If I am understanding correctly, if you want to replicate the feel of a joystick in an arcade, than a square plate is the way to go. However, some people like octagonal gates because it helps to move the stick faster around diagonals. Is this correct? I want my cabinet to be as true to the arcade control feel as I can get and be able to emulate as many games as possible. I am thinking the Ultimarc J-Stik is going to be best for this since it can switch 4-8 way. I want as many MAME games to play as possible plus NES, SNES, Dreamcast, M2, and Zinc. However, the MAME and NES the most important to me with the others being extras.