True PC gamers use a mouse and keyboard.
I think your console-kiddie roots are showing...
I happen to have Hyperspin for Mame emu running on my HTPC. I find it much more fun using this controller for arcade classics rather than a any wireless pc keyboard. It also configures with XBMC on pc and nicely compliments a Harmony One remote.
BTW, kids do have a PS3 and Wii though personally never played much on any console.
I've thought of buying one of those 'expensive' mouse models with a much higher resolution, anybody had any experience with them
It's not so much about the resolution but latency (response time). Give a Logitech G9x series a try.. quite positive you will like it especially for WGT.