Toronto Thumbs

INTRODUCTION

Discerning whether competitive advantage exists when using Mad Catz controllers to play Street Fighter IV rather than the standard Microsoft Xbox 360 controller. Two controllers will be assessed in this experiment: The Mad Catz FightPad controller and the Mad Catz FightStick arcade-style controller. It is our hypothesis that there will be significant tactical advantage when using the FightStick controller, and that the FightPad controller will prove to allow some advantage over the standard Xbox 360 controller manufactured by Microsoft.

MATERIALS

• One television with component video input
• One stereo receiver
• One Xbox 360 console with 20 GB hard drive
• Power, video, and Ethernet cables for the Xbox 360
• One copy of Street Fighter IV
• One Xbox LIVE membership
• One DSL modem/router
• One standard Xbox 360 controller
• One Mad Catz FightPad controller (see Figure 1c.)
• One Mad Catz FightStick controller (see Figures 1a. & 1c.)

METHOD

We will ensure the Xbox 360 console is connected to both the television and the Internet.

PART I:

Upon powering up the console, we will load Street Fighter IV from its disc. Once the game has loaded, we will enter the training option. It is here that we will attempt to execute special moves with each of the controllers, recording our progress in a table. Each move will be attempted ten (10) consecutive times. We will log the percentage of success for each move as performed by each controller. For control purposes, we have chosen to perform the moves of a character whose move set we are most familiar with: Ken. We will be using his standard red costume. All moves will be performed from the Player 1 (facing right) position.

PART II:

After recording our progress in the training environment, we will either enter the game’s Player Match mode or Versus Mode and play 10 battles as Ken per controller. This amounts to 30 total battles. For each controller, we will log our success ratio in terms of battles won versus battles lost, but we will also note observations regarding the controllers, including (but not limited to) the following: Controller comfort, grip; response time of controller actions; general observations regarding moves attempted versus moves successfully executed; any vocal response from the opposing player; which character the opposing player chose to do battle as.

DISCUSSION

PART I:

Under the training conditions, we found that the Mad Catz FightStick performed best, but we were still unable to pull off some moves with any sort of certainty. The Mad Catz FightPad proved to be an acceptable medium between the FightStick and Standard Xbox 360 controller in terms of special move success rate. The Standard Xbox 360 controller, however, proved to be abysmal at times. Though we hadn’t originally decided on charting this, we also tried out a combo attack (Jumping Fierce Kick, standing Medium Punch, standing Heavy Punch, Heavy Shoryuken) and found the FightPad to be the most efficient for those, with the FightStick as a close second.

PART II:

In general, and outside of our graphed data, we found the Mad Catz FightStick to be of superior quality in terms of durability and of precision. Any error in the execution of special moves was the cause of player inability/fault. Contrast this to the effectiveness of the standard Xbox 360 controller and the difference is vast, although not necessarily surprising. The FightStick’s joystick had a good swing radius, clicking upon each directional change. Initially this stick feels a little loose, but it ended up being beneficial in pulling off special moves with efficiency. The buttons triggered with little effort and made satisfying “clack” sounds, particularly when hit hard. This, we’ve established, will be a drawback when playing at late hours while other members of the household are trying to sleep.

At one point, it was decided we would use some excessive force on the FightStick, treating it more like one in an arcade would be treated. There was no noticeable difference in controller response while playing in this fashion, but it was more psychologically fulfilling.

The FightPad controller’s rubberized back grip was helpful in the heat of battle, when we would have been more inclined to drop it due to our hands getting sweaty. Its D-pad proved to have a lot more swing than the one on the standard Xbox 360 controller, which at first caused some disorientation, which would have somewhat distorted the results. The six face buttons proved to be easier to access to pull off special moves and combos than the trigger buttons on the standard controller, too. We found we still made use of the shoulder buttons to trigger all three punches and all three kicks for moves we felt needed them.

In regard to preference of one controller over another, we could not come to a mutual agreement. Hatton’s preference was for the FightStick while Russell’s was for the FightPad. Potential reasoning behind this is that Russell feels more comfortable controlling characters with a D-pad as opposed to a joystick. Additionally, he found the spherical Japanese-style joystick topper uncomfortable as he has only played on North American arcade machines, which tend to have smaller, teardrop-shaped joystick knobs.

(POTENTIAL) SOURCES OF ERROR

• Human error
• Uncertainty regarding control input devices used by online competitors
• Inability to arrange 30 matches against the same player, which would have ensured opponents were of similar skill and/or intelligence
• Though player skill difference between Hatton and Russell is negligible, both testers do have drastically different fighting styles in Street Fighter IV, and this must be taken into account when reading the overall results
• Though we set out with the best of intentions to follow procedure, we found we soon strayed from the intended purpose by playing more battles with the FightPad and FightStick than with the standard Xbox 360 Controller - in our defense, it had become unbearable to use

CONCLUSION

Despite our inability to come to a mutually agreeable decision on which controller was better, we were able to agree that the standard Xbox 360 controller is close to useless for playing Street Fighter IV. Both the Mad Catz FightPad and FightStick offer better means of control for the game. Through our vigorous testing (which included a few controller-throwing episodes concerning the FightPad) we did not encounter any measurable drop or flaw in performance while using the Mad Catz controllers. In fact, player performance is enhanced dramatically through the use of the FightStick and FightPad. With the OEM Xbox 360 controller, we would frequently miss moves and jump when not wanting to.