Help! Hori vs Madcatz Xbox 360 sticks?

[Arcadiac]

My son has a renewed interest in fighting games since we got our 360.  I'd like to get him a durable stick but am unsure what to buy.  Any experience would help.

Thanks! ARCADIAC!

[DJ_Izumi]

In my experience with the lower cost Hori EX2 for 360, it seems pretty durable.  I'm not a fighting game fanatic so I couldn't tell you how 'good' it is in terms of competative edge it gives you however.

Though the Mad Catz TE sticks are probably the best off the shelf sticks you can get as I understand it.  But of course, you'll also be paying a lot for'em.

[HaRuMaN]

Build your own with hacked Xbox 360 controllers.  I know a guy who makes those.   

[Arcadiac]

Build your own with hacked Xbox 360 controllers.  I know a guy who makes those.   

I wonder who that might be???   

Probably just gonna go with the less expensive pre-made stick for now, really don't want to build one right now.  Parts, box, stick, just more than I can do at the time.

Any more opinions on the topic sticks?

Thanks all!  ARCADIAC!

[Malenko]

I built a box, you can have it, no buttons or sticks though. all you need to do is get a controller from haruman


As for the sticks, you get what you pay for. Ive heard good things about the one that comes with Tekken 6 but then you gotta buy tekken 6 lol

[Arcadiac]

Malenko that's very kind of you, please hold on to that one for me. 
I'll let you know very soon wht we decide to do.

Right now I'm looking at SF 4 sticks new on Ebay for a bit less than $90 shipped.  One of the best features is that the start/pause buttons are on the top side.  Kevin's disability (CP) means that he hits the pause button on a pad in the middle of a game.  Very frustrating and distracting for him and whoever he is playing.

You are right, you get what you pay for, Kevin is well known for wearing out sticks due to muscle tension/spasticity. 

Kinda just thinking out loud here, but it seems for the same price as shipping the box you have and getting the hacked pad and the quality parts needed to build the custom box, I may be better off just getting the SF 4.

Anyway, not making a decision until I get some input from Kevin as to what he would like, maybe get in some practice with some of the older systems and stick that he already has here.

Like I really need an excuse to break out the DC or PS2!!

Thanks again all!!  It's great to see people come together to help solve a problem for someone who essentially is a complete stranger!!

Respectfully, ARCADIAC!

[massive88]

The expensive TE madcatz sticks are actual Sanwa parts, so you can be fairly confident that they wont ever break.

The Hori's if you arent really looking to be competitive, work fine for most people.  On this forum it would be the difference between an X-arcade or a home built CP.  While the purists will dog on an X-arcade, fact is 95% or more of the people in the world would be perfectly happy with it, especially if they never experienced the other.  Same with a Hori vs a Madcatz TE stick.  And the Hori (x-arcade) is lightyears better than a controller (keyboard).

If you are just looking for a product for your kid to have fun on, Id go with the Hori.  If hes really serious, or you are really serious about playing on the best hardware, go for a home built or a TE stick.

Sidenote:  Its tough to build your own stick for cheaper than a TE stick on sale with the same parts.  Not impossible, but the price is close enough that your time is possibly not worth it.  

[Arcadiac]

What would be the diffrence between the SF 4 fight stick and
SF4 Tournament Ed.? 
 
Thanks again!  ARCADIAC!!

[massive88]

What would be the diffrence between the SF 4 fight stick and
SF4 Tournament Ed.? 
 
Thanks again!  ARCADIAC!!

I THINK the TE uses purely Sanwa parts, and the regular one uses fairly high quality madcatz knock-offs.  Im not entirely sure.  Ive played a little bit on the regular one, and the stick feels very close to my homemade Sanwa.  To get more detailed information Id head over to SRK and ask those guys, they will know better.

[Malenko]

heres what it looks like:

I even still have that green button, lol




The reason I dont need it is my GF wanted a smaller controller for her bartop:

and she didnt want as many buttons.

LMK if you want it, its free for your kid

[HaRuMaN]

That box would be perfect for an Xbox 360 controller.  Has the exact # of buttons needed.

[Malenko]

lol, yeah I know built it as a 360/bartop stand alone but she said it was too big (she always says that to me)

so made a smaller one shes more happy with. I still need pink buttons and stick, butI cant find em

[Arcadiac]

Great box Malenko!  Can you tell me the height of the front and back edge?  Sometimes Kev uses his knee to fire or stick, just wanna make sure it might work for him if I decide to use it.

Thanks!  ARCADIAC!!

