8BitDo Arcade Stick Review And Modding!

[@cooltoy]

8BitDo Arcade Stick Purchase Here: amzn.to/2Pu2L04 or bit.ly/3rlVigS

[@therexershow]

I knew long ago when people were saying “these are moddable “ that they didn’t realize it wasn’t as easy as they thought. I modded the older N30 arcade Stick and was able to get a Happ Joystick and a Happ buttons in there , but it was a task. At least sanwa replacements fit good and somewhat easy to change the joystick .

[@cooltoy]

Yea I was skeptical when they first announced this device and said it was compatible with Happ. Heck, they even had it on their website for the longest time, before they finally got tired of people yelling at them about Happ and IL not fitting inside the housing. Sanwa fitment is great, though I would have still much preferred to get some Happ products inside it myself as a personal preference.

[@craigpilkington4323]

How did you get HAPP style concave buttons in yours? The barrel length is far too long... I suspect you can only realistically fit in Gold Leaf concave buttons (HAPP style, but barrel length much shorter)

[@therexershow]

@@craigpilkington4323 the older N30 stick was deeper , higher., this one is too shallow. Same with adding a Happ or IL joystick. I actually cut out the bottom and made a hole in the bottoms of the base on the old one. It was a pain .

[@craigpilkington4323]

@@therexershow crazy times

[@waynerice4918]

I purchase the 8bitdo Xbox, PC version and I added a Sanwa Joystick and Sanwa buttons and is a little different in the 8bitdo connector and will not fit the way the 8bitdo Switch PC version connector. You will have to ether solder the wires to the PC board or splice wires with the Sanwa 5 pin with different color wires to the 8bitdo connector or solder the wires together. I chose to solder the wires together and heat shrink tubing for better reliability. Also the 8bitdo Xbox, PC version uses Phillips screws for connecting the controller together. Thanks for the great video!

[@wutang_batman]

After watching many reviews I bought one of these off amazon. Was on sale for £67.49 so had too. Arriving tomorrow. 100% adding sanwa parts to it.

[@CompleteGeekTV]

Yeah I'm going to have to purchase this. I ended up not doing it because I have so many fight sticks but this is still just very cool for what it is. Love the led indicators for the buttons

[@cooltoy]

At one point I owned 6 different arcade sticks. I finally wisened up and thinned out my collection.

[@ryansingh2512]

​@COOLTOY can this work with android and could I connect to a monitor via USB hub?

[@goldenretrogames]

I'm so happy I found your video about this modding! I'm swapping and joystick and buttons this weekend. From other videos on the topic, I thought it was required to solder the joystick cables. This method is much preferred!

[@bluetarantulaproductions6179]

I bought myself one of these and absolutely love it, though I modded the square restrictor gate to an octagonal gate (pinched my index finger while releasing one of the latches which stung like a s.o.b. , lol). Wish it had a toggle for PS3, PS4 & PS5 as well, oh well.

[@nemesisnine3297]

Had no trouble soldering to the side pads, prefer that honestly, tighter connection and the sanwa parts make it feel premium and more enjoyable.

[@Maizan24]

Reminds me of the nes advantage. Turbo buttons ftw!

[@cooltoy]

I still have my trusty NES Advantage stick

[@Rob.Coleman]

8BitDo make some great retro controllers, if this had been around a couple of years ago I probably would have got one. I looked at the available controllers and ended up making my own, custom button layout to suit my own style, JLF (naturally 😁), and the start/select on the side, out of the way. Obviously a lot more effort than an off-the-shelf solution but very enjoyable nonetheless 👍👍.

[@jovan1509]

Can you just unscrew the ball top and exchange it with the delrin or does it require changing the cabling etc? Sorry if this is a newbie question, I'm just not sure :)

[@SVR2010REELS]

those led indicators are nice

[@cooltoy]

I thought so too, very slick feature.

[@linuxlover_8436]

I agree...hopefully others follow suit and, if possible, find other innovations to further enhance these indicators

[@alfonsomoreno8472]

Loved the video ! Simple with real good info and to the point !!!

[@cooltoy]

Glad you liked it!

[@steveothehulk]

can you change the joystick head from lollipop style to the baseball bat style? does it screw off?

[@dravenlee4473]

I've been looking for a decent joystick. I love Nintendo but honestly the NES look is a bit of a turn off. I never think of the NES when I think of arcade. I wish they'd make more standard design. Other than that, it looks solid.

