My novelty controllers.
Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2009 2:20 pm
Note that I don't collect controllers in volume, but in utility. You won't see tons of variations of, say, flight sticks unless the difference is notable enough to make them different in utility. The only exception is probably light guns, as there are so many different kinds of light gun games for different systems. You also won't see decorative controllers, like the chainsaw controller for Resident Evil, because of the lack of utility.
My standard controllers aren't pictured here either (which includes a few rarer controllers), but I'll get them in pictures once I make a topic for my entire game collection.
There's one controller in the picture that somehow DIDN'T make it into the more detailed photos. That's the Novint Falcon controller, which you can see in the back, next to the Pop'n Music controller. It has the pistol grip attached to it.
These are the floor pads. From left to right: RedOctane Ignition pad, for DDR (PS2); NES Power Pad; Active Life Outdoor Challenge pad (Wii); Pump It Up pad (Xbox). Missing is more or less a duplicate of the DDR foam pad, which only differs in that it can be used on both PS2 and Xbox. Don't knock the Active Life pad - I have young children and it's actually pretty well done.
These are the twin sticks. From top to bottom (ignore the controllers showing on the right): Steel Battalion controller (Xbox); Dreamcast Twin Stick; Saturn Twin Stick; Power Shovel controller (PlayStation); PlayStation Analog Joystick (SCPH-1110). The Steel Battalion controller is a hell of a lot more than just a twin stick, but I figure it counts.
These are what I call the simulator controllers. At the top, again, is the Steel Battalion controller complete with pedals to the right. Bellow it is the Hori Flightstick 2 for the Ace Combat series on PS2 (with a driver for XP, which will hopefully work with the XIM2 for Xbox 360 and Ace Combat 6). To the right and below the pedals for Steel Battalion are the Saitek Pro Flight yoke, rutter petals, and two three-lever throttle quadrants, for all my four engine flight simulator needs. Below the Hori Flightstick is the RailDriver - a PC train simulation controller with a lot of buttons. Below that is the Densha de GO! controller for Dreamcast. And below that, and likely the dumbest controller purchase I've made, is the Hori Pachi-Slot Controller Pro. 2 (for PS2). That's right. A pachislo controller.
The light guns. Going from top and then left to right: Pelican Silent Scope Light Rifle (Xbox); Super Scope (SNES); Mad Catz Dream Blaster (Dreamcast); Konami Justifier (Genesis); Zapper (NES); Thrustmaster Desert Eagle (PS2); two Guncons (PlayStation); Wii Zapper.
The Super Scope gun is almost solely for Metal Combat, while the Justifier was bought for Snatcher. The Desert Eagle has recoil, so it's mainly a Time Crisis controller. Not sure why I included a duplicate Guncon - I tried to take duplicates out. I have a Master System coming in the mail soon complete with the gun as well.
These fall under miscellaneous. From top then left to right: Four Game Boy Advance controllers, in various colors (Gamecube); Fishing Controller (Dreamcast); Namco NegCon (PlayStation); four Scene It buzzers (Xbox 360); Wii Wheel; two keyboards (Dreamcast).
I think everyone knows what the GBAs are for. The NegCon is awesome for Wipeout. I have a second Wii Wheel not shown (solely for my kids - the Wii remote is a poor excuse for a wheel). That clear keyboard is AWFUL for Typing of the Dead. Tiny spacebar and shift keys, among other things. NOT recommended - even if it looks cool.
Some of the more obscure "controllers" in my collection: ZXE-D: Legend of Plasmalite. They aren't REALLY controllers. They plug up into the memory card slots for PlayStation and act as configurable robots for a fighting game (parts can be swapped from one robot to another). Not a great fighting game, but certainly novel and the robots came COMPLETELY disassembled, so it was like building a model to put them together. Easily some of the most memorable peripherals I own, even if I never play the game.
Snuck below the robots is the SpaceOrb 360 controller for PC, which can move in six degrees of freedom, enabling more movement than even two joysticks can offer. Alas, there aren't many games capable of taking advantage of it (namely Descent), and most of the controllers only work on older Windows operating systems.
Next come my treasured rhythm game controllers. From top then left to right: DJ Dao Pop'n Music ASC (PS2, PC); Rock Band drums (Xbox 360); Taiko no Tatsujin drum (PS2); Donkey Konga bongos (Gamecube); Rock Band guitar (Xbox 360); Guitar Hero guitar (PS2); the pink discs along the right are for Para Para Paradise (PS2); the four mics are for Mario Party 6 (Gamecube), Seaman (Dreamcast), Karaoke Revolution (PS2), and Rock Band (Xbox 360); Beatmania IIDX (PS2); Samba de Amigo Cha Cha maracas (Dreamcast); MiniMoni: Shaker and Tambourine (PlayStation).
