These trials don't exist for Capcom to make money - no other SF game has even had these kind of challenges/tutorials. It clearly took effort and research to come up with them.

Yes, they are hard with a pad. I'm a pad player, I was never really an arcade kid, but have always wanted to be as fighting games were designed for a stick - hell, take a look at Guile and Vega's super inputs.

You don't need to buy a stick, and if you're not used to using one, you're only going to have more trouble; I have trouble doing basic fighting game motions on one.

In short, they didn't make these so that you would buy a stick, but instead, to show the options their game engine allows. Other Street Fighter ports don't have these additions.

It's really in-depth stuff for a fighting game that's supposed to be marketed for beginners and casual users, which is one thing I find odd about SFIV, but at least it's in there for you. It's not like Prototype or a lot of modern games that say "Runs best on [sponsored hardware]"; if you can do it on pad, then bravo; but Capcom isn't telling you to go buy a stick.

I just finished some hard trials with pad last night. I have friends who have done hard trials using the X360's analog stick. It's possible, and stick might not be the answer to all your problems, especially if you're this quick to get frustrated. When a challenge is really getting me worked up, I shut off the game and play something else.

Not to mention, these challenges are not vital to the game. They're for personal achievement, or colors/taunts. Again, what other Street Fighter game has 10 colors and multiple taunts and winning poses?

As a final note, C. Viper's high jump is useful all over the place, and not just in combos. Example: You can do her Seismic Hammer, have it be blocked, then jump cancel it for safety. The added benefit is that if the move hits, you'll be in prime position to do an air followup.

Yes, the trials are hard.