Amazon taking preorders for HORI Real Arcade Pro

[NotBlaine]

I placed my order. It really is a good deal. Just looking around, most places don't have them in stock. And even when they do, they're closer to $200 (not including shipping).

I'll probably swap out the buttons, if only for aesthetics. I'm thinking white.

But, yeah, a lot cheaper than the Otomedius stick (which, although cool with touch pad... only has 4 buttons) and it should last longer than your 360!!

[Citizin]

Really tempting. Even though I don't have that many 360 games that would fully benefit from a stick, it sounds great for MAME games being emulated on Windows because of it's long lasting and good quality parts.

Would it be fine to wait or should I pre-order now if I want it? Hopefully it wont go out of stock.

[NotBlaine]

Really tempting. Even though I don't have that many 360 games that would fully benefit from a stick, it sounds great for MAME games being emulated on Windows because of it's long lasting and good quality parts.

Would it be fine to wait or should I pre-order now if I want it? Hopefully it wont go out of stock.

It's...ah.. hmm. All I can say with confidence is it 'might' sell out. I can't really tell you how soon that would be. The original Japanese release sold out pretty damn quickly (I think it was only 1,000 sticks though). They re-issued in the middle of the year and those sold out as well. Now, I'd be less than shocked if... 10%-20% were bought by importers. Your Hori Real Arcades are stick of choice for most fighting enthusiasts (most, a lot of people like the VFHG or custom sticks) and this is the only one for the 360. If I had to guess, the closer we get to Street Fighter IV home release, the faster they'll start to move.

So... Beginning of February is as long as I would wait, were I to wait... figuring people would want to get the joystick in time for the game launch on the 12th and 19th (Japan and US).

It's the game we always play though. Buy it now and it'll be easy to find - like I did with my Hori Wii stick. Don't buy it now and you'll never get it - like I did with Border Down.

To make life easier, I'll give you a pro to waiting... The Mad Catz Tournament stick has some real big potential. We're gonna have to wait for people to get their hands on it and beat it up some first, but, early word is it's a stud. And it's right in the same price range as the Hori RAP EX. (he he RAPE X).

At any rate, if I ordered one of these bad boys because I want retailers to see there's a market for high quality game items. Not just expensive items like fucking $150 collectors edition games with alarm clocks and bottle openers, but 'hey, this is worth the money because it's made of metal and real parts'. If you have the means, I encourage you to do the same. If you don't, DIY. I built a joystick. It's a lot of fun and a good learning experience.

[Citizin]

It's...ah.. hmm. All I can say with confidence is it 'might' sell out. I can't really tell you how soon that would be. The original Japanese release sold out pretty damn quickly (I think it was only 1,000 sticks though). They re-issued in the middle of the year and those sold out as well. Now, I'd be less than shocked if... 10%-20% were bought by importers. Your Hori Real Arcades are stick of choice for most fighting enthusiasts (most, a lot of people like the VFHG or custom sticks) and this is the only one for the 360. If I had to guess, the closer we get to Street Fighter IV home release, the faster they'll start to move.

So... Beginning of February is as long as I would wait, were I to wait... figuring people would want to get the joystick in time for the game launch on the 12th and 19th (Japan and US).

It's the game we always play though. Buy it now and it'll be easy to find - like I did with my Hori Wii stick. Don't buy it now and you'll never get it - like I did with Border Down.

To make life easier, I'll give you a pro to waiting... The Mad Catz Tournament stick has some real big potential. We're gonna have to wait for people to get their hands on it and beat it up some first, but, early word is it's a stud. And it's right in the same price range as the Hori RAP EX. (he he RAPE X).

At any rate, if I ordered one of these bad boys because I want retailers to see there's a market for high quality game items. Not just expensive items like fucking $150 collectors edition games with alarm clocks and bottle openers, but 'hey, this is worth the money because it's made of metal and real parts'. If you have the means, I encourage you to do the same. If you don't, DIY. I built a joystick. It's a lot of fun and a good learning experience.

I could care less for full priced fighters such as SFIV. I would end up using this mostly for classic arcade games and shootemups. I'm still not so sure I want it though, building my own seems like a good idea rather than paying $130 for something I might not use all that often, as I still find d-pads very exceptional for arcade games.

Thanks for all the info anyways.

[mrtie]

Does anyway know if this is using sanwa buttons like the hrap2: SA or if it's using using hori buttons/switchs like the newer HRAP3 does? It does seem to be a decent value but I've already "sanwa'd" my EX stick so I think I'll sit this one out.

[NotBlaine]

Does anyway know if this is using sanwa buttons like the hrap2: SA or if it's using using hori buttons/switchs like the newer HRAP3 does? It does seem to be a decent value but I've already "sanwa'd" my EX stick so I think I'll sit this one out.

Hori buttons. I think only the SA's have sanwa buttons. I think that's one of the reasons it's a 'special'.
If you've already modded your EX2, all you'd really be getting is a little more real estate. Probably not worth it.

[baphomet_irl]

for me the HRAP feels a little tighter than the EX-2/PS3 Fighting Stick - also it's sheer size makes it easier to use IMO as there is room to lay your wrists comfortably

[shallowgamer]

Does anyway know if this is using sanwa buttons like the hrap2: SA or if it's using using hori buttons/switchs like the newer HRAP3 does? It does seem to be a decent value but I've already "sanwa'd" my EX stick so I think I'll sit this one out.

Hori buttons. I think only the SA's have sanwa buttons. I think that's one of the reasons it's a 'special'.
If you've already modded your EX2, all you'd really be getting is a little more real estate. Probably not worth it.

Sooo.. for 20 bucks more ($150) you can get the Street Fighter 4 stick with (purportedly) Sanwa hardware?

I guess I'm trying to figure out why the 360 version of the HRAP is 30 bucks more than the PS3 version. I know the 360 version has the communications port for your headset. Any other differences?

[elvis]

The original Japanese release sold out pretty damn quickly (I think it was only 1,000 sticks though).

That number sounds a bit small to me. I've enquired about reselling Hori gear locally, and I'm told I need to order in batches of 4000-5000 minimum.

[baphomet_irl]

Are there any pics of the MadCatz Street Fighter IV pad yet?