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Neo Geo Arcade Stick Pro puts a retro console inside a controller
<p>Last month <a href="https://www.engadget.com/2019/08/01/neo-geo-next-gen/">SNK promised some "next gen" Neo Geo hardware</a> on the way and it might be here. The company just unveiled details on its <a href="https://www.snk-corp.co.jp/us/press/2019/091003/" target="_blank">Neo Geo Arcade Stick Pro</a>
Pull off combos, mashes with the Razer Atrox for Xbox One
With details of Killer Instinct's second season coming in, it'd make sense if you've considered picking up a fight stick for the Xbox One. Lucky for you, Razer just revealed the Razer Atrox at EvO 2014, a $199.99 build that uses buttons and joysticks manufactured by Sanwa. The Atrox comes with a detachable 13-foot USB cable, a screwdriver and an alternate, bat-shaped top for its joystick, all of which can be stored in an internal storage space. You won't be stuck looking at the Razer logo while pouring hours into your favorite fighter either – the Atrox's top plate can be swapped out for art of your preference, and the bottom of its internal compartment uses honeycomb plating, meaning you can mount screws wherever you want. You can read up on the Atrox's specs on its listing page, and if customizing artwork appeals to you, there's a template linked in the "Fully mod capable construction" section that should make planning that a bit easier. The Atrox isn't yet available, but you can register for the chance to buy one from Razer's first production run. [Image: Razer]
PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale lets fight sticks compete on PS3
Everyone knows the elegant weapon for a more civilized age is the fight stick, the tried-and-true sidearm of every fighting game fan the world over. And so SuperBot Entertainment announced on Facebook today that the PS3 version of PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale will support fight stick peripherals."Fans of the fighting game genre can use their favorite arcade-style controller to play Battle Royale to full effect," the Facebook post mentions. "Every attack, combo, and strategy that can be performed on the DualShock 3 controller is seamlessly mapped to arcade button layouts."Actually, there is one difference between using the fight stick and DualShock 3 – throwing. On the DualShock 3, the move is done using the right analog stick; on a fight stick, it'll be "an easy button combination, similar to many traditional fighting games."
Finally, the perfect joystick for ... StarCraft?
The proprietors of fighting game fan site Shoryuken posed an interesting question to its community recently: Can you design a functional fight stick for playing StarCraft 2? It appears you can.The winning design – as demonstrated by "Mauricio" in the video above – sports a modded Ultrastik joystick as the mouse, and about a billion Sanwa buttons in LED housing for illumination. It may look odd, but it apparently does everything a keyboard and mouse can, using one USB input.As it's a fan mod, you can't actually purchase this device. Learning how to make one yourself, though, sounds like a great resumé booster, right below "Proficient strategist in StarCraft 2."
Qanba introduces line of ambidextrous arcade sticks
The raging battle between Southpaws and Righties wages ever onward, with each side continuing to produce products for their own kind in an attempt to eventually convert the global population to their way of doing things. Some companies, however, are trying to create peace between the warring factions by introducing products that either side can use.Take Qanba, for instance: The Chinese arcade stick manufacturer has announced a new line of ambidextrous sticks that can be flipped and reversed with the flick of a switch. Launching sometime next month, the "Q2-PRO Battle of Wits" can be oriented with the stick on the left or on the right, depending on how you were raised, and will be available in PS3/PC, 360/PC and PS3/360/PC flavors. No pricing information is available as of yet, but can you really put a price on world peace?
