Thanks for the advice guys. I was afraid the lower end sticks wouldn’t be worth it. I’ll drop the 40 bucks and get the HRAP. Can’t wait for it to get here so I can start working on that muscle memory again! 
Anyone know which is the best stick: The TE Round 1, or the TE “S”? Also, how come the TE S stick for PS3 is always out of stock?
TE-S is better than the TE Round 1
As for the PS3 TEs being out of stock, PS3 is the De-facto standard for most tournaments as the Xbox 360 have reliability issues with OVERHEATING.
Xbox 360 TEs can be easily Dual-moded to include a PS3 mode.
Hi all! I recently joined SRK so I can kick it up a notch and go from a casual fighter to a more competitive (eventually tournament ready) player. I’ve had a good experience with fighting games and performed decently with a [ps3] controller. But like I said I wanna be more serious so I’m looking around for arcade sticks or fight pads. I’m pretty low on cash as of now but I found one such called Arcade Fighter Micro. It’s an arcade stick but it’s compact (my kind of style for an arcade stick) and fits my budget for now. But before I make a purchase I wanna make sure if it would be a good choice for now, or would you guys recommend anything.
Thanks so much for helping me get started and I’m looking forward to getting to know everyone!
The rule of thumb is anything less than $50 isn’t worth the cash. (currently some Wii Sticks do not apply mainly the TvC stick and Hori’s Wii Fight stick)
Long run, you get what you pay for. Check out page one for the actual guide, some of the prices aren’t updated but this will give you a general idea what to expect.
can you elaborate? In what way is the TE-S better exactly? Also I was under the impression that xbox 360s were used for most tournaments
Nothing to make better.
TE “S” just has ability to lock the Select/Back and Start along with Home/Guide.
Whereas non-TE “S” or TE without the TE “S” PCB is only able to lock the Home/Guide.
And Darksakul just does not like Microsoft and Xbox 360 is all.
Your just saying that because I mentioned my Xbox 360 having issues, PS3 is the standard at Evo and other tournaments and you know this.
I could have sworn I saw an xbox 360 being used at EVO 2011…
I know last year’s EVO was sponsored by Sony.
I do not see Sony in this year’s Sponsor List, but all main stuff was PlayStation 3.
I like the TE-S better because of some minor additions, an extra screw near the guide area to reenforce the case and some minor ascetics.
For the most part, the newer TE sticks have the main body of the TE-S with the older sides or I call them wings. But that is my opinion.
As for the Evo console debate
http://evo2k.com/player-guide/additional-rules/
There might have been a Xbox 360 here or there, but that was not a main attraction.
I know in the past Evo once used arcade cabs, so it could change
Maybe East Coast, or maybe I need to go even more Tournaments.
But it seem Tournaments on West Coast are Xbox 360.
Which is why I get a lot of PS3 to Xbox 360 requests.
The weekly casuals on Stream that are West Coast that I attend are Xbox 360 also.
I have not attended any Major or Casual that is PlayStation 3.
Mad Catz was sponsor for Tournament at Anime Expo.
And that was Xbox 360.
Laugh.
Yeah, I haven’t been to the west coast in 10 years, last time I was in Cali the Dreamcast was still new.
Tournaments on the east cost follow 2 trends, random or smaller tourneys follow what ever the house decides. Like Privately owned Arcades or Game Stores use what ever at their own discretion. I been to a Game Stop Tourney that used the In store Xbox 360 display Kiosk but that was shit. Same thing with College sponsored Tourneys. I once ran an College sponsored event that ran off the Dreamcast, PS2 and SNES, and since good sticks were rare (at the time), and some policy involving student activities stating we can’t expect students pro provide their own controllers, it was game pads only, we actually banned the only stick that appeared, an X-arcade.
Some of the larger ones will go with what ever rules Evo does.
This is not exclusive to TE-S sticks but started with the later factory production run of original TE shells. If you look at early batch TE shells then you’ll notice there is a hole for a screw just above the cable bay, but nothing for it to physically screw in to.
I re-read it, so I might have to pull cash together for a bit because I found one just above the $50 mark but it’s wireless (Wireless Fighting Stick 3). Thanks for the heads up!
Edit: I saw a Hori Fighting Stick 3, but it’s used (and from a store I’ve never even heard of). Should I trust used products? It worked for games
The Tekken Fighting Stick is just like the regular Hori Fighting Sticks with the same quality buttons and stick just …well…wireless. There’s the new Hori Fighting Stick V3. The design is better, it have good reviews it only come with 6 buttons instead of 8 so you won’t have to deal with the 2 extra buttons you don’t need and it’s wired. The wireless of the Tekken stick causes concern to some ppl because of possible lag but I never read or watched a review that says anything about lag and “claim” that the inputs are as responsive as the regular sticks; so its a tough one to figure out. Here are the pics of the 2 sticks so you can make a comparison and better decision.
http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0/7422/1069720-tekken6_arcade_stick_ps3_2_super.jpg
http://www.girlgamersuk.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/tekken6_arcade_stick_ps3_1.jpg
http://cdn.priceprobe.net/i/8097062.32954e521a9e96e915.87046407
Actually, the Hori Fighting Stick 3 was wired. Same with the Hori EX2 (the Xbox 360 equivalent of the former) for that matter. :tup:
Lol I typed the wrong thing i meant to say Tekken Stick 
But it also depend on whether the stick you’re gonna buy is your beginner stick or that’s the stick you will continue using. Or whether you are a online competitor or casual arcade stick enthusiast. If you don’t really care about Sanwa parts and tournament quality responsiveness go with the Tekken stick or Fighting Stick V3 If you will get a full Sanwa stick later on; just skip the low end sticks and save money for a Mad Catz TE Stick or HRAP V3 SA later on. Because the difference between the Hori parts and Sanwa parts are like Kroger brand microwavable pizza and Digiorno; the Sanwa parts are ALOT better. If you own a low end Hori stick like me for a long time, used to the buttons, and then decide to upgrade to a Sanwa stick… you will be confused! It will be like learning to use an arcade stick for the first time all over again. (sorry for my rambling I’m just trying to explain first hand experience) That’s what it was like when I used my friend’s custom built stick; the buttons were alot more responsive so responsive that I got confused. I felt and looked like a scrub when first using it but once I adapted moves were much more easier to pull off. Oh! and another personal experience that might affect your decision is that the Hori buttons will die on you. That what happened to my Hori Fighting Stick 3; I took good care of it, I never button mash or abuse the stick I just used the stick for too long. So if you will use your stick often that will be a big concern. Alright I’ll stop rambling now I bet for other people on the forum what they are thinking in their mind when reading this is:blah:. So i will save you from your agony :tup:
Thanks! I wanna be competitive and when I get good enough maybe enter some tournaments so I’m looking at longer lasting sticks (no pun no homo). I considered getting the T6 Hori Stick too but it’s wireless and I’ve heard people say that can really mess you up (bc of input lags and connection disruption). But what I wonder is that some tournament players from EVO use the standard PS3/360 controllers when playing, so will it make any difference? Thank you so much these responses are really helping me make decisions 