Namco Stick Appreciation!

Sephiru

Are there 2 types of this stick? because I've seen two different stock joysticks inside and wondered if anyone knew the differences.

MarkMan

What do you mean two different joysticks?

md72582

Yes your right there is two different joystick. one of it has a white gate and the other one has a black gate. hummm?

acllaim

Could it be different editions, perhaps? For example, like the normal HRAPs and special Amazon ones with orange buttons.

spideyman

anyone have any pics?

Sephiru

One has a longer shaft than the other and a black gate, I remember reading something about the two types, like one had worse quality buttons or something.

notageek

Is this for the PS1? As in Namco Arcade Stick?

battle_royale

i know some are made in japan and some are made in china... is that the cause for difference?

MarkMan

I have 9 Namco sticks. They all have white stock sticks. Pics of the black one please?

I have boxed European ones and a few Japan Namcos. The rest are US version.

M K L

http://kowal.itcom.pl/foto/modNAS-01.jpg
http://kowal.itcom.pl/foto/modNAS-04.jpg

Shenmue

I have one for sale if anyone is interested. I'm talking about the Namco PS1 arcade stick, it is made in Japan.

Sephiru

Different (harder) microswitches, longer shaft, different chip on the pcb, different sticker on the base. (will post pics later)

Sephiru

pics

Shaft 1:


Shaft 2:


Chip 1:


Chip 2:


Switch 1:


Switch 2:


Base 1:


Base 2:


MESS!:

jdm714

Oh wow.
I just checked my two Namco Sticks right now.

I have one of each!
Coolness.

Thank you Sephiru.

Counterhit

jdm714, post: 2990603 wrote:

Oh wow.
I just checked my two Namco Sticks right now.

I have one of each!
Coolness.

Thank you Sephiru.

Same here, yea




Don't they look beautiful together,, aaawww

M K L

Sephiru, post: 2990601 wrote:

Different (harder) microswitches

The microswitches in your pics have the same code (V-15-3A5) and therefore are identical in every respect, including the operating force which is what makes a switch harder or softer. You can check the code in the Omron V-series datasheet:

http://www.omron.com/ecb/products/pdf/en-v.pdf

The last digit of the code (5) corresponds to an operating force of 200g/f.

If you feel one is harder than the other, either your senses are fooling you or one is more worn than the other.

Sephiru, post: 2990601 wrote:

longer shaft

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that two different versions do not exist but simply that your pics do not demonstrate their existance as they don't show the sticks in their entirety, just the part that sticks out. The only pic of the inside shows a stick partly modded with Sanwa parts and is pointless.

Sephiru, post: 2990601 wrote:

different chip on the pcb

The chip is identical in both cases (HDUL2-V2). The different numbers (9628, 9617) just refer to different manufacturing dates, which is irrelevant.

Sephiru, post: 2990601 wrote:

different sticker on the base

If you peel off the blue sticker you'll find underneath the same sticker as the other stick. Possibly a new sticker was added to sticks destined to other markets than the Japanese one.

zeetes

now i'm curious. one is slightly modded with an ls-32 spring/gt-y and it was a white square gate. the other i've yet to crack open, but it too has a green sticker on the bottom but the buttons feel identical to the modded one.

Sephiru

The harder switch has been used a lot more than the loose one, I thought there was a difference because of the code in the the top right corner of the switch.

I'll post a pic of the shafts later.

zeetes

ok so i've aquired a few more namcos, and of the 5 i have, 3 have green stickers, one has a black (souledge stick from japan), and my newest has a blue. all 5 have the white sticks.

Deadlywolf

How much money would a UNOPENED sealed Namco Arcade Stick cost? =o

deadfrog

Sephiru, post: 2990602 wrote:

MESS!

cracked me right up

Ikagi-chan

Deadlywolf, post: 2990609 wrote:

How much money would a UNOPENED sealed Namco Arcade Stick cost? =o

If you actually own it and aren't joshing about selling it, I'd easily trade my Mad Catz Xbox 360 Street Fighter IV FightStick Tournament Edition plus cash for it.

Anyways, this is actually quite helpful for me in terms of information. I didn't actually know that there were two varieties of this stick much less that they use Omron microswitches! No wonder these things have lasted for these past 13 years!

