Just letting you guys know I ordered mine this morning from playasia.

Ugh. I just went there and added 2 to my cart. A whopping $71.00 for shipping. I'll have to see if I need anything else since the shipping is insane.

it looks intense and big. Is it worth 74 bucks??? I know I cannot do certain moves with standard controller, but I do not know If i would like the v. stick method.

Get the Hori PS3 stick. A quality controller for $50 each.

http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/25/hori-ps3-fighting-stick-get-your-virtua-fighter-on-in-style/

My VSHG will be waiting for me when I get home from work. I'll post some impressions and hopefully images later tonight :).

it looks intense and big. Is it worth 74 bucks??? I know I cannot do certain moves with standard controller, but I do not know If i would like the v. stick method.
- Where did you see it for $74? Play-Asia lists it as $79.90 + $41 S&H for one or $71 S&H for 2.

Get the Hori PS3 stick. A quality controller for $50 each.
- A few of the VF hardcore players listed that stick as only average in quality. I got the impression that the only Hori stick comparable to the VFHG was the Hori Real Arcade Pro 3. The VFHG was comparable to the actual arcade setup.

To each his own but I can tell you that from hands-on experience, 99% of the players out there will be satisfied with the Hori.

If you've played the arcade version and need that exact stick I suppose the official one has appeal because the grip, tactical feel and throw will be the same. However since it didn't get released in the U.S. arcades most players here will play VF5 on the PS3 for the first time, so that's not an issue. Just being official and more expensive doesn't make it better necessarily because Hori has made quality arcade style controllers for many years.

Monster Cable makes high quality wires I'm guessing, but you can get high quality for less as we all know.

The Hori Fighting Stick 3 is OK for casual gamers... but seriously the VSHG and HRAP3 are where it's at.

To each his own but I can tell you that from hands-on experience, 99% of the players out there will be satisfied with the Hori.

If you've played the arcade version and need that exact stick I suppose the official one has appeal because the grip, tactical feel and throw will be the same. However since it didn't get released in the U.S. arcades most players here will play VF5 on the PS3 for the first time, so that's not an issue.
- I'm not disagreeing with you, but since shipping is so high on these controllers anyway, I figure the $30 difference per stick is almost negligible.

I posted this on the VirtuaFighter.com forum, but figured someone here might know the answers to this. I will eventually own a PS3 and Xbox360 and would like to avoid buying cotnrollers for each.

1. Has a Xbox360 version of the Virtua Stick High Grade been announced or rumored?

2. I know that you need to mod a non-Xbox360 controller to get it to work on a Xbox360, but do you have to mod a Xbox360 controller for it to work on a PS3 or is there a simple converter? (This would tie into my first question... if a Xbox360 version was released)

3. If I buy a USB extension, it is possible that it will introduce noticeable lag?

Is the Virtual Stick ever going to be available domestically (US), or will it be import-only? Not sure I'm willing to pay those ridiculous shipping charges if it eventually will be available locally.

The Hori Fighting Stick 3 is OK for casual gamers... but seriously the VSHG and HRAP3 are where it's at.

Yes sir.

Get the Hori PS3 stick. A quality controller for $50 each.

http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/25/hori-ps3-fighting-stick-get-your-virtua-fighter-on-in-style/
A mediocre stick for a slightly higher than its worth price.
Not terrible by any means, but not even close to the HRAP or VSHG. I wouldnt be happy paying more than $40 for it.


I just got my VSHG today! its REALLLLLY good. I also have a hori real arcade pro 3 (and 2, and 1...), and while i love the HRAP, the Sega VSHG is better. by a fair margin. The stick is the same Sanwa stick, but the all sanwa buttons on the VSHG are much nicer than the hori buttons on the HRAP. I also prefer the size/shape of the VSHG, and the 6 button layout (the only games i want a 4 button across layout for are neo-geo games, and ill play those on my neo-geo with a modded HRAP1).