[@linuxlover_8436]

for better or worse, I think 8bitdo just seems to favor Nintendo (their name, and most controllers seem to resemble or bear a heavy Nintendo influence in design). I personally wish they went with a more Sega-like aesthetic b/c they generally went with a more ergonomic and black design. I think you can get the mayflash sanwa edition for about $130 or less if it's on sale which is probably closest competition to this stick & MadlittlePixel did a comparison video where he ultimately preferred the Mayflash over this 8bitdo iirc

[@TheRealDustinNunn]

After I get me a Nintendo Switch Lite, I will get me an 8BitDo arcade stick controller for my Switch Lite.

[@soggykid5580]

I always thought it was 8bitdo... like Nintendo

[@SDMasterYoda]

It is. They changed the pronunciation when they redesigned the SN30 to look less like the SNES controller. I'm still going to call it 8bit "dough"

[@tubinonyou]

I was going to purchase a Seimitsu joystick but the guy from FocusAttack recommended I purchase Sanwa JLF... I was looking forward to trying the Seimitsu but he said I might have to shave the bottom part of the 8bitdo case.

[@SuperKokuJin916]

That's unfortunate. Seems like the person at FocusAttack was just trying to offload some JLF stock. I put a Seimitsu LS-55-01 lever in one of mine with no issues whatsoever. It fit just fine. Seimitsu sticks are great if you prefer a stiffer stick with a heavier spring. They're better for shmups and Neo-Geo games imo. I'd say you should still try one out in the 8bitdo stick and see what YOU think of it. I like it a lot!

[@gihi6229]

Can you emulate keyboard keys with macro buttons? or red ones? Thank you.

[@Observer168]

Why doesn’t the arcade stick come with a standard 5 pin port for Sanwa joy sticks? What’s the point of having to cut and soldier? I know you can cut a bit of the plastic to fit into the 8 pin port but why not include a 5 pin port for a 5 pin connector?

[@northwestclasspnw7974]

just seems like the one flaw, not like you can't just jam a 5 pin in the right slots anyways

[@Observer168]

@@northwestclasspnw7974 companies would never make their products better if people didn't complain. Why is it up to the customer to fix things?

[@WishItWas1984]

Look forward to watching this video again when my stick arrives. I have Happ Competition on my large home arcade joystick and those are solid. Unfortunate that there's no room for that or a Mag-Stik Plus. Still, looking forward to this Sanwa because the stock 8BitDo clone is mushy, loose trash. Don't mind the buttons though.

[@jeancarleo]

Which 4 way stick do you recommend for the 8bit do arcade? I was going to buy the mag stik plus. Please help.

[@WishItWas1984]

@@jeancarleo The one this video to recommends. It comes with a switchable 4-way/8-way restrictor plate. Although to maximize what I could play, I got the octagonal plate to replace it. 4-wsy is not 100%, but it's most definitely playable.

[@tjmadden1835]

So did you buy a new spring and gate for the Sanwa Joystick in your link or does it come with the 6lb spring and 8 way gate?

[@cooltoy]

Already had replacement spring and gate sitting around at my house from previous mod projects.

[@tjmadden1835]

@@cooltoy Could you share some Amazon links for those upgrades as well?

[@platinumnitrocharge4218]

I mean...if you're into modding stuff at all and you don't own a set of screwdrivers, what are you doing with your life? Also if the LED board's the only thing thats keeping you from using certain types of button...the board is held in with normal phillips head screws...just unscrew it, it's not that hard. I do think it might be an issue with spacing more than anything though. I'm also not sure how the sticks not moddable, soldering is something you learn in school, it's not hard at all, there are exposed pads for attaching 5 wires, et voila, jobs done, or just get a 5 pin connector and slot it into the provided socket.

[@The_Garage_Gamer]

Works with Newwavetoys Street Fighter 2! Love mine

[@cooltoy]

a little easier using this joystick vs the onboard control panel on that machine lol

[@The_Garage_Gamer]

@@cooltoy exactly 👍🏻

[@razerfree4359]

Are the stock buttons and joystick that bad that it warrants shelling out the money for Sanwa upgrades?

[@cooltoy]

Only you can answer that, everyone’s tastes and preferences will vary obviously

[@robertquail1428]

Doug did say in the start that 90% of the people won't even notice and they would be fine with it.

