Joystick Buying 101

There are a lot of joysticks being advertised with all the Street Fighter IV hype around right now, and a lot of people are considering buying for the first time given the renewed interest in the franchise with its leap to the online 3D environment, but most people outside of the fighting game scene don't know too much about how one stick differs from another, so I thought I'd try to make some distinctions.

If you own an Xbox 360 or a PS3, your best options consist of the:

Madcatz FightStick Tournament Edition (FSTE)
Madcatz FightStick Standard Edition (FSSE)
Hori Real Arcade Pro EX (HRAP EX)
Hori Real Arcade Pro 2/3 (HRAP 2/3)
Hori EX2

Anything else is a waste of time for the most part. The FightStick TE is by far the highest end joystick available right now, and it should be for the $150 price point. Most people dismiss it immediately because of this fact alone, but the difference goes far beyond simple cosmetics and a compartment for the controller wire. The stick uses authentic Sanwa Japanese arcade parts that are of the highest quality with some of the best responsiveness around (Sanwa and Seimetsu make up the top two arcade parts manufacturers in Japan). If you're strictly a casual player, this won't make a huge difference, but if you play seriously in any capacity, it can have a huge impact on your consistency and the fluidity of your movement. The buttons also have quick disconnects for easy replacement in case they break down.

The FightStick SE is very different in that it uses stock MadCatz parts that have a reputation for being rather low quality, although it is designed for easy moddability if you have that sort of knowledge.

The HRAP EX features the same high quality joystick as the FSTE, but it has lower quality buttons that, fortunately, can be swapped out, as it also features quick disconnects. The overall build is very similar in quality, and it's about $30 less, so if you don't need your buttons to be absolutely perfect, and you don't mind your stick moving around a little while you play, this is a great alternative.

The HRAP 2 and 3 are similar to the EX, but they're less easily modded and generally inferior in every way besides pricing.

The EX2 is the cheapest of all these options at $50, but it's notorious for having its buttons die suddenly 3-6 months after purchase, and the stick itself is not made up of official sanwa parts.

Anything else is really not worth a mention. These are all Japanese-style sticks, so if you prefer an American-style one with the bat top and the ocatogonal gate, you'll probably have to either mod one of these sticks or look for a custom stick maker to make you one. American-style sticks are out of fashion for being generally stiffer and less precise and, but for those who are used to them, change can be an unpleasant prospect.

EDIT: The first batch of FSTEs has been reported to have a lot of defects with people receiving joysticks that had non-functional diagonals or buttons or badly scratched frames. It may be wise to hold off on ordering one until this mess gets cleared up a bit. If you absolutely can't wait and don't want to take the chance, grab the HRAP EX instead.