For what it’s worth, the box they show in their pictures is the same box that my legit SLS pads came in that I bought from “litianedup_wifi”. (You can see the SLS logo on the box, too.)
It doesn’t guarantee that what they actually send you is going to match up with the pictures, but I feel pretty confident that the pictures are of a legit pad.
the thing is, they showed pictures like that on eBay from sellers with the names bestbuy-enjoy and sellerdigital. Those pads turned out to be fakes that attempted to copy the original saturn usb pads. The L and R buttons didn’t work quite like they were supposed to.
But, I went ahead and ordered one. If it turns out to be the real deal (and honestly, since I’ve never played Saturn (though I am in the process of getting one 
), I wouldn’t know) then I’ll let everyone know. I’ll at least try to put up some pictures.
Don’t know if your a rectal ventriloquist, but you might be talking out of your ass.
The aforementioned seller ‘bestbuy-enjoy’, was kind enough to send me four of those forgeries with the defective L and R buttons too, and all I had to do was send him money. Somehow David Blaine managed to slip in the identical PCB’s and microcontroller’s that are in the pads I purchased - full frigging retail - from Play-Asia years ago. Likewise can be said for the packaging and SLS sticker.
If you have something empirical to show the class about an experience you had with this seller, or any other for that matter then it would be beneficial to post it for other users who have reservations about buying these.
Otherwise don’t give people irrational fears. And if someone want’s to see some pics of mine I’d be happy to oblige.
I also got a couple of saturn usb pads from bestbuy-enjoy awhile back. Both have all the signs of being an official Sega pad (SLS sticker, pcb, etc.).
What people need to realize is that Sega did not make these USB versions identical to their original Saturn pads. When comparing to my genuine saturn pad, this newer version is definitely made of slightly cheaper feeling materials. Even the dpad is slightly different, too. So its all on Sega and if you don’t think they can make/order bad quality pads, just look at their latest pads from the Play Sega site. They’re worse than these SLS pads!
All in all, I like the SLS pads and they work great with all the games I’ve played with them on PS3 and PC emulators.
So I got an SLS pad from focalprice today. It has SEGA printed on the USB, and the SLS sticker.
I’m comparing it to an actual saturn pad I have (just recently bought a sega saturn). The d-pad doesn’t rotate nearly as well…almost feels like it gets stuck. Shoulder buttons are not as smooth to click. Buttons are pretty similar.
I’ll be able to tell better after a few rounds of sfiv
keep in mind the usb SLS pad is new, and i would assume most saturn pads are a bit used. unless you found a brand new one somewhere.
I guess I can’t know for sure, but the saturn i bought seems like it hasn’t been used a great deal. Only game it came with was PGA Tour 97, and it was sold by a woman who didn’t seem to have much use for it.
The controller it came with doesn’t seem terribly worn. The d-pad rotates pretty freely in a circle, and feels fairly smooth. The d-pad on the SLS pad feels more akin to pressing on silly putty. The d-pad still works fairly well, but it just doesn’t feel like it returns to center like it should, making it feel a little less responsive.
Granted, I haven’t really gotten to play around with the saturn much at all yet. Still gathering accessories and such. The SLS pad works pretty well in Street Fighter IV. Definitely better than the 360 pad, where I try to do a single haduken forever.
BTW: does anyone else seem to have some double post problem with the quick reply feature?
Yes, you just have to realize that when you get that message about not being able to post for 15 seconds, it’s actually just a forum bug – the post was successful, so when you try to post a second time and it works, you just posted twice.
It’s been happening since they changed the SRK forum design.
Alright, took apart the “SLS” pad I got from focalprice. Looked at the PCB, looks legit based on the litanedup ebay page pictures.
I also took the liberty of taking apart my original saturn pad…the designs are almost identical in every way. The only discernible difference is the shoulder buttons - the saturn shoulder buttons make contact with a clicky button by purely plastic. The SLS pads do so by a rubber extension, as it appears the original saturn buttons didn’t quite reach far enough. As a result, the shoulder buttons aren’t as good as they should be. Aside from not being as clicky, one of the SLS shoulder buttons appears to be a little large somewhere, as it fits more snugly then it should.
