GameHopper’s exclusive Arcade Stick sneak-peek. part 2

The arcade stick itself was designed by a Street-Fighter enthusiast, who wants to get the same feel and response as that of the arcades. In his quest of finding the perfect arcade stick for his console, and after buying and trying literally everything there is in the market, he simply got fed up, and decided to make his OWN arcade stick.

According to the GameHopper rep I talked to, the creator of the arcade stick was such an enthusiast, that he researched the best possible button layouts, parts, plus adding his own tweaks to the design. And just like in the arcade, he wanted his arcade stick to be able to withstand great amounts of abuse from playing.

On my playtest, the GameHopper rep actually ENCOURAGED me to bang the product as bad as I can. He was that confident it wouldn’t tear off or break that easily. After almost 30-40 rounds of playing my impression of the arcade stick was nothing short but phenomenal. The arcade stick literally FEELS just as responsive and just as great as in the arcades itself. It’s that good!

The select, PS button, Start buttons are within reach and quite accessible, however the GameHopper rep told me that the designer plans to modify the button placement of those 3 and assign them to the side to avoid them being accidentally pressed during heated matches (which ironically happened on my playtest)

The face buttons are evenly placed, and is VERY RESPONSIVE. You won’t be having problems with these babies when the going gets tough.

Here’s a size comparison to a five peso coin.

And here’s the Mode & Turbo buttons on the top side of the box. Not too obtrusive, and can be accessed easily.

The unit itself is quite sturdy, and won’t move or budge when you set it down on a table and bang on it. Thus removes the need for suction cups or adhesives to ensure that the stick won’t move when you play.

The GameHopper rep told me that they will be redesigning the pad and give it a more sleeker faceplace and make the button labels easily readable, as well as other enhancements to make it even more better.

Overall, I must say I’m pretty impressed with GameHopper’s offering and I simply can’t wait to get my hands on the final design before it launches next year.