[@razerfree4359]

@@cooltoy actually just modded mine with Sanwa parts too. Joystick has a bat style mod and octagonal restrictor. My inputs are now a lot more precise and I make less mistakes. The buttons look similar from the outside, but they seem to pop back out faster after each press, letting me feel more clearly when they are ready to be pressed again.

[@jjeter1]

Can you use it with a phone

[@charlibiris]

Yes

[@novakjoey]

What front end are you running at 35 seconds into the video?

[@cooltoy]

CoinOps

[@ulfrinn8783]

Couldn't you put the nuts for the long stem buttons underneath the circuit board and then put the button in front the top? Also, what would you recommend over this for the same price point or lower?

[@cooltoy]

Still wouldn't fit with what you are suggesting. A budget alternative would be: amzn.to/32oqXUE

[@chrisbanes]

Where did you get the bat stick topper? That is really the only thing that I want to mod on my stick.

[@cooltoy]

paradisearcadeshop.com/products/paradise-plastic-battop-yellow?_pos=9&_sid=7ad75d498&_ss=r

[@ImperishableDani]

I tried connecting this like you did. I'll look again, but the stick felt very weird. Like it felt like when I tried pushing it down there was some sort of resistance pushing against it.

[@takemetoyonk]

Was it connected to the Switch without a dongle because you previously connected it? Thanks for the video!!

[@samiRetro777]

Is it possible to remove that metal bottom plate ?

[@TheFrenchy82]

Yeah this joystick is cool.... sadly we are missing 5 centimetres on the left in order to lay down our left palm... This joystick is not as comfortable as my other joysticks... close but no cigar !!

[@cMARVEL360]

Great video! Have you tried to replicate the Happ Joystick feel with an Extended Shaft on a JLF on top of the 6 pound spring? On my A1up I have two Skinny Red Bat Tops and Extended Shafts, not sure if you remember me Showing you on Twitter, but point is that they feel Happ like in the hand, but I have the stock Springs so they don't have the Happ Resistance and the illusion is lost. Have you tried that? I'm wondering of your opinion on it feel. Also, Have you ever looked in two Samducksa Crown?!?!?!

[@cooltoy]

Normally I would an the extender, but it felt a little much in this instance so I ended up removing it. 6lb springs are pretty good at giving me a similar feel that I'm used to having with the Happ/IL sticks. Heard good things about the Crown sticks, just never tried them personally.

[@acev271]

What is the portable screen you are using to play SF on?

[@cooltoy]

It’s my Nintendo switch

[@Beaver187]

Does it work with Batocera on Raspberry pi 4?

[@Otacon_Magoo]

I would like to mod it to make the buttons look like the SF30 Pro color scheme, and maybe change the P1 and P2 buttons where they have the player icon buttons.

[@jrami223]

Wonder if u can take out the internals and put it into a arcade cab!!🤔🤔

[@dneck]

why? thats like taking a laptop apart to build it's components into a tower. you can get a set of happ sticks and buttons and some usb encoders for less than the price of this. and if you gut the internals you'd be throwing away a wireless joystick. you can get the parts that are the internals for less than the cost of this

[@jrami223]

@@dneck lol obviously u have 0 clue what u talking about there only 2 encoder for switch and they both cant use the stick only dpad. So u cant play smash bros. And 1 encoder is the price of this! How do i know this cause i bave cabs that run switch and pc and there only 1 usb switch that works with it

[@idonda]

I have it and I find that the stick is wobbly. And it needs a lot of movement before actually activating a switch. Not really responsive. Im wondering if a mod like this could solve the problem. Do you have a link to the buttons + stick kit?

[@cooltoy]

Already posted in the video description box

[@linuxlover_8436]

Thanks for the vid CT...I thought cheating via macros necessitated a keyboard in fighting games, but I guess I didn't think about it being possible w/arcade sticks :(. I long suspected I would be a much higher rank than super-ultra bronze range I hover around in sf5 and I do think cheating by others is more prevalent than people would like to admit. I used to beat good players who had winning streaks in arcades quite frequently when I played SF games during the 90's and I'd say I'm much better now than then. From your experience, would you say a pc monitor w/faster latency/lag is much of a difference for twitchy games like fighting games? Besides SF5's trash netcode, I use wired gigabit ethernet so I should be good on that front (although I think I've heard using fiber optic ethernet cables could provide better ping than standard copper versions). Also, what's the deal w/arcade stick makers not being Happ or Industrias Lorenzo friendly? I know many consider Sanwa to be the standard, but plenty still play fine w/Happ / iL I've seen. Maybe Happ/iL need to make shorter buttons and sticks to be more universal if possible. I've slowly learned about joysticks and buttons & from what I've read, I think you did the best mod you could for a stick w/these limitations. If this sounds interesting to you, I think it would be a cool idea to make a video going over what games were known to use 2, 4, or 6 lb springs although it may be hard to ascertain that information because I imagine it could have varied per arcade operator / business desires since they could have changed them back in the 90's for various reasons. Great video and is among best I've seen regarding this product.

