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What's The Worst 2600 Joystick?


Atari Rescue Group

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There are a number of "Best 2600 Joystick" threads, but I can't easily find a "Worst" one.

 

I've got a few that are particularly rotten:

 

Super Stik by PPI -- This one truly belies it's name.

 

Pistol Grip by RGA -- Maybe they worked when new.

 

Coleco Gemini -- Ick.

 

What are your candidates?

 

Edit: The Super Stik isn't in the Gamerz joystick database so here's a picture of it so everyone knows what to avoid.

post-2739-1126642872_thumb.jpg

Edited by Atari Rescue Group
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I had a gray joystick with the button on top of the stick. It what I wouldn't consider the worst but it wasn't that good either because it wore out within a year. But I had bought a Junior 2600 (Long Rainbow), which my brother has now, which had a Spectravision Joystick that had two buttons; one on the stick and one on the base. It worked at first, but then the thing wouldn't go a certain direction after two weeks. So I think the Spectravision was the worst of the two, but I'm sure there were a lot worse joysticks than those.

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I hate the Epyx 500! It wasn't made for the Atari 2600 (more for the Commodore 64), but it would work though. I was so excited when I read about it since it looked like it might be a great ergonomic-type joystick, but when I brought it home and tried it out for a while, it hurt my hand. I took the piece of crap back the next day. My Xbox controllers are a million times better than any controller I have ever used so far. That will probably be my favorite until we start using Virtual Reality forced-feedback gloves where you feel the steering wheel of a car and so on.

http://www.cedmagic.com/tech-info/remote-c...j-joystick.html

post-13-1126634076_thumb.jpg

Edited by Random Terrain
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I had a gray joystick with the button on top of the stick.  It what I wouldn't consider the worst but it wasn't that good either because it wore out within a year.

 

Could've been the Wico Boss? Mine is 20 years old and still going strong :)

930519[/snapback]

 

That's what it was! I couldn't think of the name. Mine did work well, too. It was my main joystick for a long time, but it wouldn't go in a certain direction after a while. Probably from overplaying.

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I hate the Epyx 500! It wasn't made for the Atari 2600 (more for the Commodore 64), but it would work though. I was so exited when I read about it since it looked like it might be a great ergonomic-type joystick, but when I brought it home and tried it out for a while, it hurt my hand. I took the piece of crap back the next day. My Xbox controllers are a million times better than any controller I have ever used so far. That will probably be my favorite until we start using Virtual Reality forced-feedback gloves where you feel the steering wheel of a car and so on.

http://www.cedmagic.com/tech-info/remote-c...j-joystick.html

post-13-1126634076_thumb.jpg

930533[/snapback]

I picked one up last week for $4 thinking the same thing. I ended up using it LEFT handed. It sucked.

 

Worst Joystick IMO is the Colecovison one.

Edited by Zonie
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Oh Epyx 500 how I loathe thee! Actually control and response is pretty good, but it reduces my hand to a cramped claw and the infernal clicking is known to cause long-term psychological damage.

 

Still, the worst all around joystick I've ever tried is the 2600 compatible made by Kraft.

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I hated the Atari Remote Control Joysticks. The things were huge. They just weren't comfortable to hold onto, with their gigantic base resting in your hand. And that incredibly long antenna on the joystick was a little clumsy too.

930625[/snapback]

You mean those sticks that looked like the bad offpsring of a CX40, a ham radio, and an orange juice carton? Good try, but I hated them too :)

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I'm certainly no fan of the original 7800 joystick.

 

Way too small and almost zero "give". Really didn't like it.

 

The ColecoVision ones sucked too.

 

There is also a special place in my anti-heart reserved for the non-centering joysticks that shipped for a wide variety of home computers in the early '80's. I had one for the Apple II that connected to the motherboard with eight of the most fragile pins you've ever seen.

 

Who thought this was a good idea and for what purpose?

 

post-6193-1126647870.jpeg

Edited by Uber Troll
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Still, the worst all around joystick I've ever tried is the 2600 compatible made by Kraft.

930602[/snapback]

 

I don't know if I've seen that one, but I remember a pretty terrible joystick Commodore used to sell (they started out with what looked like repackaged CX40's but then went to this other thing). A small base with a rather fat triangular stick.

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Newport stick=absolute bane of my 2600 experience. We had two of them that were very suitable for clobbering the family cat whenever she stepped on the reset switch.

 

I actually liked the combo CX-40/Ham radio/jiuce carton sticks. They seemed a little stiff, though.

I'd like to get a set of 'em, but I'd have to get a separate power adapter(7800 one doesn't connect to the box)--ummm, never mind, then.

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The fancy blue stick sold with the Tron games. It was a specially branded version of another controller, I don't remember which. It's a great looking stick, with a handy base where the cord coils and everything. Unfortunately it was much too fragile. Mine broke soon after I got it, and if it didn't look so nice in my collection I doubt I'd have kept it all these years.

 

I'll also second those little triangular Commodore joysticks. They were terrible, too.

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I had a gray joystick with the button on top of the stick.  It what I wouldn't consider the worst but it wasn't that good either because it wore out within a year.

930460[/snapback]

 

Yeah, as mentioned later, it was The Boss, mine didn't last very long either. Strange for being such a huge, steady stick though. Plus I didn't like the feel of it, either...too bulky!

 

I had a gray joystick with the button on top of the stick.  It what I wouldn't consider the worst but it wasn't that good either because it wore out within a year.

 

Could've been the Wico Boss? Mine is 20 years old and still going strong :)

930519[/snapback]

 

Wow, I'm impressed!

 

I hate the Epyx 500!

post-13-1126634076_thumb.jpg

930533[/snapback]

 

Oh god! Before I found out Genesis controllers would work for the 2600, I got a Radio Shack knock-off that for a replacement joystick for my 2600, was very much like those Epyx ones (whatever it's called)...didn't last long.

 

I hated the Atari Remote Control Joysticks. The things were huge. They just weren't comfortable to hold onto, with their gigantic base resting in your hand.

930625[/snapback]

 

That was another Atari mistake, making those. Never used one, but I never heard a kind word about them.

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I hated the Atari Remote Control Joysticks. The things were huge. They just weren't comfortable to hold onto, with their gigantic base resting in your hand. And that incredibly long antenna on the joystick was a little clumsy too.

930625[/snapback]

 

My mother actually bought a set of those one day. The next day, she took them back! That's how bad those were! :twisted:

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There is also a special place in my anti-heart reserved for the non-centering joysticks that shipped for a wide variety of home computers in the early '80's. I had one for the Apple II that connected to the motherboard with eight of the most fragile pins you've ever seen.

 

Who thought this was a good idea and for what purpose?

 

See, the earlier IIs actually shipped with paddles, so non-centering sticks made sense with the earliest games.

 

That's a CH Products stick I think. I had a later model the Mach II with a 9-pin plug for the //e. It could switch between centering and non by turning some knobs on the bottom.

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  • 6 years later...

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