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7800 Joypad - Thoughts?


electronicsibley

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On 11/7/2020 at 7:47 PM, ApolloBoy said:

From what I've seen, Atari seemed to have every intention of releasing them in the US around 1989 (they're shown in the Atari Advantage catalog/poster) but for some reason didn't go through with it. 

 

Well, as I've said plenty of times in other threads, Atari Corp was really bad in getting a lot of controllers onto shelves here in the States. You couldn't find the Europads and you couldn't find the XG-1 Light Gun separate from the XE Game System. At least I sure couldn't in my part of NorCal. It really annoyed me that I wasn't able to buy one to play Crossbow, especially since the Commodore dealers were selling an OEM version of the XG-1 in plain cardboard boxes for use with light gun games that were available for the C64. For the record, these OEM light guns were still painted the same color as the XEGS but had the labels removed from the sides. The sculpted Atari Fuji logo was still present on the DB9 connector molding.

 

This annoyance continued with the ST Power Pads which were released in Europe in 1989/1990 for the Atari STe computers. These later became the Jaguar's JagPads but they came out for the STe first although they were gray [to match the STe] and had shorter cables [since the person would be sitting directly in front of the STe and not playing games from the couch]. But the point was, you couldn't find them here in the States from Atari's own dealers.

Edited by Lynxpro
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On 11/12/2020 at 10:36 PM, Lynxpro said:

 

Well, as I've said plenty of times in other threads, Atari Corp was really bad in getting a lot of controllers onto shelves here in the States. You couldn't find the Europads and you couldn't find the XG-1 Light Gun separate from the XE Game System. At least I sure couldn't in my part of NorCal. It really annoyed me that I wasn't able to buy one to play Crossbow, especially since the Commodore dealers were selling an OEM version of the XG-1 in plain cardboard boxes for use with light gun games that were available for the C64. For the record, these OEM light guns were still painted the same color as the XEGS but had the labels removed from the sides. The sculpted Atari Fuji logo was still present on the DB9 connector molding.

 

This annoyance continued with the ST Power Pads which were released in Europe in 1989/1990 for the Atari STe computers. These later became the Jaguar's JagPads but they came out for the STe first although they were gray [to match the STe] and had shorter cables [since the person would be sitting directly in front of the STe and not playing games from the couch]. But the point was, you couldn't find them here in the States from Atari's own dealers.

I remember reading that about the light guns now. It was probably something you wrote! It truly is crazy the way Atari ran their business during these years. I love the 7800, but it’s really a comedy of errors. And not just in hindsight. This stuff didn’t make sense *at the time*. 
 

I had no idea that the JagPads evolved from a ST controller. That’s fascinating! Just when you think you heard it all...

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IMO it's not a great controller(pad too high, buttons too low) but it's worth having if you really want to have the real gear. I'd pick it over a painline every day.

 

But I do still think the best investment is probably an Edladdin converter ($25-30 last time I saw) plus a $5 Genesis pad. You get a better controller AND you open up a ton of control options. It ain't OEM but it's way better.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 10/30/2020 at 5:29 PM, electronicsibley said:

So I’m thinking about taking the plunge and picking up a euro-style Joypad for the 7800. I’ll probably order a modded one from Best Electronics if they have any left in stock. I’m not expecting it to work wonders, but I am looking for more of a NES/SMS-like experience vs. the Proline. Also, one of my Proline controllers is out of commission, so it’s now or never! 
 

I’m just looking opinions of the controller, good and bad, to inform my purchase. FWIW, I know Sega controllers are an option, but I’d rather pick up the Atari product for authenticities sake, unless it’s a total dud. 

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Atari-7800-Controller-Control-Pad-Gamepad-Joystick-Retron-2600-Commodore-CX78/264265265516?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item3d876ff16c:g:mPUAAOSwf2hfj1ag&amdata=enc%3AAQAFAAACcBaobrjLl8XobRIiIML1V4Imu%2Fn%2BzU5L90Z278x5ickkXKoKcbeZcOrOku%2BoOBl%2BS3m0F72gtQjW0RHerZrofZw7IlpRwSDAsCXGMA%2BKOgmUwZlTIyhNLIzhy2eZsIjSZBxBOY7r43bJ%2FOQVQ%2FoIsAt3qEiNHYflJy4iX5v%2FUgGiAIbOWZjmTxkEfCzT3h0FiWWcFGP4upsi%2BEZM9ZA%2BOxI0azl9nRh6mUIw2eIdicZ2VtjG2HIo%2BRoWN7T2CQqrUPZHBfFliel8%2FnCBvMj1vYKeBifk1mm1Dxooq%2FpJwuDvd1%2FjmLYNOxLPKtvAdKrKBHg4JsJocbjXK9PwrgEvUpbW5GeHDCigiOoBeNnaL9J2rsEYRPDCj2mVDEPIFvwumOkrU1M4lHfm0zItyyXS2OyOUABsbR%2FEtln8QSzq%2Foy%2F%2BcNGHKfm%2BqaB8K6mirOvx9LZbEpPJ24CBqa6kSxpYpZWOLpx%2Bc9KHUz03vdMDkvdivKH9azf31bhhni4cIde%2BLcUOTNOkaGlYRy94J7Zh%2BG7ARr%2BLFfRRz2kopyRFH4ioQvUrsrg4EpsYFBTSaRncfo35I65vCWz5iEq5EETJ2xL%2F9ZUzeeiztSqX%2B1BFt0wWT9r9vN5YmI%2BkaO8s00KJZhedY53rCuvGoMEfVEZoc5frRfM9AJoRq%2B%2BkOMpicYMMC1VbkC%2BY5pEzdhoc8GzWJ7PYa4nb%2B1ExYab16Ll3XYQ3JV0%2BDTphT18E4uSuWDtqzvmfDv6QobfH2M0SzlRvJtnpmT8hNcsVenJcQ9nuwikUMFz%2Bjaze3yMC0JElUe4R4geie7s2GunBryu3BV4nA%3D%3D|cksum%3A264265265516ac9d67b72c2a4ccba0605e20a13a0ba3|ampid%3APL_CLK|clp%3A2334524

