$300 Xbox 360 Hori VOOT Twin Stick….REVEALED! (Updated)

300 bucks....for THIS!?!

So, Sega has listened to the demands of the recently reinvigorated Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram (or VOOT) community (in Japan, at least), and announced last week that it had teamed up with Hori to produce a 360 exclusive Twin Stick controller, for the low, low price of $300.  Never mind that the XBLA title will only set you back $15, because VOOT is SERIOUS BUSINESS!  With the knowledge that an official solution is on the way, those stuck with the pad playing VOOT players rejoiced.  Of course, none of the pilots whose controllers are showcased in the post below could care less, but THAT’S NOT THE POINT RIGHT NOW!  Although the price is steep, the VOOT community assumed that the controller would be something special.  What they are getting is (aesthetically) anything but.

Hori posted pics of the stick today on their site.  They are, to put it mildly, underwhelming. Granted, they are more than likely using top quality, off-the-shelf Sanwa arcade parts that cost $85 apiece (the sticks, specifically) and can definitely take a beating, but I guess we just expect a little more…what do you call it?  Oh yeah, fan service!

For $300, I was expecting maybe like arcade panels, or at least some dope ass artwork, or SOMETHING.  This controller is hella extra vanilla.  Plus, all they did was take their existing HRAP EX Pro and throw some Twin Sticks in it.  Don’t believe me?  Then take a look at the pic below and judge for yourself!

Talk about retrofitting...

Upon closer inspection, I notice something I hope that I am interpreting wrong.  If you zoom in on this image and look at the bottom of the L stick, you see the word, “D-Pad”.  Do the same for the R stick, you see the word, “RS”.  RS?  As in, right stick?  As in…right ANALOG stick?  Oh noes!  Am I to believe that a controller being made for a port of an arcade game, whose controller was 100% digital, has somehow been incorrectly configured and is hardwired with half-digital/half-analog controls?!?

How did Hori fuck this up?  Even I, your most basic of modders, understood that the L stick would be wired to the DPad, and the R stick would be wired to ABXY.  My friends, I can now sum up my interest in this product with three words…

DO NOT WANT.

UPDATE: It seems that I may have overreacted to news about the R stick.  According to the very knowledgeable webmaster of Oratan.com, MentholMoose (A.K.A. Kirk Kosinski), has made it clear that much like a analog trigger can be made to behave digitally with an in-line resistor, so can an analog control be wired digitally.  That explanation can be seen either here (6th post down).  As of right now, I still don’t want it though…O_o;

Also, currently you cannot use the D-Pad with Twin Stick Option A, which uses both analog sticks, meaning that Hori’s config IS currently busted.  However, a patch has been detailed and should be out prior to the controller’s release.

In other news, we made Kotaku!  VOOT!…I mean….WOOT!!  ^_^