Glad I actually managed to snag one for myself! I can't imagine where I'd be without those epic planar buttons and that joystick!

Deadlywolf

Ikagi-chan, post: 2990611 wrote:

If you actually own it and aren't joshing about selling it, I'd easily trade my Mad Catz Xbox 360 Street Fighter IV FightStick Tournament Edition plus cash for it.

Anyways, this is actually quite helpful for me in terms of information. I didn't actually know that there were two varieties of this stick much less that they use Omron microswitches! No wonder these things have lasted for these past 13 years!

Glad I actually managed to snag one for myself! I can't imagine where I'd be without those epic planar buttons and that joystick!

I'm curious, that's why I asked...

Namco Arcade Sticks just looks like gold jewels to me o.o

How good is the Namco Arcade Stick in comparison to the MadCatz TE stick?

zeetes

namco sticks are crap, you should sell it to me for cheap so i can do you a favor by having you get rid of it!

jdm714

Oh wow.
You would trade a Mad Catz Street Fighter IV Arcade FightStick? Tournament Edition and money for one Namco Arcade Stick?

I have two of these Namco myself.
And they are really cool.

But I wouldn't even want to give it away for another Stick that cost more.
Unless I can sell that and use the money to buy more Namco Arcade Sticks.
Laugh.

Deadlywolf

jdm714, post: 2990614 wrote:

Oh wow.
You would trade a Mad Catz Street Fighter IV Arcade FightStick? Tournament Edition and money for one Namco Arcade Stick?

I have two of these Namco myself.
And they are really cool.

But I wouldn't even want to give it away for another Stick that cost more.
Unless I can sell that and use the money to buy more Namco Arcade Sticks.
Laugh.

Namco Arcade Stick's looks like a piece of history of fighting games. I think they go for a lot because maybe some people sees the sticks a symbol of fighting games or something lol. If I had one, I wouldn't trade it for anything either. Unless its 10,000$ lolol...

Ikagi-chan

jdm714, post: 2990614 wrote:

Oh wow.
You would trade a Mad Catz Street Fighter IV Arcade FightStick Tournament Edition and money for one Namco Arcade Stick?

I have two of these Namco myself.
And they are really cool.

But I wouldn't even want to give it away for another Stick that cost more.
Unless I can sell that and use the money to buy more Namco Arcade Sticks.
Laugh.

Absolutely jdm714; if Deadlywolf or anyone else had a brand new in box Namco Arcade Stick, I wouldn't hesitate to give up my Mad Catz Street Fighter IV Arcade FightStick Tournament Edition (by the way, nice touch there with the !) and cash for it. Even though I know how much research was put into it to make it the ultimate arcade stick both out of the box and for modders to change up, I just simply don't like how the FSTE feels for some reason.

Well in any case, I cracked open my own green sticker Namco myself. I've got one with a white square gate and white actuator. Forgot to check out the numbers and info on the microswitches and PCB, but M K L did point out that those were irrelevant, so I think it's okay that I didn't.

Sexperienced.

Deadlywolf, post: 2990612 wrote:

How good is the Namco Arcade Stick in comparison to the MadCatz TE stick?

can someone please answer this question.

MarkMan

It's hard to compare the two, especially considering how different they are in terms of size/components.

Personally, now this is just me, I like the Namco arcade stick over any stick (including TE or anything using Sanwa).

Sexperienced.

you cant compare 2 things that are exactly alike... we all know about the size and component differences... I want to know which stick is more effective to use when playing super turbo, 3s or even MvC2.

GeorgeC

Speaking for myself,

I like the TE better.

I had two Namco sticks that I bought for PS1 a long time ago. This was well over 10 years ago, probably around 1996-1997 when the sticks were new.

I sold the sticks around a year after I bought my first Dreamcast. My PS1 -- a launch date system -- had finally bit the dust and I was done with Sony for at least another 5 years. That was a time when I really didn't like what Sony was doing on PS1 and there was a lot of shovelware coming out. I just had no reason to keep the sticks.

I got next to nothing for the sticks to be honest but I had already paid less than full price for them. I think got them on sale for a significant discount at Wal-Mart (50% off?).

Yes, they were decent sticks but I don't think they compare to the best Hori or MadCatz sticks now... They're not something I'd trade or pay full price for.

