Xbox 360 fighting game "controller??"

[Kabob]

Question, in the last few hours I've become infatuated with the far from being released Tekken 6 for the 360. Tekken 3 for the original PS is one of my favorite games of all time (#3 on my list actually, behind Diablo 2 and Medal of Honor: Allied Assault), I've still yet to find a fighting game that's been even nearly as enjoyable.

Question is though, I became great at using the PS's basic controller, much better than I was at the arcade with the stick. Is there any sort of current Xbox 360 controller option that had a "quality" D-pad? The one on the stock 360 controller is horrible. I think the difference is that the PS's controller was 4 definite directions as opposed to the 360's D-pad being more of a circle.

If all else fails I'd probably pick up a fight stick over the 360 controller. It's great for FPS games but for fighters it's...well...crappy.

 

[Spoooon]

That SFIV pad that's out of stock everywhere is supposed to be good.

I've pretty much adjusted to the d-pad for the HD remix. I thought I saw at giz or engadget something about an adapter that let's you use the PS3 controller on the xbox (or anything with a USB port I guess).

 

[Kabob]

Yeah, I saw the SF4 pad, looked like it had the same "wheel" D-pad though.

 

[erwos]

Originally posted by: kabob983
Yeah, I saw the SF4 pad, looked like it had the same "wheel" D-pad though.

The problem isn't the wheel, it's the implementation on the official 360 controller. People have demonstrated that relatively simple mods can fix it.

 

[Kabob]

Originally posted by: erwos

Originally posted by: kabob983
Yeah, I saw the SF4 pad, looked like it had the same "wheel" D-pad though.

The problem isn't the wheel, it's the implementation on the official 360 controller. People have demonstrated that relatively simple mods can fix it.

Link?

 

[pennylane]

The SFIV pad is supposed to be similar to the Saturn fighting pad (or whatever it's called), which many regard as the best pad for fighting games.

 

[Kabob]

Hrm, wish I could try one before I buy, plus it seems that they're all sold out.

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: kabob983
Hrm, wish I could try one before I buy, plus it seems that they're all sold out.

I looked on Amazon and they only had used Blanka ones starting at $73.00!!!!

 

[Kabob]

Yeah, I'm not spending $75 on a controller...on a stick maybe (if it came to that) but definitely not on a controller.

 

[BenSkywalker]

I have the SFIV arcade pad, absolutely love it. I walked into GameStop and asked for the hell of it, guys said they had one in stock. I got stuck with Blanka, which would have been my last choice, and I'm not a big fan of having to turn the controller on or off, but while playing the game it is so much better then the default gamepad, and I'm running on a PS3 which already makes the 360 pad look bad

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

The 360 analog stick is decent if you can get used to it. It's as close as you can get to an arcade stick without shelling out the bucks for an arcade stick.

 

[Kabob]

Originally posted by: BenSkywalker
I have the SFIV arcade pad, absolutely love it. I walked into GameStop and asked for the hell of it, guys said they had one in stock. I got stuck with Blanka, which would have been my last choice, and I'm not a big fan of having to turn the controller on or off, but while playing the game it is so much better then the default gamepad, and I'm running on a PS3 which already makes the 360 pad look bad

How well does the D pad work for you? Easy to do both rolls (Down to Forward) and the..."shoryuken" move (Forward --> Down --> Down/Foward)? The latter is what I have problems doing on the arcade sticks, although only if I'm facing left (when I'm on the left facing right it never gave me any trouble...odd). Both were easy on the PSOne controller though.

 

[Rassilon]

that madcatz sfIV pad is junk. not that that should be any surprise...

get a ps3. ps3 pad is MILES better than the 360, but even better: you can use the USB sega saturn pad on ps3, which has the BEST d-pad by a long shot.

Of course, an arcade stick is the way to go for fighting games.

 

[Kabob]

Originally posted by: Rassilon
get a ps3.

Hrm, didn't expect to see that suggestion.

The pad/controller of the PS3 isn't nearly convincing enough to make me want one, I'll stick with the 360.

Out of curiosity have you actually tried the MadCatz pad or are you just saying that on whim?

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

The PS3 D-pad is way better than the XBOX 360 one, but after a while, it kills your thumb because of the spaces in between the directions. Also, since it has space between all the directions, hitting diagonals can be awkward.

Good luck doing a Spinning Piledriver with the PS3 D-pad as well. I could never do a Spinning Piledriver before, but I can do it pretty consistently on the XBOX 360 pad, and I can literally do it 99% of the time with the XBOX 360 Analog stick.

The DualShock 3 is the exact same controller as the PSOne controller...good and bad. It's nothing special any more, and the XBOX 360 controller is far superior except for the crappy D-pad.

 

[Kabob]

Originally posted by: RyanPaulShaffer
The PS3 D-pad is way better than the XBOX 360 one, but after a while, it kills your thumb because of the spaces in between the directions. Also, since it has space between all the directions, hitting diagonals can be awkward.

PS One D-pad is what I know and love for fighters.

