Are x-arcade sticks worth it?

[Austin]

I have one of the earlier single player X-Arcade sticks I purchased off a friend a couple of years ago. I still haven't gotten around to using it yet because I never snagged any adapters for it. I had no reason to use its default setup on a PC either because I use a Hori Xbox 360 stick for that.

 

Tonight I was looking at investing into some sticks for PS1/PS2 and Dreamcast specifically. However, I can't justify the prices ($70+ for a good PS1/PS2 stick, $70+ for a good Dreamcast stick, etc). I took a look at the Xgaming website and I went ahead and ordered a X-Arcade five-in-one adapter. This apparently works on the old model stick and lets me connect it to the Dreamcast, PS1/PS2, Xbox and Game Cube. I am a little wary based on some personal accounts posted in this thread, but I'll post an update later to confirm if (and how well) it actually works.

 

I will say I do like the parts the company uses. I have actually replaced worn out sticks and buttons in my JAMMA cabinet with X-Arcade parts and they feel really good. For consoles I usually spring for arcade sticks with Japanese parts, but growing up in arcades in the '90s and early '00s, I also like the types that were more common in North America (teardrop sticks, HAPP-style concave buttons, etc).

[+GoldenWheels]

Thanks negative1, I want to hear the good and bad. I'm reading Reaperman's thread on the NeoGeo forums along with other threads here and Amazon reviews, trying to digest the complaints. They range from "love it" to "avoid avoid avoid." I'm not sure I want to give them my business, but the price is right. I can't stand poor customer service though. That drives me insane.

 

I don't need top of the line gear, but I want it to last me a long time. I'm struggling to find a quality arcade control panel besides the X-Arcade Tankstick that would also work with consoles though. All others have USB for MAME/PC but no PS4, etc. I've written a few places inquiring if their sticks could be customized with PS4 support, but haven't heard anything back from anyone.

I think you'll find it is exactly that. Mine is several years old and my kids (boys, 10 and 6) have shown it NO mercy...still works like day one.

 

And TBH, I think it has become kind of hip to hate on the X-arcades (and that is not to say some of the complaints aren't warranted) because they're used by the masses. Many X Arcade criticisms I read end with "so I built my own with $xxx.xx of parts" or "totally useless for *insert fighting game* competitive play", both of which I think miss the point of whom the X arcade stuff is built for.

[glazball]

Ordered the Tankstick on a Tuesday and it arrived Friday. Wow! Here's my quick review.

 

I love it.

 

It's absolutely perfect (for me). I looked at other control panels, some hundreds of dollars more expensive, but they only had USB/PC support (no consoles). That just wasn't going to cut it for me.

 

I bought the 5-in-1 adapter and PS4 adapters. The 5-in-1 adapter has connections for Dreamcast, Gamecube and PS1&2. The PS4 adapters are made by a 3rd party (Brook) and ALSO work with PS3. Their site didn't mention they are PS4 and PS3 adapters, and since I also purchased X-Arcade's PS3/Xbox adapter I'll return it since I don't need it.

 

I've spent the last few days in absolute heaven. Here's what I have tested:

 

Tankstick -> PS3/4 adapter -> PS3 *works perfect with PS3 and PS1 games (sadly, not PS2 in my backwards-comp PS3)

Tankstick -> PS3/4 adapter -> PS4 *works perfect with every PS4 game I tested

Tankstick -> 5-in-1 adapter -> official Nintendo Gamecube adapter -> Wii U *works perfect with Super Smash Bros U (but only Smash Bros)

Tankstick -> 5-in-1 adapter -> official Nintendo Gamecube adapter -> Switch *works perfect with Ultra Street Fighter II and everything else

Tankstick -> Raspberry Pi 3 *working great so far (just got this set up yesterday)

I have no reason to doubt the Tankstick will work perfectly with Dreamcast and actual Gamecube or Wii, just haven't tested them yet.

