I use an A500 with a couple Cruiser joysticks (very sturdy) for gaming. My brother had a tendancy to throw joysticks across the room when he lost a life and we went through a lot of them before we bought the Cruisers. He tried his best but never managed to break them.
Most people go with the 1200 though for the reasons you have mentioned and due to WHDLoad fixing most incompatibility issues with games. I enjoy using the original floppies for games so a 500 suits me better compatibility-wise.
I have had the A500 since 1989 and it has never had any issues/repairs, there is also a new accelerator coming out will eventually add AGA/RTG (amongst a lot more stuff) but it may take a while for all the features to be fully realised.