 

[ivan2]

i bought my SF4 fightpad for $53 shipped on ebay, it's the 360 version. keep checking, the price has come down a bit. The D-pad is much bigger (read, HUGE), making it more accurate.

my problem with the original 360 pad is that the whole thing is floating, it feel like I am pressing both left and right at the same time, all the time. There are mods to make it stiffer, but I has been wondering if I can introduce some sort of spacer, or maybe like a raise portion at the bottom of the D-pad to solve that.

 

[Kabob]

Still waiting for erwos to link me to said 360 d-pad mods. Although in the end havnig the 2 sticks out of the way might be worth the purchase. Most of the pads I see on ebay though are $60+, which I wouldn't pay. Course, I'm doing this pre-emptively for a game that's 8-9 months away so I'm in no rush.

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

Originally posted by: kabob983
Still waiting for erwos to link me to said 360 d-pad mods. Although in the end havnig the 2 sticks out of the way might be worth the purchase. Most of the pads I see on ebay though are $60+, which I wouldn't pay. Course, I'm doing this pre-emptively for a game that's 8-9 months away so I'm in no rush.

Just Google it. It's not hard to find. 360 d-pad fix, 360 d-pad mod, etc.

The Internets are a resource!

 

[Kabob]

Googled it, doesn't look too tough but I dunno if it'll work the way I'm hoping it will, the D-pad (IMHO) is still too low on the controller to use it like I'd want to.

 

[BenSkywalker]

How well does the D pad work for you? Easy to do both rolls (Down to Forward) and the..."shoryuken" move (Forward --> Down --> Down/Foward)? The latter is what I have problems doing on the arcade sticks, although only if I'm facing left (when I'm on the left facing right it never gave me any trouble...odd). Both were easy on the PSOne controller though.

Both are much easier for me on the SFIV controller versus the PS3, I'd say the only exception would be moves like Psycho Crusher/Chun Li's fireball(charge back to forward) where the shorter movement of the PS3's pad makes it quicker to pull off. My main character is Akuma so those motions in particular not working would be a bit of an issue to say the least

The PS3 D-pad is way better than the XBOX 360 one, but after a while, it kills your thumb because of the spaces in between the directions

A very valid point, heh. We have had some 5-6 hour sessions with SF4 and sometimes when I got on a roll I would end up throwing a match just to give my thumb a break

Given the timeframe you are looking at I would hold off for a bit yet, see if you can get some hands on time with the SF4 controller to see how you like it, and don't pay more then ~$30-$35 for it even if you love it, that is around what I paid in a B&M so no way in hell should you need to pay more.

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

The MadCatz SF IV fight pads are still hard to find. This is pretty ridiculous, considering that SF IV is almost two months old...

 

[Kabob]

That's not a game thing though, that's a Hori/Madcatz putting out MUCH less supply than the current demand. They both only made a few sticks and a few pads and then are having a 3+ month gap to produce more. Crappy idea IMHO...

Originally posted by: BenSkywalker

How well does the D pad work for you? Easy to do both rolls (Down to Forward) and the..."shoryuken" move (Forward --> Down --> Down/Foward)? The latter is what I have problems doing on the arcade sticks, although only if I'm facing left (when I'm on the left facing right it never gave me any trouble...odd). Both were easy on the PSOne controller though.

Both are much easier for me on the SFIV controller versus the PS3, I'd say the only exception would be moves like Psycho Crusher/Chun Li's fireball(charge back to forward) where the shorter movement of the PS3's pad makes it quicker to pull off. My main character is Akuma so those motions in particular not working would be a bit of an issue to say the least

The PS3 D-pad is way better than the XBOX 360 one, but after a while, it kills your thumb because of the spaces in between the directions

A very valid point, heh. We have had some 5-6 hour sessions with SF4 and sometimes when I got on a roll I would end up throwing a match just to give my thumb a break

Given the timeframe you are looking at I would hold off for a bit yet, see if you can get some hands on time with the SF4 controller to see how you like it, and don't pay more then ~$30-$35 for it even if you love it, that is around what I paid in a B&M so no way in hell should you need to pay more.

Much thanks, terrific info!

 

[purbeast0]

oh man how can you be better at a fighter w/a pad than a stick?

that is like blasphemy!

 

[Kabob]

Originally posted by: purbeast0
oh man how can you be better at a fighter w/a pad than a stick?

that is like blasphemy!

Because it's all I had back when I played Tekken 3, it was free to play it at home on the PS and when I went to the arcade for Tag I wasn't nearly as good with the stick. Anything will work like that though if you practice with an "inferior" device enough. I really am tempted to get a stick and give it a whirl but I fear I wouldn't like it much and it's $$.

Originally posted by: BenSkywalker
Given the timeframe you are looking at I would hold off for a bit yet, see if you can get some hands on time with the SF4 controller to see how you like it, and don't pay more then ~$30-$35 for it even if you love it, that is around what I paid in a B&M so no way in hell should you need to pay more.

Someone selling the Akuma pad on Amazon for like $180...ridiculous.