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Use PSX Controllers on the 5200


Albert

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http://www.multigame.com/mastercontrol5200.htmlClay Cowgill informs us that he has developed a joystick interface for the Atari 5200 that allows you to use a Sony Playstation controller as a replacement for the Atari 5200 controller. You can use Playstation controllers in either digital or analog mode, and the adapter includes a pass-through connector so you can plug in a 5200 controller for the games that require keypad operation. There are other great features, including mapping of the most common buttons (Start, Pause, #, *) to the Playstation controller, adjustable auto-fire functionality, and more. Please visit the MasterControl 5200 page for pictures and more detailed information.
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Great idea but for $80 I dont presume a PS joystick comes with it. I dont know how much it costs to put one of these things together but for the cost of this plus a PS stick you could get 3/4 rebuilt 5200 sticks with gold connectors that would last a lifetime (yeah, the PS stick may be better, but you cant beat the original sometimes).

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Great idea but for $80 I dont presume a PS joystick comes with it.  I dont know how much it costs to put one of these things together but for the cost of this plus a PS stick you could get 3/4 rebuilt 5200 sticks with gold connectors that would last a lifetime (yeah, the PS stick may be better, but you cant beat the original sometimes).

 

 

that was my thought too about the pricing, new ps2 controllers are around $35 and older ps1 ones are a little cheaper so maybe one is included?

 

With a lot of the hobbist/homebrew equipment that gets sold in the classic gaming area the developers usually spell out the costs, $ for cables, $ for controller, $ for labor, etc. But maybe since this is a new unique solution for the 5200 he's going for a 'retail' approach and just naming a price.

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Yes, $80 is a lot of money. But looking at it with the two 5200 controller ports, the Playstation port and all the electronics, plus all the time, it's not that bad of a price. If you read what it can do it's even a better deal. You can finally play Asteriods like it plays on the 2600. You can play all the maze games the correct way with a four-way stick instead of the analog way which can sometimes trip you up going around the corner. Believe me, I'm just as cheap as the next guy (probably even cheaper) but this is still worth it. It's a hell of a lot better than trying to find a Master play interface. And even if you can find one you have to compete with everyone else who wants it. And it's not even as good as this new MasterControl. I wonder if the old Wico keypad will work with it?

 

Allan

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Sounds great and I am interested in looking into it. I just want to wait until someone reviews it and a few people try it. However, it is very nice to see someone working on 5200 hardware. Congrats. and nice product. Are there any Playstation alternate controllers that are a joystick and look classic? I just couldn't bring myself to using a joypad or stock Playstation controller on the 5200.

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that was my thought too about the pricing, new ps2 controllers are around $35 and older ps1 ones are a little cheaper so maybe one is included?

 

With a lot of the hobbist/homebrew equipment that gets sold in the classic gaming area the developers usually spell out the costs, $ for cables, $ for controller, $ for labor, etc.  But maybe since this is a new unique solution for the 5200 he's going for a 'retail' approach and just naming a price

 

Howdy everyone,

 

Figured I'd pop on here and answer some questions...

 

Yes, the MasterControl5200 is a bit spendy. There's a few reasons for that:

 

1) It's expensive to make-- plastic case, molded DB15 cables, PSX cable, custom PCB's, some kinda-fancy modern analog IC's, a microcontroller, etc.

 

2) It's time consuming to make-- I can do surface mount components quickly, but soldering 40 wires on the ends of the cables on each unit is slow. At anything more than modest sales levels I'll need to pay a contract manufacturing house to assemble them.

 

3) I have no idea how many will sell. It's a double-edged sword on volume vs. price of course, but just in prototypes and components for the first 100 there's thousands of dollars invested.

 

4) It does everything similar solutions do, but more and better. :D (The last two MasterPlay's on eBay went for over $100/ea. My product includes full analog/digital control, 'trick modes', better button support, and is cheaper.)

 

As for including a controller... My original plan was to include a digital PSX controller. However, after playing with the prototype the Sony analog controllers are really nice to use with the 5200-- they even work wonderfully in analog mode with maze games. So I'm a little torn on what to do. I figure that a lot of people with 5200's like games in general and have a PSX anyway, so why make them pay more for another controller (and more shipping costs, etc.)... Plus a Dual Shock at cost would probably add $20+ to the price, which would be getting too expensive. ;)

 

I do have one other possibility to shave the price-- remove the full analog support. My original plan was to have two versions, a 'standard' which was digital only (but with all other features), and a 'deluxe' with full analog support. Again though, after using the prototypes with an analog controller it was such a nice feature I thought it really made the package.

 

There are other corners that could have been cut (eliminate the pass through, go without a plastic case, don't spend time coding the trick modes, go with cheap connectors, etc.) but I'd rather sell just a few devices and have it be clearly "the best" than sell a bunch and get mixed reviews.