Nice bit of history and the first exposure I had to Hori product but that's about it.

Gigazord

Sexperienced., post: 2990619 wrote:

you cant compare 2 things that are exactly alike... we all know about the size and component differences... I want to know which stick is more effective to use when playing super turbo, 3s or even MvC2.

I would say the TE is more effective because it comes standard with Sanwa joysticks and buttons, while the Namco comes with Hori parts that are usually subpar in terms of feel and durability. If you decided to mod one though down the road, they would equally perform just as well and it would come down to personal preference. Some people want lots of room to rest their hand, some people want something that is more portable, etc.

I'm actually going to get my hands on one soon thats used but in good condition and comes with the original (not in good condition) box that has Heihachi staring down Kazuya.

Markman, I bet you have a few of these, did you mod any of them? How are the stock parts? I was considering it but i'm not sure if I want to keep it authentic or not.

Ikagi-chan

Gigazord, post: 2990621 wrote:

I would say the TE is more effective because it comes standard with Sanwa joysticks and buttons, while the Namco comes with Hori parts that are usually subpar in terms of feel and durability. If you decided to mod one though down the road, they would equally perform just as well and it would come down to personal preference. Some people want lots of room to rest their hand, some people want something that is more portable, etc.

I'm actually going to get my hands on one soon thats used but in good condition and comes with the original (not in good condition) box that has Heihachi staring down Kazuya.

Markman, I bet you have a few of these, did you mod any of them? How are the stock parts? I was considering it but i'm not sure if I want to keep it authentic or not.

Gigazord, although that's typically true of Hori's parts, it's definitely not the case for the parts they used in the Namco Joy Stick. I'm not sure about the buttons, but the joystick's microswitches were made by Omron, the same company who makes the microswitches for Sanwa's joysticks. The buttons are also of comparable quality. Otherwise, this arcade stick wouldn't have survived over 13 years of use. As the owner of one of these, I can understand where MarkMan is coming from. Stock and out of the box, this has to be the greatest retail arcade stick ever sold.

zeetes put it very nicely when he said it should be labeled a crime to mod one of these, regardless of what kind of mod. The stock buttons are godly and sans a very light spring, the joystick is also absolutely perfect. It's got shorter engage (at least, that's how I feel) than a Sanwa JLF and almost as short of an engage as an LS-32. Frankly, even if these parts were manufactured by Hori, I wouldn't be surprised if anyone competed with this stick stock in tournaments or were even willing to put them in a genuine arcade cabinet. They're that good.

DJ-Blitz

I love the stock buttons on the namco stick, they feel much better than the current hori knockoffs. They are flat instead of convex and are fairly soft and clicky.

MarkMan

Really though, the old Hori parts during the Namco stick days were MUCH better than what we currently see in Hori sticks.

I have 9 Namco Arcade sticks, that's how much I love these sticks. But as it's been said time and time again, it all comes down to preference. i'm just comfortable with them.

zeetes

the springs and over all quality control on the namcos far exceed anything i've found in my ex2s or wii fight stick. the namco actuators are actually centered, none of my later horis are (including a few tekken 5s). it was just a very well made stick.

Gigazord

Thanks for the input guys! I haven't recieved the stick yet but will get getting it soon. I guess pending on what condition it really is in (supposed to be good) will depend on whether I will mod it or not. I assumed it was like the standard hori buttons/sticks we see today. Now i'm itching (I should get that checked) to get it.

Oh and MarkMan, when is Mr. Wizard going to appoint you the title "God of Arcade Sticks"?

ShinJN

For a stock stick back in the days, the Namco stick is definitely S grade. Even with Hori parts, the stick is in a league of its own. The feel of the joystick and buttons is definitely unique from other Hori sticks. It's hard to describe. You really have to play on it to enjoy it.

The design is simply outstanding. Slim, minimal, low profile. It's just too good.

I myself have 5 (or was it 6). I modded one with Sanwa parts, but I could use a stock Namco stick any day over a Sanwa.

zeetes

ShinJN, post: 2990627 wrote:

For a stock stick back in the days, the Namco stick is definitely S grade. Even with Hori parts, the stick is in a league of its own. The feel of the joystick and buttons is definitely unique from other Hori sticks. It's hard to describe. You really have to play on it to enjoy it.

