Just got mine today, and HOLY HELL this thing is slick. Beast of a base--I was rather alarmed when UPS said their shipping weight was 18+ pounds. Two pounds of that is probably packaging, but that still means you've got a 16 pound stick that ain't going anywhere while you play.
Looking at it now, I'm not sure I want to drill holes in this baby. Definitely want to enjoy the aesthetic for a while.
I tested it out with a variety of games, using the stock parts. Here's some information for arcade/fighting game fans:
Final Fight: No surprises here. Graaah! Mike Haggar punch punch PILE DRIVER PIPE TO THE FACE! Probably a next to perfect stick for beat'em ups. Feels good bro.
MK Arcade Kollection: What can I say? Feels arcade perfect... memories from 10 years ago came flooding back... along with the misery of cheap, quarter-sucking artificial intelligence. Mr. Kang, how ARE you bicycle kicking me three times in one combo? Prz.
Marvel 2: Here's where things got weird. I couldn't find a perfectly comfortable button setup; however, inputs were smooth and responsive. Probably playable with practice, but not ideal.
Marvel 3: Also not ideal, but definitely playable with practice. Emphasis on the practice--I set that center button to medium attack and tried to chain my combos in a zig-zag with my fingers. The buttons are definitely further apart than your brain thinks you are, but because of Marvel 3's very long and forgiving input windows, I'd say anyone could give it a few hours and probably be fine.
King of Fighters 13: No problems with the buttons responding, but the tighter input windows of this game rendered the double-quarter circle motions a little difficult to pull off. A restrictor gate would probably fix things. I also couldn't really "nestle in" to a button setup, but practice may fix that too.
Persona 4: Arena. This game I was really curious about, as it's a 4-button fighter with mostly basic inputs. Verdict: Plays pretty awesome! I set the "block" button as a shortcut for Furious Action, and found the looseness of the stick to be great and responsive for instant air dashes. I might bring out this stick more often for P4A from now on.
BlazBlue:CSE: Great control and great response overall, but because I'm so used to an 8-button arcade stick with A, B, and C "mapped" to my index, middle, and ring finger, with D on the thumb, I once again had to adjust to a new control scheme.
Out of the box and for 40$, this stick is absolutely a quality product. With a few swapped parts (and probably a restrictor gate) it'll be even more awesome--though I can't imagine it working well for Street Fighter 4 or Skullgirls
without boring new holes. Right now, I'm too busy enjoying the shiny cover and blood schmear graphic to think about that.
And while I don't own the game, I'm sure it'd work fine for Soul Calibur too.