As most of you probably already know, MadCatz revealed at Comic-Con a Wii version of their SE FightStick. This was later confirmed to be coming out in January 2010, same month as TvC: Ultimate All-Stars. So what we have here is a quick FAQ on this stick as well as the SE in general.

What is it?

"It" is a Wii version of MadCatz SE SFIV FightStick originally released for the PS3 and XBox 360.

What's the big deal?

The Wii has a very limited selection of sticks (the only other one available in the US of any note is the Hori stick). Another stick on the market is always good, and the SE stick is possibly one of the best budget sticks available in terms of modability. The fact that it's TvC branded is a plus. 

Why stick?

TvC, as with most fighting games made for the arcade, are generally best played on a stick. A good stick is generally considered to be more accurate than a good pad and are also considered more comfortable (you can rest your hand on it and also, your thumbs don't have to do all the work).

Will there be a TE stick for the Wii?

Unfortunately, MadCatz has not said anything about a Wii version of the excellent TE stick, they're still not sure if this one will come out (the one shown at Comic-Con was there simply to gauge crowd reaction). However, the SE stick is pretty easy to mod (easier than the Hori) so anyone wanting to use arcade quality parts from Sanwa or Seimitsu can simply do that.

When is this coming out?

MadCatz has made no announcement on the date - as mentioned above, the stick shown at Comic-Con was simply a mockup to gauge crowd interest.  If they do decide to go ahead and bring it out, it'll porbably be out the same time as TvC.

How can I show support for this stick?

If you weren't already at Comic-Con telling Capcom and the MadCats people about how awesome having a TvC SE stick is, then you can drum up support for it here in the forums (just don't spam) or in the original blog post. If any other way to show support for this comes up, then I'll post it here too.

How moddable is the SE stick?

The SE is one of the easiest stick to mod (alongside its TE big brother), MadCatz uses clones of Sanwa parts so those will easily fit inside it without the need for any physical modification (unlike for the Hori). Bear in mind however that any modifications will void the stick's warranty.

Where can I learn about how to mod this?

First off, thanks to Sven to for clearing this issue up. Here are a couple of links to Shoryuken.com that will teach you how to mod the stick.

-How to mod your SE FightStick

-How to add custom art to your SE FightStick

Also, here are a couple of videos by SRK's ShinJN from his technical review of the TE stick on the buttons which pretty much applies to both SE and TE stick.

-www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTFRh1L2aYM&feat...

-www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_A65CLmcHI&feat...

As previously mentioned however, any modifications to your stick will void your warranty.

RAWR for dev for the post cant wait for it, if i get put into production good bye hori wii fight stick and hello tvc SE stick

Jul 25, 2009 -- 4:17AM, PG wrote:

"The Wii has a very limited selection of sticks (the only other one available in the US of any note is the Hori stick). Another stick on the market is always good, and the SE stick is one of the best sticks. The fact that it's TvC branded is a plus."

I lol'd.

You can do alot worse than a stick that's easily modded with Sanwa or Siemitsu parts. The Hori Fighting Stick Wii on the other hand will require that you physically modify the replacement stick before it will fit. IMO, the ability to easily swap in Sanwa/Seimitsu parts is very important in this case since we probably aren't getting a TE stick for the Wii (unless the surprise announcement MarkMan mentioned at the NeoGAF forums is a Wii TE stick).

In any case, I clarified the original statement for your benefit.

Jul 25, 2009 -- 1:08PM, PG wrote:

The thing about the SE stick is that it was very poorly designed and swapping the buttons was a must because they would fail/brake. The stick itself had a washer that would eat away at the stick because of it's poor design. This happened to both 360 and PS3 versions and was a really big issue. Plus for the price, if it's going to be the same, I wouldn't be jumping up and down considering how many issues it had and the fact that it was built off cheap MadCatz parts that you'll end up having to replace.

But if you're looking to build a stick with Sanwa or Seimitsu parts, then there simply is no other option unless you want to take a dremel to the $25 JLF you just ordered. Also, I can't imagine how you could call a stick designed by MarkMan "poorly designed."

Jul 25, 2009 -- 8:40PM, d3v wrote:

But if you're looking to build a stick with Sanwa or Seimitsu parts, then there simply is no other option unless you want to take a dremel to the $25 JLF you just ordered. Also, I can't imagine how you could call a stick designed by MarkMan "poorly designed."

You could also have someone custom build you one with the parts already in them. They admitted the problem themselves.

forums.shoryuken.com/showthread.php?t=17...

"1. Some customers have reported issues with their standard edition Arcade FightStick. A very small amount of users have experience problems with the sticks responsiveness. Please note that this issue does NOT happen on each Arcade FightStick and has been reported on a small number of units. The issue is due to a metal washer shifting out of place and is easily rectified. The issue and the resulting fix have been extensively documented on several forums. However, to avoid voiding your warranty, we recommend contacting Mad Catz technical support who will be happy to assist. Mad Catz is committed to fixing all sticks that exhibit this issue. Our contact information lies below."

The fact that this washer would destroy the stick is a fatal error in it's design, making it poorly designed.

Jul 26, 2009 -- 12:12AM, B.Revolver wrote:

Truth.

My PS3 SE hasn't given me any problems and the only thing I think needs changing is the gate. My TE stick has been working perfectly since day of purchase. I'm sure others have had issues but Im guessing they are in the minority?

TE sticks were said to have fewer problems, most of them just cosmetic issues but either way this is about the SE sticks not TE. I don't believe it's a small minority when it came to the SE sticks.

www.capcom-unity.com/street_fighter/go/t...