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If you grew up in the 1990s, you may remember the Neo-Geo Home MVS console. It was a flop, due mostly in part to expensive hardware and super expensive games. Fast forward to 2008 and still, no one is looking to pay an outrageous price for an arcade-style joystick.
One student at NJIT decided he’d make his own joysticks instead. Although they work fine and look OK, the stix come in wooden boxes. Ugly wooden boxes full of splinters. It’s not pretty but it gets the job done. Oh, and they also work on PS2 and Dreamcast. Not too shabby.
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The Neo Geo was not a flop. SNK never thought that they were going to sell it in the same numbers as the Super Nintendo. It was intended as a niche device for hardcore gamers and fans if arcade fighting games in particular. I had one and it was brilliant. It also had a longer lifespan than any other console. This was mainly due to the amazing hardware that took longer to become obsolete.
Perhaps the more amazing thing is that the prices for them have not dropped that much and they still command a huge premium. Every other electronic device I ever bought was worth nothing after 5 years. If I would have kept my Neo Geo, I would still be able to get my money back now. I sold it to but a playstation in 1997 which I imported from Japan before they were on sale anywhere else. That playstation has zero value now.
In its day, there were 2 ways to play arcade quality games at home. One was to buy a supergun which let you play real arcade jamma pcb’s on your tv. The other was to buy a Neo Geo. The Neo Geo Joysticks were also better than any other home arcade sticks that I ever used.
Also, I just bought 2 new 10 button arcade sticks off ebay for less than $20 each. The cheapest set of arcade buttons and sticks for a DIY project was $80 unless you order from china (where shipping makes it more expensive).
The $20 ready made arcade sticks seem to be the cheapest and easiest way for most people to go. The ones I purchased work fine. I can’t say that they are the best sticks I have ever used but they work and look better than anything I could make myself. They definitely look better than the wooden box pictured.
Classic arcade games rule! If you just want a quick 5 minute game on something that you don’t want to spend time learning, modern games don’t come close. Sengoku 3, Alien vs Predator, Final Fight, SF2 etc, they don’t make them like that any more! My friend brought his 7-year old and 5-year old over yesterday. They loved Final Fight, TMNT and double dragon just as much as I did when I was a kid. They screamed like they were on fire when it was time to go home and turn off the game!