The Joystiq Joystick, chapter 1: Parts
You see that video up there? That was taken at Arcade UFO in Austin, TX, during its 2011 fall Ranking Battle tournament series. The fight was between me and the arcade's owner, Ryan Harvey, and took place on a custom built Mortal Kombat arcade cabinet, one of the few in existence at the time. I'm the guy playing Kitana, and if you watch the whole thing, you'll see that I'm also the guy who loses. That's all right though, because I should have lost that fight. Fubarduck (as Ryan is known in the fighting game community) is an exceptional fighting-game player, as his multiple Top-8 finishes at EVO will attest, and his combo execution was far more solid than what I was laying down with Kitana. Ryan had won, I had learned something about fighting Johnny Cage, and we all moved on. Right? Well, in a perfect world yes, but unfortunately we live in a world where this fight is available on YouTube. By now I've watched it dozens of times, and at this point I can pinpoint every single mistake I made over the course of those matches. Most of them were strategic mistakes, granted, but there were also execution errors: Because the arcade parts Ryan uses in his cabinets are far superior to the parts in the $35 fight stick I practice with at home, I was at a disadvantage. High quality joysticks and buttons are light, accurate and require very little manual force to move. Cheaply made parts, on the other hand, are stiff and less responsive, and as such require a lot more effort. My hands, being acclimated to a sub-standard stick, were expecting to work a lot harder than they needed to. I was forward-jumping instead of dashing, doing directional normals instead of neutral normals ... The whole fight was a mess, looking back. It was a good fight, though, because it made me realize how important it is to own a proper fight stick once you get serious about competitive fighting games. After all, a craftsman's tools are as important as the skill he has acquired, as far as the final result is concerned. To that end, I'm going to build my own, custom fight stick, and you're coming along for the ride.
Mad Catz now shipping Soulcalibur 5 fight sticks
It may not be as curvaceous as the fighters of Soulcalibur V, but at least you need not feel ashamed ogling the game's official Mad Catz stick. As one of two officially licensed fight sticks (the other being a Hori model), Mad Catz's offering will set consumers back $159.99 and is already off to retail as you read this post. Sticks are available in both Xbox 360 and PS3 flavors, but you already knew that because those are the only two platforms on which you can buy Soulcalibur V.
Hori's Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 fight stick hitting US on Dec. 8
In the market for a new fight stick? We know a guy -- well, okay, it's not so much a guy as a big, faceless corporation, but you get the point. Come December 8, you can snag Hori's custom Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 rig for $149.99, Capcom-Unity has revealed. There will be three different versions: the one with the colored buttons above, another with white buttons and a super deluxe edition with built-in cup holder and FM radio. Okay, fine, we made that last one up, but how awesome would that be? So awesome.
Hori making Soulcalibur 5 branded fight sticks
Remember how Mad Catz is going to make those gorgeous, dynamically styled Soulcalibur 5 themed fight sticks? Well, if shiny bevelled edges and an LED-ready see-through plastic casing aren't your jam, accessories manufacturer Hori has a rather minimalistic alternative: The Soulcalibur 5 Joystick. The stick's fancy name matches the rest of its aesthetic, and is slated for a January 2012 release, with versions being made for both the 360 and PS3. While Hori has yet to announce pricing or parts information, the size of the stick suggests that it will be similar to their Sanwa-packing $140 Real Arcade Pro. That's wild speculation on our part, of course, so while we're speculating let's go ahead and say that the stick is also filled with molasses. Gross, Hori!
Mad Catz proves its soul still burns with Soul Calibur V Arcade FightStick Soul Edition
If you're a fan of arcade-style fighting games, you're surely hip to MadCatz's FightStick Tournament Edition for PS3 and Xbox 360. As it's done with Street Fighter in the past, the company is back with another variation of the arcade stick, this time officially themed for the upcoming Soul Calibur V. Launching near the game in January 2012, the Soul Calibur V Arcade FightStick Soul Edition features the usual masher-friendly eight button with joystick layout, but sports a casing endowed with visuals inspired by the game -- and an extremely unfortunate mix of hues. The crazy Cat hasn't announced a price yet, but considering these have gone for about $150 in the past, we'd imagine this one won't be too far off. Full details in the press release after the break.
