Looking for a USB joystick with PC and PS3 support

[goldenegg]

I'm hoping someone here might be able to point me in the right direction.

I'm at the point where I'm getting really tired of having to buy console specific peripherals. I have so many and usually put off buying new controllers because they can take up so much space.

What I'm trying to find at the moment is a good quality USB joystick, which is compatible with both PC and PS3 gaming. On the PC, I want to use it for MAME. On the PS3, the focus will be SF4 (SSF4 soon) and BlazBlue. I would like a stick that has arcade quality parts, or whose parts can be easily swapped.

It would be terrific if the joystick could also work of the Wii (maybe with an adapter to the Gamecube controller ports), but I think that's a little too much to ask for at the moment.

Any information is GREATLY appreciated!

[kedawa]

It really depends on your budget.
You can pick up a Mayflash or Saulabi stick for less than $50 that will work fine on PC and PS3.
HRAPs and Madcatz sticks should work fine with a PC, but there seems to be incompatibilities with certain hardware combinations.

[Ed Oscuro]

Something by Hori should do. I don't know off the top of my head if they use Sanwa or Seimitsu parts in some of their sticks, but it should be possible to swap 'em in.

I've heard good things about the Hori Real Arcade Pro 3, and it has SA and SE variants which I suppose mean that at least some of the parts in each are Sanwa / Seimitsu. Common wisdom seems to be Sanwa for fighters, Seimitsu for shooting games (short engage), though there are some other swappable stick designs that could be worth a look as well. Mind you all the sticks I know of that fit your criteria are at least $100, an amount of money I haven't gotten around to paying for a USB stick yet. It would be money well spent however.

[G-Boobie]

The Madcatz PS3 TE stick is plug and play on most PCs. It comes with Sanwa buttons and stick, it's easy to swap parts, and ia very well designed overall.

If you're looking to spend a bit more, check out Arcade In A Box. Their PS3 arcade custom is also plug and play on PCs, no drivers required, and is a bit heavier and more robust than the Madcatz stick. You can choose between American and Japanese parts, and they offer a custom art option too.

[EnforcerOfJustice]

I like the design of the Hori sticks (coming from someone who enjoys fighters but doesn't play obsessively) and believe that the FS3 is a good entry-level stick. I haven't used a HRAP but I thought that on at least one revision, the stick was a sanwa and the buttons were Hori although they would snap out easily in exchange for better buttons.

[kedawa]

Hori makes so many different variations on all of their sticks that it's hard to say what you'll get off hand.
In general, the HRAPs have Sanwa parts and quick disconnects. However, most HRAPs that have official artwork for a specific game use Sanwa parts, but have soldered connections. There are special editions with Seimitsu parts, and the name of the stick usually indicates this.
Their EX2 and FS3 sticks all just have Hori parts, and it takes some work to swap them out.