Review on 🕹️ 8Bitdo Arcade Stick: Optimal Gaming Experience for Switch & Windows by Phil Oliveira

NOT SUITABLE FOR SEIMITSU LS-40 OR HIGHER STICKS WITHOUT PLASTIC MODIFICATION. Review of the first day. Standard Joystick: The standard joystick is a Sanwa JLF clone with a square gate. It is compatible with aftermarket octagonal gates. It's pretty good if you like the stock Sanwa JLF feel (I don't). Mechanical joystick interface: I'm used to drilling big holes in plastic with a dremel to fit an LS-40 with a gate axle in my sticks. I was really hoping that this stick would actually work, but no! It mounts fine on the adapter plate that comes with the stick, but when you put the bottom on the stick the tip of the pole scratches the bottom. This adds extra resistance to the movement and stops the return to center ruining the feel. It's possible that you're very gently sanding the offending part on the underside, but it's hard to tell exactly how much to sand and I can't guarantee it will work without going all the way through the underside. The stainless steel plate that comes with the LS-40 to add a few millimeters to fix the gap problem, except the holes don't line up with the shrink inserts in the upper case. And even if the holes were in the right place, the top case has a couple of plastic ribs that get in the way, so there's no way to attach it without damaging things. Finally, the metal plates attached to the underside of the case make for a really nice weight feel, but also clearance issues due to the Seimitsu-style sticks, which use perimeter plates that mount from below rather than being closer to the built-in. in / hidden bracket like Sanwa JLF. The metal plates have a hole wide enough to allow the shaft to move freely, but not big enough to expose additional stops like the standard 2/4/8-way square stop that comes with the grip. It doesn't even fit the octagonal Kowal limiter, which is really small compared to the limiters. The LS-32 has a slightly shorter stem (1.5mm) so it will likely expose the plastic on the underside, but you'll almost certainly run into throttle clearance issues if you don't remove the weight plates. This can be solved if you have a way to accurately remove a bunch of stainless steel material, but it's a big problem. Finally, it just doesn't feel like they bothered to test anything other than Sanwa JLF clones. The marketing pics also say it works with Happ/IL rods - I'm sure they fit perfectly on the converter plate inside, but you have NO WAY to close the case with one of these as they are so much bigger than even the LS -40. This is mostly normal for commercial arcade joysticks, but their marketing implied that this joystick would be different. I'm not really hopeful that future versions of the product will fix this as all I've talked about is a major mechanical issue on a large plastic piece that means $$$$ to make a brand new set of molds, which they do really want to be. unlikely, no matter what marketing messages they spread, if you know how the production works. Joystick Electrical Interface: The side board wiring harness is a JST style 8-pin connector that at first glance looks like a 2.54mm pitch. Four directions, I think UDLR, then four reasons (the stick is closed at the moment so I can't tell the exact pinout). The wires are soldered to the switches on a regular stick. Replacing a new stick will almost certainly require soldering, or at least crimping your own 8-pin wiring harness, which isn't a problem for me, but might be a problem for you. I know you can buy ready made 5 pin harnesses but I'm not sure about 8 pin harnesses with the keys used. Given the emphasis on modifiability, I expected the 5-pin JST to be a .187 quick connector, allowing end users to make easier replacements without soldering and crimping. Again, I'm used to modding crap, but given the opportunity to mod as part of marketing, I figured I didn't need to do it this time. Keys: The standard keys are pretty good, nothing special but usable. They feel like cheaper versions of Sanwa knobs, medium spring tension on down, no noticeable toggle, medium rebound speed on return up. The rebound seems a bit slow for my liking when you press the fire button or whatever, but it's mostly just a feel, doesn't seem to affect performance at all. Button Mechanical Interface: You got it right. The buttons pop out easily and the Sanwa 30mm OBSF snaps into place. No grinding, tugging, cutting, etc. required. I didn't think of 24mm macro keys at all as I don't plan on using them. Button Electrical Interface: You got it right. There's a JST-style board-side interface, and the button-side connectors are all well-insulated quick connectors. Standard knobs of any brand, but the terminals are exactly the same size as the Sanwa knobs. Simply remove the wire harness from the original knobs and attach to the new knobs. Using quick connectors also means you can easily rewire the buttons in the order you want them. In this case the LED labels are wrong but you can just unplug the LED harness or just not look at them while playing. You'll need a Torx T10 deep T-handle or similar to get at them. A standard 40-in-1 screwdriver set that you can use for almost anything else won't work here as the bits aren't long enough and the head is too thick to reach the head of the screw. Conclusion: Seems to be a good stick. I haven't touched the electronics much, but everything seems to be working as advertised with my Switch so far, and I have a number of other 8BitDo controllers, so I trust them for that. I just hoped I didn't throw up and throw up this time. It's not quite right to take it with a dremel on day one, but soon enough I'll carve out a big ugly hole. I will add it to my collection of Frankenstein, ugly but razor sharp precision rods. Rating Result: Minus one star because the LS-40 I bought specifically for this stick doesn't fit and minus one star for how the marketing said it would. I'm a bit upset that this let me down. If you really like the feel of Sanwa JLF sticks, this stick might be a 5 star stick for you. I would feel the same way if my favorite club fitted right away.