Lately I’ve been looking into getting a Suzo joystick. I know they are all discontinued, which is making finding one a little challenging. Anyway some basic googling about Suzo has shown me that recently Happ merged with or acquired the name of company and is now known as Suzo-Happ. I also discovered that in the past Suzo sticks have been sold under different brand names like Omni-Stik. I was wondering if anyone in the know about Euro parts knows if they will be making any Suzo sticks again. They still make Happ’s Competition model so I’m assuming Happ just bought them or something. AFAIK no Suzo sicks have been in production since 2009. Basically I’m wondering if with this recent merger more Suzo sticks are going to be made, or if I should try to snag an older Suzo or “clone” before they all disappear. Thanks.
Bump.
Bizzump.
http://www.slagcoin.com/joystick/attributes_brands.html#HAPP/INDUSTRIAS_LORENZO
Long story short. Skip Happ, get IL.
Last STC
http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=65&products_id=292
Sweet, looks like the Omni-Stik clones are back. I’m going to assume these are still clones of the Suzo 500 model unless anyone gives me reason not to.
Not sure what you mean, did you mean ‘Screw Happ’? Doesn’t matter as neither sticks are what I was talking about.
Skip Happ. Most of their best sticks were actually IL sticks. Last I checked, the stuff they make these days isn’t by IL anymore.
The Suzo- Happ merger isn’t anything new. Suzo sticks have been out of production for like 10 years, what you saw sold up till 2009 is old unsold stock.
Happ broke away from there European partner IL (Industrias Lorenzo) and move production to China with inferior manufacturing methods.
Hence why d3v here as well as everyone (including me) else will tell you to avoid Happ like the plague. If you really want American/European style parts go with IL.
Also Ultimarc has the same Suzo 500 clone labeled as the Euro Stick.
Only American style joysticks I care about is long gone, the sticks made by the now [defunct] Wico.
I think you mean “defunct” Wico.
I’m very familiar with Wico. My first two joysticks were a Wico batstick and Wico red ball handle.
They were marketed for machines that had Atari pin interfaces back in the early 1980s (Atari 2600 VCS, Atari 400/800/XE/XL computers, and probably the Atari 7800). Incidentally, they would also work with the Sega Genesis since it used the same interface those Atari machines did, too.
(ParadiseArcadeShop is also selling a replica of the Wico “world famous red ball” handle. { <= Seriously… that phrase was in the old advertising for the ball handle joystick!} Very interesting… Might be a potential buy for me in the future!)
Until it went the way of the Dodo, Lizard Lick supposedly had limited supplies of Wico parts and joysticks so there is still some of their product floating around.
I’m not as nostalgic for the old American parts myself. (They’re a big part of the reason why I never enjoyed playing in arcades that much.) It’s much easier to get ahold of quality Japanese parts, Korean parts, or alternate Asian clones and adapt those to take the place of the older American arcade joysticks. That’s pretty much what many people who aren’t hung up on nostalgia are doing right now.
(Personally, I think the Sanwa JLF is probably the worst joystick to use to play Pac-Man but other people seem to think the JLW series are fine… I kind of prefer a spring-modded LS-32 for Pac-Man but that’s my choice.)
First of all, why are you people assuming I’m interested in Happ/IL sticks? I’ve said a couple times, I’m talking about Suzo sticks.
Are you guys trying to tell me to avoid the current clones(Omni-Stik/Euro-Stik) because they are manufactured by Happ and Happ no longer makes good sticks? Was the Omni-Stik Prodigy model sold through 2009 unsold Suzo stock or made by post-IL Happ?
Also, Ultimatearc currently does NOT have the Euro-Stik for sale.
omni is oryginal stick Universal STC aka System500
eurojoystick from suzo is Eurojoystick from iL
Alright thanks for the clearification. Will be ordering an Omni-Stik from GroovyGameGear soon. Hopefully I’ll be able to find a arcade stick case that it’ll fit into.
Why we assume Happ/IL? It is not an assumption, it is proven correlation.
Happ merged with Suzo to create the company Suzo-Happ.
So if you talking Suzo, anything made in the last 15 years that isn’t a clone is unfortunately a Happ product.
End of Story.
As of now IL makes the same product but at much higher quality than Happ.
As Kowal said, the stick you are looking for was the template for Happs and IL later Euro stick.
Personally all I seen Groovy game gear do is make knockoffs of older products. Which is a strike against those who demand quality in their arcade parts. Regardless of the actual quality of Groovy game gear’s products, knockoffs are synonymous with crap. And I personally seen enough knock off products to think other wise. But hey, its your money.
As for fitting the GroovyGameGear’s Omni-stick in a modern arcade stick?
Look for guides on how to fit a Happ stick inside a TE or Hrap for insight.
You want a arcade stick with ALOT of clearance under the top panel if you are looking to mount a Suzo 500 clone.
The older Hrap 1,2,3 and EX does this. It is possible with some heavy mods to do this to a TE.
I am not sure with newer Hrap models or qanba sticks.
This will require you to make a new top panel.
You might want to look into getting a custom case made.
I don’t like RandyT, 4me this guy is beetroot
but Omni is original version SUZO Universal STC
Randy change only name
all other is the same, stick come from SUZO and act fine
if You need STC - buy Omni
Next stick on SUZO catalogue is Euro Style Joystcik aka iL-Eurojoystick P/E
same stick how iL-Eurojoystick/2 P/E2 (Tear Drop Handle) aka old "HAPP Competition"
but have different knob