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One article I never got to release was detailing all of the cool things I'd like to have in my home dream arcade setup. The reason I backed out of releasing it is because it was an entirely theoretical article, with little to no actual experience with most of these setups. It also felt like all I was doing was endorsing a bunch of products. It was essentially one big wishlist. If you guys think it's worth the effort, I'll complete it.
Here is the draft I had without paraphrasing tool edits.
[anything in brackets is mainly for me since information has changed or updated]
This is a showcase of my ideal setup focused around home arcade experiences and old school gaming setups. Some people might prefer having an arcade cabinet in order to fully experience the legitimate thrill of your palms resting on the panel of a cabinet, but others maybe prefer the flexibility of a console or PC setup which opens the door to many more gaming experiences. I will be discussing both setups. Keep in mind that this might be an unrealistic showcase demonstrating financial irresponsibility as very few people would be able to afford everything shown here, or would care to achieve all of these setups.
As far as peripherals go, they are just as important as the actual hardware you'll be using them with. When it comes to most genres that can be played using the cardinal directions and up to 6 buttons, I will prioritize playing them with an arcade stick. On the other hand, if want a more comfortable experience I'm definitely going to choose a 6-button controller. Sometimes, the platform won't even even require an elegant setup and the OEM peripheral suffices. Let's talk about some premium options for when we do have the options.
For most people, retail arcade sticks are a simpler venue to take. If you're seeking ensured quality, your best bet would be to see which officially licensed third party arcade sticks are available. Hori's Fighting Stick α and Qanba's Obsidian 2 come to mind as they both support PC, and PlayStation 4 | 5. I don't mean to come off as biased, but I would not be able to tell you which Xbox One S | X compatible sticks to look at other than Hori's Fighting Stick α. With a vast library of fighting games across these platforms, including arcade classics, these straightforward solutions make perfect sense.
Over the years, there have been so many DIY arcade stick options available, but what keeps them from being accessible is simply patience and knowledge. The greatest benefit a DIY arcade stick brings is the vast amount platform compatibility and personalization. Early on in the DIY community, you'd be excused for not not knowing how to solder or even knowing that you have these kind of options. These days there are so many enclosures, PCBs and parts to pick from at all price points. If you're very interested in a dirt cheap setup, those Chinese stores like Temu and AliExpress offer all of the necessary parts but at questionable quality. Amazon also sells budget friendly parts and premium quality parts. If you're interested in premium quality though, brands you'll have to familiarize yourself with include Sanwa, Seimitsu, Brook, and the newcomer, GP2040-CE. Sanwa and Seimitsu offer arcade-grade Japanese style levers and push buttons (among other amusement machine needs). You'll need an encoder that will send the lever and push button signal to the hardware and there have been many options in this regard. Brook has set the standard as far as high quality retail PCBs go, but there have been community-sourced PCBs that crawled so the rest could run.
The PCB encoders are the most important part of building your own arcade stick with the parts being second. The PCB is what will dictate which features and compatibility your arcade stick will provide once it's built. While there are many choices, here are some of the worthwhile choices you can find online.
One of the most well known cheap encoders available is the Zero Delay PCB which can sometimes be found in a variation that supports USB DirectInput and PlayStation 1 & 2. Searching online yields many stores that have a shit ton of parts and kits for a more complete setup. Zero Delay is often bundled with these drop-in kits ready to go in an enclosure. Most stores offer both Japanese and American style generic parts making them an easy choice for beginners and nostalgics.
Brook is a renowned third-part accessory manufacturer, mostly known for what they have provided the DIY arcade stick community. Their most prolific accessory is the PCB line that has standardized the built-in headers and form factor that other PCB manufacturers have adopted. Brook's PCB layout and form factor make it super easy for anybody to wire up an arcade stick with minimal hassle. Their most versatile and famous PCB is the Universal Fighting Board which is compatible with just about any modern USB-compliant platform. There is a new model known as the Universal Fighting Board Fusion which includes PS5 support [New Universal Fighting Board Fusion Plus adds Retro console support]. If you're on a budget, the Zero-Pi Fighting Board is a great choice as it supports PC (X-Input/DirectInput), Raspberry Pi, and a few consoles such as the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Switch, with additional support for the classic Mini consoles that accept USB input devices. The Zero-Pi Fighting Board also happens to have PlayStation 1 & 2 support, but it does not have an easy header so you must solder the wiring directly on the board yourself. One PCB by Brook that I still want to get is the Brook Retro Fighting Board. It was a joint effort by Arcade Shock, Jasen' Customs and Brook. It supports many 4th, 5th, and 6th gen consoles such as the NEC PC Engine/TurboGrafx 16, Sony PlayStation 1 & 2, SEGA Saturn, SEGA Dreamcast, Nintendo NES, and many more.