Most of those controllers need no introduction, but the MiniMoni tambourine is also among the most obscure in my collection. It's essentially a teeny J-Pop sequel to Samba de Amigo; Same gameplay but with a single tambourine instead of two maracas and staring the teen girl J-Pop band MiniMoni.
Update (1/07/1010):
Master shot of the additions. Quite honestly, a few of my now favorite controllers are in this update.
There are my vehicular additions. From the top and left to right: The supremely awesome Fanatec Porsche 911 wheel with Clubsport pedals (PC, PS3, Xbox 360); Virtual RC Racing Kyosho Edition (PC); Expansion Module #2/Steering Wheel (Colecovision); Mission Stick (Saturn); Flightstick Pro (3DO).
The Virtual RC controller is pretty obscure, though easy to find (direct from the source). Only the wheel and the trigger work, so the other buttons are just for show. I had no intentions on the Coleco wheel, but it came with the system. I found out quite a few Saturn games use the Mission Stick to good effect, though the 3DO stick is solely for Wing Commander III. Ignore the trackball in the corner, that's for another picture.
More rhythm controllers! From top to bottom: DJ Hero Renegade Edition (PS3); DJ Max Trilogy Muse-On (PC); Keyboardmania (PS2).
I already have a keyboard stand for my rhythm controllers, but using the case as stand for DJ Hero ends up being quite spiffy, and hey, it came with the thing. There's duplicates of the keyboards because the game supports doubles mode, which plays very much like a real piano does (one hand for each keyboard).
From left to right: Eye of the Judgment + a full box of cards (PS3); BUZZ! Buzzer (1 of 4) (PS3); Mahjong Controller (Neo-Geo).
In order by type of controller: X-Arcade Trackball (PC, PS2, Xbox); Roller Controller (Colecovision); Atari TRAK BALL (Atari 2600); Act Labs Light Guns (PC); Light Phaser (Master System); Super Action Controller (Colecovision).
The X-Arcade and the Act Labs guns are for my MAME needs. The buttons of the X-Arcade are subpar, but otherwise it's a very solid controller. The Roller Controller is pretty much dedicated to Slither and the Roller Controller is the only reason I got the Super Action Controller and the aforementioned wheel (they were all packed with the system). The Atari trackball was found at my parent's house, among with a lot of Atari controllers. I only took pictures of the trackball and the paddles (shown below).
From top and then left to right: Chaos Reins Spinner (Jaguar); SegaScope 3-D Glasses (Master System); Taito Paddle (DS); Slide Controller (DS); WonderBorg (Wonderswan); Atari Paddles (Atari 2600); Belkin n52te (PC); The Strike Fishing Rod (Xbox 360).
The Jaguar spinner is solely for Tempest 2000 and is subsequently one of my favorite controllers. Makes an amazing game even better. The glasses and the WonderBorg aren't really controllers, but they're novel, aren't they? The Atari paddles are purely for Warlords, as is the 2600 for the time being.
These are just a few I had omitted from the previous shots. Balance Board (Wii); Beatmania add-on doohickey (Wonderswan); Hyper Stick Pro Otomedius Gorgeous Edition (Xbox 360).
I know I said I wasn't eager for portable controllers, but I'm a big Beatmania fan and not many other games for Wonderswan were justifying themselves. I almost didn't include the Otomedius stick, because the pad is barely used in the game and doesn't work well at that, but it's certainly unique and otherwise the stick is arcade quality. I switched the ball of the joystick to pink, since it just seemed to fit better than the blue one included. I tried to switch the joystick entirely to Seimitsu, but the Sanwa plate was welded in.
The primary controller missing from my collection is the insanely expensive DJ Dao Doubles Beatmania IIDX controller. I won't be considering a ASC for GuitarFreaks unless DJ Dao develops the one he hinted about over a year ago, or someone else beats him to it. I haven't seen anything else where the games would justify the controllers, though I'm keeping my eye out and my ears open should someone try to convince me. I'd also like to make a few controllers: Namely a dual arcade stick controller, for games of the Robotron ilk, a MAME compatible arcade quality spinner (or four), and at least another trackball for MAME (four total would be optimal, but two for Marble Madness would suit me well).
If anyone has any questions or, even better, suggestions on controllers I've missed, let me know!
My standard controllers aren't pictured here either (which includes a few rarer controllers), but I'll get them in pictures once I make a topic for my entire game collection.
There's one controller in the picture that somehow DIDN'T make it into the more detailed photos. That's the Novint Falcon controller, which you can see in the back, next to the Pop'n Music controller. It has the pistol grip attached to it.
