Suggest a Steering Wheel for one of my consoles PLEASE!

[OldSchoolGamer]

Saw a post on Youtube someone got a MADCATZ Dream Wheel for the Dreamcast. Now let me be clear I have no current console (360/PS3/Wii) But I DO have about every other past console worth considering a Steering Wheel for. I do not want one to simply play 1 or 2 games and I tend to prefer Arcade Racers to simulation type. I have Dreamcast/Saturn/Playstation 1 and 2 original Xbox and just about everything before it. So far I am leaning towards Madcatz Dream Wheel also for Dreamcast but this is my decision so far based on lack of experience, I just want to have some fun playing some good racing games. What in your opinion would be my best bet? Which console and which Steering Wheel is recommended for a good bang for the buck combo? Please all your suggestions and comments welcome! THANKS!

[Leo_A]

Serious steering wheel support and tuning options didn't start to become common until the later days of the Playstation 2. The only halfway decent Xbox wheel, which was from Fanatec, was released in such small numbers that it seems to be nearly impossible to locate one even used (Searched the other night when I started considering restarting my long idle career in Forza 1 and didn't have any luck).

I don't have a Saturn wheel and can't comment much about it since I have no experience with the arcade racer controller. The Dreamcast wheels were nothing special and options in various games were fairly limited, but it adds a lot to the enjoyment of a handful of games like Daytona USA (Whose default gamepad configuration sucked). There was little released for the N64, and what wheels there were were pretty much junk. Few games truely supported wheels on it (F1 World Grand Prix I/II being some of the very few that did). I don't think anything very worthwhile ever hit the GameCube.

A Playstation 2 with a midrange Logitech wheel like the Driving Force GT will offer a fairly durable wheel that works halfway decent with compatibility across many later PS2 racers. It will also work with many Playstation 3 games like F1 2010 and Gran Turismo 5, if you ever purchase a Playstation 3.

The wireless Microsoft wheel for the Xbox 360 is poor. It works halfway decent for 20-30 hours and then starts to fail quickly (Mine was barely ever used except for F1 2010, and it only took 25 hours or so for the random pause bug to start creeping up, and it always pulled to the left which was also a common ailment). It's also been discontinued for a while and new wheels cost a fortune, leaving high priced used wheels that are on their last legs. It's simply not worth it.

The only decent wheels on the Xbox 360 are the expensive Fanatec offerings. They also support the PC on their products. And some of their most expensive setups offer PS3 and 360 support in the same wheel.

And the Wii just has a pedal-less Logitech wheel that is just supported in a Need for Speed racer or two, and F1 2009. Cheap wheel and poor software support.

Unless we're talking a Logitech product on a PS2/PS3, or a Fanatec product on a Xbox 360/PS3, the wheels we're talking about are so poor and software support so limited, that it's just not really worthwhile. Especially since any wheel your likely to locate is going to likely be used and have much of it's life used up. Nothing like spending cash on a used wheel to just discover that you can't even get full throttle out of the gas pedal since the potentiometer is wore out.

Also, arcade racers are generally going to wear these things out much more than a more simulation like product will. The intensity of your use as you're racing something like Outrun 2 is going to be more than if you were racing something like NASCAR Dirt to Daytona around a 2 mile oval like Michigan Speedway, or F1 2010 around the long straightaways at Monza in Italy. If you want one primarily for arcade racers, I'd suggest not getting one and sticking with gamepads. You're only going to get halfway decent longetivity using one on more realistic racing games, and they also tend to be the games that recieve the most boost in your gameplay experience from using one.

[Compute]

I had a wheel for gamecube that was "pretty good" as far as quality goes. I found the racing experience to be lacking, however. No matter how I tried to enjoy games, it just didn't feel right. On PS3, I have played NASCAR something something with an appropriate wheel, and that was almost as fun as playing in the arcade. I think I even had to "fight" the wheel to keep control. If I buy a steering wheel for a console, it will probably be for PS3 or Colecovision.

