Arcade machines are designed to deliver ultra-responsive gameplay, especially for titles requiring precision timing like fighting games or rhythm-based challenges. Here's how they achieve it:

1. High-Quality Hardware: Arcade controls use industrial-grade microswitches in buttons and joysticks, registering inputs within 1-5ms – far faster than consumer controllers.

2. Direct Circuit Connections: Unlike USB-based systems, arcade controls often connect directly to the game PCB via simple circuits, eliminating input processing delays.

3. Optimized Software: Game code prioritizes input polling, typically checking controller states every frame (16.67ms for 60fps games) with some systems polling multiple times per frame.

4. CRT Advantage: Traditional arcade monitors have near-zero display latency, allowing immediate visual feedback for timed inputs.

5. Dedicated Hardware: With no background processes or OS overhead, arcade systems dedicate all resources to input processing and game execution.

Modern arcade machines maintain these principles while incorporating new technologies like optical sensors for even faster response times, preserving the precision that defines arcade gaming.