Arcade stick bargain - For that classic arcade feel

[Mr_Loon]

Just picked up a real bargain which has revitalised my love of Mame & SHMUPS on the PC :


Mad Catz Tatsunoko Vs Capcom Arcade FightStick (Wii) - £20 delivered from Amazon


To get it working on the PC you need to have a compatible bluetooth adapter and a wiimote (if you've got a wiimote a quick search online will show you how to pair it & use it with a PC).


If you find your bluetooth adapter is not compatible, like I did, then one of these will sort you out.


I'm sure it's not the greatest stick in the world, but for £20 it is an absolute steal.

 

[Nintendo]

Why so cheap? Good quality, because I doubt they're as solid as Sugar's arcade sticks?

 

[kaprikawn]

I've got a couple of these, I got them even cheaper from eBay (it was through HUKD, the zavvi store I think though I could be wrong). They're quality sticks. They're cheap because there's only one game on the Wii that uses them so they're probably stuck with a whole bunch that they can't shift.


I'm looking into the possibility of turning one of mine into a 360 stick. The other I use on the PC (though I use a wired adapter rather than bluetooth). They're great for MAME, haven't tried it on my Pandora though.

 

[fusion_power]

I have a X360 Street Fighter 4 Tournament Arcade Stick (first edition) on my PC, was not cheap but this thing is rock-solid and also seems to be made for MAME and co. Real Arcade quality and I even could sell it already for 50€ more than I have payed for.

 

[skeezix]

The "big boy" of that sort of thing is X-Arcade: http://www.xgaming.com/


Pricey but quality stuff (I'm told), using real arcade gear in them.


(For my part, I'm an arcade machine collector so I get my fix that way; I also wired up a Super-Gun (arcade adapter) so real arcade games play on my TV using real arcade controllers. But thats a whole different thing then the above, and way less convenient


20pounds for an arcade-like stick seems pretty good deal though for sure.


jeff

 

[Sugar_Kane]

They're cheaper because the parts aren't arcade grade. This stick is based on their SE fight stick, which mean Standard Edition, the buttons and sticks in these are lower quality copies of Sanwa arcade parts. Their other model, the TE (Tournament edition) has real Sanwa buttons and joystick, those go for about £80 - £100.

 

[skeezix]

The interetsing thing is real honest arcade gear is pretty cheap.


Consider buying a Happ arcade stick: http://na.suzohapp.com/joysticks/ultimate_joy.htm


--> yeah, you can get them for $11.


A really good arcade stick, in an actual arcade machine, is $10-$30 depending on things.


Buttons, as a consumer off the street with no volume discount.. they're $1 or so each; I used to buy them for $2 years ago, but they're cheaper now.


The wiring in an arcade stic is cheap .. its just two wires per connection, with pull to ground switching. Cheap, just some wires. In a USB controller for home, you need some logic though, to map this to a keyboard HID; that chip costs you a few bucks, but okay, they claim to design stuff, so give them $10 for it, when reality is less usually


Then box it up.. some wood and plastic, pretty cheap. Costs a lot ot ship in weifght, though, but you pay for shipping.


So.. ask yourself why a $20stick plus say 8 buttosn * $2 + a chip or two ... ie: $40 or so worth of parts .. is worth $100


Bah Because not that many peopel buy it, so they have to charge a lot. But enough peopel buy it that a dozen companies do it.. ghmm..


I built my own


jeff

 

[Sugar_Kane]

Happ parts are cheaper, a Seimitsu or Sanwa stick will cost me about £18 and the buttons are about £2.50 each. For 8 buttons and stick you're looking at £38 (although console sticks will have 6-8 face buttons and at least 3 side buttons). Generally happ parts were only used in the US and Canada, and they're very chunky and cumbersome. japanese parts are favoured in stick building because they're very high quality and are much more compact, allowing for lower profile customs and modifications, for instance; you could not upgrade this stick with happ parts.


The cost of this one is low because of the low quality parts and it's linked to a game that is out dated. It's possible to buy many cheap sticks, it just depends if you want something that'll do the job, or something a little more rolls royce

 

[vcoleiro1]

If you have some extra extra cash, you could go for something like this work of wonder designed fora top fight competitor:


http://shoryuken.com/forum/index.php?threads/check-out-my-new-arcade-stick.75228/page-419#post-5838820

 

[Nintendo]

Yum :wub:


@ Sugar and co.


Thank you for the explanation.

 

[Mr_Loon]

...


The cost of this one is low because of the low quality parts and it's linked to a game that is out dated. It's possible to buy many cheap sticks, it just depends if you want something that'll do the job, or something a little more rolls royce

Certainly wouldn't call the parts low quality, though I fully understand that there are higher quality sticks out there. To use your analogy I'd say this stick was perhaps Mercedes class rather than rolls royce.


To put it in perspective, here is a review from IGN NB this is based on the RRP of $80 / £70.


On a side note, anyone who was interested in building / modding their own stick could do a lot worse than picking up one of these for the housing alone.


@Skeezix : Damn you, I'm almost tempted to start modding the thing myself now , seriously though, thanks for the link, had no idea that quality kit like that was so affordable.

 

[Sugar_Kane]

I don't mean to say that they're shit parts, but they certainly are a lot lower quality than high grade sanwa parts on which they are based. Perfectly usable but they won't stand up to long term abuse. The SE is designed to allow you to easily replce the stock stick and buttons though, with the Sanwa JLF being a direct drop-in replacement

 

[Sugar_Kane]

The only trouble with modding the SE is that is has a chamfered face, which is very difficult to make a plexi cover for, so you can only use a laminated sheet of art.

 

[Sugar_Kane]

If you have some extra extra cash, you could go for something like this work of wonder designed fora top fight competitor:

http://shoryuken.com/forum/index.php?threads/check-out-my-new-arcade-stick.75228/page-419#post-5838820

I had a b15 stick once, I sold it to help pay for the Voltech that I'm currently selling!

 

[milkshake]

wow that b15 stick is awsome