I could be mistaken but I'm under the impression that the optical joystick is more of the nature of a perhaps more precise control. It might also have the feel of an arcade cabinet joystick. For example, the MAS controller I have has stiff resistence when using it meaning you need to put a little more strength into it when controlling a game. The type of joystick you would find in the arcade on a Neo MVS machine, or say any Capcom CPS cabinets is a lot softer and less resistent.
Then again I'm probably wrong, but I'm taking a guess. If it is what I said, then I think I might look into another controller with that.