Fighting games are one of the few game genres that aren't perfectly suited for play on the default Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 controllers. Street Fighter's one-joystick, six-button legacy control scheme comes from its arcade cabinet roots, but the home consoles have evolved with the gamepad. The first-party gamepads have enough inputs to map to the game's controls, but the physical interface and button layouts don't translate perfectly. Analog sticks have too much play to pull off moves effectively, and the directional pads on the Xbox 360 and PS3 controllers have their own issues that make them less than ideal for the quarter-, half-, and full-circle moves in the complete street fighter's repertoire. The Sixaxis/Dual Shock 3 has a recessed D pad that doesn't offer enough surface area for the thumb, and the Xbox 360 controller's D pad performance is so poor that the Internet explodes whenever rumors about an improved D pad surface.
The good news for fighting game fans is that peripheral manufacturers have prepared new premium console arcade sticks to coincide with the launch of Street Fighter IV on the consoles. Japanese manufacturer Hori has brought its popular Real Arcade Pro joystick line to the PS3 and Xbox 360, and longtime peripheral manufacturer Mad Catz has entered the market with two Street Fighter IV FightSticks that have the potential to upgrade how gamers view the Mad Catz brand.
We got our hands on the Hori Real Arcade Pro EX and the two Mad Catz FightSticks for some Street Fighter IV testing. We also pulled out our Hori Fighting Stick EX2 to see how the now-classic controller compares to the new sticks.
Mad Catz Street Fighter IV FightStick Tournament Edition
- Price:
- $149.99
- Platform(s):
- PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
- Rating:
This official Street Fighter IV joystick is the closest you can get to the arcade experience without importing a Japanese cabinet and setting it up in your living room. Mad Catz has not only utilized the exact same Sanwa joystick and button hardware used in Street Fighter IV arcade machines, but it has also recognized that you may want to modify the stick even further. The stick internals are easy to access, but Mad Catz warns that the product warranty goes poof as soon as you take an Allen wrench to the case, so make sure that you know what you're doing before you start modding. Inside you'll find a universal mounting plate in case you want to swap out the joystick, and you'll find labeled, color-coded pin-outs for all of the buttons for easy replacement.
In addition to the authentic Sanwa button and joystick hardware, Mad Catz threw in a lot of other really nice features that help to make the controller even more special. The stick can be toggled to function as the left or right thumbsticks or as the controller D pad. The start, select, and PS/Xbox guide buttons sit out of the way in the top left corner, and the control panel also has a lock switch that disables the administrative buttons during combat. The control panel lets you enable two turbo speeds for individual face buttons. The stick also has a small compartment built into the back of the case to store the cable when you need to take the stick on the road. You can even remove the rubber pads underneath the controller and bolt it down using the predrilled holes if you want to build a serious stand for the stick.
When put to a field test, the FightStick TE worked as advertised. The Sanwa hardware responded exactly as you would expect it to, and we were uppercutting tigers and pulling off spinning pile-drivers with no problem. None of the game's special moves were particularly difficult to pull off with the Sanwa joystick, and the extra-sensitive buttons made it easy to start up Chun-Li's hyakuretsukyaku lightning kicks and E. Honda's hundred hand slap. The two extra buttons at the end gave us some problems--they're set to mirror the functionality of all three punch or kick buttons by default in case you're unable (or too lazy) to hit the three buttons the old-fashioned way, but our testers accidentally hit the bonus buttons more than a few times in-game. Disabling the buttons through the game menu proved to be a quick fix, but we're sure players can adjust to the extra buttons given enough practice time. The Street Fighter IV FightStick Tournament Edition is a faithful companion that will ward off hadoukens throughout the Third World Warrior Tournament and beyond.
Hori Real Arcade Pro EX
- Price:
- $129.99
- Platform(s):
- Xbox 360
- Rating:
The Hori Real Arcade Pro EX is roughly the same size as the FightStick Tournament Edition and shares many other similarities. The Hori stick comes equipped with an authentic Sanwa joystick for exceptionally precise handling and arcade-style buttons with an eight-button layout—albeit slightly more splayed than the FightStick TE. One big difference is that the button hardware comes straight from Hori.
The case features a raised headset plug and an Xbox guide button near the joystick, and back and start buttons above the eight-button layout—though the headset plug placement is a bit odd, Hori thoughtfully included ties to make sure your cable doesn't get in the way. The button assignments lead off with the left and right triggers, which makes navigating around the menus difficult to get used to—but they shouldn't affect your ability to fight, because you can reassign buttons from within the game menu.
