Good arcade stick to get

[Godot102]

So this summer I plan on playing my shmups more(I wanna get better at Mushihimesama futari) and I'm looking for a good arcade stick for xbox360 that isnt too expensive but will work well with shmups. Any recommendations or know of any good sites where I can get them for a decent price?

[ZenErik]

What's your budget? Personally I think it's worth it to go for something with authentic arcade parts.

QanBa Q4 RAF is awesome. My current favorite.

Hori RAP sticks are also great. I'm not going to recommend MadCatz. High failure rate on their boards.

[noiseredux]

High failure rate on their boards.

is this factual, or just something you heard?

I don't have any facts, but I know quite a few people (myself include) who remain very happy with MadCatz PS3 and Wii sticks -- especially considering the price and how easy they are to upgrade with Sanwa parts.

[ZenErik]

Factual. There are threads on the Shoryuken forums all about it.

I really need to put a Sanwa stick in my Tatsunoko vs Capcom stick. The stock stick is nearly unusable now. So much play in it.

I wish someone made tournament level Wii sticks. I could use it for Illvelo and TvC.

[mjmjr25]

Factual. There are threads on the Shoryuken forums all about it.

I really need to put a Sanwa stick in my Tatsunoko vs Capcom stick. The stock stick is nearly unusable now. So much play in it.

I wish someone made tournament level Wii sticks. I could use it for Illvelo and TvC.

That Madcatz Wii stick is the easiest stick mod evah. Get a Seimitsu for $18 plus ship. You can swap the stick in 12 minutes and the buttons are all quick disconnects, can swap those in about 20 seconds apiece.

I've not heard of any failing madcatz pcb's. Maybe if guys are soldering on it or something since it is so commonly modded, but a stock stick failing? No way.

[CRTGAMER]

I really need to put a Sanwa stick in my Tatsunoko vs Capcom stick. The stock stick is nearly unusable now. So much play in it.

Really? Mine is stock, still works fine and pulls extra duty modded as a "duel stick" for Geometry Wars. In honesty I do not slam the stick hard, but also don't use kid gloves either.

[Godot102]

How is the TVC stick? I may pick that up considering that its extremely cheap now. Ill mod it too. As for the 360 stick I wanna say Ill pay up to ~$130 (ik its a fairly low price range) but If the stick is easily moddable I may just swap the parts out.

[ZenErik]

I really need to put a Sanwa stick in my Tatsunoko vs Capcom stick. The stock stick is nearly unusable now. So much play in it.

Really? Mine is stock, still works fine and pulls extra duty modded as a "duel stick" for Geometry Wars. In honesty I do not slam the stick hard, but also don't use kid gloves either.

Well, who knows what the quality control on the knockoff parts are like? I have only put maybe 6 hours on the stick. Got it brand new. I wouldn't give it to anyone to use that is inexperienced with arcade sticks. It'd just make them dislike sticks even more, haha.

[noiseredux]

Factual. There are threads on the Shoryuken forums all about it.

I'm not sure if I consider discussion on forums about defective sticks being "factual" proof that there's a high failure rate.

[ZenErik]

http://shoryuken.com/forum/index.php?th ... ng.137321/

Useful info. I'm not saying that MadCatz is terrible, but I would definitely recommend Hori or other sticks over MadCatz. But if you don't want to spend the money for higher end sticks, then MadCatz may be sufficient.

Hori is definitely more reliable.