Arcade Stickss

[Quardah]

Hey guys,

I'm looking for some pro arcade stick for playing fighting games at a high level (yeah i'm getting good)
I was thinking this : http://www.xgaming.com/

You get the duo sticks for 130$. That's kindoff a deal.
I don't know if the trackball is worth 70$... still these look pretty hardcore.

Else do you guys know other cool models? I am looking for something very durable i might make my own arcade machine afterwards.

Thanks.

[Binge]

buy hori or madcatz

Simple.

If you want to mod... just make your own from the ground up.

also... there are real pros at this sort of discussion here, http://forums.shoryuken.com/categories/tech-talk

[Krogenar]

buy hori or madcatz

Simple.

If you want to mod... just make your own from the ground up.

also... there are real pros at this sort of discussion here, http://forums.shoryuken.com/categories/tech-talk

I would agree that a Hori fight stick is one you should look at. My best friend is a hardcore Street Fighter player, so for his birthday I got him the most kickass fight stick I could find. I found it here: http://www.arcadeshock.com/store.asp

It not be cheap! You may discover that you positively hate going from a controller to a joystick, and my friend had a difficult time getting used to it, but eventually his play really improved. I got him a Hori something or other -- basically they just take an entire joystick out of a conventional arcade cabinet.

[Quardah]

Ok Thanks for the infos guys i'll check out for these.

[MOZ]

Hori (Been using one for 3+ years) or go custom.

[Binge]

here, $100

http://www.amazon.com/Mad-Catz-Street-Fighter-Tekken-FightStick/dp/B0072A4KYI/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1374256301&sr=8-16&keywords=Qanba

[Quardah]

I would rather go for Hori really.

I've had pretty lame experiences with MadCatz i do not support them at all.
Same for Zalman but that's another story.

[MOZ]

Don't go MadCatz.

I feel they are like Razer to a certain extent.

[Binge]

ehhh pros use madcatz TE sticks and so have I in local competitions.  They're of good quality imho.

I stay away from everything else they have ever made.

While we're on the topic of options you might consider check out Qanba

http://www.qanbashop.com/

lots of 3 in 1 sticks

[MOZ]

Pros use Razer products too

[Binge]

so you're saying sanwa switches and sticks are cheap crap?  do your homework before posting.

[Thimplum]

Hush children!

[MOZ]

Nope sanwa are not crap.

Cherry switches are not crap, but the BlackWidow is

[Thimplum]

Very true...

[noisyturtle]

The xarcade is the best stick imo. That and you could drive over that thing with a freakin' tank and it wouldn't even take a scratch. Get it, don't even think about other options, just go for the best.

[tayot]

Bought the WWE Brawl Stick several months ago for 20.00  to use as a base for modding.

http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-WWE-Stars-Brawl-Stick/dp/B004M23RAC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1374340890&sr=8-2&keywords=brawl+stick

I have HBFS-30 buttons and will change the the stick and the art eventually. Great stick to start some easy modding on it. Wait till it goes cheaper again. Go google some WWE Brawl Stick modding.

[Quardah]

The xarcade is the best stick imo. That and you could drive over that thing with a freakin' tank and it wouldn't even take a scratch. Get it, don't even think about other options, just go for the best.

Yeah i still don't know yet. Something i am really considering about the X-Arcade is the cost; it's pretty economic for a two player setup (while most fighting games are meant to be played two player versus mode (BRO MEET ME ON THE STICKS BRO)), and also the shipping cost is pretty low for such a big peripherial (8$ ground shipping to Canada that's a very low rate).

150$ for a complete setup is fair cost, 220$ for the trackball addition still seems fair.

While Asian high quality fighting sticks would cost about 200$ for a single player, and they are not mounted into an epic board.

Plus they really look sharp. Do someone own any of these and could tell me if the joysticks are quality joysticks? (I mean Atari or Mounted Arcade Quality, not loose or anything.)

