Atari CX-40 vs. Competition Pro

[BurritoBeans]

I voted competition pro, because

• I haven't had any good luck with my CX-40s. The dome switches or whatever have been failing on me constantly, and the two that I had that did work alright were pretty unreliable and then just failed on me a while back.
• All my other sticks have just had a bunch of issues.
• The Competition Pros microswitches feel real nice to me, and I like how the stick feels in my hand.

[+GoldLeader]

I'd say this is a topic to get people talking and not a scientific poll per se, so let's hope my off the cuff thoughts add to the discussion,

 

I'll admit I haven't tried the Comp Pro w/Microswitches, but I do like Comp Pros And Atari sticks.

 

Most of my Atari sticks are broken in some fashion, though, and I do need to get some Best gold contact ones, ...I also like the Atari FB2 sticks and use them a lot, The Wico Ball Top is a nice stick, too, but it gives my hands such a workout. The main reason I have it is that I always wanted one back in the day, but never got one until about 3 years ago..I like having lots of options, including using adapters to use PS2 Arcade sticks with micro switches (My HORI Real Arcade Pro is another fave)...I voted "Other" as it turns out namely because lately if asked to pick a favorite, I'd go with a Slik Stik or a Euro 7800 Pad...I bought the Slik Stik Brand new off ebay (NOS) and my friend told me that that was his absolute Favorite from BITD. He said "you're gonna love it" and he was right! Once I got used to its hard rubbery feel and really short throw joystick, it became my go to choice for quick game of anything...

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Play an extended session of Decathlon with a bunch of friends with a CX-40. And afterwards we discuss again.

[Mister-VCS]

Nope. I was assuming that the Compo Pro is not that well known in the USA. Maybe that's wrong?

 

Probably making the questions 100% clear would help, like: I know both, but I prefer A over B; I only know A and prefer it over any other...

 

Or two separate polls:

1. chose your favorite joystick (from a list)

2. which joystick (from a list) are you familiar with?

 

If e.g. twice as many people are familiar with A than with B, than the number of votes for B in the 1st poll can be doubled.

 

But it will never be 100% scientific.

 

The question is "100% clear" - CX-40 vs. CP - I think the majority of AA-users are "middle-agers" and have the know-how to read the poll in the right way...

[Mister-VCS]

Play an extended session of Decathlon with a bunch of friends with a CX-40. And afterwards we discuss again.

 

 

Try "Missile Command" with both controllers and you feel the difference...

[BassGuitari]

Play an extended session of Decathlon with a bunch of friends with a CX-40. And afterwards we discuss again.

I'll grant you, the one time I like the Comp Pro better is in this very specific, cherry-picked situation that is so rare for me that it may as well be hypothetical.

 

(A: Decathlon isn't my kind of game anyway. B: Getting even one friend over who will play Atari is a tall order, let alone multiple.)

[Mister-VCS]

OK, two pics for clarification:

 

 

Competition Pro

 

 

CX-40

[Mister-VCS]

OK, there is another version of the CX-40:

 

 

...everything starts with a CX-40....

[+sramirez2008]

I own many types of controllers, but don't have a Competition Pro. Would love to pick one up.

 

I don't know that I have a favorite controller, as I use certain controllers for certain games (e.g. Starplex (Asteroids), Edladdin Supreme 78: All Play 4/8 (Maze Games) etc., and I actually prefer the CX-40 for many games. In the end, It may just come down to whatever controller we used most when first playing these games.

[+GoldLeader]

I own many types of controllers, but don't have a Competition Pro. Would love to pick one up.

 

I don't know that I have a favorite controller, as I use certain controllers for certain games (e.g. Starplex (Asteroids), Edladdin Supreme 78: All Play 4/8 (Maze Games) etc., and I actually prefer the CX-40 for many games. In the end, It may just come down to whatever controller we used most when first playing these games.

Never underestimate nostalgia!

 

That is also why I found it hard to pick a favorite, but could do so if forced to choose.

[hizzy]

I figure the edladdin must put everything else to shame, right?

[+sramirez2008]

The Edladdin is pretty good. I no longer play maze games with out it.

 

Then again, I no longer play the non Trak-Ball versions of Centipede, Millipede, Missile Command, etc.,(http://atariage.com/forums/topic/243453-atari-2600-trak-ball-games/?hl=+track#8208ball=&page=17)

 

Many thanks to Omegamatrix and Thomas Jentzsch for converting these games for Trak-Ball control.

[AW127]

We all free people and anybody can vote like he wants, but users should not be influenced by nostalgic feelings to the original-controllers when voting.

 

Like i wrote before, the CX-40 is not a bad joystick and much better than for example the bad controllers which came with the "Atari 2600 Junior" back in time. But one thing is 100 percent clear - "Competition Pro" models like the "Competition Pro Star" or the "Competition Pro Extra" have a much more precise steering than a normal CX-40 Joystick. I think nobody can deny this. And i really mean MUCH MORE PRECISE, because i played with all these controllers for years and i can compare. I can not imagine, that games which needs a very precise steering, can be played better with a CX-40. This would be against all facts. So i think that nostalgic reasons have a big influence to the answers of the question here.

[hizzy]

For those who don't like micro switches, does that extend to modern arcade joysticks?

