Akihabara Base Camp Original Slim Arcade Stick [Leverless Arcade Stick]

The age of fighting games is here!
People rushed to buy controllers, arcade sticks, and leverless controllers in search of various devices...
Akihabara Base Camp was established to bring an end to the long journey of these lost device lambs.

This time, I would like to introduce an original Akihabara Base Camp arcade controller that I have created.

Leverless arcade controller for achieving the strongest theoretical value

When it comes to playing fighting games, you have a few device options.
・Pad controller
・Arcade controller (lever type)
And
・Leverless controller

At the Akihabara base camp, we focused on leverless designs from the very first prototype.
*This is the first prototype

Leverless arcade sticks have gained the trust of professional fighting game players and have gradually become popular in competitive scenes where every frame (1/60th of a second) counts.
Nowadays, when a new leverless model goes on sale, it sells out immediately, and even leverless models made by individuals are attracting the attention of many people.

Akihabara Base Camp original leverless controller production

From here, we will introduce the production process of Akihabara Base Camp's original leverless controller (hereinafter referred to as ABC Controller).
While researching various documents on the internet, I first customized it to make it easy for me to use.
I hope this will be helpful for those who want to make their own leverless bikes.

First, draw up a blueprint

We will draw up a design drawing while considering the basic specifications.
This time, we asked for cooperation from Mr. G from our in-house technical department, who provided us with a variety of assistance.
First off, here's the overall spec I came up with:

We will consider the button layout and the structure we will use.
This time, I decided to add a special button to make it easier for me to use, and create the left hand side to fit my hand.
At the same time, we are working towards reducing the thickness so that it is easier to carry around.
In that case, you will need to create an original board and use low-profile key switches.

Based on this specification, a full-scale design drawing is first drawn up.

Here is the design drawing when various parts are incorporated:

We will make corrections based on this.

This modification is based on the general leverless layout.
My fingers are a little longer than average, and I found using commercially available leverless controllers to be quite cramped, so I modified them to this layout.
We will also use 3D data to plan the layers.

Selecting parts and materials based on the blueprint

The previous leverless controller was box-shaped and the weight was set a little too light, which caused it to shake a little during play.
This time, we created a product that is heavy enough to be portable without being inconvenient.
It has a four-layer acrylic structure, including the substrate and the plate surrounding it.

The key switches use Cherry MX Low Profile silver axes.
Emphasis on quietness and response speed.
The keycaps are clear from PUNK WORKSHOP.
It has an OLED screen, including visuals.

The original leverless ABC controller is completed.

Due to the impact of the Chinese New Year, the delivery time for original circuit boards is approximately two weeks.
I was told that I would be able to assemble it as soon as the board arrived, so I decided to wait patiently...

…March 23

When I opened the cardboard box that had been hit, I found...


The completed ABC Con is enshrined here.
Now, let's take a closer look at each part of ABC Con.

Introducing the leverless ABC controller

Let's start by looking at the circuit board.
The Raspberry Pi Pico board is easily available at electronics shops.
It includes GP2040Firmware, which is essential for using an arcade stick.
It can be purchased for around 600 yen.

The key switches used are Cherry MX Low Profile silver axes.

Switches for options, etc. are designed with a click.
It can be used as options, capture and home button.
*There are no buttons for the touchpad this time.

There are four special buttons.
For impact, for parry, L3, R3 (set later while using)

The keycaps are clear from PUNK WORKSHOP.
Size 30 is used only for the jump button and impact.

The connection terminal for Raspberry Pi Pico is microUSB.
It can be removed and used as a Type-C port, but I'm using it as is this time.

Most commercially available cables have corresponding holes.
I'm using the cable that came with the XBOX controller.

The acrylic plate and the board are connected with hex screws.
It penetrates all the way to the back, but the screws do not protrude.
I'd like to improve this a bit.


The acrylic plate is a four-layer system.
It also comes with a plate for changing keystrokes.
By default, a 4mm plate is attached, but if you want to make it lighter, you can replace it with a 3mm plate.


The size is 300mm wide, 200mm long, and 14mm thick.
not too big not too small



重量は988g
It weighs about 1kg, but considering the weight and shifting during play and carrying it around, this is a good, sturdy weight.
I think portability would increase if the thickness could be made around 10mm, but there is also the issue of weight, so this may actually be the best.
If we consider 1kg as the base, is up to 15mm within the acceptable range?

It contains addresses for changing buttons and other settings.
*A PC is required as it uses a browser.

The keys for controlling the character are designed to fit the size of my hands.

Impressions after actually using it

Can I try out the leverless ABC controller? Is it for sale?

So, about ABC Con...
We would like to expand into various areas in the future.
It hasn't been decided specifically yet
・So that you can try it out at some point
・Will a further polished official version be sold?
- Will it be sold as a kit to keep the price down?
・Fully custom production contract...?
・Rented to review the final prototype...?
I wonder if I want to do things like that?

Stay tuned for further updates!