I was using an old MS Sidewinder gamepad (15-PIN and recently USB version) with MAME since day one. (Just started playing again after years of barely playing) It was not good for 4-way only games (Pac Man, Donkey Kong etc.)
I was looking at the 2 current X-Arcade sticks yesterday ($129.99 and up, on sale), but their huge size was not good for my intended use (on laptop in bedroom e.g.). One of them was reviewed and had some potential quality issues in one review.
Anyway, I almost bought the Logitech F310 wired controller (USB) last night, but somehow turned around before paying and settled on the wired MS 'XBOX 360' controller (it also works with Window's PC's - drivers install seamlessly).
All I can say is "Wow!" I noticed The d-pad does not work in MAME (at least not out of the box), but my intention had always been to use the mini stick instead. Well, the stick works amazingly well in Pac Man and Donkey Kong. No more missed ladders in Donkey Kong or accidentally hitting a diagonal in Pac Man instead of a L,R,U or D.
The only minor nuisance is that the price dropped overnight by $10 (just for a 1 week sale), so I will need to go back to the store and get a Price Adjustment ($39.99 to $29.99).
Anyway, I highly recommend anyone who is not happy with their current MAME controller, especially for 4-way (in terms of direction) games, give the 360 wired controller a shot. If you still think it is not that good, then it must be me (meaning my old Sidewinder was so bad that it made the 360 controller seem amazing). :-) Half kidding aside, I found it works extremely well for Donkey Kong and (Ms.) Pac Man. The user reviews on this controller are very high, so I guess I am not alone.
Edited by euroweb (12/04/11 04:03 PM)
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