On the cross needles meter, it is about how you want to see your data. Most meter only shows you one bit of data at a time. The cross needles show you two different data set's at one time which allows you to see trends if you know what you are looking at.
In a high-performance airplane, you will have exhaust gas temps, manifold pressure, rpms, pounds per hour fuel flow, pressure and a lot of other data. If the person looking at that data is competent they can see issues as they are initially developing before an idiot light would come on and it gives them a high level of consistency in setting power output. On the other hand, giving people that are untrained or just do not have the ability to process that much data that information is just a waste.
It also makes for a more compact meter and prob. cheaper to manufacture as well. I do not see them as better or worse.