i've been starting out game programming with C# Managed DirectX, and its been most helpful. performance has been more than adequate for the simple games i'm starting out with. and it really makes sense for 'casual games' which are becoming more popuplar. i just with that MS would get Managed DirectX to the XBox 360 for these casual game developers ...

I have found that C# performance is more than ample for writing the sort of games that an individual has time to create.  With the release of managed directx, I have been able to create several simple games, such as tanks, asteroids, etc...and I am now experimenting with the James Raine ODE physics wrapper:

http://www.thejamesrainenetwork.co.uk/ode/ode.html

Also, the release of XInput prompted me to buy a wired Xbox controller which I think is great -- the main reason that I bought an Xbox in the first place was to benefit from controller standards.

In response to Casey (i've enjoyed reading your brains-n-brawn.com site, btw) -- I must pose the question, who needs an xbox 360 when you can run an svideo cable out from your pc to your tv and plug in a couple pc compatible xbox controllers?  (I see an open-source "virtual 360" media center software project running on the pc in our near future!)

Timothy
http://www.anatone.net

I have agreed that C# is great for games since I released a simple little C# game engine back in .NET 1.0 beta times: http://www.exocortex.org/3dengine.  It's sort of cool that it is catching on more and more now.

-ben

Top post. I look forward to reading more. Cheers