Zeus Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 I recently acquired my first Wico controller from a thrift shop. I do believe it was called the "command control". Anyway, I was pretty excited to try it out because many people seem to talk a lot about them. I must say, they are pretty sturdy, and are made in the U.S., which may be a plus for many. I would like to hear other AAers opinions regarding Wico joysticks; why they like them, etc. So please, share your thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 Well, Wico is a manufacturer of arcade controls, and these were basically an arcade mech in a plastic housing. My only problem was that I kept having breaks in the cords, so I'd go buy a joystick extension cord and rewire it. My all-time favorite budget stick is the Gemstik clone of the CX-40. -Bry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjk7382 Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 I don't own any wico and I would prefer a joypad instaid of a joystick. I also know that the Sega Genesis controllers work on the 2600 but I bought some of those and didn't like them either. So I looked at atariage and found the mod for turning an NES controller into a 2600. So I have been making them for a while now and I will never go back to a joystick for anything. I sell them on ebay for a very reasonable price: http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?View...&sort=3&rows=50 I know it doesn't have to do with wico but I had an opinion and I shared. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NovaXpress Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 Wico had a completely different mechanism, they used leaf-switches on their home sticks just like in the arcade. This gives a much better response than the Atari-style joysticks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted October 11, 2003 Share Posted October 11, 2003 Wico had a completely different mechanism, they used leaf-switches on their home sticks just like in the arcade. This gives a much better response than the Atari-style joysticks. Yup. They have a rubber centering device in the top, and leaf switches throughout. -Bry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NovaXpress Posted October 11, 2003 Share Posted October 11, 2003 made in the U.S., which may be a plus for many If you are a video game player, you can't be picky about "buying American." I played a 2600 controller back in the day which seemed to be a clone of the Channel F controller, perhaps even made by Fairchild. Does anyone recall this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Csonicgo Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 speaking of command control, my wico is real sensitive when you press up. it's really annoying on a game like frogger or pole position. any ideas of how to center it? the stick is slightly tilted toward "up"...I can tilt the whole wico unit by the base and move the frog up on frogger without even touching the stick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Weis Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 personally i don't like them!! just don't feel good while holding them! (too large) Take Care, Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApolloBoy Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 personally i don't like them!! just don't feel good while holding them! (too large) Take Care, Rick Same here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 Same here. BTW: Pictures in your sig are not welcome at AA. Yours is >100k! Please remember, not everybody has a fast connection. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candiru Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 speaking of command control, my wico is real sensitive when you press up. it's really annoying on a game like frogger or pole position. any ideas of how to center it? the stick is slightly tilted toward "up"...I can tilt the whole wico unit by the base and move the frog up on frogger without even touching the stick. I don't know about the stick being tilted forward, but I adjusted the sensitivity on my Wicos by simply bending the leaf springs to the desired distance from the inside of the stick mechanism. If you open it up, you'll probably find that the top spring is too close. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROBOTRON Posted October 14, 2003 Share Posted October 14, 2003 ... So I looked at atariage and found the mod for turning an NES controller into a 2600. So I have been making them for a while now and I will never go back to a joystick for anything. I sell them on ebay for a very reasonable price: Sweet! I'm thinking on buy maybe 2....do you have plenty, I only see the one there for sale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted October 15, 2003 Share Posted October 15, 2003 @Apolloboy: Thanx! @Csonicgo: Please... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Csonicgo Posted October 15, 2003 Share Posted October 15, 2003 what's wrong Thomas? I know what's wrong at the moment- the screws seem to be glued in to the joystick! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted October 15, 2003 Share Posted October 15, 2003 what's wrong Thomas? The picture in your signature. It is a general agreement at AA not to use them because they make reading the threads harder, increase the loading times and you have avatars anyway. E.g. compare DP with AA, IMO AA is way better to follow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Csonicgo Posted October 16, 2003 Share Posted October 16, 2003 that image isn't heavily opti,ized as it should be- sorry about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted October 16, 2003 Share Posted October 16, 2003 that image isn't heavily opti,ized as it should be- sorry about that. No problem! Your friendly AA policeman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted October 16, 2003 Share Posted October 16, 2003 ... I would prefer a joypad instaid of a joystick. Absolutely barbaric... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MegaManFan Posted October 16, 2003 Share Posted October 16, 2003 Yeah I know, but I'm not too far off from him in that regard. Classic gaming can be handled well enough with a joystick, but by Atari 7800 a joypad is clearly superior. You can't blame gamers used to NES, SNES, SMS, Genesis, and on forward for thinking a "joystick" is something that only belongs in an arcade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 Yeah I know, but I'm not too far off from him in that regard. Classic gaming can be handled well enough with a joystick, but by Atari 7800 a joypad is clearly superior. You can't blame gamers used to NES, SNES, SMS, Genesis, and on forward for thinking a "joystick" is something that only belongs in an arcade.I can and I do. Seriously, I buy joysticks for my systems. I like having a good stick to wrap my hands around. And it DOES affect your performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MegaManFan Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 The only time I miss not having a joystick on a modern platformer is whenever I'm playing a collection of classic games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 I find it hard to be as precise with a joypad. I could barely play MsPacMan on the Lynx. -Bry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MegaManFan Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 Maze games like Pac-Man almost require a joystick by necessity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted October 18, 2003 Share Posted October 18, 2003 I find the modern scrolling shooters equally demanding. You know, the ones where you fly through rediculously huge amounts of bullet clouds. I just can't respond fast enough with a pad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozyr Posted October 18, 2003 Share Posted October 18, 2003 Wico Joystcks are just outstanding. Since they were made my an Arcade company, they can really take a beating. I'm still using my original set from the early 80's! As for pads, they just don't work good with old game, like PacMan, and other such games where precision control is needed!. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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