USB SEGA Saturn Pad [PS3]

[JP]

I've been wanting to buy myself one of these for a while to mainly use on PS3 SHMUPS. Looking on eBay there seems to be a few different pads of this type and I'm just wondering which version people recommend.

Although they all seem to claim to be first party I can't imagine they are, the only differences I can see between them is the colour of the pad white/grey/black and sometimes a variation in how the buttons are labelled.

The cheapest one I've been able to find is actually an official model that you get for signing up to PlaySEGA for three months at ?11.98 which doesn't seem too bad really.


Admittedly it's freaking ugly and as it's SEGA it's more than likely made in exactly the same Chinese sweat shops as the others on eBay.

How many people on here use a USB Saturn pad on their PS3? What does it look like?

Thanks.

EDIT:
I'm guessing not but does anybody know if I'll be able to use the USB pad on our Wii & 360 also? What about downloadable PS1 games such as DoDonPachi on the PS3?

I'm not expecting any of those to work and they aren't really important but it would be a bonus I suppose.

[sj33]

I use a USB Saturn controller on a PS3. They all work fine because the PS3 is officially compatible with standard generic HID Controllers, thus most USB PC controllers. I grabbed one of the standard White ones on eBay - I assume they are official because it comes with the official packaging and everything. If it's not, it feels exactly like my actual Saturn controller.

Obviously there is no 'PS' button, so you need to set up a PS3 controller as Controller 2 or 3 or 4 or whatever.

They do NOT work on the 360 or Wii because they only accept official controllers, they are incompatible with generic controllers. This is not so bad with the Wii because you can use all of the GameCube adaptors, but it means you're somewhat limited to the 'Fightpads' on the 360, which does not work on the PS3...

[Baseley09]

These are just the don for PS3 fighters and MAME on your PC, i picked up a grey one for about £11 shipped from ebay, great.

[speedlolita]

I've read the PlaySEGA one is naff.

[JP]

Thanks, I've ordered a black one now. They're around ?13 delivered at the moment which seems a decent price.

I hadn't thought about things like the home button and it's also missing the Select button but I'll just use the blu-ray remote for those as it auto assigns itself as controller seven.

I've read on a few sites that they do seem to be exactly the same as the official controllers apart from the fact that they don't have SEGA's MK- reference number which it seems all SEGA hardware carries. I have no idea if that's true or not though.

I'm wondering if they feel so similar because SEGA are actually licensing the designs out to third parties so the moulds would actually be identical. I'd be surprised if SEGA weren't involved in someway as these pads seem to be all over the place and I'd imagine if they weren't licensed in some way then.

I've read a few reviews about the different pads and they do all seem to be the identical including the PlaySEGA pad. It seems that the only difference between these pads and the old Saturn pads are that the triggers on these are slightly firmer. It's not something I'd notice I suppose that could be down to something as simple as these being brand new.

It seems that once you're signed up to PlaySEGA you can buy more at ?8:99 each. I'm tempted to sign up to the PlaySEGA also, I can't imagine it's something I'd use often but there's other people in the family who will and it's not a bad price really.

[Link83]

I own a few of these pads and they really are pretty good I also did some research when I bought them, and have disassembled them as well, so heres what I have learnt about them...

The original Sega Saturn USB controllers came out in 2004 and were produced in limited quantities. They were made by "SLS" which stands for "Sega Logistics Service Co" which is a division of Sega. The official SLS website is here:-

http://www.sls-net.com/home/index.html

The original Sega Saturn USB pads were almost identical to original Sega Saturn pads but did have a few minor changes, the important differences being:-

- The trigger buttons do not use the same switches found in original Sega Saturn pads, instead they used smaller switches with rubber/foam 'spacer' pads so that the triggers reach the switches - this give the triggers a bit of a different feel to original Sega Saturn pad triggers.

- The second change is a bit more important for people into fighting games. Underneath the D-pad is a plastic cross-shaped 'rocker' which on the original pads was made out of a resin like plastic and is quite flexible, however on the USB pads its made out of a much stiffer, solid plastic. This means that certain rotation moves in fighting games can be much harder to pull off, and some 'hardcore' players have managed to break the D-pad due to this change. Some hardcore fans even buy original Sega Saturn pads and swap the D-pads because of this difference, but personally I have not found the D-pad to be a problem for other game types.

