About Atari 2600s original Joysticks...

[Sharky]

When i first got a Atari 2600 it came with 2 joysticks and they looked like this:

 

 

My 2 didnt last long. They broke in about 3 months.

 

To me they were my worse joysticks. Were they the first compatible 1-fire button joysticks ??

 

Because they certainly when a long-way and obviously became stronger and stronger and more werid looking as time goes by...

 

 

 

Some were rare and some were popular. Some had quickfire..

 

But Some were wireless...

 

 

Some of us grew up with thoose joysticks from Atari 2600 to the Amiga 500. I when thur about 70 different joysticks.

 

But basicly to me they all did the same and if you lose a Life.

You can always blame the joystick.

 

 

But these days I just use the Keyboard...

It saves Money... [/img]

[Mister VCS]

The original Atari stick was and is a good joystick!

I liked the smell of the rubber when i was a child. It was a part of Ataris magic.

I know the first version (included with my 6switch) had diffferent internals than the later versions. Why did Atari this updates?

How many versions exist?

 

Mister VCS

[Paralistalon]

I have close to 6 broken Atari 2600 joysticks. I tried replacing the domes in one, but my first attempt didn't produce a joystick in good enough condition to play a game.

 

I hate the 2600 joystick. With the one 2600 joystick that I got that does work, it hurts my hands 5 times worse than the 7800 controller.

 

I love the 7800 controller. Its style allows a more complete grip on the controller. The right fire button is perfect for Atari 2600 games. The only time I don't like it is in shooter games like Galaga the require repeated and fast button pushes.

 

If anyone has a recomendation for off-brand 2600-style joysticks that work well, I'll gladly listen.

[Vic George 2K3]

I liked the Atari 2600 Space Age joystick, the Amiga Powerstick, and the Suncom TAC-2 joystick controllers better. I also liked playing the 2600 with the Suncom Joy-Sensor gamepad since it provides an interesting change (and challenge) from using the joystick.

[theaveng]

Victoria's hard on her joysticks! Killing your original Atari sticks in 3 months is incredible. Did you pound them on the floor? (just curious) My own joysticks lasted about 4 years until the white inner plastic experienced stress-failure.

 

Even now, 25 years later, I have *only 2* broken joysticks (both Ataris). I've experimented with other sticks like TAC-3, Gravis, and 7800 ProSticks, but I still prefer the original square Atari 2600 design.

[Sharky]

Victoria's hard on her joysticks!  Killing your original Atari sticks in 3 months is incredible.  Did you pound them on the floor? (just curious)  My own joysticks lasted about 4 years until the white inner plastic experienced stress-failure.

 

Mine experienced stress failure. The white plastic inside them broke and Ill tried to fix em. Super-Glue worked for a while but I eventually gave up and brought Quik-Shot I joysticks.

 

They were stronger but I when thur about 10 of those but they had a longer life and they were still my favourite joysticks. :wink:

[Edit_5]

There is a kind of magic with the original joystick, although I have a load all broken I'm now working my way through repairing them and upgrading the parts, I even thought about mass producing some "brand new" joysticks, in the style of the originals but with completely modern components and plastics, cost per unit was scary though.

[mos6507]

For those with a steady supply of replacement plastic internals, the original sticks aren't so bad, it's just that I don't really like designs where the internal components rely on the flexibility of plastic. Plastic will ultimately snap.

 

It was obviously an economic issue that led to the design of the 2600 sticks.

 

If you look at arcade hardware, that's how you design stuff to last. I prefer metal leaf switches. Yes, these can break too, but only after a lot more use. My Wico joystick is still going strong after about 20 years of off and on use. Unfortunately, metal leaf switch joysticks are few and far between these days.

 

I'm not big on those noisy microswitch joysticks that pass for high-end sticks for consoles.

[Foxy Cleopatra]

I don't know... the flimsy joystick's are part of the nostalgia for me, I remember rummaging through the 5's of 10's of joysticks laying around looking for one that worked.. Hmmm in this game I shouldn't need to go left this one will do...

[MegaManFan]

Non-working fire buttons always bothered me more than non moving directions. I always just figured I had to push harder.. you know that's probably how most of the things snapped.