I got my TvC stick in today. I posted a review here: http://www.destructoid.com/blogs/nilcam/tvc-stick-review-160167.phtml
In short, it’s better than the SFIV FightStick and Hori Wii. I haven’t modded it yet.
Nice, thanks for the stick review, nilcam. I have been considering this stick for this game but wasn’t ready to go all out modding it like I did my SFIV SE FightStick. I was able to go a few months with my PS3 stick before replacing the parts, so I should be fine with this one. Were you going to post that in Tech Talk as well? Might get more traffic there.
Random side note better discussed in PMs - I’m actually from Oklahoma City myself. How and where is the scene there these days?
Unbelievable! Gamestop have already shipped my TvC stick to the UK (checked tracking and they posted it yesterday!) - AND if that wasn’t good enough news - it’s on schedule to arrive tomorrow. Awesome job, GS!! :karate:
Glad I pre-ordered the stick. I’ll get hit with customs duty but, I remember Gamespot did a fantastic job back in Feb '09 with the release of the Madcatz TE stick - and that arrived in just 2 days also. They know how to run a tight ship there. Some UK online retailers don’t even ship that fast!
The funny part is, I haven’t even gotten around to pre-ordering the actual game yet, lol…
[runs off to pre-order TVC]
Thank you for the review!
There are some details about the new parts in the Tech Talk thread, might want to check it out:
Yeah, Capcom shipped my TvC stick separately as well, even though I pre-ordered the bundle. I guess that’s the policy they’re going with. Works for me. It should arrive tomorrow. Way to keep the Hype-Train going, Capcom. 
From what I gather at Capcom-Unity, there is no bundle. Any bundle being sold is a “soft” bundle where it’s basically just two separate items being sold through a single transaction. There is no combined package, unfortunately. I more annoyed at the lack of specificity, though. For all intents and purposes, they seemed to imply that it was like the Tekken 6 package. It sounds to me they were intentionally vague to induce early purchases.
Well, indeed the stick did arrive and I was hit my import tax. But considering that where I live in London, England we’re about 5 inches deep in snow… “The Big Freeze” the News is calling it - mass cancellations of transport services, school closures, etc - and I get an arcade stick delivered safely to my doorstep, shipped from America in just 2 days!
But to the stick itself. I approach this stick as someone who doesn’t custom mod them - I use the sticks as sold. Whether that will change in the future remains to be seen, but I’m in the bracket of consumer who is out for the product “as is” and not to tamper with it further. After playing on it, I believe it meets my needs - of someone who wants a decent arcade stick for Wii fighting games, without the hassle of changing components myself.
BUILD QUALITY/DESIGN:
[I did not own the Standard Madcatz fightstick for 360/PS3, so can’t compare it to that - but I *do* own a HRAP1 for PS2, HORI EX2 stick for the 360 and a TE stick for both 360/PS3]
Firstly it’s size. The TvC stick is more compact but thicker than the HORI EX 2. Coming from a TE to this I realise there’s no where to rest my wrists - Having large hands my palms are half rested on the sloped wrist area but tend to hang off the front side - but that’s something I’ll have to adjust to and is not a negative mark against the stick. There’s definitely more weight to it. Being a Madcatz it already beats the early HORI EX2 because that had pretty much zero funationality (no turbo, no lock options, 6 button lay out compared to TvC’s 8). Loving the fact that like the TE, it’s kept the back/start button off the faceplate and on the side. The matte finish is a certainly a new experience for me, the TE had a gloss plastic cover that sometimes became unstuck with a sweaty palm, but this finish won’t. It’s got a slightly “cobbled” texture to it, but I believe that adds to the impression of substantiality. The sanwa buttons on the TE are super sensitive but these buttons are prefectly fine, they spring back just as I’d hope them too. The “stick” part itself is perhaps a bit stiffer, marginally louder click. It also feels as though the square gate is smaller (though I am undecided as yet), but otherwise, it’s still responsive. A point of contention with many people was the plugging of the stick into the Wii remote. In practise, I haven’t found this to be an issue. Like others, I had feared this would have been an oversight to not include a Gamecube connection but it has actually turned into a blessing in disguise for the simple reason that by making the stick plug into the remote as a sort of “phantom classic controller”, I’ve opened up my library of virtual console titles (which isn’t many at the stage). I’m enjoying the fact there are no cables running across the room to the TV. The Wii remote just sits next to me on the sofa.
WITH GAMES:
I can not give a thorough review or much in the way of impressions because I don’t have any fighters of note on the Wii. The only two games I was able to test it with were SF2 Champion Edition (PAL, VC) and Smash Brothers Brawl. Neither of these titles are ideal for for me to get a good feel of an arcade stick. While I thought perhaps SF2: CE was a good bet, I’ve forgotten what a bitch it is to execute certain commands, in particular the dragon punch motions. fireballs no probs, but dps… urgh. I find this simple to do on games like SF2 HD Remix and SFIV (their motion shortcuts must have helped more than i knew), but doing it the old school way when you’re out of practise is a frustrating experience (likewas was finding a Hyper speed I was comfortable with which proved a futile experience). I think I need a period of practise and adjustment - perhaps this TvC stick is too accurate. With Smash Brothers things didn’t fair better because it’s a game I’m used to using a pad for (or Wii remote and nunchuck), and thus it became too much for my meagre mind to comprehend.
I’ve decided that because this stick was purpose built for TvC, that’s where the real funcationality of the stick must be judged. In summary, the build quaility of the product is superb. Not Quite as awesome as a TE (for it’s size and it’s parts), but a certainly a solid option that’s very, very cool (if the lovely graphics design on the front plate doesn’t get you hyped to bust out some TvC combos, I don’t know what will!). As a fighting game enthusiast and humble collector, I’m very happy I bought this stick.
TE Madctaz > TvC Madcatz >>> HORI EX2 (much as I expected)
Monkey Meets Tiger. Thanks for your impressions. I’m glad you gave the stock parts a try. 
Hey, no problems, Mark MAn. Like with the TE, it’s a pleasure to play this stick out of the box. I’m the type of consumer who’s looking for good stock options so I really appreciate the effort & quality put into this kind of product.
I hear Madcatz is releasing in Japan - HORI need to watch out. :bgrin:
My local GameStop received my TvC UAS stick. They told me that I was the only one that reserved it, and that they only have one stick 
I’m getting it tomorrow. And I’ll test it out tomorrow. Can’t wait! 
Sorry if this is off topic, but I want a custom stick that’s arcade accurate. Should I use a Vewlix layout, like what the TvC bundle looks like it uses, or the Astro City layout?
There’s no standard arcade cab for TvC since it never came with a cabinet like SF4 or Tekken. Basically, I’ve seen it on a viewlix cab once, and an astro city (versus city) about 10+ times. My guess is that there’s probably not any left in viewlix cabs at this point.
I didn’t get extensive time with this, but Seth Killian bought 2 of these and the US version of TvC to Season’s Beatings which I’m surprised Keits or someone else who was there hasn’t posted here. For TvC the stick feels very nice, it feels much better than the standard SE and since probably the only fighting game you’d use this for is TvC, it gets the job done. It is an improvement over the SE, I haven’t got mine yet but we’ll see how it fares in the long run.