Xbox 360 Twinsticks

[EOJ]

http://www.hori.jp/products/xbox360/controller/xbox360_twin_stick_ex/

Due out in November 2009. For the low, low price of 30,000 yen. Looks pretty cool though.
If I were a fan of the Virtual On games I'm sure I'd get one of these. I'll be in Japan when it's released, so maybe I'll pick up one anyway.

[Megalixir]

Haha, they just modded the HRAP casing a bit. 30,000 yen.. that's $380 after shipping and fees. Jesus christ that's probably the most expensive controller I've ever seen.

[Doctor Fugue]

Yes, even though that base is quite good and sturdy, I was hoping for something a little more unique. I like to have artwork on sticks too, especially if it is made specifically for one game.

On that note, while I am a fan of VOOT, I am wondering about the possibility of using this for Robotron. I don't think these sticks would work very well (if they are anything like the arcade hardware for VOOT). I know exactly zero about modifying anything... would it be possible to put a couple of regular Sanwa square gate sticks in there, or is the wiring totally different because of the buttons in these sticks?

[gsl]

Jesus christ that's probably the most expensive controller I've ever seen.

What about the Steel Battalion setup on release?  That would certainly beat this out in terms of weight, at least.

Browing Yahoo! JP Auctions, I see a lot of people selling modded DC or Saturn twinsticks for use with the 360.  Some look to be a reasonably high-quality job where the controller plugs straight into the 360; others look to be a regular twinstick + 360 adapter, priced at ~12,000.  Reminds me of seeing a stack of 4 or 5 Saturn twinsticks in box at Super Potato for something like 1,000 yen; you could really make a killing with that kind of markup.
(Dear God why did I pass on getting so many things just because I was worried about shipping costs?!)

[Megalixir]

Plugging straight in? I guess you mean that they gutted a 360 pad and shoved it inside the case, rewiring the controller to the 360 controller itself. This is basically the same as this one from Hori.

The Steel Battalion thing was weird, yeah. But that game wasn't revolving around online multiplayer like this is. Will there still be competition by the time this is out?

[gsl]

Plugging straight in? I guess you mean that they gutted a 360 pad and shoved it inside the case, rewiring the controller to the 360 controller itself.

That's what I meant--a modded Saturn twinstick shell with 360 pad guts.  What I was getting at is that it was amusing that the modded sticks--having a bit more effort and material put into them--were the same price as people were asking for what seemed to just be a twinstick and Saturn->360 adapter.

[Megalixir]

That makes no sense. There are no Saturn to 360 adapters, only modded Xbox 360 pads inside twinsticks.

I have a die hard VOOT friend who won't even bother with this. Perhaps the price is a joke. After all, you're now paying for the name, not the product.

[gsl]

It was something like this: http://page7.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/g80250811
Okay, so the larger picture shows the twinstick connecting to a 360 controller.  Whatever.  Not worth an e-penis "I'm right" contest over the specifics.  So drunk.  In any case, would you really pay $150 for it??

EDIT:
Then again, considering the Hori sticks are 30,000 yen, that's still quite a steal or something.

[Megalixir]

It's either buying someone's custom remodeling project or the official thing for twice the price, and not everyone has the time/effort to do it themselves. If I cared about this, yes, I think paying half the price for something that does exactly the same thing would be worth it.

[gsl]

I think that's the one theme of this thread: this is a peripheral which not a single person cares about. 

[EOJ]

The final product, up for preorder, looks pretty snazzy: