This kind of always bothered me about Nintendo, poor implementation of input controls. They always say something like "there is no space on the hardware for that" but other companies manage to pull it off in the almost the same amount of area. Not having X/Y buttons on the GBA still irks me. But for the DS I don't see myself needing the analog stick...as most games I play on Nintendo handhelds work fine with the d-pad.
I never really had a problem with the analog sticks wearing out, my neo geo pocket still works as good as it did the day I bought it, and that was one of the best controls ever I think. I have had a chance to play with the PSP hardware and have grown to like the stick. At first it felt weird but after a little bit I got comfortable with it that is until I got my skin caught between the stick and the casing thanks to me hamfisting the thing.