MC Cthulhu is a classic name in the DIY arcade stick community. It is a multi-platform PCB that enables your arcade stick to be compatible with many USB platforms such as PC and PlayStation 3 and old school consoles such as the PlayStation 1 & 2, SEGA Saturn, GameCube (partial Wii support), OG Xbox, NEC PC Engine, and more. Thanks to its open source nature, the community has been enable to do a lot with it. There are currently two variations of the MC Cthulhu in circulation that I am aware of. The first is the classic PCB which is more square-like. The second is Arthrimus' take which adapts the classic PCB to the Brook PCB form factor, and layout.
This name and concept might be new to you, but the GP2040-CE is a firmware that can be used on just about any RP2040-based board. As a newcomer to the DIY arcade stick scene, it's been making waves as people seek low latency encoders at low costs. With an encoder using the GP2040-CE firmware, almost every feature you'd need to build the ultimate arcade stick is made possible; except making you good at the game. It offers multi-platform compatibility for PC (X-Input/DirectInput), PlayStation 3/4/5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and many more. The extensive list of compatible platforms is thanks to the input mode feature allowing you to plug and play or force an input mode when holding a button. One great aspect about the GP-2040-CE is that people have designed interesting add-ons for it such as a tiny LCD display showing you various information that you can include in your enclosure. One unique feature that many other DIY PCBs lack is the built-in web configurator enabling you to further customize many of the functions to your liking and needs. Considering this is a fully open source project, you can expect a variety of PCBs with different features. The most common and primary PCB using the GP2040 firmware you'll come across is known as the Pico Fighting Board which uses the Brook style PCB layout making it an easy upgrade or even your first choice for your arcade stick.
This is all I could fit for now. Let me know if you guys think the premise is worth fleshing out.
Here is the draft I had without paraphrasing tool edits.
[anything in brackets is mainly for me since information has changed or updated]
This is a showcase of my ideal setup focused around home arcade experiences and old school gaming setups. Some people might prefer having an arcade cabinet in order to fully experience the legitimate thrill of your palms resting on the panel of a cabinet, but others maybe prefer the flexibility of a console or PC setup which opens the door to many more gaming experiences. I will be discussing both setups. Keep in mind that this might be an unrealistic showcase demonstrating financial irresponsibility as very few people would be able to afford everything shown here, or would care to achieve all of these setups.
As far as peripherals go, they are just as important as the actual hardware you'll be using them with. When it comes to most genres that can be played using the cardinal directions and up to 6 buttons, I will prioritize playing them with an arcade stick. On the other hand, if want a more comfortable experience I'm definitely going to choose a 6-button controller. Sometimes, the platform won't even even require an elegant setup and the OEM peripheral suffices. Let's talk about some premium options for when we do have the options.
For most people, retail arcade sticks are a simpler venue to take. If you're seeking ensured quality, your best bet would be to see which officially licensed third party arcade sticks are available. Hori's Fighting Stick α and Qanba's Obsidian 2 come to mind as they both support PC, and PlayStation 4 | 5. I don't mean to come off as biased, but I would not be able to tell you which Xbox One S | X compatible sticks to look at other than Hori's Fighting Stick α. With a vast library of fighting games across these platforms, including arcade classics, these straightforward solutions make perfect sense.
