Controls question about Joysticks

[andrew6702]

Ok so I am pretty new to the world of mame and brand new to the forum. I have decided to build a 4 person control panel with the 2 players in the middle with 7 or 8 buttons and 2 players on the outsides with 4 buttons and a trackball in the middle of everything. My question is, is it possible to play games newer BLITZ as well as older games like pac-man and nba jam? If so what joysticks do i need to get? I know that Blitz uses different joysticks than pac-man for sure. I just want to make sure before I start buying anything.

Thanks,
Andrew

[H4CK3R]

I would add a 4 way controller above the 1st player, just for pac-man ect.  IMHO

[GAJoe]

I'm pretty sure Blitz used Midway/Wico/Happ 49-way joysticks.  You can play those games with 8-way sticks, but it's going to handle poorly.  My understanding is that 49-way sticks can be configured through software to act like normal 8-way sticks.  Research 49-way sticks to find out more about that.

As noted, a dedicated 4-way stick is best for older games like Pac-Man, Frogger, Dig Dug, Donkey Kong, etc.  There are some sticks that allow you to flip over an actuator, adjust a restrictor plate, etc. to switch between 4-way and 8-way, so you can play those older games and then switch over and play newer games that have diagonals like most fighting games, shooters, etc.  Whether you want a dedicated stick or an adjustabled one is a decision you have to make for yourself.