I'm pretty new to fighting games and recently decided to go with stick, i was looking for something not too expensive but also not too cheap, while i was looking i did some research i.e google and found articles such as this http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/12/28/the-best-ps3-arcade-fight-sticks, which seems like pretty good help.
In the end though i found a stick called the Qanba Q1 and purchased, to sum it up i find it to be a good stick ( again i'm new to fight sticks so i wouldn't know a better stick ) , the buttons are very responsive, the joystick is definitely a step up ( for me ) from using a pads analog stick and d-pad, it's not a square gate but it does come with a square gate for optional swap out.
The only cons i've found is the joystick is pretty damn loud and as a whole the stick came with a smoky odor. Overall though i'm satisfied with it being my first stick.
My advice to you is do some research and read the reviews from customers, i went on amazon to make my purchase and did a lot of reading in the process, i got my stick for $90 (including shipping), though the price recently jumped on amazon (link).I'm sure you can find something better if you're willing to spend $40-50 more ( or even more ) or maybe you could even go cheaper and find something better, who knows. Good luck.
