f13.net

http://capcomhomearcade.com/home

The dopest.

(https://i.imgur.com/rHYZDkb.png)

I still think it looks bad. Cool idea though, but maybe a little pricey for two arcade sticks that can only be used on the games that are loaded in there (even assuming people find ways to side load other stuff in). I'm trying to think of a use case where this would be a better purchase than just getting a couple arcade sticks.

Also they apparently didn't license the emulator cores they use in this thing

Ball stick joysticks are the devil unless you are playing Pac-Man. Hopefully those tops are replaceable like standard Sanwa joysticks.

It is Sanwa technology so the ball can be removed and replaced very easily. I am not sure what you mean though. In Europe the ball was not popular in the 80s, sticks where simply headless, like a spike, and we thought that the ball was stupid whenever we met one. On the other hand the ball top was the norm in Japan and it still is what pretty much everyone who plays competitive fighting games even nowadays uses. In the US I think you had the "club" top (bat?) but I don't think even American players use that anymore at a competitive level today.

Yes the "bat" top was the US standard for arcade sticks when I was playing arcade games (dunno if that's still true).

(https://i.imgur.com/cf4xfSQ.jpg)

Square bases were (are?) standard too in Japanese arcades. Doesn't mean that's the correct way to play.

Haha no I agree with you, I still prefer the headless joystick because I grew up on it. Just saying that these days the ball is what is mostly used in competition. And yes as far as I know now the majority of the pros still play with the square gate because it offers a better feedback on diagonal movements, but they are very easily replaced and plenty go with the octagonal too.

Octagonal does seem to the be default now (and is what the Home Arcade uses) and is a decent compromise between the square base and the smooth circle base which is what the US Street Fighter II(+) arcade cabinets had (can't remember what base the one Street Fighter I cabinet I played on had).

Mmmmm, I've been on ball sticks forever on my egret II and I've come to like it a lot more than the bat.

Most street fighters, iirc, had octagonal bases. Particularly once CPS2 hit.

I gave up on SF II when Turbo came out so I missed that transition. I was never particularly good at SF II (Virtua Fighter was my thing) so Turbo was too much for me.

Edit: typos

I've tried all the combinations on my fight stick and I prefer the ball top with a square gate for most fighting games.  It's way easier to hit the corners fast and consistently on rolling motions with the square gate.  Obviously user preference though.  2/4 way gates are for some classics so they are nice to have laying around when you need them.