I’ve just ordered two, somewhat reluctantly! The pads can only be bought if you subscribe to Sega’s VIP service. I did a 3 month subscription which I then cancelled from recurring, as I only really wanted the pads.
Before ordering I sent a ticket to Sega asking whether they would consider selling the pads separately (I suggested through the E-shop), but Sega said no as the pads are tied to the VIP promotion. I think Sega are aware of the high demand for these pads (especially after the release of Street Fighter IV) and are exploiting it’s popularity by including it for “free” in its VIP subcription service. If I was in Sega’s shoes I’d do the same thing, but I think giving customers choice is important too rather than taking advantage of them. There is no choice in “subscribe to X if you want Y”.
What do you guys think? Is Sega being unfair to customers or am I just being a bit cynical?
I just ordered one for myself, after much thought.
Even though I’m not a huge PC gamer, the Saturn controller is my favorite and in all honesty is worth the money on its own, PlaySega account aside. Maybe now I’ll actually bother with some games. Besides, some of the games they have online I haven’t played before and this is easier than eBay.
Also the difference in subscription is a measly $2. And without this promo, I imagine most folks would just ignore PlaySega entirely. So Sega’s making a safe and sensible marketing decision to not sell the pad on its own.
I saw this a few weeks ago, I tried to sign up more recently when I finally renewed my debit card, logging in on PlaySega, but then to actually get a subscription, it asked for login on some different SEGA account, and that got an error for me saying account is deactivated or some weird thing like that… I really wanted one since ebay is not to be trusted with all the imitations after the stand alone sales went out of stock on every proper online retailer like Play Asia (it’s been a long time since then)…
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That’s what I get… Maybe it doesn’t allow it for outside the UK? Can someone buy one for me and I paypal you the money it’s worth + shipping to Greece?
Nemoide, I agree that business-wise this is a good move by Sega. But as a customer I’m a bit annoyed that I have to pay extra for a service that I have absolutely no intention of using just so I can get a controller. It’s a case of “take it or leave it”. Where is the choice or fairness in this?
Here in the UK, it’s a ?4 difference for the 3 month subscription once the controller price and postage is excluded. Surprise surprise, the UK once again pays more than everybody else. Is the controller still worth it? Probably. If Sega start selling these controllers stand alone in the near future they will hear from me believe you me
Alex, try sending Sega a ticket and see what they say.
I have the PC version. If you want to play a few games online let me know. I’m still a beginner at this game so you’ll probably destroy me haha
I’m practising with Chun Li at the moment but I’m finding it really hard using the 360 controller. The Saturn pad will be great for this game, and other things too like emulators - I’ll have to give Nights a try :))
I’ve noticed from Sega’s renders of the pad that they’ve removed the ABCXYZ/start/shoulder button labels. I hope this is just an oversight and the real thing will have them. You’re right though Scott it doesn’t look as good as the original Saturn pad, but as long as it works and feels like the original then I think we’ll be happy.
A few years ago (when I didn’t know any better) I foolishly bought 6 counterfeit white Saturn pads from eBay (regular Saturn pads, not the USB ones). They look exactly like the counterfeit ones in the comparison picture from the Ebay link you posted Scott.
When I tried the pads the first thing I noticed was that they didn’t feel right. The shoulder buttons and d-pad had too much resistance, and the shoulder buttons made noisey clicks when pressed, but otherwise they worked OK once you got used to them. Anyway I learned my lesson and now I always research before buying!
Scott the pad you linked to looks genuine to me, it costs a few quid more than the PlaySega ones but it looks sexier so
Let me know when your pads arrive so we can street fight!
I’ve got about 8,600 rings at the moment, I’ve employed my brother to collect them for me lol. Once I get to 10,000 I’ll enter the prize draw. Scott have you entered any prize draws or have you been spending them on things like beards and moustaches? lol!
Did you receive the playsega pads? Are they like the usb pads they used to sell?
I tried again to order one and at the time the site was having trouble so hitting to upgrade account etc just ended up reverting to the front page. I e-mailed support to help with it and they said it was site issues and it should be okay. After that I had the same issue I described earlier and I replied to them with that information but they didn’t respond (it’s been a while). I guess I’ll try to e-mail again.
I also want it for SFIV (agreed, it’s unplayable with a 360 pad, bad d-pad and 4 face buttons) and retro games. I have fond memories of its d-pad, though it’s been so long…
Yep, mid November onwards people should start receiving them. I can’t wait tbh, I’m really excited!!
Also, I like the emerging trend of people here buying this thing mainly for SFIV We could set up a tournament or something if enough people from here have the game
feels exactly the same as saturn pads except for two things:
the shoulder buttons give out more of a harder feeling click, than the light clicks of the original,
and the dpad of the original pad seems slightly softer on the thumb, although it seems that the weight and movement of the dpad is the same. I’ll see how it goes after numerous games of street fighter!
Scott I agree with you about the shoulder button and d-pad differences, I noticed it straight away. I don’t think these differences are noticeable when actually playing; I had a quick go on Street Fighter IV with my brother and it plays beautifully, miles better than the 360 controller.
