Xbox 360 Arcade Sticks?

[DJ_Izumi]

So I have this shiney new Xbox 360 here and it needs some accessories. I still need to get a hard drive for it.

Since my consoles get lugged out and abused by anime fans on occasion, durability is a considderation. A lost a Mad Catz MC2 Universal racing wheel after 14hrs at a con, animu nerds broke an accelerator pedal and snapped off a butterfly switch. I've also had light gun triggers fail from abuse.

Right now, I'm eyeing arcade sticks for various fighting games and retro arcade goodness on XBLA. Any suggestions?

It seems that the SF4 tourny edition sticks are the best, but they literally retail for more than what I paid for my 360. I've spotted one person selling a used Hori EX2 fighting stick who I think I can talk down to $40.

So any brands or models I should look at specifically? Do I need an 8 button arcade stick to run all games or would 6 button sticks be enough?

[SirDaShadow]

It seems that the SF4 tourny edition sticks are the best, but they literally retail for more than what I paid for my 360. I've spotted one person selling a used Hori EX2 fighting stick who I think I can talk down to $40.

So any brands or models I should look at specifically? Do I need an 8 button arcade stick to run all games or would 6 button sticks be enough?

The Hori EX2 is the best bang for the buck for the 360. Unless you have big hands like me which can make you a bit sore on the joystick side after several hours of XBLA MvsC2
I was one second away from buying a SF4 Tourny for $120, it seems it has plenty of room to the left of the joystick for my big hand. I wish I would've got it now...

[DJ_Izumi]

The EX2 appears to be my best bet value wise.  Also there are a lot of them, as it seems there are variants of the EX2 sold just branded with various fighting game art but the same hardware.

My main concern is value and reasonable durability.

[Vamp RN]

I haven't touched one yet, but the uber edition of Tekken 6 comes with a stick that has been getting some decent reviews.  Could be worth checking out especially if you plan on getting the game anyway.

[SNAAKE]

hori ex2 lags. I mean BAD.  PCB goes full retard when you press too many buttons at once(IE sf4 ultra).