IGN has the skinny on the retro Arcade stick that was revealed a few months ago, including a few tidbits that we didn't know about in August. The biggest of which is the addition of a "spinner" control around the smaller analogue stick on the right side of the controller. Older fanboys will recognize the spinner as a "paddle" controller, allowing accurate control in games like Pong and Tempest. Unfortunately, the stick still doesn't look well suited to old school fighters like Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat, or the announced Fatal Fury. On the other hand, it looks like it would be great for older titles like Pac-Man and Defender. The stick will be bundled with Frogger, Time Pilot, and Astropop for a suggested price of $49.99. Assuming the build quality is up to snuff, it sounds like a good deal for retro Arcade buffs. Anybody want one?
Retro Arcade stick releases next month
IGN has the skinny on the retro Arcade stick that was revealed a few months ago, including a few tidbits that we didn't know about in August. The biggest of which is the addition of a "spinner" control around the smaller analogue stick on the right side of the controller. Older fanboys will recognize the spinner as a "paddle" controller, allowing accurate control in games like Pong and Tempest. Unfortunately, the stick still doesn't look well suited to old school fighters like Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat, or the announced Fatal Fury. On the other hand, it looks like it would be great for older titles like Pac-Man and Defender. The stick will be bundled with Frogger, Time Pilot, and Astropop for a suggested price of $49.99. Assuming the build quality is up to snuff, it sounds like a good deal for retro Arcade buffs. Anybody want one?
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Reader Comments
(Page 1)2. The only arcade stick I'd pick up is one similar to the DOA one - this looks a little flimsy to me.
Posted at 4:28PM on Nov 16th 2006 by King Keepo
3. And I definitely agree on the d-pad situation. I really wish they'd up the build quality on them so that they worked properly.
I heard they were thinking about releasing "premium" controllers with better d-pads, but as a fundamental part of gaming they should be tight right out of the box.
Posted at 4:31PM on Nov 16th 2006 by King Keepo
4. is this wireless?
if so, it appears Mad Catz was able to work out a deal with MS for the wireless licensing.
hopefully, Red Octane can do the same for the Guitar Hero 2 X360 controller. i'm confident it'll all be worked out.
Posted at 4:41PM on Nov 16th 2006 by murph
5. if that pic is it... it's fugly. Looks like typical Madkat junk. They need to a good gamepad, like a sega saturn pad but mostly a separate arcade
stick like the DoA stick.
And do they really need every button from the original controller on these?
Posted at 4:45PM on Nov 16th 2006 by botdeluxe
6. The problem with the d-pad isn't that the pad itself sucks as much as there's not enough room for it to hit the connectors underneath easily.
I did that sandpaper trick and I've had no real problems since then. I really recommend doing it.
Posted at 5:02PM on Nov 16th 2006 by Tony
7. @6: what sandpaper trick?
Posted at 5:10PM on Nov 16th 2006 by Wargazm
8. Ummmm..... if it finally lets me play Tempest for real, I will buy a hundred of them.
Posted at 5:34PM on Nov 16th 2006 by BobaFerret
9. Take apart your controller (it's pretty easy, any ol' berk can do it, but if you need a short guide ask away), remove the D-Pad sandpaper away at the little tabs on it (these ones: http://www.retrothinking.com/xbox360dpad.jpg). They stop the D-Pad smacking the right bits properly.
Posted at 5:47PM on Nov 16th 2006 by RocketMBA
10. With the 360 degree feature, I hope they release Tempest and Ikari Warriors. That would rock!
Posted at 6:07PM on Nov 16th 2006 by VOS
11. I think I'll wait for Microsoft to make an official arcade stick (we know they're thinking about it). I got a MadCatz controller, and ended up returning it because I just didn't like the feel of the analog sticks or the triggers.
Posted at 9:12PM on Nov 16th 2006 by asurroca
12. I was really looking forward to this just for Street Fighter. This , however, does not look like it will fit the bill. The face buttons are in back, behind the right stick! How can anybody use those without some crazy wrist wrenching.
Personally, I am going to stick with the normal controller until they release something even remotely worth my time.
Posted at 10:02AM on Nov 17th 2006 by DrunkPenguin
13. Hey RocketMBA (or anyone else familiar with it), could you post more information about that d-pad mod? I've tried the other popular mod (sanding the outside ring), which improves its responsiveness a good deal, but I haven't heard of this trick and can't find any more info on it.
Anything to get Lumines to play better is worth trying in my book.
Posted at 11:21AM on Nov 17th 2006 by DolansCadillac
1. If it can clear up the buggy d-pad situation we have on the classic game ports, I would be all for it. Though I wish it just came with a code for X amount of points for marketplace instead of XBLA games, since I already have two out of the three listed.
Posted at 4:27PM on Nov 16th 2006 by spambot