How much is Namco Arcade Stick worth?

[St4rwalker]

see above.. there seems to be diff versions, ie. made in china, made in Japan..

also.. one sticker under buttom says Arcade Stick, another Joy Stick

are these same quality?

also, how much to pay for them in medium / Good / New condition on ebay?
60$ medium seems to good to be true

[azmun]

I believe there's a third variant that was manufactured in both Japan and China. Prices generally range from $30-$200 driven by market forces (i.e. what the seller wants to get paid and the buyer's willingness to pay). I've got the one made in China and tried my friend's made in Japan. There is no comparison as the joystick of the Japanese version is much better. It is smoother and tighter and supposedly made by Seimitsu! Sadly, the later revisions were outsourced to Hori and are much lower quality. The buttons felt pretty much the same though. Here's a link to an excellent review: http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopi ... 4&start=10

[Xyga]

I got two for around €50 each in time.
Excellent slim form factor but modding goes from medium to high difficulty (depending on parts and the compatibility you're aiming at).
So unless you're mad about collecting PS1/PS2 peripherals it's just a lump of metal, don't pay too much for it in any case.

[Das Muel]

I wouldn't mod the buttons or stick, personally - they're probably the best I've ever used, even if they're not "real" arcade parts. Extra compatibility would be nice but you can still use it on Windows/PS3 with a USB adapter. I've even used it on 360 and PS4 with a Cronusmax.

[Sid]

I have 3, all made in Japan. I use them for PS1, PS2, PS3 (via cheap adapter), Mega Drive (via a Tototek adapter), and SNES (via a Tototek adapter). Have had no need so far to try with PC. I know that Tototek do a Saturn adapter as well.

By pure coincidence, they each cost AU$30 (just under US$22).

Very happy with them, and certainly at that price.

[azmun]

Wow, you're quite lucky to have purchased them for such reasonable prices! I'll assume they were bought used. How can you be so sure they are the all Japan made? Some have stickers made in Japan but were manufacured or assembled in China and using different parts/components.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

I recall that Target was selling those Namco Arcade Sticks for $44.99 USD back in May of 1998. I bought one brand new and unused with a mint factory box as well from a fellow shmupper here on the Trading section for about $80 and sold it for that asking price later on (it had a "Made In Japan" sticker on the underside) -- later learned that I could've easily sold the new Namco stick for $200.00 easily on the secondary collector's market and made out like a bandit. Lesson learned the hard way, oh well. Eventually bought one used for $40 (this one has a "Made In Japan" sticker on the underside as well) and it's quite nice for what it does functionality-wise.

Glad to learn that 1st and 2nd production runs of the Namco Arcade Stick used Seimitsu parts (for both the joystick & push buttons) during it's heyday.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[LEGENOARYNINLIA]

I have two of these, and both of them are made in Japan. Paid 30 EUR for each and bought them only a couple of years ago. I had the other one modded and I must admit I regret it. Please don't mod these things, it's completely unnecessary. If the stock parts are working even after all these years and multiple owners then that's a testimony of how good the parts are even if they don't feel like Sanwa's or Seimitsu's parts. If you do decide to mod one, contact me. I can take the spare parts off you.

[Das Muel]

I have two of these, and both of them are made in Japan. Paid 30 EUR for each and bought them only a couple of years ago. I had the other one modded and I must admit I regret it. Please don't mod these things, it's completely unnecessary. If the stock parts are working even after all these years and multiple owners then that's a testimony of how good the parts are even if they don't feel like Sanwa's or Seimitsu's parts. If you do decide to mod one, contact me. I can take the spare parts off you.

Fuckin' A. They're great stock.

[azmun]

Yeah, sadly people tend to obsess over Sanwa and Seimitsu, not knowing or ignoring the fact that some joysticks were made of quality parts. I'm only now slowly realizing this as I continue to grow my small collection of retail sticks. Granted, for every fine consumer stick sold in the market, there are dozens of mediocre and bad ones.

That said, I bought two of these Namco Arcade sticks brand new in Andorra for €47 in Nov'04. Back then, I had no idea there were variations in quality of internal parts and sold one years ago. That leaves me one brand new still in box that I've been contemplating on selling or modding (the stock lever really does leave a lot to be desired). I'm also looking to buy one made in Japan since I don't like just collecting these things but actually using and putting em to good use.

[Jet Black]

I have one (albeit modded) and it is defective, up is always on. Doesn't seem to be a problem of the stick unit itself. Somewhere I read that the chip, that is used to convert the signals, is notorious for breaking. Is there a way to replace it?

[Xyga]

Just to check today I've opened and compared both my Namco sticks, one is made in Japan, the other in China...

...and they're absolutely identical.

All parts are exactly the same, only things I haven't checked are the springs. My Super Joy Box 3 Pro adapter can't tell them apart.

Only difference is the gate is white plastic on the China one, black on the Japan one.
And the China one's stick is actually slightly tighter but I put that on the account of less wear (also visible on the casing anyway so that makes sense).

[R79]

It would have been the transition era, when Japan had become so confident and mighty, they began to use precision Chinese manufacturing more and more to lower production costs. Just look at Shimano, it all comes out of Taiwan now, even the high end groupsets.
Designed and made in Japan, you see less and now, in line with many Western companies.

I remember years and years ago on here, ExMosq from Wales did some incredible mod jobs on this stick, long pre-dating the present arcade stick explosion which kicked off with the HRAPs and MadCatz' SF gear.