Distance between joystick and buttons?

[shponglefan]

I'm curious as to what is people's preferred width between joysticks and buttons.  I was looking at the various templates on Slagcoin, and noticed that a lot of them (mainly the Japanese ones) put the joysticks very close to the buttons (~2 inches or so).  Even the Capcom style seems close (~3.5 inches.  I suppose when I was younger, it was less an issue having smaller reach.

But as an adult, these seem very uncomfortable.  I find I prefer about 5 inches or so of distance (center of joystick to center of closest button).

What do other people find?  Is there any advantage to having closer distance (ergonomics and what-not)?

[PL1]

I'm comfortable with a 4.5" - 6" center-to-center distance. (Modular panel)

It seems like the two factors in this are:

1. Personal preference

2. Panel width


Scott

[paigeoliver]

They were usually pretty close in on real cabinets and I have never found spacing them out to actually be any more comfortable.