[+save2600]

For those who don't like micro switches, does that extend to modern arcade joysticks?

 

I like modern micro-switch arcade joysticks better than modern arcade games. You can determine if that's saying much or not.

[The Mr. Video]

I've never tried a Competition Pro. The closest thing to a Competition Pro I've tried is probably the MicroBlaster.

Even then I prefer the Wico Command Control joysticks because of the arcade feel they have.

But I do sometimes use other joysticks like the MicroBlaster, the CX-40, and even the 7800 joystick.

[BassGuitari]

This would be against all facts. So i think that nostalgic reasons have a big influence to the answers of the question here.

Why would nostalgia impel people to say they prefer the CX40 any more than the Comp Pro? Plenty of people used those, too. Especially in Europe.

 

And I grew up with the Nintendo and Sega Genesis. So at least as far as I'm concerned, you can put the nostalgia card back in the deck.

[+KaeruYojimbo]

There are plenty of people, especially in the U.S., who probably never played Atari with anything other than a CX-40. The 2600 came with two of them and unless one of them broke, most people didn't go out and buy another joystick. Heck, a lot of people probably waited until they both broke. Whenever anyone comes over to may place and plays Atari, they inevitably want to know where the "real" joystick is when I hand them the Slik Stik. There's a combination of nostalgia and modern prejudice against third party controllers that makes the CX-40 the best joystick in their minds. Even if that's not necessarily the case, years of playing with the CX-40 make that the familiar, comfortable choice for a lot of people.

 

There's more variety in Europe where the gaming scene was centered around computers rather than consoles and players had to actively make a decision about which joystick to get. Nostalgia still comes into play there, but it might be wrapped up in going to the store and picking out a stick from a shelf of boxes just as much as it is in actually playing.

[Andromeda Stardust]

I use this:

[AW127]

Why would nostalgia impel people to say they prefer the CX40 any more than the Comp Pro? Plenty of people used those, too. Especially in Europe.

And I grew up with the Nintendo and Sega Genesis. So at least as far as I'm concerned, you can put the nostalgia card back in the deck.

This is easy to answer, because the CX-40 is the original joystick for the Atari VCS2600 and normally people adore original-parts of their beloved consoles more than later bought parts from other factorys.

 

And these CX-40 joysticks was really good, back in the time when they came out. The Competition Pro`s dont exist at that time, they came about 5 years later. One reason more why they are not so much nostalgic than the CX-40. But the steering of the Competition Pro`s is more precise, they are more stable and also easier to repair than the CX-40. These are three good reasons to vote for the Competition Pro here.

[hizzy]

I'm curious: would an edladdin stick and comp pro have a similar feeling because they're micro-switched, or is there more that goes into the "feel" of a joystick?

Edited July 27, 2016 by hizzy

[AW127]

What you mean with edladdin?

[AW127]

Aaaah found out by myself, this is a shop for controllers. Looked around in this shop in the last minutes and there was also parts of SANWA Arcade controllers used.

 

I have here many Competition Pro`s and i also have a SANWA Arcade Controller here, it`s the model

JLF-TP-8YT. When you compare this to a Competition, and this was your question, then it feels different.

 

The most Competitions have a stronger spring which centers the stick when the player dont steer. This is completely different to my SANWA controller. Also the SANWA is more smooth-running, which i like. But the Competition Pro`s have shorter steering-ways which i also like.

 

So it´s really matter of taste what people like more. SANWA Arcade parts are high quality products which are very hard to break. Competition Pro`s, especially the Competition Pro Extra with the rubber around the grip, are also hard to break, but if they have such a quality like arcade parts have, i dont know.

[Andromeda Stardust]

Aaaah found out by myself, this is a shop for controllers. Looked around in this shop in the last minutes and there was also parts of SANWA Arcade controllers used.

 

I have here many Competition Pro`s and i also have a SANWA Arcade Controller here, it`s the model

JLF-TP-8YT. When you compare this to a Competition, and this was your question, then it feels different.

 

The most Competitions have a stronger spring which centers the stick when the player dont steer. This is completely different to my SANWA controller. Also the SANWA is more smooth-running, which i like. But the Competition Pro`s have shorter steering-ways which i also like.

 

So it´s really matter of taste what people like more. SANWA Arcade parts are high quality products which are very hard to break. Competition Pro`s, especially the Competition Pro Extra with the rubber around the grip, are also hard to break, but if they have such a quality like arcade parts have, i dont know.

I'm not sure we are thinking about the same thing here. Happ Competition joysticks are arcade parts that need some type of homemade enclosure to work, same with the Sanwas.

 

I get the impression that the Competition Pro was an aftermarket third party joystick released back in the day, that could be plugged directly into an Atari 2600.

 

My Atari joystick currently uses an Omni Stik 2 with a pull string mechanism to switch between 4-way and 8-way operation. It also has built in paddles among other enhancements.

[hizzy]

That's one hell of a joystick!!

 

Some comp pros have micro switches and I was wondering how they compare to the edladdin sticks that also use micro switches. It's come clearer to me that just because they all use micro switches, they do not all necessarily feel or react in the same way. Quality parts like in the video above appear to stand head and shoulders above mass produced sticks, even though they might share the same technological principals.