These quirks aside, the Hori Real Arcade Pro EX is an excellent competitive-level arcade stick. While you don't get bonuses like turbo settings or the ability to assign the functionality of the stick between the thumbsticks and the D pad, the stick positively shines in combat. The buttons didn't feel as sensitive as the Sanwa buttons used in the FightStick TE, but they didn't give us any problems and they emulated the arcade experience fairly well. The less-sensitive buttons meant that we had to press down a little bit further to get the taps to register, but we didn't have any problems after we got used to them. We were able to perform many complicated moves, like Vega's bloody high claw ultra, instantaneously without a hitch. Bottom line: If you're looking for a high-quality joystick, look no further. At $129.99, it's a bit of a hit to the wallet, but it's still more affordable (and perhaps more available) than Mad Catz's comparable stick. And if you've got a PlayStation 3, don't feel left out--Hori makes a comparable controller called the Real Arcade Pro 3.
Gamepad fighting
The first-party gamepads from Microsoft and Sony may not be ideal for Street Fighter IV, but that doesn't mean you won't be able to find a good gamepad once the game comes out. In addition to its two new arcade sticks, Mad Catz is coming out with a Street Fighter IV FightPad that just might be the ultimate gamepad for fighting game fans. The FightPad resembles the classic Sega Saturn controller with a healthy-sized D pad and a full six-button set on the front face. The D pad on the controller we tested felt responsive and accurate. We pulled off 16 spinning pile-drivers in a row without a problem after spending just a few minutes with the pad.
Hey Gamespot, you should highlight/revisit this feature for the upcoming release of Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
I bought 3 of those sucky fightpads. All three got repaired by Madcatz, all three continue to fail. This company has almost singlehandedly ruined SFIV for me.
do you have a list of games other than street fighter 4 that supports all these arcade sticks?
i want this arcade sticks so bad,ill have to buy the stick and the game at the same time. but wtf? $130
i thing it"s not fun too play wath stick
Just letting ppl know, Arcadeshock.com is taking Pre-orders as of March 10th for the Hori Real Arcade Pro EX at regular MSRP ($130) Shipping date is said to be July 2009.
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yeah these are good.........IF YOU CAN EVER FIND THEM!!!! MadCatz is just handling this so terribly that I have to resort to buying the SCIV stick. They should have anticipated demand and put enough units out for everyone to buy at launch but no, they put out a limited amount and now we have ebayers jacking up the price for people who want one.
Jeez, you're actually going to wait 6-9 weeks for that. I would rip my hair out waiting that long.
What! no love for that X-Arcade stick? Lol i kid i kid, im getting an arcadeinabox though full sanwa with an octo gate hope it arrives early may though 6-9 week wait time >.>
I don't think cost is the only problem. Availability is the other problem. Even fight pads are sold out. If they are in stock, it is usually from mysterious sites that either have no reviews or bad reviews. I'd rather wait than take the chance and be scammed. But the lack of availability is ridiculous. I think I'm going to hit the stickies at shoryuken.com, learn how to connect wires, and make my own joystick. Because by the time I am done doing that the joysticks will still be out of stock.
If you cant afford (or find) a fight stick, BUY A FIGHT PAD!!!!! The D-Pad is billions of times better than the damned 360 controller and the 6 button layout is awesome. you really have to push down on the diagonals but it makes it so you don't jump by mistake at the end of a combo... BUY ONE, you wont be sorry...
looks good but i dont plan on spending money on that.
Don't the Fightsticks have a failure rate? Does MadCatz cover the shipping costs if it breaks and do they come with insurance? Those Sticks are expensive!
For anybody curious about the fightpad... I really like it. Pad is responsive/comfy, button layout is good. The pad is a big switch from the PS3's pad though, so it just takes a little getting used to. I also sorta wish the start button was a touch bigger, but oh well.
It is true what they said about the SF4 Fightstick not being consistant on the easy attacks. Some times you'll pull one off and then all of a sudden you can't. It's like trying to use the Xbox 360 controller. Since the TE is too expensive right now, I think I'm going to track down the Fightpad. It can't hurt to try one out.
Buy the Way I hear that if you Mod the SF3 Anniversary Fighting stick it's REALY GOOD to have !
