In case you’re unaware, modern arcades sure aren’t what they used to be. Made popular in the 1970s and '80s with games like Space Invaders, Donkey Kong, and Pac-Man—as well as a resurgence in the early '90s thanks to Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat—for decades arcades always had one essential trump card: faster and more powerful hardware than that of home video game systems. Now that blistering-fast consoles have penetrated the market, arcades seem to be a relic of the past. (Ask yourself one question: When was the last time you went to an arcade for some serious gaming?) Some of the latest, high-profile arcade titles have also been ported to consoles without a second thought: Soul Calibur II, Tekken 4, and the newest F-Zero have all effortlessly made the jump to the most recent systems. If arcades have a saving grace—a killer app—then it’s the control setup. Of course it’s a matter of preference, but many people prefer an arcade cabinet’s standard six-buttons-and-a-joystick scheme to a game pad, especially for fighting games. So why not use the same controls that the game was designed for? Though many arcade sticks have been developed for consoles (as evidence, Nintendo even released one way-back for the NES), none have been as well-made and feature-rich as a real arcade machine’s controls—until the X-Arcade. Constructed with real arcade cabinet components and offering a wealth of other features and goodies, the X-Arcade does enough things right to be the last arcade stick you’ll ever need—no, want—to own again. The X-Arcade is a universal controller, meaning it is designed to work on a variety of different systems. At the moment, it currently supports the Dreamcast, GameCube, Mac, PC, PlayStation 1 and 2, and Xbox gaming platforms, but here’s the kicker: The X-Arcade’s developer, XGaming, wholeheartedly intends to support future consoles, such as the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 2, once they are released. So instead of having to cough up money for a third-party controller adaptor (which may or may not work) or a different cheap arcade stick in the next couple of years, the X-Arcade is guaranteed to function with the new systems once they become available. In order to play the X-Arcade with multiple systems, you’ll just have to dish out $20 for each console’s special adapter, but that’s not such a bad deal; the X-Arcade is easily one of the best, if not the best, arcade sticks converted for home use ever made. JIVE had the chance to try out the GameCube and PlayStation 1 and 2 console adapters, and the X-Arcade worked flawlessly and effectively with both using default controls on the first boot. The X-Arcade also includes a PC adapter free of charge, but its connection procedure is a bit more involved. If you’re using a standard PS2 keyboard with your PC, you’ll have to instead plug it into the X-Arcade unit, and then connect the 6-foot-long serial cable from the X-Arcade to your PC. If you’re already using a USB keyboard, or willing to purchase the $30 USB adapter, then you’ll be able to bypass this altogether. And don’t worry about pesky drivers to install or strange incompatibilities: Since operating systems, such as Windows, will treat the X-Arcade as a standard keyboard, compatibility between your computer and the arcade stick is virtually guaranteed. All of the X-Arcade’s extra bells and whistles would be useless if the construction of the stick itself was poor. Fortunately, that’s not the case at all. As previously mentioned, the X-Arcade is made from real arcade pieces—the sticks and buttons have an undeniably arcade-machine spring to them—and set on a nice sturdy wood frame. I was hard-pressed to distinguish between playing Capcom vs. SNK 2 at my university’s cramped arcade from playing the same game in my house with the X-Arcade, except for the obvious: My TV didn’t have a washed-out haze to it, and I was in the comfort of my own home, after all. The X-Arcade has been the only arcade stick I’ve used that has accurately replicated arcade controls outside of the arcade. The only part of the unit that feels a bit flimsy is the connection between the serial cable and the X-Arcade, but a mixture of proper handling and common sense should be able to avert any potential disasters. Compatibility with the Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator, or MAME, is one of the X-Arcade’s strongest aspects. MAME provides immediate support for the X-Arcade out of the box; all I had to do was select the X-Arcade as my default input in the MAME settings and the games I loaded worked, and controlled, without a hitch. Though the legality of owning multiple games in digital format (ROMs) is trickier to understand than actually playing them, there are literally thousands of older and classic games at your disposal if you’re resourceful enough to find them. XGaming also provides links to many legally obtained classic games, such as Pitfall, Q*Bert, and Frogger, from its Web site. Documentation for the X-Arcade is extensive, but finding all of it can sometimes be a problem. Along with the paper user manual included in the package itself, a little rummaging around on its Web site eventually yielded plenty of helpful tips, question-and-answers, and instructions. (A collection of some of the more useful links can be found at the bottom.) Different savable modes on the X-Arcade, which let you program different keys and commands to each button, are also available, but the average user who just wants to jump into a game of Soul Calibur won’t even have to fiddle with any of that at all. By and large, the X-Arcade is a plug-and-play peripheral. If you’re not a fan of arcade controls in the first place, then the X-Arcade isn’t going to sway your opinion in the slightest. But that’s good news to arcade junkies: XGaming’s premiere arcade stick feels exactly like using a real arcade machine, and is also reasonably priced. Even if it stopped at $99 for the one-player model and $149 for the two-player version, the X-Arcade would still be a great pickup; when coupled with the MAME compatibility, easy of use, quality construction, lifetime warranty (did I mention that there’s a lifetime warranty?), and support for future consoles, the stick is a bargain. Buy it, play it, love it, and play it some more. 5 out of 5 (un)broken joysticks Related Links MAME X-Arcade Web site Official X-Arcade FAQ X-Arcade MAME gaming guide X-Arcade English manual (.pdf format)