[@cooltoy]

Great idea on the history of joystick springs and the games that utilized them. I may have to try and tackle that one.

[@esprithk]

nice video. Do you have the 8BitDo bluetooth retro receiver(s) for original SNES/SFC, SNES/SFC classic, Sega MD/Genesis, Sega MD/Genesis mini? Can you test this 8BitDo Arcade stick if player can use it on these consoles by bluetooth wireless connection? Thank you very much.

[@gestaltmusic4052]

seconded, need info on this too

[@Roberto_79]

Can you get it to work with iOS?

[@mr_ghostface9374]

Where can I get a cross gate restrictor for this stick??

[@retrogamingindo4238]

Does this work with retroarch?

[@cooltoy]

Yes

[@retrogamingindo4238]

@@cooltoy i know this sounds too much but did you use x input for the retroatch? Or can you make separate video for 8bitdo arcade stick playing mame / neo geo using retroarch? Thanks in advance

[@Mcfry88]

I'm looking for one that works with series x any suggestions?

[@cooltoy]

It's pricey, but here is one of the official options: amzn.to/3fgyNrk

[@rocknflip66]

Will this work on a hacked vita?

[@cooltoy]

I don’t have one to try

[@Warrior33GG]

How to switch of led buttons light?

[@mezomoza7]

Where to get this yellow bat top? what size?

[@cooltoy]

paradisearcadeshop.com/products/paradise-plastic-battop-yellow?_pos=9&_sid=02d8c7d8d&_ss=r

[@NetworkEngr]

Do you have a link to the bat top? would like to give you the credit.

[@cooltoy]

paradisearcadeshop.com/products/paradise-plastic-battop-yellow?_pos=12&_sid=9f58ea398&_ss=r

[@ROX99]

Can this work with the 8bitdo Bluetooth receiver on nes/snes retro consoles ?

[@MPSTG_brb]

You don't have to worry about that, because this has its own dongle/receiver included -> 4:50

[@ROX99]

@@MPSTG_brb yes I know the 2.4ghz, but I talk about the Bluetooth receiver for the old consoles like nes or snes, can I use this stick with them?

[@MPSTG_brb]

@@ROX99 Ah... That I don't know.

[@ROX99]

@@MPSTG_brb can you confirm it plz

[@MPSTG_brb]

@@ROX99 Don't have them sorry. I've only used it on Switch and PC, and the PC has built-in bluetooth, so no adapters to check sorry...

[@greyskull4972]

What size buttons do you need ? Anyone know

[@cooltoy]

Everything is linked in the video description

[@gestaltmusic4052]

can this arcade stick run retroarch?

[@cooltoy]

It’s won’t “run” retroarch but it will work with it

[@gestaltmusic4052]

@@cooltoy yea i mean i can use this with retroarch, nvm already bought it, cant wait to test it out for neo geo emulation

[@anthonydefeo4989]

Hey doug, do you know where I can find an arcade 1up pinball cabinet?

[@jazm391]

Does anybody know if this is compatible with ps5 ?

[@jskjellman]

Does this baby come with an octagonal gate?

[@cooltoy]

no, the stock gate is square.

[@jskjellman]

@@cooltoy not what I meant (I did watch the whole video :). My Mayfair came with an extra gate. I thought if this was a premium stick it might as well.

[@linuxlover_8436]

@@jskjellman as nice as this product seems, I think 8bitdo is going too far by calling it a premium stick...checkout eTokki's website...I would guess those are truly premium

[@soundsnags2001]

Man, why the heck didn't they add pinball buttons here

[@cooltoy]

because it's made specifically for fighting games.

[@soundsnags2001]

@@cooltoy lmao ok. +1 autism awarded.

[@vilhelmstein2091]

The stick seems really short

[@mistamental11]

Your'e cruel!💙

[@cooltoy]

How so?

[@Likwidfox]

Thats right Macro's are cheating of the future lol.

[@MightyMoriar]

Torx is better than Philips for longevity of the screw.