So, Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram has a "devoted fanbase," which in peripheral makers' lexicon means "cash geyser." The XBLA title runs $15; Hori's custom stick costs 20 times that. But it misses a big point.
Knoxximus at TheFour11.org notices the twin-stick layout is a little off. See, the label under the left stick says "D-Pad." Good. That's one point of any custom 360 stick, get people away from using that hideous D-Pad. But under the right stick, which should control the buttons X, A, B, and Y, instead you see "RS." As in "ruh roh."
You can see the row of buttons across the top, further solidifying the point. So Knoxximus loses his shit.
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.
So, until Hori gets its act together, this will remain the preferred twin-stick solution for VOOT enthusiasts.
Update: Ollie B., someone much more knowledgeable than I about VOOT, sent a link to a forum post, whose writer assures this will not be a problem:
"This isn't an issue, since the analog stick input will be designed to be digital instead. I modified the analog trigger buttons for use with the digital weapon buttons on my Twin Sticks, and I can assure you that it works fine.
Since this is an "official" controller, I bet that Microsoft had something to do with the crazy control scheme (i.e. having ABXY as the right stick is too confusing, since you need those buttons for menu navigation)."
Product Page [Hori]
$300 Xbox 360 Hori VOOT Twin Stick….REVEALED! [Thanks Mark]