any company still making DE9 gamepads?

[maiki]

I can find some of those Atari NES-like controllers on Ebay but anyway... are there any new products of this kind?

 

this one is actually not only 7800 controller.. it is bundled with 2600 junior PAL systems as well!!!

[jaybird3rd]

Ah yes, the so-called "Euro controller" for the 7800. A lot of people seem to like them, but I didn't find it to be a very comfortable design.

 

Also, in a broader sense, I find gamepads to be poorly-suited for the kinds of games that were made for early consoles like the 2600. I forget who first said it, but someone pointed out once that the transition from joysticks to gamepads was a result of a paradigm shift in game design that occurred with the NES. Early systems like the 2600 were sprite-driven designs, which lent themselves naturally to games that primarily involved moving objects around on the screen (games like Pac-Man, for example). Since movement "commands" were the primary input from the player, the directional controls were designed to be used by the right hand (the dominant and best-coordinated hand for most players), while the more intermittent action button was given to the left hand.

 

From the NES forward, the situation was reversed. The primary emphasis became rapid action button combinations, so those were moved to the right hand, while the lesser-used directional pad was moved to the left. One example of this are games like Super Mario Brothers and most NES platformers, where the directional pad is mostly held in one direction for extended periods (during walking, etc) and the players spend most of their effort jumping/shooting with the action buttons.

 

Perhaps other players (such as those who grew up on gamepads) feel differently, but I think this is the reason I've found myself less coordinated and more easily fatigued whenever I try to play 2600/7800 games with a gamepad: it just doesn't give me the level of control and comfort that I can get with the joystick, since most of those classic games rely heavily on the directionals.

 

For those who prefer gamepads and are looking for a more modern solution than the 7800 pad, my best advice is to look for a Sega Genesis controller. It's the most recent DB-9 gamepad that I know of, and is backward-compatible with the 2600; I think the "B" button maps to the 2600's action button.

[maiki]

Well, the truth is I was growing up on Quickshot 1 joystick but in the last years (thanks to Xbox and PS2) I've been only playing using gamepads and I completely switched to that scheme... I think I am no longer able to play using home joysticks... the other thing is arcade built control panel that stays on a place instead of sliding around

 

I've got Sega gamepads... I was just wondering if there's anything else...

 

[the.golden.ax]

There are still some slots open for the soon to be finished max pads I'm making.

 

AX

[+LS650]

I grew up with traditional joysticks, yet over the years I've come to prefer the D-pad, even with my 2600.

I recommend you go check out the local thrift shops; I find that mine always seem to have Sega Genesis gamepads and those work well with the 2600.

[atari_envy]

Yup. Right HERE from Best Electronics.

 

I just ordered a pair a few months ago. They are new and work great, except the second fire button is placed quite right IMHO. It needs to be higher to allow for quick, natural movement when playing. And as Jaybird3rd points out, they are not good for most 2600 games. I bought them mainly for my 7800. However, there are some games like Mario Bros that these controllers lend themselves to very well.

[littleman jack]

Video 61 has the pads at their website too, new.

[yuppicide]

I was going to suggest Best also.