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Real arcade action in your living room
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yotsuya:

--- Quote from: Typefighter01 on November 29, 2013, 06:29:32 am ---Mods: Please move Xiaou2's post to "Reviews" and retitle "Atari 2600 Joystick Review", hate to see a noob build a cabinet around this stick.

Even at 7 or 8 years old, I remember saying to myself, "What kind of doorknob would create something so bad and evil?".

--- End quote ---

HAHAHA! I wish we could hand out rep points here. Internet high five for you, Typefighter.

My thoughts on the Atari joystick aren't rose-colored or foggy. I have a working 2600 that I can use today, and the stick feels just as fine to me now as it did when I was in the second grade. I don't get the complaint about using it on a flat surface- I never had a need to use it in any other way besides holding it in my hands.
matt4949:

--- Quote from: yotsuya on November 27, 2013, 11:13:19 am ---Very serious!  ;D

I guess I just grew up with that joystick and used it so much that it never felt odd or out of the ordinary for me. Even if I mess with one today, it still feels natural. One of my first games was Missile Command on the 2600, and that forces you to learn precise control. Never had an issue. Or small hands.  :laugh2:

The black cover coming off was annoying, but we still played with the joysticks and had no issues.

--- End quote ---
very well put
RandyT:

My biggest issue with the 2600 sticks was the "numb thumb" syndrome.  The corners on the body would put a lot of pressure on the inside of your palm, under your thumb.  This would cut off circulation and even pinch nerves.  It may not have been an issue for folks who played an occasional game, but for those who spent many consecutive hours playing, it was a very real malady caused by the design.  And while I never had the rubber part come off the stick, I did have the plastic parts break a couple of times.  Like X indicated, it was a poor design, relying on flexing plastic to absorb the forces.  You can only flex plastic so many times before it weakens and breaks.

As for why to mount the sticks, the answer would be "why not?"  Arcades were ramping into full swing when the 2600 was released, and many who purchased the system did so to try to (well...poorly) replicate the arcade experience at home.  Not so different than what the vast majority of us here are doing today.  The main difference today is the easy availability of real controls, and easily disseminated knowledge of how to go about it.  So while some may not have possessed the knowledge or ability to do a full hack of the controls to a panel with real arcade controls (like my second panel ever), some did.  The others would find value in the solutions shown in this thread, marketed well before the collective knowledge of the internet was available or commonplace.
mgb:
Man, you guys really know how to take fun little jokes and take them way seriuos.  :laugh:
matt4949:

--- Quote from: mgb on November 29, 2013, 04:12:42 pm ---Man, you guys really know how to take fun little jokes and take them way seriuos.  :laugh:

--- End quote ---
It's the way of the arcade jedi
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