x-arcade XXL Panel

[severdhed]

hey guys, i was browsing around the x-arcade site trying to see if there was any update on the xbox 360 adaptor (there's not) 

anyway, i found a link on their site to a product I wasnt aware that they made...


http://www.xgaming.com/mame-panel.shtml

it is the XXL control panel.  it has all of the controls of the tank stick, including the trackball, but it is in a larger enclosure.  16.5" x 37".  i know alot of you don't like the x-arcade products, mainly because the buttons are noisy. but i know that there are also alot of people who don't have the tools and or skills to build a nice panel. 

i personally have an x-arcade 2 player unit, that i gutted for my control panel, and i don't mind the buttons and sticks at all. 

anyway, this unit is out of stock, and they aren't making anymore, but according to their site:

 NOTE: We will have another batch of units from over-production in October and November. Place order now, item will be back-ordered, you will be guaranteed inventory and you WILL NOT BE CHARGED UNTIL ITEM SHIPS


the best part is, it is only $99...that is half the price of the tankstick..  the size of this unit makes it well suited for attaching to a cabinet.  even if you don't like the layout...that is a pretty reasonable price for what you are getting. from the looks of it, that is 2 8-way sticks, 20 buttons, 2 player start buttons, trackball, keyboard encoder, mouse encoder. and a decent enclosure.

i have been using x-arcade components in my cabinet and like i said, i am very pleased.  sure there are probably better options out there, but this is a great deal and i thought it was worth passing along. and for the price you can't beat it.  I would be jumping all over this, but my wife said only 1 arcade cabinet for me.  (although i found away around that by naming this one after our first child, so now I am allowed to build a second one, but I have to wait until we have another child..so it will be a few years)


sorry for sounding like an x-arcade salesman, but I have been very pleased with my x-arcade, and i thought that this was a deal worth sharing.  it may not be for the arcade purists, but for someone just getting into this hobby, x-arcade is a great way to get started.

[Malenko]

there was a post in the buy/sell forum about them, they went pretty fast

[Moose13]

The size may be right for a cabinet, but they should have spread out the 1 & 2 player controls. Seems that you'd be butting shoulders with you opponent, and there is ample space to move the sticks apart.

[severdhed]

i agree with you there.  i don't know why they would put them so close together like that....actually i think i do know why.  they more than likely didn't want to create new wiring harnesses for their encoder for this model,so they used the exact same ones in their other models.  they have very short wires, because the other units are smaller.    when i gutted my x-arcade to put it in a bigger panel, i had to extend all the wires for player 1 because they didnt leave any slack.

still, even with the close layout, it is a nice start to a panel.  you could easily cut a new top panel out of wood and space the buttons out a little, just be prepared to splice alot of wires.