GDC 2011:Under the Hood: Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition Fight Stick

From the PlayStation Blog:

I’m a simple man. I like my arcade joysticks rigid, my buttons concave, and my fighting games streaked with bodily fluids. So I jumped at the chance to go hands-on with the Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition fight stick at the Game Developers Conference. Designed as a tribute to the gory glory days of 1990s-era arcade fighters, this authentic American-style fight stick will ship with Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition on April 19th for a cool $149.99.

This stick feels like the real deal — no surprise given that developer NetherRealm Studios helped design the cabinets for the classic arcade Mortal Kombat games. Connected via a USB cable, the unit is big and burly with a sturdy, substantial feel and some serious heft. A thick memory foam pad cushions the bottom of the unit, enabling comfortable knee-top play (though it’ll work just fine propped on a coffee table, too). A sliding metal latch enables the top to flip open, revealing a neat internal wiring array as well as a capacious cavity that will accommodate games, accessories, and anything else you manage to cram in there. No severed body parts, please.