 

 

 

Enjoy. These are better than the euro pad.

20201206_073447.jpg

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On 12/6/2020 at 6:36 AM, sn8k said:

I have both.  The newer Retrogameboyz one, and the original CX-78.  I like both.  The newer version has a short throw, which I like.  But, the original is good as well. Some complain about the button placement on the CX-78, but I don't agree.  With the Best Gold contact upgrade, the CX-78 would be hard to beat.  Expensive, but hard to beat.  

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On 11/14/2020 at 4:49 AM, electronicsibley said:

I remember reading that about the light guns now. It was probably something you wrote! It truly is crazy the way Atari ran their business during these years. I love the 7800, but it’s really a comedy of errors. And not just in hindsight. This stuff didn’t make sense *at the time*. 
 

I had no idea that the JagPads evolved from a ST controller. That’s fascinating! Just when you think you heard it all...

 

Yeah, it really pissed me off. I used to pop into the local Commodore dealer - Putt's The Commodore Store - and discovered the OEM light gun being sold there. That was about the same time that Crossbow for the 7800 was released and I had just bought it at Federated, Toys R Us, or Kay Bee, I can't remember. So I was anxious to get the light gun and there it was at a Commodore dealer. But he wouldn't guarantee that it would work and said I couldn't return it so I opted not to pay $20 for it. And I'm still kicking myself over it to this day.

 

As for the ST Power Pads, they actually were supposed to be the standard controllers of the STe and the unreleased Atari Panther console. The Jaguar inherited them. I got into a friendly argument with Mike Fulton of Atari Corp here in town in 1992 at our users group's Atari show because they were demonstrating the licensed Atari Games arcade titles - amongst other titles - for the Atari Falcon030 and had the ST Power Pads [which were then painted dark gray/black] connected to them - this was back when Electronic Gaming Monthly was describing the controllers as resembling "Cylon Raiders" which was an astute reference IMHO - and I said "they need 6 fire buttons instead of 3" and he said in response "it already has enough buttons". Of course, anyone at the time aware of SF2 and Mortal Kombat in the arcades would've agreed with me which was the position I was arguing from. Had the Jaguar ProControllers been the stock Jaguar controllers from the start, that could've helped the perception of the console more at least with the gaming press.

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On 11/14/2020 at 7:54 AM, GoldenWheels said:

IMO it's not a great controller(pad too high, buttons too low) but it's worth having if you really want to have the real gear. I'd pick it over a painline every day.

 

But I do still think the best investment is probably an Edladdin converter ($25-30 last time I saw) plus a $5 Genesis pad. You get a better controller AND you open up a ton of control options. It ain't OEM but it's way better.

 

It's kinda OEM since Atari Corp almost marketed the Sega Genesis. Plus, if you really want to keep it "Atari", you can buy the Tengen* version of the Sega Genesis controllers.

 

 

*Tengen having been the home gaming brand of the separate Atari Games Corporation which was all of the surviving entities - mainly coin-op - of the original Atari Inc that Warner didn't sell to Jack Tramiel. [Excluding AtariTel which was sold to Mitsubishi].

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My first 7800-console (out of several

7800s) is Pal; so the Euro-controller was what I got used to. 

 

It’s very good, but not as good as RetroGameBoyz’ controllers (which I use as standard now).

 

I never use the american controllers, which are a danger to arm-and-hand-health.

(you don’t want to get crippled just by playing retro-games. What the heck was the american division of Atari thinking anyway, when designing the american ‘arm-and-hand-wrencher’-controller??

Edited by Giles N
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Imo, the seagull78 and a genesis controller are the way to go if looking for an aftermarket option.  The retrogamerboyz controllers are ok,  but to me,  still feel like a $5 nes clone(which is what they are), with mushy buttons and cheap plastic. I think I'd be more favorable if they weren't 40 bucks. 

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I'm surprised there isn't more of a demand for an NES-to-7800 Adapter considering how many people mod NES game pads. Then you wouldn't have to mod them and you could use an NES Advantage, NES DogBone, or NES Max. All of which are amongst Nintendo's best hardware, IMHO.

 

I know the guy behind Rikki & Vikki did have such an adapter displayed on their website in the past...

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