Ball top or X-arcade stlye Joystick?

[MikeyMcMuffin]

I need some advice on this. All acrades ive been to use a x-arcade style joystick so ive never used a ball top. I was wondinging if a ball top would be better though as my cabinet will be used mostly for fighting games and a lot of fightstick's use ball top.

Advice please? 

[rcub3]

As a fan of fighting games, I actually prefer oval/bat tops.  Plus I think they look more "sophisticated".   

But I can see the appeal of ball tops.  From what I've seen, I guess it comes down to grip preference.  I've seen people grab a ball top with the stick between the ring and middle fingers for fighters.  It would seem that balltops are better for that. 

[postmortem]

I prefer the bat tops for fighters... I use balltops in my teenage mutant ninja turtles arcade and my pac-mania and they work great for those kind of games.. I wouldnt use one for a fighting game, but thats just my opinion

[emphatic]

What ever feels better TO YOU is the correct answer.

[Nephasth]

I preferred bat tops for a while, but once I played with ball tops they became my new preference.

[rcub3]

What ever feels better TO YOU is the correct answer.

True.  The best thing is to go to an arcade and try both out. 

[DCsegaDH]

I like ball tops better, they seem more accurate when it comes to movements. It's up to you to decide which one you like better, it's more like a preference though.

[Jack Burton]

The vast majority of serious fighting gamers use a ball-top type stick now.  If you're going to be playing a lot of fighting games you'll want to use that.

[amendonz]

ball tops. 

[Donkbaca]

I used to use bat tops, until I got a ball top controller, now I prefer balltops

[kalars123]

I'm a bat-top & concave button lover, call it nostalgia from growing up in US arcades, but a ball top and flat top buttons just feel weird, my big American finger's slip off the flat top buttons and my ham hock of a hand just can't get a good hook on the ball tops.

[BobA]

I started with bat tops but now I prefer ball tops.

[alfonzotan]

Ball tops for 4-way games, bat tops for 8-way.

[CheffoJeffo]

I'm a bat-top & concave button lover, call it nostalgia from growing up in US arcades, but a ball top and flat top buttons just feel weird, my big American finger's slip off the flat top buttons and my ham hock of a hand just can't get a good hook on the ball tops.

Yeah, because there were so many battop sticks back in the day .... 

The question I have at this point, is, *if* the serious fighter folk prefer balltops now, who is left that prefers bats ?

[Donkbaca]

To piggyback on Cheffo, why did arcades go from balls to bats?

I think most people that prefer bats are the people that grew up with bats and that have never played much on balltops.

[kalars123]

To piggyback on Cheffo, why did arcades go from balls to bats?

I think most people that prefer bats are the people that grew up with bats and that have never played much on balltops.

That exactly my my point, i grew up in the arcades in the mid late 80's to when they started to die out in the late 90's IE "85-96/97" and I remember atleast 70% of the games being bat top the only few ball tops that i remember right off the top of my head are, Bad Dudes,Sly Spy,Ninja Gaiden, Shinobi, The Simpson's and TMNT and that's pretty much it, nearly everthing else "atleast where i grew up" was bat top.

I have even have a SSF4 TE stick for my ps3, and i never use thing I hate it, with it's funky short ball top and shiny slick as snot flat top buttons

[danny_galaga]

Almost all games from my era (late 70's to mid 80's) were ball top. I only really noticed bat tops once I got into MAME. I'm sure they were around, just I had forgotten about the arcade scene for so long...

[Gray_Area]

To piggyback on Cheffo, why did arcades go from balls to bats?

I think most people that prefer bats are the people that grew up with bats and that have never played much on balltops.

This is getting a little too personal.....