Hori of Japan unveils the Real Arcade Pro Premium VLX Joystick

by: Jeremy - posted: 2/8/2010 11:26:00 AM

 If you take your fighting games seriously, you know that there is no better control scheme than an actual arcade stick setup.  Perhaps you don't want to make your own joystick (plug, plug) and have the extra cash to sick into a high quality arcade stick for your home console of choice... then Hori has the product for you.  Previously shown at the Tokyo Game Show, the Real Arcade Pro Premium VLX has been officially unveiled on Hori's Japanese website for both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3.  This monster of a joystick, which weighs over 12 pounds, is about as high quality as they come.  The controller, which goes on sale on March 28, 2010, consists of Sanwa buttons and joysticks and the ability for the consumer to perform maintenance and upkeep on the stick.  The default layout is modeled off of the standard Street Fighter IV arcade machines but can be adapted at the will of the player with slight modification.   The joystick has a flip-top panel that can be opened for re-wiring, button reorganization to adapt to various games, and storage for additional buttons and parts.  The Xbox 360 version is equipped with headset jacks for online play as well.  This level of quality and convenience does not come cheap though as the sticks will start at about $330.  The US website for Hori does not currently list the products, so it is unknown as to whether they will be receiving a North American release, but the import website Play-Asia is taking pre-orders on them.