Who here plays with arcade sticks?

[Username Redacted]

I use a keyboard.

Tributes and psychiatrist recommendations accepted.

Have you ever considered a Hitbox? http://www.hitboxarcade.com/
I honestly wish these had come out a few years ago (as I would have gotten into them on the ground floor) as when I played on one a few months ago I could definitely see how certain things where easier. My main issue was that for games with longer combos (see also: P4A, UMvC3, etc.) I found it exhausting on my hands.

 

[blackdwarf]

This is the stick I play with: http://storage.siliconera.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/doa5_hori_stick_thumb.jpg

Don't like the art, especially because I don't play Doa, but I did want this stick and the one with this art was a lot cheaper. I have some plans to change the art, but that is not happening soon.

SFIV was my first serious fighting game, and while playing it, my fighting buddy suggested to play with a stick. From that moment I never stopped using them for fighting games.

I had an old Hori stick with the Doa 4 art, which I got from a friend. I did mod that one with new art and buttons, but couldn't get the two most right buttons to work.

 

[lacktheknack]

I use a keyboard.

Tributes and psychiatrist recommendations accepted.

Have you ever considered a Hitbox? http://www.hitboxarcade.com/
I honestly wish these had come out a few years ago (as I would have gotten into them on the ground floor) as when I played on one a few months ago I could definitely see how certain things where easier. My main issue was that for games with longer combos (see also: P4A, UMvC3, etc.) I found it exhausting on my hands.

I have about twenty dollars of spare change a month... I can't afford that...

Besides, exhausted hands are part of the expeeeerieennnnce, maaaaaaaan.

(That wasn't serious.)

 

[SageRuffin]

I have a Qanba Q4Raf [http://eightarc.com/qanba-q4-black] here on the side that I use for certain games, primarily 3D fighters. It's universal (except I can't use it for the Wii), so with a quick switch I can go between the 360, PS3, and even the PC. I'm trying to get better versed in using a stick, so I break it out when I can.

I'm asking this because I'm considering buying an arcade stick of my own, more specifically the Hori Real Arcade Pro V3 SA [http://www.amazon.com/Real-Arcade-Pro-V3-Playstation-3/dp/B0041SGD44/ref=sr_1_10?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1370189829&sr=1-10&keywords=madcatz+arcade+stick+pro].

A brief rule of thumb, generally speaking the more expensive sticks tend to have better construction quality, but not always. Also, an arcade stick isn't the be-all-end-all choice of controls for fighters - Fanatiq, Wolfkrone (who recently came in second at Ultimate Fighting Game Tournament 9 for SSF4AE2012), and Vangief (who put Justin Wong into Loser's Bracket for SSF4 at Evo 2010) are all top players who use simple controllers.

It doesn't hurt to have one, but it's not imperative that you get one.

 

[Razentsu]

I still use this old guy:

I'm not really a better player for playing stick, but I am a more versatile one. I bought a stick because it's the universal control method for fighting games. By being able to play on a stick, I can throw down in arcades and I am able to play on any platform without having to worry about different gamepads. I've most definitely made uses of this ability.

Depending on the game, I can play just as well on a gamepad. I can play BB and Tekken on pad and stick equally well, and I'm not that much worse off when I play Melty on pad. I can only barely play SFIV on a pad, but that's pretty much the only fighting game I struggle with without a stick. Plinking and double-tapping help a lot in SFIV, and those are almost stick exclusive techniques. Despite this, there still exists some very strong SFIV pad players.

If you want to get a stick, buy one because you think it'll be fun to play on (it's certainly fun for me), or because you want to be able to play fighting games wherever you find them. I wouldn't recommend that you purchase one mainly to improve your play.