[Malenko]

I'll measure when I get home. the box is still wrapped in black and has the red tmolding, so dont think Im gonna send ya just the wood

[Malenko]

3 inches in the front, 3 1/2 inches in the back and the top is 5/8 of an inch thick. there are little rubber feet thingies on the bottom that raise the whole thing like 1/4" off the ground. LMK

[Arcadiac]

First of all I want to thank all of you for your input and especially Malenko and Haruman for their help.

We decided to go with the Madcatz SF 4 Fighter Stick, the $80 one. 

The start and pause buttons are front mounted and there is a switch the stick from
l-analog to d-pad to r-analog, possibly giving him some freedom in sports games as well.

For what it's worth these are Capcom licensed, giving me a bit more confidence than plain 'ol madcatz would.
It just seemed the most cost effective solution.
Harumans hacks and the controller I would need to send him would have us around $100 for starters and then we would still need to buy the sticks and buttons.
Not complaining, just trying to be practical.

I will keep you posted as to Kev's satisfaction with the new stick, it should arrive mid next week.

Thanks again for all of your help, it means a lot to us!   

ARCADIAC!

[DJ_Izumi]

The LS/RS/DP switch on the Mad Catz sticks is the only thing I'm missing on my Hori EX2.   It's D-Pad only.  However for $59.99 CAN you're getting a lot for your buck, especially when the Mad Catz sticks retail here in Canada for $99 each and the TEs are $189. :X

[Arcadiac]

Hi y'all, just checking in as promised.  Kev's stick arrived today and he is giving it a workout on MK vs DCU as I type.  Looks like we made a good choice, the weight is good and the stick/buttons seem pretty responsive, of course I haven't had a chance to check it out myself.  It shore is purty!

As long as he's happy and this puts him on an even standing playing against others, I'm satisfied.

FYI, Kev turns the stick sideways, presses the buttons with his better hand, the right and uses the stick with his leg/knee!

He kicks ---my bottom--- in fighters on a regular basis.  Pretty amazing guy.
Pix of the stick and Kev kicking ass below.

Thanks again for all of your kindness and input, Kev and I both appreciate you guys!

Love and Respect, Ron AKA ARCADIAC!
 

[Arcadiac]

Kev already beat MK vs DCU on the arcade level as the Joker. 
He is so gonna kick ---my bottom---!

ARCADIAC!

[EVAWINGZERO]

I'm glad that you decided to go with the Mad Catz Stick over the lower end Hori Sticks.

I've always been a big Street Fighter / Joystick fan and I have Two Tekken 5 Hori Sticks (Low End) a Mad Catz SE, like the one you have, and a Mad Catz TE stick. I will admit that the TE is incredible right out of the box, I've never been a fan of Sanwa Buttons, but I DO love the JLF joystick. The SE is not a bad stick either, but after playing some serious street fighter / Blazblu with it, I decided I needed to Upgrade the stick and buttons. The good thing about the SE and TE is everything was designed to be plug and play meaning you can buy a new JLF-SK and simply drop it into the SE without any serious work. The buttons all have Quick Disconnects as well so swapping buttons is a breeze. Again, the SE was designed for Sanwa buttons to drop right in, but I prefer Seimitsu buttons as they aren's as sensitive as the OSBF Sanwa's are. I had no problem dropping in my JLF and Seimitsu buttons. I strongly recommend it if he continues to play with it.

The only other issue with the SE is there is a washer on the inside that can come loose and scratch the inside of the metal plate. This really only affected the first wave of sticks and should be fixed by now. Just a heads up.


Here is the final layout.


I also modded my Hori T5's to be put onto my Vewlix replica thats currently being built.


Again, Sanwa JLF's for Sticks, and Seimitsu 30mm's for buttons.

Let me know if you need anymore info about modding, I've done a couple and may be able to help you a bit.

[DJ_Izumi]

I've debated doing custom art work for my Hori EX2s for 360, though I'm really worried about screwing up the application of the new vinyl layer and getting it lop sided or with lots of ugly bubbles.

I have twe EX2s now, but they've never been tested at a gaming event and my next one isn't untill March though.  I'll probably post a review of them after the anime convention in march, reporting how well they survived two and a half days of hard 'arcade level' usage.

[EVAWINGZERO]

Most people who do artwork mods on SE's don't use vinyl. Kinko's has a material called Lami-Label. Similar to vinyl, but laminated. It's more durable and I doubt you would mess it up.

[DJ_Izumi]

Most people who do artwork mods on SE's don't use vinyl. Kinko's has a material called Lami-Label. Similar to vinyl, but laminated. It's more durable and I doubt you would mess it up.

That's interesting, I wonder if Kinkos in Canada or Staples here has a similar product.  Self-adhesion I imagine?  How durable is it?  Worried about edges 'rolling' up and it all slowly peeling and ripping.