(Regular button not pictured above. They look identical to the regular ones, so I used a regular button picture instead)
The clicking, and clacking of an arcade fightstick is music to my ears. However, as I’ve come to learn in my few months of living in a condo, not everyone agrees with this sentiment. Because my gaming setup is in the living room, my girlfriend has been subjected to the noise far more than she’d like, to the point where it drove her nuts. Though I love me some fighting games, I genuinely love my girlfriend more. As a means of not driving her insane, I’d either reserve my fighting game time to moments when she’s not around, or asking for permission before playing; neither of which are ideal.
Luckily for me, Sanwa has released a new line of quiet buttons, and joysticks to alleviate the noise. Though the joysticks were prohibitively expensive ($80 each, which is roughly 4x the price of a regular joystick), I did buy two sets of quiet buttons to use on my XBOX 360, and PlayStation 3 fightsticks. Are these buttons able to maintain their signature feel, and durability, while reducing the noise?
The quiet buttons look identical to their noisy counterparts. However, when you press them side-by-side, the difference is clear. The high-pitched clack of the regular buttons is heavily muted, making the overall noise output much lower. They are not silent to the point where an opponent sitting beside you can’t hear what you’re pressing, but the noise is far less irritating to discriminating ears. Having now put these buttons to work with my girlfriend in the room, she says she hardly hears me mashing them at all, even though we’re sitting roughly 5 feet away from each other.
Having spent a few weeks with them, I’m loving the added quietness, they’re still light to the touch, and these buttons appear to be as durable as their predecessors. Is there a catch? Sort of. There is a noticeable difference in the ‘throw’ of the silent buttons. The distance it takes to fully depress a silent button is shorter than that of a regular button, which will throw off your timing if you’re very accustomed to regular Sanwa buttons. It took me some time to adjust, but I don’t see it as a deal-breaker by any means.
If the noise of fightstick buttons is an irritant to you, or those around you, then the quiet Sanwa buttons are a great investment. They do a great job of muting the loud clacking noise, while sacrificing little in the process. Once you get a feel of the different throw difference, you’ll be golden.
In Third Person 