joystick

Universal Fighting Game Guide: How to Transition From Control Pad to Fightstick

Jett2 Comments

For most of my fighting game playing life, I played fighting games with a control pad. It was what I was most comfortable with and I had no interest in learning how to play these games with any other control method. However, in 2010, I felt like I was ready to switch to a fightstick. There was a steep learning curve to it, but I’m glad that I ultimately made the switch.

I know there are a lot of people out there making the transition in hopes of upping their game. Making the switch isn’t an easy process, but I’m hoping that this post may help you ease into a fightstick if/when you decide to give it a go.

Continue reading →

How-To Replace the Joystick on a Mad Catz TE

Jett4 Comments


The last time I opened up my Mad Catz TE, I switched out a broken button with a brand new one. This time, I swapped out the joystick. After hundreds of hours of use, it didn’t feel as crisp as it used to. If you’re interested in trying the procedure yourself, I have documented my experience as a step-by-step manual, which may be helpful for you.

Continue reading →

In Third Person’s Newbie Buyer’s Guide to Arcade Fightsticks

Jett10 Comments

Over the last few weeks, the traffic to my arcade fighstick posts have skyrocketed. With Marvel vs. Capcom 3 hitting store shelves, it appears as though you’re all looking for as much fightstick information as possible before you spend your hard-earned cash on a new fighting game weapon of choice.

As a public service to you (and as something I would find fun to write), I’ve put together a newbie buyer’s guide that covers my knowledge of arcade fightsticks. This post features some general things you should know, mini-reviews to a few of the major fightsticks on the market and links to my older posts where I go into more detail on each product. I’m by no means a fightstick connoisseur, but I do own a bunch of them and spend a ton of time using them.

If you’d like to learn more, click through to the rest of this post!

Continue reading →

Pick Up Post: Tekken 6 Limited Edition

JettLeave a comment

Up until the rumored announcement of a Namco and Capcom, I didn’t think I would ever own Tekken anything. From my few times playing Tekken games, the gameplay just didn’t appeal to me.

With that said, I now have the limited edition Tekken 6 bundle with fight stick in my house. Huh?
Continue reading →

Hori EX 2 Was An Epic Fail

JettLeave a comment

I’m not new to this whole video game hardware failure thing. It’s frustrating every single time. Going into this, I knew I was getting an entry-level arcade joystick, but the relatively positive reviews and the trusted Hori brand name led me to believe that I was getting a “good enough” joystick to start with.

So much for that thought.

Continue reading →

Pick Up Post: I Got The Magic Stick

JettLeave a comment

After months of deliberation, I have finally decided to purchase an arcade joystick. With the release of Super Street Fighter IV happening in a few days (and Marvel vs. Capcom 3 having just been announced), I figured now would be the right time to finally give this arcade joystick thing a shot. As a long-time pad player who has always struggled with joysticks in the arcade, this is a bit of a risky investment. The market for joysticks varies wildly, as the prices can go as low as $30 and as high as $200 for products that do the exact same thing. All of the joysticks also vary wildly in features, build quality and the ability to fix/mod the joystick yourself.

As much as I would like to immediately jump to the top-of-the-line MadCatz TE stick, I’m not ready to invest $200 on a controller that I may never find as comfortable as a regular controller. With everything taken into consideration, I ended up putting down the money on this arcade joystick.

Continue reading →

Lost In Translation

JettLeave a comment

Over the weekend, I was out with my girlfriend on a date that partially consisted of a trip to the local…I’m hesitant to call it an “arcade”, cause it’s more of an amusement place with lots of arcade games in it. Semantics aside, they had a Street Fighter IV arcade machine there. This is significant because Capcom never made a North American arcade version, so this place actually imported a machine (not the one above, but something like it). I didn’t think this place in particular would do that, but there it was and I had to give it a go.