arcade controller advice?

1up · Post by **1up** » Fri May 26, 2006 12:23 pm

im looking to buy a 2 player arcade control to use with MAME. I've been looking at the X-Arcade but there has to be others out there. is there a place for reviews of arcade controllers and what can you recommend?

SAM · Post by **SAM** » Fri May 26, 2006 1:06 pm

For Game Pad: USB Saturn Pad
http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-1i- ... 0-cj3.html

For Joystick: USB Sega Virtua Stick
http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-1i- ... 0-gyn.html

TalkingOctopus · Post by **TalkingOctopus** » Fri May 26, 2006 2:30 pm

http://www.retroblast.com/hardware.html - some reviews

Eps · Post by **Eps** » Fri May 26, 2006 5:46 pm

TalkingOctopus wrote:http://www.retroblast.com/hardware.html - some reviews

Nice site, but very much biased towards US-style arcade controls. Probably best to look elsewhere if information is required on Japanese arcade controls.

1up · Post by **1up** » Fri May 26, 2006 8:02 pm

TalkingOctopus wrote:http://www.retroblast.com/hardware.html - some reviews

that site is pretty cool, thx

SAM: that sega arcade stick is awesome, had one for my saturn back in 1996 or something like that

Eps · Post by **Eps** » Fri May 26, 2006 10:36 pm

1up wrote:SAM: that sega arcade stick is awesome, had one for my saturn back in 1996 or something like that

I own one - it's just as good as the original Saturn version. Absolutely quality, the best PC arcade joystick I've seen -- and it's dirt cheap too!

destructor · Post by **destructor** » Sat May 27, 2006 5:05 pm

Best is build own arcade stick. But if you want buy then buy cheapest AS and next you can mod it -> change joystick and buttons for betters.

elvis · Post by **elvis** » Sat May 27, 2006 9:23 pm

Byrdo > *

http://www.byrdo.org/arcade_joysticks.htm

1up · Post by **1up** » Sat May 27, 2006 11:02 pm

elvis wrote:Byrdo > *

http://www.byrdo.org/arcade_joysticks.htm

wow those sticks are awesome but a bit pricey. Aslo the Saturn Arcade stick is $122.95

X-Arcade is $149.95 and offers 2 player. I think I will go with that. The Hot Rod is cool too and cheap at only $99.00 but that sissy purple color really doesnt do it for me

Eps · Post by **Eps** » Sun May 28, 2006 1:07 am

$122.95 for the PC version of the Saturn arcade stick?!

Are you sure? Mine was about $30 brand new from Play-Asia only a month or two ago.

Edit: And Byrdo's stuff doesn't do a lot for me. From the 'creative' spelling to the endless iterations of the same stick with a slightly different type of wood or decal. Fine if you want a stick to look at, but I prefer to look at the monitor.

benj · Post by **benj** » Sun May 28, 2006 1:09 am

I once thought about getting an X-Arcade, too, but everything I read about it seemed to indicate that it sucks bad. If you want a stick for your PC, you're probably better off with a PS2 stick and a converter.

1up · Post by **1up** » Sun May 28, 2006 1:33 am

Eps wrote:$122.95 for the PC version of the Saturn arcade stick?! Are you sure? Mine was about $30 brand new from Play-Asia only a month or two ago.

here its $122.95 http://midwestgames.stores.yahoo.net/sesavistpcus.html

unfortunately its out of stock at play-asia. if its only $30 im definitely waiting for it to be in stock and get that. $30 is a steal

benj wrote:I once thought about getting an X-Arcade, too, but everything I read about it seemed to indicate that it sucks bad. If you want a stick for your PC, you're probably better off with a PS2 stick and a converter.

I have a PS2 converter for PC, but I would really like that arcade feel

iatneH · Post by **iatneH** » Sun May 28, 2006 1:47 am

1up wrote:
benj wrote:I once thought about getting an X-Arcade, too, but everything I read about it seemed to indicate that it sucks bad. If you want a stick for your PC, you're probably better off with a PS2 stick and a converter.
I have a PS2 converter for PC, but I would really like that arcade feel

What we mean is, buy a PS2-compatible arcade stick such as this or this and run it through the convertor that you already have.

benj · Post by **benj** » Sun May 28, 2006 2:25 am

Exactly.

elvis · Post by **elvis** » Sun May 28, 2006 7:20 am

Eps wrote:$122.95 for the PC version of the Saturn arcade stick?! Are you sure? Mine was about $30 brand new from Play-Asia only a month or two ago.

Edit: And Byrdo's stuff doesn't do a lot for me. From the 'creative' spelling to the endless iterations of the same stick with a slightly different type of wood or decal. Fine if you want a stick to look at, but I prefer to look at the monitor.

Byrdo's sticks are solidly built, and use great components (Genuine Happ, Sanwa and Seimitsu parts). They are far more than just pretty boxes.

Compare this to the crap plastic knock-off sticks in the sub-$50 range. Nasty thin plastic boxes with inferior chinese sticks and buttons that fail quickly. And yes, this includes that horrid X-Arcade rubbish.

As with all things, you can either go expensive and good quality, or cheap and nasty. Depends entirely on your taste, and what you are prepared to spend.

For me personally, Byrdo sticks look great, but are way too expensive. I have a nice big shed filled with workspace and powertools. I make my own sticks for a fraction of the price Byrdo sells his for, and they are bulletproof and use the parts I like with the layout I like. I'm no artist, so my sticks are very plain. But they work great and don't break down on me.

If you don't have the tools/space/skills to make your own stick, then you're going to have to choose for yourself whether you go cheap and flimsy or expensive and nice.