Other than that, every part appears to be interchangeable. I decided to replace the saturn PCB with the SLS usb pcb in the original saturn casing with buttons and all (except the shoulder buttons, which I had to use the SLS ones for) and give it a shot.
Impressions: The saturn pad with the usb pcb feels a lot smoother. The SLS d-pad is jerky by comparison. The saturn d-pad is more responsive, and the buttons feel a bit better too. It seems like it might be because of the silicon pads used (i kept the original saturn ones in there).
Now I’m going to have to buy 2 more saturn controllers for my sega saturn…I made the SLS pad a sega saturn controller but I want the real thing…unless someone can suggest a place to get other silicon pads used for the buttons.
Results of this experiment:
-It is now $15 (focalprice) to turn a REAL saturn pad into a usb pad (sans shoulder buttons…but those aren’t terribly vital)
-I now lost a good pad for my sega saturn and need to buy 2 more…but on the other hand I have an extra controller suitable for saturn bomberman!
I guess it’s important to note the SLS pad (at least in this instance…maybe i didn’t get a great one?) isn’t bad. It’s pretty good compared to other controllers. However, if you were expecting the fluid d-pad from the original saturn pad, you’re probably not going to get it.
Now…time to stop screwing around…I have 2 midterms to study for 
UPDATE: I took apart the controllers again and put everything back, but I swapped the pads used to make contact between buttons and the pcb. There isn’t much of a difference, but after having used the SLS usb controller in it’s normal form for a while, it seems like burning it in by playing more will make the d-pad feel a bit smoother, I hope.
Just to confirm, is this pad a bootleg? It’s missing the sticker and doesn’t come in a box, but it does have the Sega logo (and a sexy color scheme). 
http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/6835/ki1311img600x4501263655.jpg
http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/2307/ki1311img600x4501263655b.jpg
I think the biggest giveaway is the color scheme. I believe the only official colors are the ones seen here: http://web.archive.org/web/20050204061340/http://sega.jp/pc/pad/home.html
The 100% sure way to confirm is to look at the PCB and see what it looks like.
That looks like a bootleg. I have a white pad too, but the buttons are supposed to be multicolored, the cable isn’t that color, and the shoulder buttons are supposed to be the same color as that start button.
But yeah, pop it open and check out the PCB. You’ll know then.
Thanks for the responses. I don’t actually own that pad, I was looking for a Saturn pad in white to match my MacBook (the Snow White one is perfect, but I can’t find it anywhere) and that one was listed on Yahoo Auctions JP. It looked cool, but I have no experience with USB Saturn pads so I thought I’d check to see if it was legit. Unfortunately it seems not :wasted:
Thanks for this link. I hadn’t seen it before. Here’s a copy of the image he’s referring to. It took me at least 20 mins for that page to download in full.
did playsega ever respond to their controllers being shite
So on ebay, I see a whole lot from bestbuy-enjoy. I seem to read mixed reports on the dude. Is he a yay or a nay in the grand scheme?
Is this focalprice place the number one? Because they’re freakin’ sold out right now.
I think the reason it’s hard to find the legit pads right now is because at least some of the sellers from China are on a 3-week vacation. Normally, you can find the SLS pads from the seller litianedup_wifi (I’ve personally bought two from this one, only one I can personally verify as legit). Alternatively, you can try reading back a few pages in this thread to see what people said about the other sellers.
http://stores.ebay.com/katherinestreasurechest (this is the ebay store for the seller litianedup_wifi)
Just visit that link in a week or so and you can probably find the pads for sale again.
I got a got a couple of these from focalprice in the off-white color. I’m really loving them. The question I now have is what do you all think of these ones they just put up? http://www.focalprice.com/GT048W/Sega_Portable_USB_Control_Pad_White.html
I’ve had so many of these things. I’ve had at least 3 of the purple PS2 darkstalkers pads, one white PS2 pad, I have no idea how many PC ones…think I had a black PS2 one at some point too?
They’re the best. And yeah, there are bootlegs, and there are cheap real ones, or at least there were. The bootleg ones don’t seem -that- bad, they’re at least better than those SF fightpad pieces of shit.
Speaking of…
LOOOOOOOOOL
As far as what I’ve seen in this thread goes, those aren’t legit.
Also, I just ordered a pad from litianedup_wifi for $16, and I hope everything goes well. Wish me luck!