MadCatz Street Fighter IV FightStick SE $43.27 Shipped

bkwong

bkwong

CAG Veteran
Buy.com has the MadCatz Street Fighter IV FightStick SE for $39.28 with $3.99 shipping ($43.27 total) through ANTonline.
http://www.buy.com/prod/official-st...oystick-for-xbox-360/q/loc/108/210674146.html

You can also try Bing Cashback to get 4-7% off from Buy.com. The price is only available for the Xbox 360 version. Sorry if this has been posted already, but I did a search and did not see anything come up.

This stick used to go for $79.99 when it first came out during the SF4 craze, and is easily modded with true japanese arcade Sanwa/Seimitsu parts since it uses quick disconnects for the buttons. American Happ parts will not fit in this case without some kind of modification for those of you that were wondering, as there isn't enough clearance for the case.
 
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Sweet! I'm buying 2 right away at THAT price.
This stick becomes excellent when you put in some Sanwa or Seimitsu arcade parts (easy to do and way cheaper than buying a TE stick), and/or mod it work with PS3 as well.

Thanks Bkwong!
 
That seller has a fair number of negative reviews. It sounds like they (a) sell used stuff as new, and (b) have a crappy return policy. Be careful ordering from them.
 
I'd hate to order and receive a fightpad or something instead. I'll wait till the rest of you get yours and see if it's still in stock then.
 
I bet MarkMan will shed a little tear when he sees one of his babies going for that much below MSRP.:lol::lol::lol:
 
Nice price for a stick! But I've read bad review after bad review on this and so I'm hesitating to pull the trigger here. Anyone here have any recent experience with this stick? I'd love to hear any thoughts on it. Thanks!
 
[quote name='politiclaw']Nice price for a stick! But I've read bad review after bad review on this and so I'm hesitating to pull the trigger here. Anyone here have any recent experience with this stick? I'd love to hear any thoughts on it. Thanks![/QUOTE]
i bought this stick and it works fine...but i removed the washer from the joystick so it wouldn't f anything up.
 
[quote name='politiclaw']Nice price for a stick! But I've read bad review after bad review on this and so I'm hesitating to pull the trigger here. Anyone here have any recent experience with this stick? I'd love to hear any thoughts on it. Thanks![/QUOTE]

You must have missed my post above yours. The washer problem that Darkhado mention is supposed to be fixed. This is a decent stick with the stock parts, but once you replace the parts, it's perfect.
 
Thanks for the thoughts eastx and Darkhado666. Personally, I was looking for a first-time stick that would work for a while without me having to feel the need to replace anything. Judging from both of your comments (and yet more reviews online) this just isn't a great "first stick." Nonetheless, sucks that the deal is gone for those who wanted in.
 
Politiclaw the question is how much do you want to spend? There aren't any arcade sticks with real arcade parts for less than $120. Even the HRAP3 for PS3 ($100) only has a real arcade stick, with non-arcade buttons.
But in the sub-$100 price range, the Madcatz SE sticks have no competitors; they have way more features than cheap Hori sticks, a better button layout, and they are way easier to upgrade. If you have the money to spend all at once, it's best to get a higher-end Hori stick or a Madcatz TE stick. But buying a cheaper stick and then upgrading it with arcade parts is a reasonable option and accomplishes the same thing.
 
If I have to answer the question, personally I'm looking to spend about $60 or less for a good first-timer stick. Perhaps that number puts plenty of professional-grade, near-authentic arcade sticks out of my range but I'd like to believe it doesn't entirely preclude sticks that don't need to be immediately "upgraded" with custom sanwa parts and the like to enjoy a game online here and there. And unfortunately, that's the vibe I get with this stick and so unless it dramatically drops in price, I'll probably steer clear of it. Reading about the reliability issues that might still be a problem with the stick are also a big factor in my decision.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad there are cheap or at least affordable sticks out there (like this one) that lend themselves to the purpose of making a custom (and perhaps cheaper) and more desirable arcade-quality fightstick, but I don't think this should be the only purpose and option a casual player should have. Indeed, from what I've read it seems that the basic Hori EX2 seems to be better suited for the casual first-timer and, though I've also read that it isn't particularly suited for an easy mod, it's a reliable stick that won't crap out in a month or so.

Again, judging from the comments and from what I've gathered elsewhere online this particular stick doesn't seem well-suited to newbies who want a simple stick to both play and not muck about with. Of course, I may be entirely wrong here, but that's the sense I get.

(Hopefully I'm not being rude here but, since this deal is dead I'd prefer not to drag this topic any further up the rung in the forum here. If anyone has anymore thoughts and wants to reply to me, please don't hesitate to do so by PM. Thanks.)
 
[quote name='lee7sauce']Mine just shipped also. Have everything ready to mod it with (LS-32, PG-14)[/QUOTE]
Where do I get that stuff?
 
Hey OP, good looking out but the title on this post needs to be updated (since the sticks are now $69.99, still $10 off but not quite as good as $43.27).
 
Both of my sticks came today. They're brand-spanking new and in perfect condition. Thanks again OP (but you still need to update the title and this needs to be moved to the graveyard).
 
Thanks robo22 for pointing out that this deal is back, just snagged a second one (not sure it's entirely necessary but hard to resist at this price!)
 
Some people have had issues with them, but I ordered 2 sticks and received them in perfect shape for an incredible price (plus Bing Cashback).
 
[quote name='wgpfly']hope they'll still have them tomorrow i get paid but on another note is there an 8 way in these?[/QUOTE]

They are OOS again at the moment (back to the $70 Buy.com standard price).

Also, I'm not sure if an "8 way" is the same as a octagonal gate, but if so you'd have to install your own -- these come with a square gate.
 
[quote name='wgpfly']hope they'll still have them tomorrow i get paid but on another note is there an 8 way in these?[/QUOTE]

Actually selling my Octo gate if anyone is interested. :)
 
Can anyone with personal experience with these sticks enlighten me with the differences of the SE and TE versions? I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks in advance.
 
TE has geniune Sanwa parts, SE doesn't.

I bought this the first time, and the stick is defective :( I am hoping it is not the PCB so I can just put in a Sanwa stick.
 
[quote name='po0po0h3ad']I got a defected one I think these were returns and they just resold it.[/QUOTE]

What was wrong with yours? Mine doesn't register U/L if I hold L (but if I hold U, U/L register, weird).
 
Is there a seal or anything on the box? Did it look used and open?

I just purchased one couple days so I'm hoping they are NEW
 
I ordered one to give to a friend as a late birthday present. Estimated delivery is for the 16th. I was thinking of picking one up for myself as well, but I figured I could try it out the SE first when I give it to him and see if it's worth getting one myself and adding some parts or waiting/hoping for the TE to drop below $100. We shall seeeeee....
 
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