controller/joystick advice needed for various consoles

[chempop]

I'm thinking about investing in some new devices for my shmup setup which primarily consists of DC, SS, PS2 and Mame. Although I'm temped to just buy the Saturn style USB and PS2 controllers, I'm also considering an arcade stick. I hear Hori makes a good one but I can't nearly afford getting one for each system. I'm also curious about the adaptors which allow you to use one controller on various consoles.

Any info and advice would help, such as general price range, availability, and recommendations on a good make etc. Also, I found this auction for a decent looking Saturn stick, what is something like this generally worth?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... Track=true

[GoPodular.com]

If you wanted to use adaptors (I don't like them), you're best bet is to get a stick for the PS2 and adapt from that. They have the largest support.

You could also take a peek at my website: http://www.gopodular.com I offer swappable encoders for our sticks. No adaptors, no lag. You just change the cartridge.

[Eps]

I bought the PC version of the Saturn Virtua Stick new from Play-Asia for about $30. It is an excellent stick; unlike my Dreamcast stick, I don't feel the need to mod it at all, as the stock parts are pretty nice. One other option for the PC is to use an Xbox stick with adapter; as Xbox controllers are just USB devices disguised with a differently-shaped plug, adapters for converting them to USB are extremely simple and practically lag-free.

[chempop]

Thanks for the replies. PS2 -> USB is the most common (cheapest and available) adaptor it seems. I will certainly look into the xbox ones, even though I recently discovered I have access to a Hori fighting stick for GameCube... hmmm maybe GC ->USB is my best bet. I'm very curious just exactly how much lag is apparent, if any.

I think I'm going to pass on that auction I linked for the Hori Saturn stick. The buttons are placed kinda weird for my liking, I think its the namco layout for tekken or something like that, yuck.

No one else has anything to add? I figured with almost 60 views there would be more insight, oh well, I'm not really in any sort of rush.

[Vertex Zenith]

I'm thinking about investing in some new devices for my shmup setup which primarily consists of DC, SS, PS2 and Mame. Although I'm temped to just buy the Saturn style USB and PS2 controllers, I'm also considering an arcade stick. I hear Hori makes a good one but I can't nearly afford getting one for each system. I'm also curious about the adaptors which allow you to use one controller on various consoles.

Any info and advice would help, such as general price range, availability, and recommendations on a good make etc. Also, I found this auction for a decent looking Saturn stick, what is something like this generally worth?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... Track=true

I can recommend the Thrustmaster Dual Trigger 2-in-1 Rumble Force, or the Thrustmaster 2-in-1 Dual Trigger Gamepad. These gamepads follow the PlayStation button layout, except that they have even more buttons and the button-mapping is programmable and stored in an internal memory chip. In fact, these gamepads have two connecters at the end of the controller cable: one connecter is for USB on a PC, and the other is for PlayStation 2. Both of these gamepads are the same, except that the former has vibration feedback which works with both Playstion 2 and with vibration-feedback PC games, and the latter's vibration feedback works for only PlayStation 2. See:

Thrustmaster Dual Trigger 2-in-1 Rumble Force:

http://www.thrustmaster.com/eng/d_prd.php?p=T401&fam=5

Thrustmaster 2-in-1 Dual Trigger Gamepad:

http://www.thrustmaster.com/eng/d_prd.php?p=T174&fam=5

See also:

http://www.thrustmaster.com/eng/dsp_fam.php?fam=5


I have two Thrustmaster Dual Trigger 2-in-1 Rumble Force gamepads, and they work great. The construction of these gamepads feels quite sturdy; not cheap or flimsy. I use them for emulators on the PC. These Dual Trigger 2-in-1 Rumble Force gamepads come with software for use on the PC to get the vibration feedback to work with vibration-feedback PC games--but other than for vibration feedback on the PC, you don't have to install this software to get these controllers to work.

See also the below IGN.com review of the Thrustmaster 2-in-1 Dual Trigger Gamepad:

"Thrustmaster 2-in-1 Dual Trigger Gamepad--Even with PS2 and PC support and programmable triggers, is it worth your money?," Chris Roper, IGN.com, October 28, 2004:

http://gear.ign.com/articles/561/561506p1.html