Yes it does. But I think it's a bit subjective and depends on your prior experience--esp if you've never used such a tranny before. At first it was odd. But I got used it and was able to click off shifts without thinking. In fact, I was started using my right thumb to upshift and left index finger to down shift! I think the lack of paddles is more of a problem then the forward up/back down situation because you can only use them while hands are at 10 and 2. Now, in that position, the buttons are incredibly ergonomic as your fingers fit into them perfectly. But I think it's unacceptable not having nice large paddles (a la ferrari) that cover a wide arc. My wifes GTI DSG tranny uses the same forward up/back down for the console shift lever, so I think that made it more natural for me (even tho the GTI steering paddles are right up, left down). Maybe the porsche arrangement is designed to cover both right and left handed people? does a lefty find right up, left down unintuitive? dunno.

Due to the button arrangement, I bet 99% of the time people will just leave it in auto mode until the aftermarket paddle fix is out or porsche fixes it themselves. So if you're unhappy enough that you don't get to use clutch and work the gates, you'll probably be even less so since you won't enjoy clicking your own gears. I hope Porsche has already started the development work on paddles, otherwise we wont see it for a few years. Still I plan to get one and hope there is a Porsche or aftermarket fix. There is already an aftermarket one out for the 911:

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/04/03/all-thumbs-no-problem-gemballa-f1-steering-wheel-for-porsche-9/

My $0.02

forgot to mention, I know one of the service techs at my Porsche dealer. He said last month was record sales month!

I guess people figure they can't make any money anyway these days so you may as well dump it in a porsche. If this is happening at other dealerships it's gonna make price negotiations much harder.

A while back I drove a C2S with the PDK and sport chrono, and I was amazed. For autocrossing, the PDK would be brilliant. In Sport-Plus mode, it seemed like the tranny/computer wouldn't let the car go under 4000RPM. Under braking, it just popped off the gears, 3-2-1. Under acceleration, it did the same, but at redline...and the shifts were freaking violent. As fast as that car is, and as fast as things come up in AX, the PDK will be the tranny to have: It does what we all wish we could do, perfectly, every time.
As for taking the "fun" out of driving, the car was sooooo fast, I was quite happy to keep both hands on the wheel at all times and stay focused on what was happening ahead of me.