Good Arcade Sticks and Manufacturing Advice

[LinktheDeme]

I was wondering what brands and what types of arcade sticks for the PS3 would be a good choice. I don't want to buy a shitty one that's going to break (aka madcatz from what I hear). I was also considering making one myself as I remember someone suggesting that if it will be cheaper / more cost efficient.

edit: I heard Hori is a good brand

[SephYuyX]

Building is a good alternative if you have the know how to do it; and depending on what you make it can be much cheaper.

For example if you go with http://www.amazon.com/PS3-Fighting-S.../dp/B000MWE3BI youre not going to beat that price, however if you look at something like http://www.amazon.com/Real-Arcade-Pr...3870025&sr=8-1 you can build that for much cheaper. The "hardest" part will be making the box look presentable.

Hori (JP) is good, but so it Happ (NA), it just really depends what kind of style you like, the performance is moot btwn the two kinds. You also have to take in to consideration what layout you want too.

One thing you can do is if that you find a real cheap stick, but want some better parts, you can buy the stick, tear it all and just keep the box, and just go from there.

http://www.slagcoin.com/
http://www.arcadeemulator.net/
http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/i...ain_page=index
http://www.lizardlick.com/
http://www.ultimarc.com/

[Isiolia]

One thing you can do is if that you find a real cheap stick, but want some better parts, you can buy the stick, tear it all and just keep the box, and just go from there.

Isn't that one nice thing with the Madcatz sticks? The stuff that comes in them might/will probably break, but they were designed to be able to swap arcade components into rather easily.

I know those sticks aren't usually cheap, but sometimes - I bought a SFIV Arcade Fightstick for PS3 for $30 on Black Friday for example.


Also, as an aside, a nice thing about PS3 sticks - wired anyway - is that they work on PC as well with no fuss.

[warc]

I use a modified MadCatz Standard Edition arcade fight stick. I got it on sale for $40 and later spent about $40 upgrading the joystick and buttons. The MadCatz Tournament Edition fight stick is probably the best value fight stick on the market right now. The MadCatz SE comes with shitty madcatz parts but the TE comes with authentic japanese arcade parts from Sanwa. Almost every pro fighting game player uses a MadCatz TE or a homemade custom stick. The TE is a really well-made stick. MadCatz also frequently has 10% off their online store (unless you live in canada, then you can't buy from them.) You can use the coupon code Crosscountertv or crosscounter I think for a 10% coupon on the gameshark store site. http://streetfighter.gameshark.com/

Depending on how deep your pockets are, you can opt for a custom made stick from several people a la http://www.projectgiantsword.com/ or other sites similar to this one.

If you plan on building your own stick, http://www.lizardlick.com/ is a great place to start. They usually have good deals on parts, unless you are buying near the release date of a fighting game, then cost goes up. Find a good part on the site, then googleshopping for the best deal.

Also, as an aside, a nice thing about PS3 sticks - wired anyway - is that they work on PC as well with no fuss.

xbox sticks work on pc. ps3 sticks only work if you have/don't have a certain motherboard. My SE stick works perfectly on my laptop but I've heard many people aren't so lucky.



http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&s...w=1366&bih=664

The TE comes in various designs, but they all use the same parts afaik.

[Pikarya]

http://www.tqcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/m2.jpg
http://www.tqcast.com/2011/02/25/mad...-stick-review/

[Omniyoji]

Also vouching for the MadCatz TE stick. Everything warc said is pretty much true. The SE version is the one you want to stay away from.

[jimbo]

mad catz TEs are 20% off right now at http://store.gameshark.com/listCateg...idCategory=390

changing the parts on a SE is cheaper but you still dont get the extra weight from the bigger TE

[LinktheDeme]

Darn I was hoping to stay under the $100 price range as I was hoping to make two. Ah well thanks for the input everyone.

[Pikarya]

Marvel one is 10% if you use a promo code.

[shidobu]

Own a TE. Nice stick im still trash with it lol. Get a TE mod some artwork everything went better than expected

[Ragnus]

I went with a HRAP EX and just modded the joystick into an Octagonal gate along with stiffer joystick springs. It's really bulky but it's really solid.

@Shidobu: Love that "Ms. Perfect" pic you based your avatar off off. :3

[Moridam]

The high-end Hori sticks are great. I've got the now discontinued HRAP3-SA, which uses full Sanwa parts. It's been replaced with the HRAP V.3-SA, which uses the same parts in a different case, a slightly different button layout, and I think includes a cable storage compartment (The 3-SA doesn't have that, that's the only real knock against it IMO). It's the same internals as the MadCatz TE sticks, so the only major difference is pricing and aesthetics. I prefer the Hori ones, as the stock panel art on the TE's is kinda gaudy.

The cheaper ones (thinking here of the plain old HRAP3) use Sanwa joysticks, but the buttons are all Hori which are supposed to be pretty bad and unreliable.

edit- for the sake of clarity, because the names on these are all nearly identical

the newer high-end model, the V3-SA: http://www.hori.jp/us/products/ps3/ps3_rapv3/index.html

the older high-end model, which I have, the 3-SA: http://www.hori.jp/us/products/ps3/ps3_rap_3sa/

the lower-end mode with the bad buttons: http://www.hori.jp/us/products/ps3/p...ro3/index.html

[Blackice]

I bought a Round 2 TE a couple months back, and honestly I consider it to be one of my better purchases. Like others have said, if you don't want to drop 100$+ on a TE; the SE + stick/button mod is a great way to go, especially if you're new to fight sticks.

[izembo]

if you want to stay under the $100 i'll say going with a SE + replacing the button/stick with ones that you like works. its hard to know what button types/feel you like though without having access to the different types.

[Nitsuki]

The problem now is, good luck finding an SE stick, you prolly will find one around $60 and then you're still spending $35+ on buttons and JLF, also the SE stick is too small and doesn't feel as sturdy. The TE stick however, is wider so it sits better on your lap and is heavier so it doesn't go all over the place by accident.

I've built my own, and i still have the box for it, it did it's job, but nothing beats how good a TE stick is and I don't regret that purchase at all one bit. Hell I never even gave THAT much love to my MAS when i first purchased it.

[Pikarya]

The problem now is, good luck finding an SE stick, you prolly will find one around $60 and then you're still spending $35+ on buttons and JLF, also the SE stick is too small and doesn't feel as sturdy. The TE stick however, is wider so it sits better on your lap and is heavier so it doesn't go all over the place by accident.

I've built my own, and i still have the box for it, it did it's job, but nothing beats how good a TE stick is and I don't regret that purchase at all one bit. Hell I never even gave THAT much love to my MAS when i first purchased it.

I think of it as an investment. You pay for what you get.

Can either build your own or buy a quality piece premade. I prefer the second option mostly since most companies tack on great warranties in case anything breaks, they send you a new one.

[Nitsuki]

How long is the warranty to a TE stick anyways? Lol i know i've had this thing for over a year and over time i've only had to replace the buttons once and adjust the wires once. Lol

[Pikarya]

Five year warranty.

This is why I love the damn thing. When a company backs a product that strong, you know the bitch is made from adamantium.

[LinktheDeme]

My friend just bought this one, how does it compare to the tournament edition mad catz one?

http://www.amazon.com/Real-Arcade-Pr...4112219&sr=8-1

[Pikarya]

Absolutely great, as most reviews complain. The main fault is that there isn't a system on button for the lazies as myself.