Physically, the VSHG is slightly smaller (and shorter) than the HRAP, but it feels a tiny bit heavier. It has a very solid, high quality feel (so does the HRAP). The stick and buttons are very responsive, and have a great feel.

At similar costs, i would recommend the sega VSHG over the hori RAP, but both are good choices.

if you like fighting games, or 2d scrolling shootemups, I highly suggest getting a quality stick like one of these 2. Sadly i doubt they will ever be made available in the US.

As noted above I received my VSHG today. I've attached some pictures below:

http://sweb.uky.edu/~btsmit2/VSHG1.jpg

http://sweb.uky.edu/~btsmit2/VSHG2.jpg

http://sweb.uky.edu/~btsmit2/VSHG3.jpg

So far I love the stick! It's going to take some adjustment time since I have been using the pad this whole time but I'm looking forward to mastering VF5 using the VSHG.

Sixaxis pad when playing VF5= to a bicycle

Hori Fighting Stick = to a small compact car...loads easier to use than a bike, and will be a godsend to anyone riding the bike.

Hori Real Arcade Pro & High Grade Virtua Stick = to a luxury/sports car with the quality and reliability to match.

Sixaxis pad when playing VF5= to a bicycle

Hori Fighting Stick = to a small compact car...loads easier to use than a bike, and will be a godsend to anyone riding the bike.

Hori Real Arcade Pro & High Grade Virtua Stick = to a luxury/sports car with the quality and reliability to match.

So very true.

As noted above I received my VSHG today. I've attached some pictures below:

http://sweb.uky.edu/~btsmit2/VSHG1.jpg



So you paid over $100 for a fight stick to play VF5???

Man, you are truly a hardcore fighting fan! :eek:

So you paid over $100 for a fight stick to play VF5???

Man, you are truly a hardcore fighting fan!
- Could be worse. I bought 2 VFHG sticks and I don't even have a PS3 yet. ;)

So you paid over $100 for a fight stick to play VF5???

Man, you are truly a hardcore fighting fan! :eek:

I'm probably going to pick one up, and I don't consider myself a hardcore fighting fan. I just want to enjoy the game to its fullest. It's not fun to play with a Sixaxis. :)

For those einterested, I think I saw these at Fry's this past weekend (Anaheim, CA). I am not 100% certain, but that box looks familiar. They had a whole bunch of import nunchuks for the Wii, so they may have brought these over, as well.

Jason

So if you buy an arcade stick you're hardcore now?

I wonder what this means:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/88/239784865_7e0cb31021.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/46/186309408_4d8937d4b2.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/66/186309365_1a4ec4b59a.jpg

:) Old pics...

For those einterested, I think I saw these at Fry's this past weekend (Anaheim, CA). I am not 100% certain, but that box looks familiar. They had a whole bunch of import nunchuks for the Wii, so they may have brought these over, as well.

Jason

Fry's carries the Fighting Stick 3(49.99) not the VSHG...

So if you buy an arcade stick you're hardcore now?

I wonder what this means:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/88/239784865_7e0cb31021.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/46/186309408_4d8937d4b2.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/66/186309365_1a4ec4b59a.jpg

:) Old pics...

Holy crap, why would you need 3 of one stick?

Holy crap, why would you need 3 of one stick?
...I have 5 Hori Real Arcade Pro sticks... :p
2 HRAP1, 2 HRAP2, 1 HRAP 3; not to mention various other sticks, including my new favorite: the VSHG.

That guy has me beat by a long shot though.
Even before I sold a bunch of my other sticks (i now mostly just use the HRAPs with adapters for various consoles).

Holy crap, why would you need 3 of one stick?

I collect em... :)

My household is fighting game central....

Now that is hardcore.

My hats off to you Markman..You put the Hard in Hardcore...Insane collection there...:D

I collect em... :)

My household is fighting game central....

Now that is hardcore.

Thats awesome bro, I wouldnt want to mess with you in righting games. LOL

I bow before MarkMan23!

So if you buy an arcade stick you're hardcore now?

I wonder what this means:

:) Old pics...