These Japanese websites have close-up pictures showing some of the differences between the original Sega Saturn pad and the 2004 Sega Saturn USB pad:-

http://www.ne.jp/asahi/uv33a/hidlab/company/iodevice/sega_iss5001.html

http://www.finalbeta.jp/update_log/2004_07.html#log20040703_3

Years later Sega Saturn USB pads started to appear on eBay in large quantities. Its not been confirmed where these came from, although originally they were thought to be old stock left over from Lik-Sang's warehouse before they were shutdown by Sony - however, there now appears to be far too many available for that to be a viable theory.

This new stock appear to be legit in that they are identical to the original 2004 Sega Saturn USB pads. It is believed that whatever manufacturer SLS hired to make the original pads probably just re-started the factory production line.

When Chinese sellers realised their popularity 'clones' started appearing on eBay, so thats definitely something to be wary of. I bought my pads from a seller called "litianedup_wifi" or "litianedup" (Same person) Heres their most recent listings:-

http://cgi.ebay.com/Genuine-Original-SEGA-SS-USB-Game-Controller-JoyPad-PS3-/320373505689

http://cgi.ebay.com/SEGA-Gray-Saturn-USB-Controller-Joypad-Pad-PC-MAC-/110411098396

I have taken apart my pads and can confirm they are legitimate.

I would not even bother with the PlaySEGA pads, as it appears Sega did not use SLS again for their production - instead they bought stock from one of these 'clone' pad manufacturers! Many people have googled the model code from the PlaySEGA pads and discovered that they are from one of the suppliers of 'bootleg' pads. They have been reported to be very low quality and break rather easily, this thread is a good read if your interested in more info:-

http://forums.sega.com/showthread.php?t=304461

(Be sure to read pages 2 and 5)

Also, the second post on this page explains the situation quite well:-

http://forums.sega.com/showthread.php?t=305599&page=3

Sorry for the long post, and I hope that helps

[speedlolita]

Epic info, cheers.

[JP]

Thanks,

The problem seems to be that I've got no way of knowing what I'm going to end up with having bought that pad on eBay.

The seller has several photos which do seem to match up with the official ones I've seen online but I suppose they could well be fake.








I know it's impossible to tell from photos really but how comfortable would you have felt ordering one of these?

Also, it's really nice to see mojo/Ringedge2010 posting in one of those threads about the new SEGA console. I've missed him and his nonsense in here!

EDIT:
It's not a major thing but does anybody know if I'll also be able to play PS1 games on the PS3 using this controller?

[Kubrick]

It's not a major thing but does anybody know if I'll also be able to play PS1 games on the PS3 using this controller?

Yes. It works with digital downloads and proper disc games.

You're screwed if the game makes use of the Select button though, since there isn't one.

[JP]

That's handy.

Like I said, not essential but I do have a lump of PS1 SHMUPS that I've downloaded and it will be nice to use the Saturn controller. Will I not be able to just use the blu-ray remote for things like Select like I mentioned above?

[Brad]

If you find it doesn't feel right John I have a couple of spare real Saturn pads that I'd happily charge you an arm and a leg for. Of course, if you're not hardcore enough I understand

[J0e Musashi]

A HORI Fighting Commander 3 would probably have been a better choice methinks.

[JP]

Did actually look into those but didn't like the look of the d-pad. Haven't ruled them out if I'm not keen on the Saturn pad.

I take it you have one? Not interested in using it for fighters so maybe I'm reading too much into the d-pad, have you found it to be alright for shooters?

[J0e Musashi]

It's perfect I think. The d-pad is highly responsive.

You also get 3 speeds of auto and turbo fire options for any button you choose.

[JP]

Just bought one from Renchi as you were replying anyway. Between this and the Saturn pad I'm surely going to find one I'm happy with. I've never really been keen on things like auto fire options so they probably won't get used.