 

Without trying to give anyone a hard-sell, I will shamelessly point out that the MasterControl5200 makes playing the 5200 tremendously more fun. :D It's also interesting to note that those big arcade-style controllers that people are selling in the $150+ range should plug in and work just fine as long as they have a PSX adapter on them...

 

While I've got you (assuming you're still reading my ramblings), the firmware is still flexible in the MasterControl5200, so any special features people would like to request I might be able to accomodate. If there's interest I can post the 'trick modes' currently supported.

 

thanks!

-Clay[/b]

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Thanks for your post, Clay! That's exactly the kind of information that an old classicgame hobbist like me likes to know about these new products. I'll keep an eye on your project and look for the preorder information.

 

-O

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Previous alternate controller solutions often had issues with games that utilized the 'full analogness' of the original controllers. For example, in Missile Command you might only get one speed of cursor control, rather than having slow & fast movement, based on how far the stick is pushed.

 

I assume the Mastercontrol doesn't have this limitation, but just to be sure:

 

-- Using the Mastercontrol interface, would the player have the exact same capabilities as with the original Atari joysticks?

 

Steve

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I assume the Mastercontrol doesn't have this limitation, but just to be sure:

 

-- Using the Mastercontrol interface, would the player have the exact same capabilities as with the original Atari joysticks?

 

Yep! The MasterControl is a full analog implementation. You can play Missile Command, Kaboom, Super Breakout, Xari Arena, etc. with the Playstation controller's analog stick(s).

 

Also, some games that don't like the 2600-type adapters (Qix, Ms. Pacman, Vanguard) seem to work just dandy with the MasterControl. (Probably because of the way it emulates the 'analogness' of the original controllers.

 

-Clay

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Thanks for posting Clay, i am getting excited just thinking about playing my 5200 again with this new product

 

I would rather pay for the Mastercontrol 5200 then have the original 5200 controllers redone, because you still have the non centering joysticks to deal with (and i hate that too :) )

 

anfd i have a playstation over here just collecting dust :D so i would atleast be using the joystick from it ;)

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I think this product could give the 5200 scene the shot in the arm that it

needs. It is too bad about the price because its more than what getting

a used system is gonna cost. However, PS pads are great controllers, and

this device makes an easy solution to the age old joystick problems.

I'm not sure what those WICO joysticks go for these days but I doubt they

are cheap, so $80 is not so bad afterall.

 

John

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Clay,

I don't know if it is too late for this but if you can program it in, it would be great. When you have Sean Kelly's Multi-cart in and you want to use the trackball, the only way to do it is to use a stick to put the arrow on the game you want and then unplug the stick and plug in the trackball. You can't select a game with the track ball unfortunately. At least I havn't been able to figure this out yet. So if you can get the Master Control to work with both the trackball and the Multicart that would be great. Unplugging and plugging in controllers when the 5200 is on is not a good thing. And playing games like Millipede and Centipede aren't as fun with the stick as opposed to the trackball. I racked up an additional 100,000 points the first time I used the trackball with Millipede.

 

Allan

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Nothing beats the original sticks in my opinion, but I guess that's because I grew up with them.. However, having said that, this is definitely something I would be interested in. :) I especially like how the start button function was also mapped in as well as the analog support. When I was a kid I had a Wico controller, but you still had to use the "Start" button on a regular 5200 joystick. However the kicker was none of the 6 or so joysticks I owned had a working "Start" button! :lol: I learned how to fix it years later naturally but this feature just brought that memory to mind. ;)

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NE146 wrote

Nothing beats the original sticks in my opinion, but I guess that's because I grew up with them

 

I agree but I have about 15 5200 controllers and only 1 works completely.

 

I plan on getting one as soon as they are available.

 

To have a controller that works and that I don't have to "baby" as much as I do the one controller that I have that works will be GREAT.

 

To be able to play pac-man better would be great also.

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The only thing that's held me back from the world of 5200 collecting has been those stupid controllers. If I can round up the money for a "MasterControl 5200", it might just throw me over the edge. Thanks ever so much! Just what I need, another huge system taking up valuable shelf space! Ah well, ya gotta make sacrifices for the beauty that is Atari, I guess. Plus, 5200 carts seem easier to track down than their more elusive 8bit fraternal brothers, which would make life a bit easier, I guess.

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bangles66, let me rephrase that. ;)

 

As I have often stated in the past:

 

Nothing beats the original sticks in my opinion.. when they're WORKING. Which of course isn't too often. :lol:

 

When they're working they play great. The problem is they often have have broken buttons or quirky joystick movement, but when it's good, it's great. :)

 

Now having said that, isn't it funny how the psx controllers are sort of becoming the de-facto standard for gamepads? I mean there are adapaters so you can use them on your pc, on competing consoles, and now on the 5200.. interesting.

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