GGG: Best joystick for under $15

[misbehavens]

I'm building my first MAME arcade cabinet and am on a shoe-string budget. I found GroovyGameGear.com and found a good range of products and prices. There are so many economical options that I'm having a hard time deciding what to get. I'm building a 2 player cabinet that will mostly be used for fighting games, but also be used for some classic 8 way, 4 way and 2 way games. I've heard that a stick with a round restrictor is best for fighting games and worst for 4 way games. I want a pair of sticks that will be versatile and will be a good compromise of versatility and budget. I know there are sticks with changeable restrictor plates but I don't think I'm going to want to get my screwdriver out between games.

I didn't see any post like this in the forums, so I thought it would be a good idea to start one. If anyone can post reviews or recommendations for the "best budget joystick", I'm sure it will be beneficial to more than just me.

--Andrew

[wweumina]

You didn't see any post like this in the forums? 

Decide what you want to play the most and buy accordingly.  Any compromise joystick will be just that, especially on a budget.  If your playing fighting games get a Sanwa jlf or if ur set on GGG then save up a bit and get an omni 2.

[Vigo]

Yeah, there are a ton of choices, and most people here are gonna tell you not to skimp on joysticks, because it is often often a lot of work to change things around if you don't like your joystick. And if you unhappy with your joystick, you won't be happy with your machine.

As wweumina pointed out, if you are gonna be doing mostly fighters, something like the JLF is perfect. I bought mine for less than $15, but I import stuff from overseas. I have no clue the price of a JLF here....probably more like $25. Yeah, playing pacman on a JLF blows chunks, but it is not a big deal if you will be playing fighters 90% of the time.

You can also go the used joystick route. Hunt around ebay or the buy/sell/trade thread here. I always liked Wico leaf joysticks, but that is more a joystick for classic gaming.

Otherwise, there is nothing wrong with a good ol' knockoff. Brand is a sorta relative thing. Most people seem to really like the Zippyy joysticks. GGG is one of the big sellers of them. They are in essence a Seimitsu knockoff joystick. The Spitfire from GGG is also well received. That is more of a Sanwa style knockoff, and well liked.

I am not throwing in a sales pitch or anything, I only sell encoders right now, but I have some of these joysticks at home.
http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=14242969861
They are brand new. I'll sell you 2 of them for $25 with free shipping if you are in the US.
I was gonna give them to a friend for his cab, but he decided he didn't have the time to build anything. They are unbranded, but I really like them a lot. They feel perfect to me for an all around 8 way. My only complaint is the balltop could use a polishing.

Most higher end joystick balltops get buffed to a smooth gloss during production, economy joysticks usually do not. Which is another thing to think about if you buy from GGG. You should take a look at upgrading the balltop. Some classy balltops will add a lot of character to your machine. Another $10 to spruce up the look of your machine is not a lot in the grand scheme of things.

Meh, now I am just rambling....well I hope that helped a bit.