One of SDTECHIN’s new feature columns is a look back to yesteryear as we kick it to 88 miles per hour and take a look at treasures from the past. This is Tech Time Machine! Today’s feature is on Tokyo Game Show 2005 and the products shown off by SLS, better known as Sega Logistics Service! Click below for the full scoop!
Stardate, September 2005. Tokyo Game Show. SLS was a division of Sega that was tasked with hardware design and development. Around the same time, Hori was also at TGS and showing off their second generation of PS2 arcade tech products such as the HRAP2 & their newly announced Dead or Alive 4 Arcade Stick for the Xbox 360 (the first Xbox 360 arcade stick).
SLS has a grand history of amazing arcade related products. Some of our favorites include the legendary Sega Saturn Virtua Stick & Virtua Stick Pro, modeled after the Astrocade line of arcade machines from the early 90s. Eventually SLS would close it’s hardware division but not before giving us awesome gems like the Virtua Stick High Grade & USB releases of the Sega Saturn Gamepad. However, there was one unique product for the PS2 that got away.
At Tokyo Game Show 2005, SLS announced a full arcade panel sized arcade controller unit series dubbed “A-Stick” and featured both single player and dual player configurations. At TGS 2005, Sega featured a few models of the product showing off the single/dual player setups in addition to a co-branded one with SNK for the King of Fighters series.
The A-Stick series never made it to market due to lack of interest from the public and expected high price point. As fans of both the SEGA HSS-0130 and VSHG, we hope that one day SLS will continue to make hardware products for arcade fans!
Want to see the SDTECHIN Tech Time Machine feature a product from yesteryear? Let us know in the comments below.
Special thanks to hibachifinal for the inspiration of this edition of Tech Time Machine!
SDTECHIN: Arcade Culture News & Technology Database 
The stick looks cool and well built. I like the slope where they put the start & select buttons. But I don’t like the size of the stick. The length is fine however the width isn’t enough for some people to rest their wrists.
That things looks awesome. Very nice aesthetics. I agree that it doesn’t seem to have very much wrist/palm space. That is my major qualm with FS Pro and HRAP V3/VX sticks. They just aren’t comfortable for me. That said, I would still pick this up in a second.
Holy crap I did not know about this! Nice find! I’m glad sdtechin is giving me more EXP!
This arcade stick looks awesome but, like the previous comments about this stick, it doesn’t allow a lot of wrist room. I think Sdtechin is a really cool idea, and I hope to learn more about the history of arcade sticks and current arcade technology.