OK here is my take on this! (if anyone cares....) I have the X-Arcade, The 1st Street Fighter Tournament Edition fighting stick, And now that SF4 came out I have the Mad Catz D-pad. 1st the SF Tournament was cool love it BUT it had this problem of freezing/ interrupting if i made an aggressive move on it (slightly lifting it off the table or floor) had to restart it by unpluged it from the console. Next i went out and got the X-Arcade Dual (no track ball) like they say "BUILT LIKE A TANK" is true! had do buy an adapter for the console you owned. PS2 for me. only complaint it did tis lil "ghost" movement when i had both player 1& 2 pluged in. for Example: if i did not make a move or touch it for about 5 sec. it would make the charecter "jump" or "crouch"! it didn't seem to interfear with my game play that i noticed. And now I own the new MaD Catz D-pad!. So far So Good! but as someone stated before..... "It is made from Mad Catz!" for the record i only owned two products from Mad Catz they seem to do what they need to. ( no BS )but my friends did not like the fell of it of this controller. most of them prefer the standard controller OR the 1st SF3 anniversary 6 button D-pad. Because of the price of the fighting sticks at the moment i can't buy one but i DID get an PS2 to PS3 adaptor for my X-Arcade stick! :)
Any news on when a new batch of either of these stick will come out? I'm waiting for the arcadeinabox stick and would like a 2nd stick for local battles :)
the gamepad is a pretty solid choice. After a little bit of practice you can pull of every move without a sweat. If you can't track down a joystick, then this is the next best thing
Any news on how good the Gamepad is? The review on that wasn't too good. I was wondering if I should spend my return on two of those or just get the tournament edition stick when it is released.
I can input every single characters specials, supers and ultras with ease using just a ps3 controller...what is the point of these arcade sticks? Also check out the eventhub website, it explains how to do every characters moves nice and easy.
Raises hand for Aussies, I have the Hori SC4 US stick from playasia for 360. Works without issue, from what I've read they used different parts eg stick and buttons in the JPN and US sticks but they not be the case these days. Yet to find a local distributor for the Mad-as-catz gear so importing looks the only option. If you go the Standard FightStick (like you have an option, 3000 TE made.. disappointing but I understand) the Sanwa parts that are in the TE can be purchased and installed with relative ease. I don't think you have to be hardcore or oldschool to enjoy the arcade sticks. The controller just uses mapped buttons for things like grab (lp+lk) because we only have 1 thumb and 4 fingers, either way as long as you enjoy the game.
These sticks are mainly for the hardcore/old school arcade rats that would spend most of their teenage lives in quarter matches. You can play this game with the standard controller just fine, the sticks just make it easier for the old school to slip back into the groove.
If anyone is serious about an arcade stick, check out www.arcadeinabox.com
I so wish I had the money for any of these. I need a second job for like 3 weeks so I can get one. Then quit that job lol
good question fellow Aussie...would the controllers be region locked for Australia if a US version/Japanese?
This might sound stupid, but are hardware/accessories that come from USA/Japan region locked? Im an Australian with a 360 and i can only find "compatible" sticks (like the ones mentioned) for NTSC markets....I cant seem to find them in the UK either....Any info would be great....
I got to get the mad katz tournament arcade stick before I buy this game.
I'm sorry, but if the game is unplayable without one of these sticks, then it might be a long time before I put any money into this game.
Hori's DOA 4 Arcade stick is basicaly Ex 2 with a picture of Kokoro on it, but works amazingly well. I got mine for $40 bucks I think a year or two ago.
Well, I received an email today from the Amazon.com seller that I placed an order from for the Hori Real Arcade Pro EX (before the prices skyrocketed). Apparently they've "unexpectedly sold out" of the sticks and won't be shipping my order. So now I've placed an order from some company called Play-Asia. They're asking $149.90 for it, which is still a lot cheaper than the sellers on Amazon.com ($300). Even the cheaper Mad Catz stick, with a MSRP of $79.99, is selling for $200 on Amazon.
And as I read this article I could almost weep at how the X-Arcade, the king of arcade sticks, is being kept out of the game because of Microsoft's strong restrictions on third-party software.
Managed to get a Saturn-style pad 2 weeks before SFIV shipped, go thing too because a day later they all "disappeared" from Gamestops website. Joysticks like the ones above are cool, but give me a "Saturn-Pad" any day, it just feel more natural to me sitting at home instead of the arcade. The "Saturn-Pad" is a good alternative and great backup to the joystick, if you can find them without getting price-gouged, *sheesh* supply & demand at its finest.
Has anyone else noticed the price gouging going on at Amazon for these fighter sticks? Two sellers are now asking $300 for the Hori Real Arcade Pro EX (suggested price $129.99). One seller even has the older EX 2 listed for $199.99 (suggested price $59.99). I ordered the Hori Pro EX from a seller asking $116 but it hasn't shipped yet. I have a feeling they'll be cancelling the order on me and telling me to re-order it for $300, which I sure won't be doing.