Over the years, there have been so many DIY arcade stick options available, but what keeps them from being accessible is simply patience and knowledge. The greatest benefit a DIY arcade stick brings is the vast amount platform compatibility and personalization. Early on in the DIY community, you'd be excused for not not knowing how to solder or even knowing that you have these kind of options. These days there are so many enclosures, PCBs and parts to pick from at all price points. If you're very interested in a dirt cheap setup, those Chinese stores like Temu and AliExpress offer all of the necessary parts but at questionable quality. Amazon also sells budget friendly parts and premium quality parts. If you're interested in premium quality though, brands you'll have to familiarize yourself with include Sanwa, Seimitsu, Brook, and the newcomer, GP2040-CE. Sanwa and Seimitsu offer arcade-grade Japanese style levers and push buttons (among other amusement machine needs). You'll need an encoder that will send the lever and push button signal to the hardware and there have been many options in this regard. Brook has set the standard as far as high quality retail PCBs go, but there have been community-sourced PCBs that crawled so the rest could run.
The PCB encoders are the most important part of building your own arcade stick with the parts being second. The PCB is what will dictate which features and compatibility your arcade stick will provide once it's built. While there are many choices, here are some of the worthwhile choices you can find online.
One of the most well known cheap encoders available is the Zero Delay PCB which can sometimes be found in a variation that supports USB DirectInput and PlayStation 1 & 2. Searching online yields many stores that have a shit ton of parts and kits for a more complete setup. Zero Delay is often bundled with these drop-in kits ready to go in an enclosure. Most stores offer both Japanese and American style generic parts making them an easy choice for beginners and nostalgics.
Brook is a renowned third-part accessory manufacturer, mostly known for what they have provided the DIY arcade stick community. Their most prolific accessory is the PCB line that has standardized the built-in headers and form factor that other PCB manufacturers have adopted. Brook's PCB layout and form factor make it super easy for anybody to wire up an arcade stick with minimal hassle. Their most versatile and famous PCB is the Universal Fighting Board which is compatible with just about any modern USB-compliant platform. There is a new model known as the Universal Fighting Board Fusion which includes PS5 support [New Universal Fighting Board Fusion Plus adds Retro console support]. If you're on a budget, the Zero-Pi Fighting Board is a great choice as it supports PC (X-Input/DirectInput), Raspberry Pi, and a few consoles such as the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Switch, with additional support for the classic Mini consoles that accept USB input devices. The Zero-Pi Fighting Board also happens to have PlayStation 1 & 2 support, but it does not have an easy header so you must solder the wiring directly on the board yourself. One PCB by Brook that I still want to get is the Brook Retro Fighting Board. It was a joint effort by Arcade Shock, Jasen' Customs and Brook. It supports many 4th, 5th, and 6th gen consoles such as the NEC PC Engine/TurboGrafx 16, Sony PlayStation 1 & 2, SEGA Saturn, SEGA Dreamcast, Nintendo NES, and many more.
MC Cthulhu is a classic name in the DIY arcade stick community. It is a multi-platform PCB that enables your arcade stick to be compatible with many USB platforms such as PC and PlayStation 3 and old school consoles such as the PlayStation 1 & 2, SEGA Saturn, GameCube (partial Wii support), OG Xbox, NEC PC Engine, and more. Thanks to its open source nature, the community has been enable to do a lot with it. There are currently two variations of the MC Cthulhu in circulation that I am aware of. The first is the classic PCB which is more square-like. The second is Arthrimus' take which adapts the classic PCB to the Brook PCB form factor, and layout.
This name and concept might be new to you, but the GP2040-CE is a firmware that can be used on just about any RP2040-based board. As a newcomer to the DIY arcade stick scene, it's been making waves as people seek low latency encoders at low costs. With an encoder using the GP2040-CE firmware, almost every feature you'd need to build the ultimate arcade stick is made possible; except making you good at the game. It offers multi-platform compatibility for PC (X-Input/DirectInput), PlayStation 3/4/5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and many more. The extensive list of compatible platforms is thanks to the input mode feature allowing you to plug and play or force an input mode when holding a button. One great aspect about the GP-2040-CE is that people have designed interesting add-ons for it such as a tiny LCD display showing you various information that you can include in your enclosure. One unique feature that many other DIY PCBs lack is the built-in web configurator enabling you to further customize many of the functions to your liking and needs. Considering this is a fully open source project, you can expect a variety of PCBs with different features. The most common and primary PCB using the GP2040 firmware you'll come across is known as the Pico Fighting Board which uses the Brook style PCB layout making it an easy upgrade or even your first choice for your arcade stick.
This is all I could fit for now. Let me know if you guys think the premise is worth fleshing out.