 

So this amazing stick (+ adapters) has reinvigorated my whole game room setup. And until a month or so ago, I never even knew the X-Arcade sticks existed. I've owned sticks in the past, but since they were always console specific I never went out of my way to spend the money and deal with the clutter. I can't tell you how incredible it is to go back through my PS3 library and play the hell out of Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and all of the other fighters I have. I picked up Raiden V this weekend and it's so much fun with the Tankstick.

 

I'm also (finally) getting into arcade emulation with the RPi3 and got to play Centipede on it yesterday. I still have many, many, many hours of poking around to do there and the stick works fine. Now if only I could say the same for MAME lol....

 

I get that the X-Arcade isn't the absolute top of the line, but I'm not as hardcore as some of the big tymers that eat/sleep/breathe NeoGeo. All I can say is that for me, this stick is absolutely the best thing that's happen to me in gaming since I bought my Framemeister years ago. Absolutely love the hell out of it!

Edited December 27, 2017 by glazball

[glazball]

Just wanted to add some follow-up thoughts to my post above:

 

Nintendo's official Gamecube adapter that came with Smash Bros U only works with Smash Bros, per Nintendo. Though it's a bit sad that only 1 Wii U game is supported, it is the main Wii U game that I would like to use the Tankstick with. Unbeknownst to me, Nintendo added support for their Gamecube adapter to the Switch with firmware update 4.0 but didn't apparently advertise the fact. I didn't test every Switch game I own, but (unlike the Wii U) it looks as if the adapter should work with every game.

 

X-Arcade also sells Wii adapters which have connectors that plug into the bottom of the Wiimote. I'm happy they offer them, but I elected not to get them since there are only a handful of Wii games that I feel would be worthwhile for the Tankstick. However, it might be possible with that Wii adapter to plug the Tankstick into a NES or SNES Classic (don't they have the same connections?) That Wii adapter should also allow for full Wii U support on other games besides Smash Bros. U like Injustice, Tekken Tag 2, New SMB, etc.

 

Pretty incredible that the Tankstick can support: PS1, PS2, PS3, PS4, Dreamcast, Gamecube, Wii, Wii U, Switch, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PC/Mac/RPi. Sure it would be great if older systems like SNES had support, but it's only too easy to just play an emulated version on RPi or Xbox or whatever.

 

Be aware that the PS4 adapters they sell (and it looks like the Xbox One adapters too) are 1p only, so for a Tankstick you would need to buy 2.

 

I purchased a Tankstick overlay from these guys but it hasn't shipped yet:

https://www.recroommasters.com/Custom-Die-Cut-Overlay-Skin-for-the-X-Arcade-p/cus-overlay-t.htm

 

I hope to eventually add 2 spinners. I think what might work best for me is: (on each side) drill a 3rd hole on the bottom row of buttons, move the bottom 2 buttons over and put the spinner in the bottom left buttonhole. This way you wouldn't lose any buttons and I don't think the spinners would get in the way. One USB cable would exit the Tankstick for both spinners.

http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=86&products_id=268&zenid=b71907f14db9efe9fcde896ab873e07b

 

And lastly, thanks to Akator and Master Phruby for answering a few questions about the Tankstick before I made my purchase!

Edited December 27, 2017 by glazball

[negative1]

Just wanted to add some follow-up thoughts to my post above:

 

Xbox 360, Xbox One,

 

It's great to hear that you are having good success with it.

 

I would just add that the xbox support is very questionable, and was the cause of my dropping any support or consideration of ever using or supporting X-arcade in the first place.

If you ever get it to work, let me know how. Their tech support was useless, and their follow up was the worst I have ever experienced from a tech company.

 

I will never advocate the company or their products.

 

later

-1

[glazball]

 

It's great to hear that you are having good success with it.

 

I would just add that the xbox support is very questionable, and was the cause of my dropping any support or consideration of ever using or supporting X-arcade in the first place.

If you ever get it to work, let me know how. Their tech support was useless, and their follow up was the worst I have ever experienced from a tech company.

 

I will never advocate the company or their products.

