I'm assuming the best sticks for the three are the Namco stick on PS1, the Hori stick for Saturn (or that double stick thing I can never find/the other virtua stick) and the Agetec stick for the Dreamcast. But I know there are several cheapy sticks for the PS1/PS2 and a few for the Dreamcast. Any type I should keep an eye out for besides the 5 I mentioned? I still have my MAS Sticks but they're large, bulky and have response problems in fighters that have complicated movesets and don't do well in my lap.
Buying the Hori SS or PS Stick would be great. Hori built a dual use PCB into those things, and you can just wire up an extension cable for use on two systems.
THAT is not something I've been told before. I'll have to look into that. With all the shmups and fighters I have on Dreamcast/saturn/PS2 I realized a stick is needed a GOOD ONE.
Do what I did for my 360. I bought a cheap Hori stick just for the frame then replace all the parts with Sanwa parts. I not have a very cool 360 stick. I'm going to do the same with a cheap PS2 / PC stick I bought.
There are PCBs I can put in my existing stick. That will make it compatible with everything. The Stick I have now is PS3 and 360 compatible. But I need a decent stick for PS2/Saturn/Dreamcast
Official PSOne PCBs are among the best as they work lagless with converters, third party PCBs such as Hori have 1f of lag when used with converters, although are lagless when used with PS/PS2. In my opinion your best bet is to wire up a PSOne PCB and install it in the housing of your choice with Sanwa/Siemitsu parts, HRAP/HRAP2 are among the best although really you can just use anything the parts will fit in to. Then just buy a lagless converter for whatever console you're interested in and enjoy lagless gaming on both generations!
If I could easily get a Playstation-Saturn converter I'd be set then I'd just invest in a Real arcade and use it on my Dreamcast, PS2, Gamecube and Saturn. But I have yet to find a Playstation-Saturn converter.
I have an X-Arcade stick, which has adapters for the DC and PS2 (works on PS1 games fine). I keep hoping they'll listen to me and make adapters for older machines.
The other options are to do your own "retro" dual mod, or to build what is known as a project box. There are ways in which you can have multiple PCBs inside one housing and switch between the two, it takes a little technical know how and I certainly can't go over the details, but it can be done. You might be able to have both a Playstation PCB and a Saturn PCB housed inside one casing, and have a toggle switch that allows you to switch between the two and change wires via a DB-15 connection. A project box is a similar concept except it is an external housing that holds the PCBs and allows you to connect multiple systems to one stick again via DB-15.
Ask someone here to do it! I'm sure you can find someone to wire up the PCBs reasonably cheap for you, all it involves is a 5-pin connector for the directional inputs and a set of wires and quick disconnects for the buttons. Actually putting the stick together is pretty self explanatory once you know what wires correspond to what buttons.
Go to shoryuken's tech talk. It has A LOT of tutorials. If I already own a stick, and am looking for a multi-PCB, look no further than Toodles' MC Cthulhu. Video Games New York sells the PS360+ pcb, you should ask them about it since it does the MC does and a little more.