The design is simply outstanding. Slim, minimal, low profile. It's just too good.

I myself have 5 (or was it 6). I modded one with Sanwa parts, but I could use a stock Namco stick any day over a Sanwa.

haha i bought my 4th and 5th ones with the intentions of modding, but both are in such good condition that i'm currently seeking a 6th. i've fully modded a jlf (with the exception of shaft/actuator that are both stock namco) that screws right in place of the stock stick, but honestly i just like the regular ol' namco the best. i still want to mod one with a db15 cable, i'll probably just keep all the parts stock.

Gigazord

zeetes, post: 2990628 wrote:

haha i bought my 4th and 5th ones with the intentions of modding, but both are in such good condition that i'm currently seeking a 6th. i've fully modded a jlf (with the exception of shaft/actuator that are both stock namco) that screws right in place of the stock stick, but honestly i just like the regular ol' namco the best. i still want to mod one with a db15 cable, i'll probably just keep all the parts stock.

You won't do it though! Your heart won't let you!

zeetes

Gigazord, post: 2990629 wrote:

You won't do it though! Your heart won't let you!

you are right :(

Gigazord

By the way, what do one of these in good condition typically go for?

meus

Gigazord, post: 2990631 wrote:

By the way, what do one of these in good condition typically go for?

Mint condition with box u looking at 100 or more

Inca

anyone know how I would go about fixing my namco stick? my right and down directions are acting up. After trouble shooting, it seems that those 2 cherry switches are losing their connectivity if held just at the point where it registers as a click and if it's push in all the way. ie, if I hold the right direction till it just clicks the controller registers it as being pressed and depressed rapidly. and if I press the right direction all the way and hold it, it'll do the same thing. sometimes it's nice when it happens randomly and I get triple taps when I only do one tap.

would a simple replacement of the cherry switch be enough to fix it? I think so right? Also where would I get similar switches, or would the same run of the mill switches work that are in a jlf?

lots of questions I know.

Kazujiro

Inca, post: 2990633 wrote:

anyone know how I would go about fixing my namco stick? my right and down directions are acting up. After trouble shooting, it seems that those 2 cherry switches are losing their connectivity if held just at the point where it registers as a click and if it's push in all the way. ie, if I hold the right direction till it just clicks the controller registers it as being pressed and depressed rapidly. and if I press the right direction all the way and hold it, it'll do the same thing. sometimes it's nice when it happens randomly and I get triple taps when I only do one tap.

would a simple replacement of the cherry switch be enough to fix it? I think so right? Also where would I get similar switches, or would the same run of the mill switches work that are in a jlf?

lots of questions I know.

The stick doesn't come stock with Cherry switches, they use Omron microswitches. If it is the microswitches giving you problems, then replacing them should remedy your situation.

raeli

Yep, if you want that same feel get Omron switches.

edit: You'll have to solder but it's a pretty easy fix tbh.

Gigazord

meus, post: 2990632 wrote:

Mint condition with box u looking at 100 or more

How about excellent condition with no box?

Kazujiro

raeli, post: 2990635 wrote:

Yep, if you want that same feel get Omron switches.

edit: You'll have to solder but it's a pretty easy fix tbh.

You could put .187" quick disconnects on the ends of the wire - not that soldering it on is a big deal.

Gigazord, post: 2990636 wrote:

How about excellent condition with no box?

Wouldn't pay more than $50 shipped for an excellent condition stock stick, personally. Great stick, but it's not super rare to warrant such a high price.

Inca

finding someone that has the omron switches s gonna be harder than I thought. only online retailers that has them has a 14 week backorder on them and the other only sells in crates of 100 switches =3

jeenyus1

Inca, post: 2990638 wrote:

finding someone that has the omron switches s gonna be harder than I thought. only online retailers that has them has a 14 week backorder on them and the other only sells in crates of 100 switches =3

Buy 100 Omron switches
Use 4
?
Profit

Sexperienced.

what type of omron switches are you looking for?... and how popular are these switches

maybe I can help... if a considerable amount of people want these switches I can probably buy a load and send them to you for a price if you're willing to pay for p&p from Englan