painful and annoying to play with a rotating analog. you can enjoy it for a small time, maybe get used to it, but it certainly is worse than a stable analog (like the psp, ps1, ps2, ps3, xbox, 360, n64, gamecube, wii, etc) (they haven't kept the design for no reason, right?)