 

later

-1

 

Actually, I'm not particularly a fan of Microsoft and don't own any flavor of Xbox. So, I can't speak to how well the Tankstick does or doesn't work with Xbox. I just mentioned the adapters for those who do have Xbox consoles, since they are available.

Sorry to hear you've had trouble with X-Arcade though. I read similar complaints about their customer service while researching different sticks, but hopefully I'll never need it. Xgaming offers a lifetime warranty on their products, but some have said it can be hard to get them to follow through on it when needed.

[R.Cade]

 

Actually, I'm not particularly a fan of Microsoft and don't own any flavor of Xbox. So, I can't speak to how well the Tankstick does or doesn't work with Xbox. I just mentioned the adapters for those who do have Xbox consoles, since they are available.

Sorry to hear you've had trouble with X-Arcade though. I read similar complaints about their customer service while researching different sticks, but hopefully I'll never need it. Xgaming offers a lifetime warranty on their products, but some have said it can be hard to get them to follow through on it when needed.

The Original XBOX is just standard USB with a different connector... The electrical conversion should not be any problem, but the button/stick mapping is another story.

[Kombalar]

I've had my 2-player X-Arcade for about 10 years and my son (who's now 7 years old) has used it religiously. It has received all kinds of rough treatment (as you can imagine when a couple of 5-7 year olds play Mortal Kombat-like games) but it's still like new.

 

Very high quality. Will probably last a lifetime. I use it almost daily with MAME. Highly recommended.

Edited December 28, 2017 by Kombalar

[Austin]

I spent some time fiddling with my X-Arcade adapter set over the last couple of nights. On the first night I used it for PS1/PS2 games. That actually went just fine. The adapter worked well and I experienced no response issues. However on the second night I gave it a try with the Dreamcast (one of the main reasons I bought it). Well, it was sub-par at best. The system recognized it but there was major input lag for some reason. Also, I noticed there was a connection/power issue occurring within the connector cabling coming out of the box--twist them or bend them ever so slightly one way and the power light would go out on the X-Arcade stick itself. All in all I can't really say I recommend their adapter boxes. Maybe the standalone single console adapters are better, but this box seems like a piece of crap.

[Keatah]

My wife rather likes her X-Arcade stuff. Ive seen her messing around inside it, doing something this or something that. But I didn't hear any complaints.

[glazball]

I spent some time fiddling with my X-Arcade adapter set over the last couple of nights. On the first night I used it for PS1/PS2 games. That actually went just fine. The adapter worked well and I experienced no response issues. However on the second night I gave it a try with the Dreamcast (one of the main reasons I bought it). Well, it was sub-par at best. The system recognized it but there was major input lag for some reason. Also, I noticed there was a connection/power issue occurring within the connector cabling coming out of the box--twist them or bend them ever so slightly one way and the power light would go out on the X-Arcade stick itself. All in all I can't really say I recommend their adapter boxes. Maybe the standalone single console adapters are better, but this box seems like a piece of crap.

 

Damn, that is a bummer to hear. Shame on me, but I haven't actually tested the adapter with the Dreamcast. I will do that this weekend and see if I experience lag as well. I can't help but wonder if maybe your adapter is just faulty since it sounds like a connection problem. I doubt that would explain the lag, but maybe you just need a new adapter?

[glazball]

Finally got to pull out the Dreamcast and spend some very quality time with it. I'm happy to report that I have no issues with the Tankstick and their 5-in-1 adapter with the Dreamcast. No lag whatsoever. Tested several shooters and fighers and all handled beautifully.

 

One drawback I did run into: many games upon starting always look at A1 for the VMU. Since the Tankstick is plugged into the first controller port, you have to continue without being able to save. You can work around it by starting with a regular controller + VMU, and just switching out with the Tankstick after the game starts. PITA but not really the fault of the Tankstick. I hate those games that won't look at all controller ports for VMUs! Still annoying even now!

 

I'll attach a pic with the overlay which I think turned out really nice. I'm happy as shit with this thing. It may not be a Nintendo Tetris cartridge, but I love it.

Edited January 12, 2018 by glazball