Hit Box stickless fight stick makes for malicious Mortal Kombat mayhem
Run of the mill controllers work just fine for hanging out with a group of scrubs friends and frantically beating the hell out of each other, but serious, tournament-ready fighters have to either invest the coin in a well constructed stick, or build one themselves. If your fighter of choice is Mortal Kombat, however, Hit Box says you're better off with no stick at all. As we discovered last year, Hit Box manufactures custom controllers for fighting game enthusiasts which eschew traditional joysticks for more buttons. Thanks to Mortal Kombat's relatively simplistic input philosophy (all directions, no circle movements), the Hit Box is capable of some blindingly fast and accurate maneuvers. Be sure to teleport past the break for a second video showcasing the Hit Box's capabilities as a destroyer of worlds.
Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection to bring the original trilogy to XBLA and PSN
Has the rich, all-encompassing story mode of Netherrealm Studios' reboot of the Mortal Kombat franchise filled you with an unquenchable thirst for more of the universe's gore-lore? We suggest going back to the franchise's roots -- an act which will be made much easier in late summer, when Warner Bros. Interactive launches the Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection on XBLA, PSN and PC for 800 Microsoft Points ($10). The compilation promises to include "arcade-perfect" ports of the series' original trilogy: Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2 and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, each of which will be infused with online multiplayer and leaderboards. As an added promotion, the company is licensing an official Mortal Kombat Klassic Fight Stick with PDP, a $129.99 peripheral with a retro Mortal Kombat button layout (similar to PDP's recent Tournament Edition stick) which includes a download voucher for the upcoming Kollection. The Fight Stick is available to pre-order now, but the Kollection itself is not. Because you don't have to pre-order downloadable games, you silly goose.
PDP Mortal Kombat Fight Stick's secret compartments revealed
Wondering exactly what makes the PDP-designed "portable" fight stick that comes bundled with the $150 Tournament Edition of Mortal Kombat so darn "portable?" Check out the nooks and crannies of the device in the gallery below -- looks like it's got enough space to fit a small family of guinea pigs.
Mad Catz makes the Wii a fighter with moddable FightStick
The Wii may not be the console of choice for most fighting game fans, but it is starting to earn a bit more respect with the release of Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom and, just as importantly Mad Catz's new Arcade FightStick to go along with it. The best news, however, is that like Mad Catz's fightsticks for other consoles, this one is moddable for those that prefer some arcade authentic parts, and it even packs a few features not found its Xbox 360 and PS3 counterparts. Most notably, that includes a toggle switch that will let the arcade stick control either the d-pad of the classic controller or the left or right analog stick, meaning you'll also be able to use it with an array of Virtual Console titles. Look for this one to set you back $80.
Mad Catz announces 'Round Two' Street Fighter IV fightpads and fightstick
It's not doing anything crazy like lowering the price, but it looks like Mad Catz is at least set to give fighting game fans a few more options when it comes to choosing their peripheral of choice. As usual, the headliner is the company's Tournament Edition fightstick, which dials things back after the explosion of color on the Comic-Con exclusive edition, but otherwise remains identical inside and out. Those that honed their Street Fighter skills on their SNES or Genesis can also now choose from a new range of fightpads, featuring artwork with your choice of M. Bison, Guile, Zangief, C. Viper, Cammy, or Sagat. No firm release date just yet, but the whole lot should be out sometime this fall for both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, with the fightstick setting you back the usual $149.99, and the fightpads running a considerably more affordable $39.99 apiece.[Via Joystiq]
Special edition Mad Catz Street Fighter IV controllers set for limited engagement at Comic-Con
Heading to Comic-Con this year? If not, you'll be missing out on a limited edition Street Fighter IV-branded FightSticks and FightPads from Mad Catz, with button layouts designed to maximize your hadouken-throwing efficiency and with a design the Joystiq crew labels as inspired by Sagat (the character) -- a perfect complement to your Tournament Edition sticks. According to Capcom's official blog, only 500 of each have been made, divided evenly between PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The pad will cost you $49.99, the sticks $179.99, and the online auction resale value guaranteed to be even more.[Via Joystiq]