Lol @ "Don't feel left out, PS3 users." HRAP 1,2 and 3 and the various special editions were only on Playstation consoles. In fact, there is a version of the HRAP 3 with all Sanwa parts available and it's cheaper than the HRAP EX. EX came is based off of these versions of the RAP. What are you trying to say here?
I bought the tank. For someone who has hit the arcades in timezone, shopping centres, laundry mats, video stores all back in the day when NBA JAM and SFII were everything (and MK), this TANK stick my girl bought me is mad. Its strong man. Trust me man. Button layout and everything, I smash it and it acts like it should. No rattles or bitshing. SFIV is the best fighting game I have ever played. Before voting for me, im an SFIV freak so please consider! Get a Tank.
i think i will have to pick up a street fighter joystick. because i know im going to were out my controllers lol.
there is one thing i don't get. fighting games (or at least the kind you would want to buy a stick for) always let you customize the controls. so why use all these funky button layouts making them useless for other games where you actually need the left bumper or trigger to be to the left of the right buttons or whatever. I'm not going to by street fighter, but i would have considered buying the controller with the big fat d-pad for some of my dpad arcade games and so that i might actually be able to play a tony hawk game on the 360. But the button assignments are horrible. putting left bumper and left trigger on both the bumper buttons? what kind of sense does that make? putting the right buttons to the left of the left buttons? i'm sure it makes sense with the default street fighter button layout, but the game has customizable controls, they should make the right bumper button assigned to right bumper, that way the controller is not only a good street fighter controller, but a good controller, period. games like mortal kombat 3 arcade and lumines need digital directional imput love too.
[QUOTE="ferid84"]" Posted Feb 17, 2009 6:25 am PT (hide) couldn't the stupid developers of street fighters use simple directions instead of rotating with a stick to do some stupid moves... I won't pay a cent for those joystick and will throw my copy of the game sooner than I expected."[/QUOTE] Is this your first experience with an actual fighting game?
Is the Mad Catz Street Fighter IV FightStick Tournament Edition for the PS3 going to be compatible with the PS2? I hope so!
imtiyaz786 the dpad on the xbox 360 is placed totally in a bad spot for fighters. If you played fighting games in the 90's you would understand some of the complaints by some fighting fans. Also I'm going to point out that its easily the worst dpad ever made!! Even when I'm playing Gears of War there are times where I try to switch weapons only to have the dpad pivot off the direction I want to hit to pull up the wrong weapon. Microsoft really needs to give us a new dpad!!!
you are out of your mind boy! although xbox has a crappy d-pad the controller on a whole is better designed then the ps3 version. The d-pad is not misplaced its placed perfectly OUT OF THE WAY. an analogue stick provides a much more accurate, comfortable and enjoyable experience
I omitted that person's name from the quote to save him some severe humilitation.
hahaha, i Want the HORI, i have the madcatz on xbox....not bad, not great. [QUOTE] "Chun-Li wasn't in street fighter, pfft....n00b."[/Quote]
I decided that since I already bought the game, I might as well bite the bullet and pick up a fighter stick, but the guy at EB Games here in Canada told me today that the Mad Catz TE stick has been delayed till mid March, so I ordered the Hori stick from Amazon. Yes, I feel stupid for buying one of these overpriced things, but there's just no enjoyable way to play SF IV with the Xbox 360 gamepad.
I got the Mad Catz FightPad for XBox and it's smooooooooooth! If sticks aren't your thing (or you need a cheaper & easier-to-find option over the OEM controllers) I'd highly recommend this.
Got it launch day and played a few hours. I had trouble pulling out even simple Dragon Punch/Fireball combos. So today I hook up my PS2 Capcom Streetfighter pad (using the USB adaptor which every REAL gamer has) and I roll through Arcade mode with just one continue (on Nacho Cheezy Seth). Do yourselves a favor, get a pad, get a stick, but leave the PS3 controller alone. You can probably find the PS2 Streetfighter pad for less than standard PS3 pad anyway.
I may get the TE fight stick if it's restocked in April but it's for the fun factor. I never really understood the obsession with special pads/sticks being actually better. I've used some pig of pads and, within reason I've always managed to get used enough to it that I can reliably pull off any move after a while (360 d-pad is beyond hope though). That goes for some of the fiddler moves in KoF series. I've owned and used some much nicer pads and sticks too and they are instantly much easier to use but actually made no real difference: I'm still fundamentally just as good/bad at the game. So I'm ready to throw a large amount of cash at a stick but I don't expect to play any better on it, it's just for a more "authentic" experience.
Just picked up the PS3 Rd. 1 TE fightstick form a EB games for $59.99. Not sure if it was a sale to get rid of it(the only one in store) or if it was miss prised for the standard fightstick.
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