« The Last Minute Arcade Stick Buying Guide Day Five Part One: Controller Boards and Converters »
The Phantomnaut
ChImp SMD board by ToodlesEVO is in a couple of weeks and you registered for your games of choices. There is a problem! Maybe you play on Xbox 360 but EVO is a PlayStation 3-specified event. Maybe your PlayStation 3 stick is broken. Maybe you don't have a stick and want to get one before the big event or for other future meetups. Well here is a last minute guide on various sticks available in the market today. You guys can check out Monday's edition on Mad Catz, Tuesday for Hori, Wednesday for Qanba/Eightarc and Thursday for Etokki and custom sticks. The final day of this guide is another double header with this edition on custom controller boards and converters.
Let's say that you have a Xbox 360 stick but you don't want to spend some bucks on a PlayStation 3 stick. Maybe you have a PlayStation 2 stick and want to "stick" with it. These are some of the special situations that have good solutions. For those two cases, you can either use a special controller board or use a converter respectively. Fortunately the solutions are available. To start off, let me present the custom controller boards.
TE Kitty board by ToodlesGodlike Controls boards by Toodles
Toodles have been recieving some praise for his own custom-made controller printed circuit boards (PCB). A good aspect of his boards are the ease of installation which requires little to no soldering. You just need the necessary wires to attach the buttons and stick to the easy screw-in inserts.
If you have a 360 stick, you can use the ChImp board which is a combination of the PS3-central Cthulhu board and an Imp that's used to bridge multiple controller boards for compatibility. After a full installation, it's a very convenient dual mod which can auto detect what system the stick is plugging into. For specific sticks such as Mad Catz's Tournament Edition FightStick or a Hori stick, you can use the much easier Kitty board which requires no soldering.
Maybe your PS3 stick board died, you can always use the regular Cthulhu board since it's a PS3-native board out of the box.
Remember my piece on the Etokki Omni, the stick runs on a Joytron Paewang Revolution? The Paewang Revolution is a multi-console controller board that works on both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 out of the box. The board features turbo support which is also the same place to switch consoles when plugging in so you might need an extra button for that requirement. Fortunately, if you played on a PlayStation 3 console for example, the board will recognize that mode in the future and will only require a switch when plugged on an Xbox 360. Originally, you would have to solder the wires to the board but Etokki provides harnessess to make the installation process much easier and solderless.
Now let's talk about two converters you want to get if you have a PlayStation 2 stick.
If your local tournament is Xbox 360 only and you want to use your PS2 stick, this is the best converter right now. Originally from a company called Tinybee, Laugh of Etokki adopted the stick to help spread the word. This is the replacement of Joytron's Xconverter 360. What makes the Xtokki 360 better than Joytron's coverter is that there is no need for a wired Xbox 360 controller to make it work and the addition of a headset port so you can talk with your friends through Xbox Live chat with ease. There is also a guide button and support for those who want to use their PS2 wheels for Forza Motorsport or Need for Speed.
Laugh also offers this in his store. This is the PlayStation 2 to PlayStation 3 converter you want to get. Previously, Pelican (now PDP) offered a reliable converter and was the top of the line but after production discontinued, the iNPiN took its place since it does the same work and just as effective. Like the Xtokki 360, there is a home button on the converter.
Overall thoughts
These controller boards have been tested by various users and have been well recieved for their reliability. You just need to make sure you are installing it correctly. Any damages during installation are on your end so BE CAREFUL! In terms of advanced mods, you can check here for more resources. Unfortunately, I wanted to add Akihabarashop's own PS360+ board but it's unavailable as of this post so it is omitted.
For the converters, they are the best of the best on the market but both have their share of problems in terms of compatibility so make sure to test them in different environments and controllers. Some owners experienced some lag in their copies and the only solutions were to use another PS1/2 controller board (not all PS1/2 controller boards are compatible, please check here for more info) or get a replacement converter.
Thanks for checking part one of the buying guide's last day. I will soon be posting the second part about getting arcade stick parts!
You can find me talking about fighting games on my Twitter @ThePhantomnaut!
