Capcom confirmed to our friends at Kotaku that this is the real deal, but I have no idea where you would get one or, more importantly, why you would get it. For God's sake, isn't owning the original Snuggie embarrasing enough? [Twitter via Kotaku]

Needless to say, no one could resist peppering their cellphone conversations with the occasional "Hadouken!" It never stops being funny, so you end up doing it more and more—cycling through the voice commands throughout your conversation. After a while, your friends stop calling and you eventually die a sad and lonely death. It's a slippery slope. A limited edition of 1000 pieces are selling for around $13 a pop. [Game Watch via Joystiq]

These aren't some weird scam knock-offs. The Capcom-sanctioned cabinets made their public debut at a recent SFIV event. Each system one-of-a-kind, the work of various participating design companies. Proceeds from the sales go to charity.

Keeping in mind the free shipping on all of these cabinets, you have more than a few excuses to place a bid and fill your home with a sadly dated but still tempting dedicated full-out arcade cabinet.

Note: We're only linking one auction page, scroll to the bottom for the related cabinets that are up for sale. [eBay via Kotaku]

UPDATE: Ahh, there's a catch. It does appear that the joysticks/buttons do not work. You need to provide your own controller along with something to read the SFIV game.

While Matt Buchanan already reviewed Mad Catz' SFIV FightPad, the company's two arcade sticks for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, coinciding with the release of SFIV, have had more buzz than any gaming accessory in recent memory.

Street Fighter IV FightStick ($70)Mad Catz' SFIV FightStick was meant to "recreate" the arcade experience, but also offer programmable turbo along with two extra move-assignable buttons. It's essentially a joystick that's designed with the Street Fighter button layout and fancy artwork.

Street Fighter IV FightStick Tournament Edition ($150)
The Tournament Edition stick's claim to fame is simple. It uses the exact Sanwa joystick and 30mm buttons found in the SFIV arcade cabinet, not a "recreation" like we see in the standard FightStick. The experience is promised to be 1:1 between home and arcades—though it also includes the turbo and assignable button add-on.

So could I tell a difference between the two? In one word, yes.

Honestly, I'm not skilled enough at Street Fighter to argue that a controller is getting in my way of beating Matt Buchanan. But blindfolded, I could discern the difference between the two controllers...beyond the Tournament Edition's obvious heftier size.
The TE stick has an ever so slightly shorter range of motion than the SE stick (for pulling off quick maneuvers), but it's also far smoother. Being picky, I noticed more mechanical scraping in the SE stick that wasn't present in the TE, which rotated with with ease.

The SE's buttons, while superficially similar, felt far more like plastic, with a hollow, high clicking that wasn't as soft on the fingers. Whether or not you have ever heard of semi-legendary Sanwa components doesn't really matter. You'll feel the difference.

I can't say I played any better on the $80 more expensive TE stick, but I did find myself preferring it during testing and unconsciously choosing it for casual play. Then again, if I'd never tasted the caviar-esque Tournament stick, I'd probably be fine with the decent steak-esque standard FightStick. Either stick is immeasurably superior to trying to play with the Xbox 360 controller's gimpled D-pad.
But that doesn't mean I'm completely happy with either controller because they both share the same ridiculous flaw—they are both horrid for chatting.

In order to fit an Xbox 360 headset into the FightSticks, you need to utilize a little cord/adapter that's pretty identical to Rock Band's guitar chatting solution.
Now I'm pretty good with plugging things in—it's sort of a job requirement—but I had all sorts of chatting issues on both FightSticks with multiple 360 headsets and two different adapter cables. Sometimes people couldn't hear me and sometimes I couldn't hear them.

When we're talking about a $150 joystick—a peripheral that approaches the cost of a full Xbox 360—I want my headset to connect perfectly every time. Even if Madcatz' solution worked perfectly, which it doesn't, it lacks any level of elegance. And it's absurd considering that the FightStick TE is the size of a small child.

One other important caveat is that many FightStick SE ($70) buyers have complained of joysticks that stick and buttons that crack. I had no issues with my testing, but the problems are out there.

So what's the point of this review? Both FightSticks have already been a wild success for Mad Catz, and hats off to them for filling a niche that has generally been left to scrounging for Japanese imports.

I guess that it comes down to this: as a gamer and a Street Fighter fan, I'm pleased with both FightSticks. But as a guy who's seen what $150 can buy you in electronics today, I think we can do better. And wireless connectivity would be nice, too.

The $70 FightStick will satiate most players who want a simple 360/PS3 joystick

The $150 Tournament Edition really is a step up in feel and quality, just like an arcade

If you're interested, both cases can be opened to swap/upgrade components

Both of these sticks are huge, so it's a commitment

The poor headset connection option can be extremely annoying

At these prices, I really want something wireless

Price: $40

Verdict: In one sense, the verdict is that straightforward—the fantastic floating D-Pad and arcade-style six-button layout crush the regular Xbox 360 controller when it comes to fighting games. The FightPad makes my game so much better, so much more precise, I don't think I could go back to using the old pad.

Here's what I mean: With the old pad, on average, I would successfully execute Fei Long's rising dragon kick (or insert any dragon punch-based maneuver) about 5-7 times out of 10 tries. With the FightPad, it's like 9 times out of 10. Moves requiring 720-degree motions, like Zangief's super, come off much easier as well, and exactly when I want it to (when someone's up in my face—PILEDRIVER). Back, forward, back forward style specials, like with Honda or Blanka, aren't noticeably easier to perform, though.

The shape and layout of the FightPad kinda reminds me of a Sega Genesis controller, and is for the most part, excellent, though if you have elven hands it might feel a little too big. For me, with medium mitts, it fits perfectly, no matter which way I hold it (I actually turn my right hand palm side down, so I can mash the buttons with my fingers whenever I play fighting games) and there's some breathing room for gorilla-handed people too.

But there are some things you should know about that would be dealbreakers if beating people didn't matter above all else. Numero uno, on the Xbox 360, this sucker is wired, which is lame balls for a $40 controller. It also feels very cheaply made, with glossy plastic Mad Catz found and melted down after it fell off a Christmas ornament truck. The rubber coating on the sides and back helps a little bit. Last, the sound quality coming through the headset on this thing is really terrible, like I was stranded on a desert island with a cellphone from 1987—it's noticeably crappier than it is on the regular Xbox 360 controllers.

Those things said, if you wanna do better in Street Fighter IV—or any fighting game really, since it worked fantastically with Samurai Showdown II and SFIITHDR as well—and not have a real reason to curse at your controller when you get scrubbed, but don't wanna (or can't) drop the money on the outrageously awesome Tournament Edition FightStick, this is a reasonable alternative, if you can actually find it for the $40 MSRP.

P.S. If you wanna play Street Fighter IV with me, @reply me on Twitter and we'll set something up later this week.

You see, the FightStick Tournament Edition uses the exact Sanwa joystick and 30mm buttons found in the official Street Fighter IV arcade machines—plus, there are separate turbo controls for each button. Couple this controller with an HDTV, PS3 or Xbox 360 and surround sound and you'll have a gaming experience better than the arcade itself...and at a much lower price than your own cabinet would cost, too. [Amazon via Gamecyte]