On the other hand about the trackball, is it really worth it to pay and extra 70$ for a pointing device? Do i really need that? I don't know but it could be amazing to mount a computer into an arcade machine and use the X-Gaming Arcade pad as the only input device in the computer (considering i install/update stuff remotely via Teamviewer or remote desktop). Let's say it's a good computer mount to a good screen + sound system, with icons on a desktop, all you need to do is select a game with the trackball and fight your way to the top afterwards on the internet.

But that's still ****ing 70$ for a ball mount in a plate. I don't know i think i'll feel like missing out if i don't get it but i'll feel robbed for paying 70$ for a ****in' ball...

Since it'll be on computer i'll make sure the specs are insane and the games all run perfect without l@gz at 60 fps (Heaviest game is SFXTEKKEN or SSF4AE + New Rolento Patch, runs perfect with AMD 6850 on 1440p at very high settings). Plus you get to play online for free against the entire world (hopefully no koreans or wapanese please).

Trackball or not, that would be the perfect fighting gaming system. If you guys get to travel to La Belle Province you might wanna come out and see this in a month or so lol give me a PM.

[Binge]

all xArcade items are made of high quality arcade cabinet grade, but I would argue they are not very portable.  If portability is not a concern then go with them for the cost if nothing else.

[Krogenar]

The xarcade is the best stick imo. That and you could drive over that thing with a freakin' tank and it wouldn't even take a scratch. Get it, don't even think about other options, just go for the best.

The Xarcade could also be mounted into a cabinet at some point, if you ever decided to build one.

The other issue is this: you might really hate a fight stick. If you know someone who could let you borrow theirs, do it. Or maybe get a cheaper one and try it out to see if it's an investment you really want to make.

[Quardah]

all xArcade items are made of high quality arcade cabinet grade, but I would argue they are not very portable.  If portability is not a concern then go with them for the cost if nothing else.

Portability isn't a issue for me. I would keep it home and receive people to play sometimes. That would be insane.

The xarcade is the best stick imo. That and you could drive over that thing with a freakin' tank and it wouldn't even take a scratch. Get it, don't even think about other options, just go for the best.

The Xarcade could also be mounted into a cabinet at some point, if you ever decided to build one.

The other issue is this: you might really hate a fight stick. If you know someone who could let you borrow theirs, do it. Or maybe get a cheaper one and try it out to see if it's an investment you really want to make.

That's a new point i have no tough about. Indeed my friend you are right, there's nothing better than testing to know if it fits you. Only problem is, in my part of the world, very few people do have fighting sticks in their possessions here. I would like it to be possible to make an "arcade stick run" and have an appointment with a real expert who knows it all, that would be great, but i have no clue if it's possible up here in Montréal.

._. I still don't know what to do lol.

[Krogenar]

._. I still don't know what to do lol.

Find the cheapest one you can find on ebay or amazon; go MadCatz -- they're cheaper, but still considered by many to be very good.
Also, cheer up and watch, Street Fighter -- Church Edition!

[velvetdon25]

Definitely get Hori. See if you can find a HRAP VX for under $110.

[evolyn]

nice

[Quardah]

Lol this thread poped out on my Watched list therefore i'll give you guys an update.

Got a lot of feedback from friends cause i've been talking about it for a while. Most people agree that in term of quality, Hori is top of the line, X-Arcade comes next, after goes MadCatz.

I won't go Hori because they are a pain to get here and also very expensive.

I'll try the X-Arcade i think. I'll stick with the original plan.

[tp4tissue]

Xarcade is fine if you like the American style machines.

Then there's the weeaboos who are obsessed with anything japanese, they're the only people that "Must Have Hori"..

[fydo]

Yeah, it's a lot of fun making your own custom stick! I used the Cthulhu PCB for mine and made up some custom cables to connect to various consoles.

Here are some photos! (I hope this link works, I am on my phone)
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1588537/joystick/joystick.html

Edit: Fixed the link. Stupid phone!

[noisyturtle]

Xarcade is fine if you like the American style machines.

Then there's the weeaboos who are obsessed with anything japanese, they're the only people that "Must Have Hori"..