I see the Agetec Arcade Stick for Dreamcast in there. What a great stick that was. I wish I had bought more than one. I still pull out the Dreamcast every now and then. :)

For arcade stick freaks(like myself)... check my site www.sdtekken.com , Hori announced a NEW PS3 stick!

For arcade stick freaks(like myself)... check my site www.sdtekken.com , Hori announced a NEW PS3 stick!


So you reccomend waiting for the new Hori or simply get the VSHG?

So you reccomend waiting for the new Hori or simply get the VSHG?

No need to wait. They're using the same buttons and stick parts.

Yeah, the only difference is the casing...

In all honesty, just get the one you like...

The VSHG is a big smaller, but heavier than the HRAP3.

They're both solid arcade sticks tho.

For arcade stick freaks(like myself)... check my site www.sdtekken.com , Hori announced a NEW PS3 stick!
It looks like its just using plugs/covers for the 2 right most button holes... thats pretty cheap.
Also, any idea if this is going to be like the previous Special Addition/Special Edition HRAPs that were only available in extremely limited quantities for a short time?

I just received my VSHG yesterday and it's an awesome joystick. The only issue I have now is trying to get it to work with NeoRAGEx. For some reason, it's not recognizing any of the joystick inputs. The buttons work fine though.

It looks like its just using plugs/covers for the 2 right most button holes... thats pretty cheap.
Also, any idea if this is going to be like the previous Special Addition/Special Edition HRAPs that were only available in extremely limited quantities for a short time?

It will most likely be limited... :(

The SE and SA from back then were extremely limited... about 500 of each being made.

It will most likely be limited... :(

The SE and SA from back then were extremely limited... about 500 of each being made.
Yea, i tried my damndest to get one of each, and ended up with neither. I was even living in Japan at the time, but i didnt find out they were ONLY sold online at the hori store until it was too late (though it was probably too late when i first found out about them anyways).

But at least now there is no reason to get the HRAP3: SA, what with the VSHG having all Sanwa parts and the same 6-button layout. The virtua stick is already cheaper than the regular HRAP3 anyways.

Markman, since you have the most experience with all the sticks how does a MAS compare to the smaller plastic Japanese sticks with loli's? Wondering if it's worth it to try something new..

Markman, since you have the most experience with all the sticks how does a MAS compare to the smaller plastic Japanese sticks with loli's? Wondering if it's worth it to try something new..

It's a totally different feel so it really depends how comfortable you are with a MAS/American style stick. I used to prefer that style back in my SF2 days, but ever since playing in Japanese arcades and getting myself a Japanese cabinet, I've totally converted over. In games like VF, the Japanese feel and layout fits more to how the game should be played. Instead of:

O O O

You have

O O
O

which positions your hand better for the game. Your thumb is on the G button rather than your index finger which is how it was designed to be. It gives you a better twitch reaction IMO. Also with less throw in the buttons, you get a better response. The sticks are also a lot looser in feel and you can really feel the corners as well.

Personally, I think it's great and has some advantages, but it really is about what feels comfortable to you and the Japanese style is certainly an acquired taste.

Markman, since you have the most experience with all the sticks how does a MAS compare to the smaller plastic Japanese sticks with loli's? Wondering if it's worth it to try something new..

As mentioned by Darknight, they are completely up to preference. American sticks are heavy duty and IMO less precise than Japanese sticks. They also lose diagonals quicker and require more maintenance from my experience(Also have an American arcade cabinet and a Japanese one)...

But all in all, I think they are fine for fighting games. It just depends if you're used to using them or not.

well i'm able to pull off an ewgf, 1, ewgf, 1, ewgf with the US style so I think I'll stick with it a bit longer ;>

I too, once going to the Japanese style loli stick and convex buttons, prefer it to the US style controls.

While we're on the subject of fighting sticks, are there any good ones that will support the PS3 and a PC? I just wouldn't get enough use out of it when I may only buy a couple of games a year to play with it on the PS3, but if I could use it with the PC as well, it would be great to have.

