Changing The Game (Arcade Sticks)
June 11 , 2008 ... written by Chad
There’s something that I’d forgotten about until just recently. I absolutely love fighting games, online competition, and that “arcade” feeling.
On the show, it’s not exactly a secret that I’ve picked up a new arcade stick for my 360. After doing so, I immediately realized how much it changed all arcade-style games for it. Of course it’s not going to change your RPGs, your driving-sims, or your FPSs, but for some shooters and fighters, an arcade stick is just what the doctor ordered. Actually, it probably would change those games as well, just not for the better.
I’m not sure how I did it, but I went the entire life span of the PS2 (can we even say that it’s dead now?) without owning an arcade stick for it. This almost doesn’t make any sense, because I was the proud owner of the Dreamcast’s officially licensed arcade stick since launch-day. It really made Soul Calibur an amazing game. It also made Marvel VS Capcom, Ikaruga, Bangai-O, and Dead or Alive 2 much better experiences.
Jump forward to today when I was perusing the local internet and found this link…
There I found the arcade sticks that are going to go on sale at the same time as Soul Calibur 4. Looking at them, I immediately recognized the 360 version as the same Hori-made stick that I own, except mine looks like this…
These things really are well worth the money. I bought mine and even paid to have it shipped to Japan. This has also allowed me to get back into one of my favorite games, Dead or Alive 4. After getting the arcade stick and messing around for a little bit, I found out that it’s not only good on shooters like Ikaruga, but it makes your fighters infinitely better. If you have an HDTV, and one of these sticks for your system of choice, it really feels like you’re playing at the arcade. In fact, I noticed this as I was playing Dragonball Z Burst Limit online. The game became an experience once I plugged in the arcade stick.
You’re probably thinking right now that this isn’t really news. I’ll admit that that’s the case, but when you think about today’s controllers that are packaged with game systems, that’s more of a reason to invest in an arcade stick if you’re even a semi-serious fighter fan. Can you really imagine playing a traditional fighter on the Wii? I personally can’t even play Smash Brothers on it without using the Gamecube controller. That’s not saying that’s a great controller for fighters, just that it’s better than what the Wii comes with. The regular Xbox 360 controller isn’t exactly cater made for fighters either. With a pathetic D-pad and pressure-sensitive shoulder buttons, it would be a hard sell for a serious fighting gamer. The PS3 controller actually isn’t bad for fighters, but playing with an arcade stick is still unmatched.
Another thing to take into consideration is that console controllers themselves are getting more expensive. If I’m not mistaken, the PS3 fighter stick in the aforementioned link ($50) is actually cheaper than the PS3 Dual-Shock controller ($55?).
I personally got my arcade stick because of a few choice games that are coming out this year. I think that with the arrival of Soul Calibur 4, Street Fighter 4, Street Fighter HD Remix, and Soul Calibur on Xbox Live Arcade, console owners have a very good reason to throw down a few more dollars to get that much more out of their fighting experience.