That's my feeling, with Hori you're paying for branding. Honestly though I haven't used one so they might be very noticeably better in feel but I doubt it's worth the price increase and shipping.

[tp4tissue]

Xarcade is fine if you like the American style machines.

Then there's the weeaboos who are obsessed with anything japanese, they're the only people that "Must Have Hori"..

That's my feeling, with Hori you're paying for branding. Honestly though I haven't used one so they might be very noticeably better in feel but I doubt it's worth the price increase and shipping.

No they are not better in feel..

the only reason they USED to be popular, is because they were the only ones using authentic Sanwa arcade parts.

But now that everyone uses authentic arcade parts, there's no real difference left.

we're talking about a plastic/ wood box with a very simple pcb inside..

THAT's IT....

[tp4tissue]

also, i just remembered, but get the stick with the convertible gates.

because certain games are good with square gates certain with circle, certain with octo.

[Quardah]

Last week-end got myself to try some arcade sticks. Went to my old friends place (He's called Benoit, handsome dude SF and Tekken pro) and he has a lot of stuff. Tried his old Hori fighting sticks which were damn neat for some 5-6 years old sticks. Also tried X-Arcade duo stick (He has trackballz!!) and he told me it was almost brand new (4 months old). Both were in very good shape. Both on the same game (SSF4:AE)

Both really feel good. Both were octagonal fighting sticks with 8 buttons for the player. I'd say what is better for Hori are the buttons (they are of better grade than X-arcade) and the fact that you don't have to be shoulder-shoulder against your friend. The X-Arcade had the trackball which is neat for controlling the windows computer, but once the game is launch it becomes 100% useless. Also, X-Arcade is HUGE, therefore you need to plan space for it.

Told me Hori is incredibly good because it doesn't wear out at all. He plays hard and he says he trashed his MadCatz a moment ago because they were too worned out, can't handle pro players for very long. Told me best thing you can go is Hori since they'll hold forever, but it's incredibly expensive (200$ each, two of them makes 400$ plus shipping plus taxes) while the X-Arcade is 170$ plus shipping plus taxes. He doesn't know if X-Arcade will hold for long but it's obviously quality warez.

Also aesthetic side, X-Arcade is incredibly more badass. It's mountable to anything, therefore you choose the way you want to play (sitting or standing like good ol' times) while Hori is standard on laps or on table.

He told me Hori also comes with adapters for all the consoles, free of charge. It runs on a lot of stuff (PS2 PS3 GC Xbox adapters and the rest is USB) while you have to pay extra for the X-Arcade adaptors. It isn't a dealbreaker for me since i don't play on anything inferior to glorious PC, but maybe console peasants reading this will thank me for the heads up.

Also i've never lost 100% of my games against someone while playing for hours. He's too good :/

[tp4tissue]

Last week-end got myself to try some arcade sticks. Went to my old friends place (He's called Benoit, handsome dude SF and Tekken pro) and he has a lot of stuff. Tried his old Hori fighting sticks which were damn neat for some 5-6 years old sticks. Also tried X-Arcade duo stick (He has trackballz!!) and he told me it was almost brand new (4 months old). Both were in very good shape. Both on the same game (SSF4:AE)

Both really feel good. Both were octagonal fighting sticks with 8 buttons for the player. I'd say what is better for Hori are the buttons (they are of better grade than X-arcade) and the fact that you don't have to be shoulder-shoulder against your friend. The X-Arcade had the trackball which is neat for controlling the windows computer, but once the game is launch it becomes 100% useless. Also, X-Arcade is HUGE, therefore you need to plan space for it.

Told me Hori is incredibly good because it doesn't wear out at all. He plays hard and he says he trashed his MadCatz a moment ago because they were too worned out, can't handle pro players for very long. Told me best thing you can go is Hori since they'll hold forever, but it's incredibly expensive (200$ each, two of them makes 400$ plus shipping plus taxes) while the X-Arcade is 170$ plus shipping plus taxes. He doesn't know if X-Arcade will hold for long but it's obviously quality warez.