While we're on the subject of fighting sticks, are there any good ones that will support the PS3 and a PC? I just wouldn't get enough use out of it when I may only buy a couple of games a year to play with it on the PS3, but if I could use it with the PC as well, it would be great to have.

Both the VSHG and HRAP3 work with the PC.

Wrote up a review on the Virtua Stick High Grade...

Check it out...

http://sdtekken.com/

Wrote up a review on the Virtua Stick High Grade...

Check it out...

http://sdtekken.com/
whew! you opened it up and everything :cool:
The Virtua Stick High Grade is definately the best arcade stick out on the market right now..
thx for the review! Stridajin is sending me an elecom 201 adapter, sounds like you've been keeping him busy :p

The VSHG will work on the PC, but it may not work with every game since the joystick is detected differently.

http://virtuafighter.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/148759/page/1/fpart/26

It works for me in MAME and Nebula without any problems. I could not get it to work in NeoRageX as only the buttons would register. The stick wouldn't.

I finally got the Elecom in the mail but notice the tiny bit of lag while playing. :( It's extremely small but it's there, and affects everything. Guess I'm gonna get the VF stick after all. Oh well gives me an excuse to get a Japanese stick finally

I bought the VSHG three weeks ago, loved it, and I just received my 2nd VSHG this weekend. This is a well built stick with a great feel. I've used it with my PC without any problems. You can use it in Mame32 and with Joy-to-Key you can set it up for use in winkawaks. I've tried it with nebula, but I prefer the other two emulators better. Also works great with the psX emulator. Castlevania SOTN plays very well with the VSHG.

ok so it seems everyone on the net says "You can use this stick with mame!" however the stick does not register as a joystick axis so how do I fix this problem? do I need a custom config file for the stick? does someone have one allready... how come everyone says it just works? it doesn't just work out of the box you have to tweak...

ok so it seems everyone on the net says "You can use this stick with mame!" however the stick does not register as a joystick axis so how do I fix this problem? do I need a custom config file for the stick? does someone have one allready... how come everyone says it just works? it doesn't just work out of the box you have to tweak...
Go into the custom button configuration and manually map the directional stick.

i.e. Select "Left" and press left on the joystick to map it. It works fine.

So if you buy an arcade stick you're hardcore now?

I wonder what this means:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/88/239784865_7e0cb31021.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/46/186309408_4d8937d4b2.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/66/186309365_1a4ec4b59a.jpg

:) Old pics...


Wow. That's awesome.


I don't like fighting with joysticks but that's just badass.

Must be the collector in me!

So, is the VSHG still being manufactured? I'm thinking about picking up a second one. I can't seem to find it in stock anywhere.

damn... that collection reminds me of..

http://z.about.com/d/movies/1/0/Q/9/7/the40yearoldvirginposter.jpg

^ So what, you're a virgin AND you don't have any arcade sticks! :)

damn... that collection reminds me of..

http://z.about.com/d/movies/1/0/Q/9/7/the40yearoldvirginposter.jpg

And your name is goatsex... I don't think we needed that much information. ;)

When Tekken 6, SFII HD and SFIV drop, this is the stick I'm getting.

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL240/1970964/3809745/330937354.jpg

That HRAP3 looks pretty good, and after some searches it seems that may be the stick to get. I like how it has the 8 "gaming" buttons for proper Neo-Geo usage (using the bottom 4 buttons). It also has the L3/R3 buttons, and for MAME it seems you can never have enough buttons (for stuff like quitting to the interface, inserting coins, going to config, etc.)

However, I have a question about it. I want to also use this on a PC, so I need something that's actually a PS2 controller (but with a built-in USB adapter). I know there's a driver for the PS3 controller, but I'm using 64-bit Vista so it won't work. Is this stick technically a PS2 controller?

That HRAP3 looks pretty good, and after some searches it seems that may be the stick to get. I like how it has the 8 "gaming" buttons for proper Neo-Geo usage (using the bottom 4 buttons). It also has the L3/R3 buttons, and for MAME it seems you can never have enough buttons (for stuff like quitting to the interface, inserting coins, going to config, etc.)