1up · Post by **1up** » Sun May 28, 2006 9:22 am

like everything else in this world, you get what you pay for. And me being a cheap skate because im ultra low on cash because of my studies im going with the ps2 sega arcade knock offs. I had a sega arcade for my saturn and thought it was pretty good but I can see what you are trying to say elvis.

Aside from shmupping Im also a dedicated simracer and there you alse have to pay out your rear for good equipment if you cant build it yourself.

another example is those prefabricated MAME cabinets. $999 wtf?!?!? I can build one myself for much less.

Sparky · Post by **Sparky** » Sun May 28, 2006 9:23 am

Sorry for the small derail of the topic 1up, but I thought I would just ask here since we are talking about sticks. Is the Sega Virtua Stick for PC compatible with the PS2 through USB? Sorry if that's a silly question...

Sorry again!

Thanks

1up · Post by **1up** » Sun May 28, 2006 9:27 am

Sparky wrote:Sorry for the small derail of the topic 1up, but I thought I would just ask here since we are talking about sticks. Is the Sega Virtua Stick for PC compatible with the PS2 through USB? Sorry if that's a silly question...

Sorry again!

Thanks

I have no idea as I havent bought the thing yet

BUT I think it can be used via the USB in the PS2 like other pc usb devices. Ive used PC steering wheels on my PS2 that way.

Eps · Post by **Eps** » Sun May 28, 2006 5:40 pm

1up wrote:
Eps wrote:$122.95 for the PC version of the Saturn arcade stick?! Are you sure? Mine was about $30 brand new from Play-Asia only a month or two ago.
here its $122.95 http://midwestgames.stores.yahoo.net/sesavistpcus.html

unfortunately its out of stock at play-asia. if its only $30 im definitely waiting for it to be in stock and get that. $30 is a steal

That is just ridiculous. I thought $30 was a pretty low price considering the quality of the stick - but $122.95?! That's absolutely stupid. You could have a Byrdo-style custom made stick with all the flashy bits for only a little more than that, if you were into that sort of thing. As for the quality -- the buttons are a touch plasticky, but fine to work with. I might replace them in a while, but they're perfectly usable at the moment. The actual stick, however, is excellent, tight and responsive -- knock-off or not. It's far better than (for example) the stick unit used on the DC arcade stick.

destructor · Post by **destructor** » Wed May 31, 2006 2:15 pm

If you want to buy stick for 30$ then good luck

Don't buy it.
Don't buy X-Arcade (I have 2) or HotRod (I played on it), joysticks are crap, veeeery long throw, weak switches.
Byrdo sticks have original Sanwa parts. You can look on Sanwa site how prices are for parts -> high prices. Add shipping, wires, etc.
In Poland we made AS on original Sanwa parts too. First part we sell for 100$ for one stick. What inside AS: Sanwa JLF, 8 Sanwa buttons, PCB from PS game pad, wires, art, plexi, box. 100$ was for first part only, too high costs. Next parties will be about 120$.
On Byrdo I see prices from 160 to 500$. 500$ is really very high, I don't know what is inside

But 160$ for AS with original Sanwa parts isn't very high price. High but not very high.

Eps · Post by **Eps** » Wed May 31, 2006 6:19 pm

destructor wrote:If you want to buy stick for 30$ then good luck Don't buy it.

Of all the people who have made comments like this on this thread about the Virtua Stick for PC, I'm the only one who seems to actually own it or has extensively used it. And I'm telling you, it is a decent stick. Not amazing, but certainly not bad at all. Furthermore, I was recommended it by several people via word of mouth -- I didn't just find it from the Net. I know the price seems rather too good to be true, but the stick really is a lot better than the price suggests.

Edit: That is, if you can find it for that price now -- PA seem to have been continually out of stock since I bought mine.

Post by **system11** » Wed May 31, 2006 6:29 pm

Price and brand aren't always a very good guide. Ok so this is a related note, but the best arcade sticks (in an arcade cab) I've used are a pair of no-name 8-ways in my current JAMMA cab. Hunting around for replacements, it seems they might be older versions of the Wico STC Universal joystick - which are as cheap as you can get, nearly.

GoPodular.com · Post by **GoPodular.com** » Thu Jun 01, 2006 3:47 pm

Retroblast has a good writeup on "real" arcade joysticks. It's a comparison between the super/ultimate/comp/x-arcade/etc. No Sanwa stuff though:
http://retroblast.com/hardware.html

As far as the "semi-real" sticks (plastic case style), I don't know of a site that has a really comprehensive list. There are so many for all the different systems. You could peek around http://www.lik-sang.com/ and see if people have posted reviews of the ones you're looking at.

Don't forget shipping when comparing prices on sticks from lik-sang & Play-asia. Sometimes shipping $ > purchase $.

[btw, I think the $500 Byrdo sticks were for the matched pairs.]

destructor · Post by **destructor** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 8:14 am

GoPodular.com wrote:Retroblast has a good writeup on "real" arcade joysticks. It's a comparison between the super/ultimate/comp/x-arcade/etc. No Sanwa stuff though:
http://retroblast.com/hardware.html

More joysticks but in Polish language is here:
http://www.kowal.itcom.pl/Side/ArcadeSt ... sticks.htm
In future we prepare English version.

thchardcore · Post by **thchardcore** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 2:11 pm

Fucking sanwa modded agetecs. I basically pioneered it back on srk

Middlemoor · Post by **Middlemoor** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 4:02 pm

I just use a gamepad I picked up for HK$90...

iatneH · Post by **iatneH** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 7:12 pm

Middlemoor wrote:I just use a gamepad I picked up for HK$90...

I got a Super JoyBox 3 for HKD$25

Works great with my DualShock2 (or my ASCIIWARE PS1 stick)

Looks like I might have to keep an eye out for those Virtua Sticks. I'm getting sick of rubber plunger buttons...