1 vs 2 player arcade sticks

Tech Talk
#1

Hello all, this is my first post here. Great site, I’m happy I found it.

Ok so here’s my background, the real question is down below.
I’m definitely going to get an arcade stick and at first I was set on getting the x-arcade tankstick because of it’s 2 player set up almost like a real arcade. [tankstick > dual because of the extra space between players] Looking around at the posts on here and other places I see that the x-arcade has some “knock off parts” if you know what I mean. It’s definitely not cheap and I like to get quality when I spend over $100. Instead I was thinking of picking up a beginner stick around $60-80 and maybe getting the tankstick down the line for when I have people over. Except that’s a lot of money lol. I’m not to sure how much I’ll be playing with other people but I like the idea of having the authentic feel of the arcade when going head to head with my friends.

I’m looking for people with good and bad things to say about the x arcade if anyone is out there, or if I didn’t see a competitor for the x arcade with the same 2 player design. I hope I put this post in the right place lol.

Thanks In Advance

#2

I bought an X-arcade shortly after they first came out about a decade ago. It was mainly used for casual play on Mame games. It performed ok when used on the pc. Mine came with an adapter for the PS2 as well, but it performed very poorly when used with the console. There was significant lag and the games would pause randomly. Maybe I had a bad unit, but that’s all I had to go by. The main downsides for me were the faulty console performance and the button layout.

The knockoff parts never seemed to be a hindrance as far as performance on the pc. I think it mostly comes down to whether you prefer american or jap style sticks and buttons.

#3

X-arcade has issues other than the parts. There’s also some issues with the PCB lagging, not sure if that has been resolved yet.

#4

Agree with Bluesman, are you looking for american or japanese sticks and buttons?

Also, what platform are you looking to play on? I looked at tankstick pricing for the Xbox 360. It’s $200 for the stick, another $50 for the adaptor to play on Xbox 360. For less, you could buy two Hori VX SA sticks that have genuine Sanwa parts.

#5

I bought a fullsize 2P X-Arcade as my first arcade stick back in 2003. From what I recall, it had somewhere in the range of 4-6 frames of lag on the PS2 and PC adapters, which was enough for me to sell it off right away and go for a custom Happ stick (shoutouts to DreadedFist and the superb job he used to do back in the day).

I’m not sure if they’ve resolved the lag issues from the past, but I’d advise against this stick either way. If you’re looking for something with compatibility between 360/PC/PS3, I highly recommend the QANBA Q4RAF / Eightarc Fusion, as it’s overall the best package for a single stick that I’ve found. In terms of pure performance - and by that, I mean absolutely zero input delay - nothing beats the HRAP VXSA.

If you’re dead set on the 2P design, MadCatz is coming out with a new line of sticks for SFxT that lets you latch two sticks together for the same effect, more info can be found here:
http://www.madcatz.com/SFXTekken/fightstickvs.html

#6

That’s pretty damn cool teyah, too bad they’re $200 each xD. I’m glad I came here, I was about to make a huge mistake. I play mostly on the 360 so the lag issue would be a big deal. Yeah R1V, the 6 button Hori VX looks pretty sick. I think I’ll have to see what it’s all about.

#7

I think you’re making a good decision to go another route. I forgot to mention how abnormally close together the 2 player X-arcade is. It makes playing with a friend awkward. Your money can def. be better spent elsewhere.

#8

I actually was in the same situation as well, I wanted a 2 player panel to use on PS3 and PC, then realized the X-Arcade was garbage because of the low quality parts. I just ended getting two of each controller and put them beside each other, 2 x Qanba Q4 and 2 x MK TE.

#9

I’m not exactly an X-Arcade defender (the button layout kills me) but it was my understanding they had sorted out the PCB issues. Jeremy from X-Gaming doesn’t post here often. If you’re after a 2P stick check out the HSS-0130. You may end up dropping $400+ though once you have it fixed up to your liking.

#10

http://www.qanbashop.com/EN/USD/product/QanbaPC-versionDualArcade-fightstick-7.html any one try one of these yet

#11

I ended up ordering the http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16874179009

Should get it by friday :slight_smile:

#12

Just so you are aware there aren’t sanwa parts in those. The parts are the standard hori fair of soldered to the board sanwa knock offs and a hori stick. I’m not bagging on your decision I have one and love it I just swapped in a jlf and and sanwa buttons to make it feel better :wink:

#13

Yep, Luck_Bunny is right. Hori VX and Hori (RAP) VX SA are two different sticks. However, I don’t think you will be disappointed for $60. I actually bought my VX SA from NewEgg as well.

#14

Is the difference just how to buttons and stick feel or is it reaction time as well? I’m fine with what I got for a beginner stick but would I be at a disadvantage if I took it to local tournaments?

#15

Honestly, I would look in the Hori VX thread and get their opinion. There seem to be a ton of people happy with it. The biggest complaint is the fact that it is difficult to add different parts, since they did not use quick disconnects. Certainly not a bad stick for $60.

#16

It really is more of a preference thing honestly and durability of the parts. Sanwa semitsu crown and the like are all arcade quality parts tried and tested while the Hori’s(entry level arcadesticks) are not. I love my VX

#17

The only problem with the Hori VX parts is the durability. You may be able to get 6 months or more out of them and probably one or two buttons will fail. Once a button fails you will need to go through the trouble of desoldering all the buttons and using a dremel to widen the holes for installing Sanwa buttons and soldering wires and quick disconnects. The issues isn’t so much feel as durability of parts. I’ve never had to replace any Sanwa buttons in my sticks for mechanical reasons, usually just for aesthetic reasons.

I would have suggested the WWE Brawlstick for ease of upgrading in case of part failure.

#18
#19

The button holes are 30mm so Sanwa buttons would fit right in. I hope Hori makes an all Sanwa Addition of this stick with a metal base.

@LazyCheetah, I recommend replacing the joystick spring and micro switches with sanwa. It will feel like a slightly upgraded namco joystick.

#20

I think you can enjoy the game by playing with another one as a partner for you.