However, I have a question about it. I want to also use this on a PC, so I need something that's actually a PS2 controller (but with a built-in USB adapter). I know there's a driver for the PS3 controller, but I'm using 64-bit Vista so it won't work. Is this stick technically a PS2 controller?

It connects via USB, so in theory it should work on the PC.

I've had the VSHG for a few months now and the only thing I don't like about it is the L2 and R2 button placement

Otherwise I love using this for fighting games

When Tekken 6, SFII HD and SFIV drop, this is the stick I'm getting.

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL240/1970964/3809745/330937354.jpg

Is this version of the stick still using Hori buttons, or Sanwa? I have the older HRAP3 in the red/yellow/gray color scheme and it uses Hori buttons... the buttons on the VSHG are nicer so I'll be swapping out the Hori buttons with the 30mm Sanwa OBSF-30... same as the VSHG

Is this version of the stick still using Hori buttons, or Sanwa? I have the older HRAP3 in the red/yellow/gray color scheme and it uses Hori buttons... the buttons on the VSHG are nicer so I'll be swapping out the Hori buttons with the 30mm Sanwa OBSF-30... same as the VSHG
I believe that the only Hori stick with Sanwa parts is the Hori Real Arcade Pro Stick 2 SA for the PS2.
http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-e-77-5-49-en-15-hori+real-70-2nut.html

I'm almost certain that all of the other Hori sticks use Hori parts.

The HRAP3 has a Sanwa stick, JLF-TP-8Y-SK-W. The buttons however are Hori.

I love arcade sticks btw. <3

^You like arcade sticks less than the #3?

So, I'm thinking of getting the HRAP, but can you use these sticks on your lap? (no pun intended). I used to love playing SF2 back in the day in the arcades but I could never transition and translate my skills on a console pad.

It connects via USB, so in theory it should work on the PC.

Well, after doing some digging it looks like this isn't going to work for me.

The problem is that the PS3 controller drivers out there are 32-bit, so they only work on 32-bit XP and probably 32-bit Vista. They were written by hobbyists, not from Sony or another company with the resources to spend to get the driver signed (Vista 64 requires signed drivers).

I swapped in Sanwa OBSF-30 buttons into the HRAP3... and I must say that I really like the Sanwa buttons better than the original buttons it came with. The Sanwa buttons are that much smoother.

The HRAP3 has a Sanwa stick, JLF-TP-8Y-SK-W. The buttons however are Hori.

I love arcade sticks btw. <3

MarkMan, will you please take the suggestion of buying the HRAP3 from High Score Online Store off of your site? I was looking into where to buy one and found out that they've scammed several people.

Well, after doing some digging it looks like this isn't going to work for me.

The problem is that the PS3 controller drivers out there are 32-bit, so they only work on 32-bit XP and probably 32-bit Vista. They were written by hobbyists, not from Sony or another company with the resources to spend to get the driver signed (Vista 64 requires signed drivers).

Well that sucks.

I kept trying to remember the little nagging reason why I wasn't installing vista 64, and I guess I found my answer this morning. How can the HRAP3 work perfectly fine on XP with no driver install, yet fail to do anything on vista? If the driver came with XP, wouldn't you think that something would carry along to support the hardware on vista?

I can see the HID-compliant game controller in the device manager, and it lists it as using the default microsoft driver, but it doesn't respond to anything...

So if you buy an arcade stick you're hardcore now?

I wonder what this means:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/88/239784865_7e0cb31021.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/46/186309408_4d8937d4b2.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/66/186309365_1a4ec4b59a.jpg

:) Old pics...



So I was looking around for clear pics of a VGHG, and this came up..

****, that's just badass...

My wife would kick me out if all of that was in my house.

My wife would kick me out if all of that was in my house.

if you had all those, most likely the only vagina you've seen is on the intertron.

hah