[fahlim003]

The Dreamcast wheels were nothing special and options in various games were fairly limited, but it adds a lot to the enjoyment of a handful of games like Daytona USA (Whose default gamepad configuration sucked).

I wouldn't say the configuration sucked, if anything it was the level of handling which I would say on a controller was very nervous making the game a bit harder. Chalk it up to Genki. Anyway, Daytona USA really benefits from a steering wheel and the nervous on-edge feeling is swept away; the game becomes a lot more accesible. I have the Agetec wheel (essentially the official Sega wheel) and it's compitent for not having foot pedals (brake/accel are paddles on the back of the steering wheel, almost akin to semi-automatic paddle shifters with analogue response). It's the only wheel I've ever used extensively and the only wheel I've ever owned and yeah foot pedals would've been nice but for what it does for all the Sega developed racers it's worth it. F355 Challenge, Sega Rally 2, Daytona USA, and even Rush 2049 are all greatly improved. I recently obtained F1 World Grand Prix 2 for Dreamcast (European) and I suspect this too works with the wheel, though I haven't tried it thus far.

[cityside75]

The only limiting factor on the number of wheels I have is space...wheels of all formats (aside from 360/PS3) can be found DIRT cheap at your local Goodwill/thrift stores, and I think I see at least one new wheel almost every time I go. They're cheap enough (usually less than $10) that you can try a few out and keep what you like.

I personally have a PS1 wheel/pedal set stuffed in a closet, so I forget the brand, but it has the option to sit on the wheel base and works well on a couch. I've used it for GT1 & 2, Ridge Racer, and Burning Road and had great results. I think I paid $2-3 for it.

I also have a Logitech Driving Force GT or something for the PS2, which I got complete in the box for $5-$10. That one is great for GT3 & 4, Need for Speed, Ridge Racer V and others. It has pretty solid force feedback, but does need to be clipped to a table.

Finally, I picked up a dirt cheap Force Feedback wheel for my PC (Logitech NASCAR Pro Force Feedback) that's probably used the most. I enjoy newer driving games such as Test Drive Unlimited, but also use it often for emulators. With a few minutes worth of setup, I can have the equivalent of a Daytona or Virtua Racer sit down cabinet complete with force feedback at my desk. Talk about arcade bliss!

[cityside75]

Unless we're talking a Logitech product on a PS2/PS3, or a Fanatec product on a Xbox 360/PS3, the wheels we're talking about are so poor and software support so limited, that it's just not really worthwhile. Especially since any wheel your likely to locate is going to likely be used and have much of it's life used up. Nothing like spending cash on a used wheel to just discover that you can't even get full throttle out of the gas pedal since the potentiometer is wore out.

Also, arcade racers are generally going to wear these things out much more than a more simulation like product will. The intensity of your use as you're racing something like Outrun 2 is going to be more than if you were racing something like NASCAR Dirt to Daytona around a 2 mile oval like Michigan Speedway, or F1 2010 around the long straightaways at Monza in Italy. If you want one primarily for arcade racers, I'd suggest not getting one and sticking with gamepads. You're only going to get halfway decent longetivity using one on more realistic racing games, and they also tend to be the games that recieve the most boost in your gameplay experience from using one.

My experiences have been quite different here. Certainly there are some beat-up wheels out there, but I've found quite a few in the wild that, aside from being dusty, are still practically brand new. I personally think a lot of people splurge for a wheel, use it for a bit and then pack it away. It becomes too much of a hassle to drag back out, and few to no games require a wheel, so it becomes an afterthought until closet cleaning time arrives, where it's an easy candidate for donation to Goodwill, or to be tossed in the Garage Sale pile.

[davidbrit2]

The official Saturn wheel works nicely, in spite of the weird flight yoke shape. The Concept 4 wheels from Interact are very solid, and available for most late '90s consoles. (I've got one for PS1, one for N64, and one for Dreamcast.) The pedals aren't always interchangeable between models, so you might want to label them.

[entitledg]

From where an I get some more information on interact sell a car online?

[k8track]

Can't go wrong with the Namco NeGcon controller for the PS1; it's pretty sweet. I rather like it.