Also aesthetic side, X-Arcade is incredibly more badass. It's mountable to anything, therefore you choose the way you want to play (sitting or standing like good ol' times) while Hori is standard on laps or on table.

He told me Hori also comes with adapters for all the consoles, free of charge. It runs on a lot of stuff (PS2 PS3 GC Xbox adapters and the rest is USB) while you have to pay extra for the X-Arcade adaptors. It isn't a dealbreaker for me since i don't play on anything inferior to glorious PC, but maybe console peasants reading this will thank me for the heads up.

Also i've never lost 100% of my games against someone while playing for hours. He's too good :/

Or... you kinda suck


naw, jk...

It doesn't matter which stick you get.. I don't know if Mad catz uses a metal plate, Hori has a metal plate that all the buttons are mounted to, maybe that made the difference,

because other than the shell, the buttons/stick are all sanwa parts.

[TLSC.wipeOut]

Anyone going to get the new HBFS-30 buttons? xD

[tp4tissue]

Anyone going to get the new HBFS-30 buttons? xD

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while the concept is cool.

Cherry mx is not suited for "round" arcade buttons

The stem of cherry mx is square and it's got hard angle ridges.

Sanwa stems are round which means you can hit it from any angle and it will feel the same.

The cherry mx feels different when hit from different angles...

[Quardah]

Hey everyone,

Today i finally ordered the X-Arcade Tankstick, since there's a double promotion (50% off shipping to Canada and they give a free arcade emulating software yay!)

It'll arrive sooner or later and i'll be able to enjoy playing with high grade fighting sticks!

Stay tuned i'll show some pictures and stuff.

[gameaholic]

Anyone going to get the new HBFS-30 buttons? xD

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I'm definitely going to try these out but I'm going to throw some ergo-clears in them with some stiff and thick o-rings for reduced travel.  I'm also going to get the optical stick, octagonal gate, and stiffer joystick spring but I'm waiting until there's a stick with confirmed PS4 compatibility. 

[CorsairJames]

I actually use the Mad Catz tournament stick. For an off the shelf controller, it meets my needs. I also like how you can customize it pretty easily and it actually uses Sanwa buttons.

If I could have it my way though, I'd definitely make a custom one with a solid wood base and plexiglass on top. I find that the heavier the stick, the better it feels especially when you're mashing the buttons.

[gameaholic]

Quick someone start a group buy for a custom aluminum case joystick. 

[noisyturtle]

I wish there was an 11 headed squid adapter so you could plug your expensive arcade stick into every system that has fighting games worth playing.

[fydo]

I wish there was an 11 headed squid adapter so you could plug your expensive arcade stick into every system that has fighting games worth playing.

You can kinda sorta have this functionality with the Cthulhu board. I made up multiple cables that'll plug into a CAT5 jack on my stick, so I can use it with PS3/PC, PS2, Xbox and Wii/Gamecube. It also supports NES and SNES iirc. Unfortunately there's no 360 support due to hardware signing. I'm sure that with some clever wiring and a donor 360 controller, you could make that work too!

I already posted the link earlier in the thread, but here are some pics: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1588537/joystick/joystick.html

[Quardah]

Guys,

I'm in my Intras right now, but right afterwards i will write a review about the X-Arcade Tankstick.

Right now i have to say, it really is insane. I'll give you all the details soon enough.

Be a little patient it's comming

[tp4tissue]

I wish there was an 11 headed squid adapter so you could plug your expensive arcade stick into every system that has fighting games worth playing.

You can kinda sorta have this functionality with the Cthulhu board. I made up multiple cables that'll plug into a CAT5 jack on my stick, so I can use it with PS3/PC, PS2, Xbox and Wii/Gamecube. It also supports NES and SNES iirc. Unfortunately there's no 360 support due to hardware signing. I'm sure that with some clever wiring and a donor 360 controller, you could make that work too!

I already posted the link earlier in the thread, but here are some pics: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1588537/joystick/joystick.html

OMG... i didn't know my Cthulhu support snes.... Play some gundam endless duel...

