Hi Nick, The Mikes, all concerned,

Enough has been said about this stick. Here's my exclusive on a week-old TE, as an unrestricted, unconserved, honest, happy self (but I do assume you guys read proper reviews/jargons to know what i'm talking about. explaining everything sucks):

The first thing I noticed was how spacious the area to rest my palm is. It's design was well thought out, though it's simply inspired by something else. Whatever. I'm keen on ordering some plexi panels (US$18) so I can change the artwork easily and as I like. Am looking for others for bulk, to lower the cost of USPS Priority shipment (the guy Art, has now a laser cutter and does things fast - though swamped with orders. He will check for the price to send to Malaysia).

The Sanwas help with easing down on the button-tapping shenanigans which wakes my household occupants up - or not. Whatever. The JLF remains but I think I need an octo-gate for those circular moves for SF4. Then again I find executing complex moves even easier and stealtily especially Gouchi's ragin demon move thingy - whatever... all can be found in Sanwa fitted sticks, no big deal... whatever.

Ok, the exclusive stuff. Is this thing worth? I appreciate the cord storage compartment as I can now keep candy, biscuits and a packet drink in between games. Hope you can get me a spare rubber cover for the male USB jack. Sweet. Its design is convenient - fits inside any big bag. Hey, the mounts at the bottom are neat if you have a table with mounting screws, but save that for a later time. I think I will only appreciate it fully when I get the allen keys and tinker the insides. So no comment till then.

As for the weight - I would say at nearly 3kgs it's lousy. Fell on my toe and nearly snapped the lil 'un - didn't even have the stuff to totally break it completely. Lightweight amateur.

P.s. I am posting this review from the TE stick. Makes a nice ham sandwich and cures Swine Flu too. Who's your oyaji???

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Added on May 4, 2009, 8:27 pmHere's more comments about the stick while sober:

Besides Cammy and alt-costume DLC Chun Li, personally I feel that the TE sits better on my lap. Aside from the spacious 'palm-rest' area, its front edges have just the right thickness and is not too chunky as the HRAP3, though when gaming seriously whichever stick I use will always be ON a steady table.

The HRAP3 shines in many ways the TE doesn't - backwards compatibility with PS2 games, as with what Mart mentioned is one thing to mention.

For just between RM15 to RM50 more, you can get a TE - which IMHO delivers a more wholesome arcade experience, and has endless modding possibilities if you are comfortable with its quality shell.

Aside from its external aesthetics and lesser-scale features e.g. cord storage compartment, start/select button placements, turbo lock and mounting screw holes, the TE really shines when you whip out a hex key and its internals are revealed.

I have never seen a more neater and convenient placement of wiring, PCB and QDs. They are even labels to each Quick Disconnect, to prevent confusion when reconnecting the wires. Switching/replacing components are simple and has a steady mounting plate - it seems they made the stick with the modder in mind. Definitely a step forward as compared to HORI which solders their sticks these days mostly, as opposed to using QDs.

Both are good sticks and I'd strongly recommend a TE to those who wish to have the complete and authentic Vewlix experience. The HRAP3 is like a Proton Wira whilst TE is a Lancer. Both are highly modable, gives high performance and can outdo each other in the correct hands. It's either that or a custom DeLorean all the way, baby!

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Added on May 6, 2009, 10:08 amHeads up on the plexi bulk for your HRAP3 and TE sticks!

P.S. Still trying to find the time for the Seimitsu parts bulk.

This post has been edited by rawfish: May 6 2009, 10:08 AM

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php...81#post16959781

You heard it from him first! Looks like Mad Catz is very determined to dethrone Hori and a new line of sticks are in the works. Possibilities: Tatsunoko vs Capcom stick for Wii, or T6:BR ones. Or something else. Or either one WITH wireless.

Just my opinion (please don't quote me):

The US market's looking to a direction where TEs may drop in price to the $120 range. Based on the fact buy.com had this price reduction recently, and the production line (China) being able to churn out more sticks - thus providing more stock to Hong Kong and the rest of Asia. Strongly rumoured interim designs, like the plain vanilla TE sans-SF branding gives me this impression, as Mad Catz will no longer need to pay royalty to Capcom JP. So locally we may be able to see a drop in suppliers' costs within a few months. Bear in mind the sticks may still be sold at the same price range if there's still demand. Nevertheless, the TE is still a very good buy and is proven to be the best stock arcade stick out there - designed by gamers, for gamers. Mad Catz has a proven history of failure, as evident in the initial Standard Edition (SE) FightSticks (joystick washer grinding away parts of the PCB) - unless they adopt to using arcade quality parts like Sanwa or Seimitsu. As always, caveat emptor (let the buyer beware)!