[chuckster]

Hello all, first post and all, and I was originally going o start a new thread, but figured I'd post here first.

I'm looking to get into fight-sticks as well, mostly for PC emulation across the board from NES to PS2, and Hori seems to be the unanimous choice all around the web. Which model do you guys recommend for daily, non-intensive use with a PC? I'm not looking for the top of the line, just a solid, quality stick, with good weight and button spacing. I would have no problem with six buttons, but eight is preferred.

 Also, which factory stick if any includes the Cherry arcade buttons? I've read mixed feelings on them on here and elsewhere, but no actual reviews or any models using the switches.

[tp4tissue]

Hello all, first post and all, and I was originally going o start a new thread, but figured I'd post here first.

I'm looking to get into fight-sticks as well, mostly for PC emulation across the board from NES to PS2, and Hori seems to be the unanimous choice all around the web. Which model do you guys recommend for daily, non-intensive use with a PC? I'm not looking for the top of the line, just a solid, quality stick, with good weight and button spacing. I would have no problem with six buttons, but eight is preferred.

 Also, which factory stick if any includes the Cherry arcade buttons? I've read mixed feelings on them on here and elsewhere, but no actual reviews or any models using the switches.

for PC, get an xbox stick.  the madcatz for example.. because they're much more compatible  and they're easily modifiable for use with the new cherry buttons..
THOUGH, honestly I still think Sanwa-s are better.

[arfink]

I built my own stick. I tend to play mostly shmups and Neo Geo games, and so I preferred using Seimitsu LS32 joystick and Seimitsu buttons instead of Sanwa. The spring seems stiffer and the deadzone seems smaller to me. But that's hardly objective.

I'm an amateur woodworker and I also have a laser, so I made my own case like so:







I think I paid about $50 for the stick and buttons several years ago, I don't remember. I had them in a crappy wooden box before I built this nice one. This box didn't cost me much, just some scrap wood (baltic birch) which I had laying around from other projects, some golden oak stain and a can of varnish. Real cheap if you know how to do the work yourself.

[tp4tissue]

I built my own stick. I tend to play mostly shmups and Neo Geo games, and so I preferred using Seimitsu LS32 joystick and Seimitsu buttons instead of Sanwa. The spring seems stiffer and the deadzone seems smaller to me. But that's hardly objective.

I'm an amateur woodworker and I also have a laser, so I made my own case like so:

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I think I paid about $50 for the stick and buttons several years ago, I don't remember. I had them in a crappy wooden box before I built this nice one. This box didn't cost me much, just some scrap wood (baltic birch) which I had laying around from other projects, some golden oak stain and a can of varnish. Real cheap if you know how to do the work yourself.

semitsu?  TRAITOR...

haha, jk

Very cool box..

[Shapey Fiend]

X-Arcade sticks are considered the antichrist amongst most arcade stick purists. Similarly dumping one on top of an arcade cabinet instead of mounting things properly on a control panel is likely to get you featured in the Gallery of Crap sticky topic on every arcade building forum.

MadKats used to be terrible years ago but they started consulting with enthusiasts and revamped the whole line so now it's a respectable alternative to Hori.

I'm happy enough with mid range Hori stuff. I've a rusty old Namco stick I'm thinking of painting and modding with Sanwa parts one of these days.. just need to give soldering a go and hope I don't mess up the PCB.

[tp4tissue]

X-Arcade sticks are considered the antichrist amongst most arcade stick purists. Similarly dumping one on top of an arcade cabinet instead of mounting things properly on a control panel is likely to get you featured in the Gallery of Crap sticky topic on every arcade building forum.

MadKats used to be terrible years ago but they started consulting with enthusiasts and revamped the whole line so now it's a respectable alternative to Hori.

I'm happy enough with mid range Hori stuff. I've a rusty old Namco stick I'm thinking of painting and modding with Sanwa parts one of these days.. just need to give soldering a go and hope I don't mess up the PCB.

I have a feeling xarcade is just 1 guy in the basement drilling holes and putting together shoddy equipment.