These are the floor pads. From left to right: RedOctane Ignition pad, for DDR (PS2); NES Power Pad; Active Life Outdoor Challenge pad (Wii); Pump It Up pad (Xbox). Missing is more or less a duplicate of the DDR foam pad, which only differs in that it can be used on both PS2 and Xbox. Don't knock the Active Life pad - I have young children and it's actually pretty well done.
These are the twin sticks. From top to bottom (ignore the controllers showing on the right): Steel Battalion controller (Xbox); Dreamcast Twin Stick; Saturn Twin Stick; Power Shovel controller (PlayStation); PlayStation Analog Joystick (SCPH-1110). The Steel Battalion controller is a hell of a lot more than just a twin stick, but I figure it counts.
These are what I call the simulator controllers. At the top, again, is the Steel Battalion controller complete with pedals to the right. Bellow it is the Hori Flightstick 2 for the Ace Combat series on PS2 (with a driver for XP, which will hopefully work with the XIM2 for Xbox 360 and Ace Combat 6). To the right and below the pedals for Steel Battalion are the Saitek Pro Flight yoke, rutter petals, and two three-lever throttle quadrants, for all my four engine flight simulator needs. Below the Hori Flightstick is the RailDriver - a PC train simulation controller with a lot of buttons. Below that is the Densha de GO! controller for Dreamcast. And below that, and likely the dumbest controller purchase I've made, is the Hori Pachi-Slot Controller Pro. 2 (for PS2). That's right. A pachislo controller.
The light guns. Going from top and then left to right: Pelican Silent Scope Light Rifle (Xbox); Super Scope (SNES); Mad Catz Dream Blaster (Dreamcast); Konami Justifier (Genesis); Zapper (NES); Thrustmaster Desert Eagle (PS2); two Guncons (PlayStation); Wii Zapper.
The Super Scope gun is almost solely for Metal Combat, while the Justifier was bought for Snatcher. The Desert Eagle has recoil, so it's mainly a Time Crisis controller. Not sure why I included a duplicate Guncon - I tried to take duplicates out. I have a Master System coming in the mail soon complete with the gun as well.
These fall under miscellaneous. From top then left to right: Four Game Boy Advance controllers, in various colors (Gamecube); Fishing Controller (Dreamcast); Namco NegCon (PlayStation); four Scene It buzzers (Xbox 360); Wii Wheel; two keyboards (Dreamcast).
I think everyone knows what the GBAs are for. The NegCon is awesome for Wipeout. I have a second Wii Wheel not shown (solely for my kids - the Wii remote is a poor excuse for a wheel). That clear keyboard is AWFUL for Typing of the Dead. Tiny spacebar and shift keys, among other things. NOT recommended - even if it looks cool.
Some of the more obscure "controllers" in my collection: ZXE-D: Legend of Plasmalite. They aren't REALLY controllers. They plug up into the memory card slots for PlayStation and act as configurable robots for a fighting game (parts can be swapped from one robot to another). Not a great fighting game, but certainly novel and the robots came COMPLETELY disassembled, so it was like building a model to put them together. Easily some of the most memorable peripherals I own, even if I never play the game.
Snuck below the robots is the SpaceOrb 360 controller for PC, which can move in six degrees of freedom, enabling more movement than even two joysticks can offer. Alas, there aren't many games capable of taking advantage of it (namely Descent), and most of the controllers only work on older Windows operating systems.
Next come my treasured rhythm game controllers. From top then left to right: DJ Dao Pop'n Music ASC (PS2, PC); Rock Band drums (Xbox 360); Taiko no Tatsujin drum (PS2); Donkey Konga bongos (Gamecube); Rock Band guitar (Xbox 360); Guitar Hero guitar (PS2); the pink discs along the right are for Para Para Paradise (PS2); the four mics are for Mario Party 6 (Gamecube), Seaman (Dreamcast), Karaoke Revolution (PS2), and Rock Band (Xbox 360); Beatmania IIDX (PS2); Samba de Amigo Cha Cha maracas (Dreamcast); MiniMoni: Shaker and Tambourine (PlayStation).
Most of those controllers need no introduction, but the MiniMoni tambourine is also among the most obscure in my collection. It's essentially a teeny J-Pop sequel to Samba de Amigo; Same gameplay but with a single tambourine instead of two maracas and staring the teen girl J-Pop band MiniMoni.
Update (1/07/1010):
Master shot of the additions. Quite honestly, a few of my now favorite controllers are in this update.
There are my vehicular additions. From the top and left to right: The supremely awesome Fanatec Porsche 911 wheel with Clubsport pedals (PC, PS3, Xbox 360); Virtual RC Racing Kyosho Edition (PC); Expansion Module #2/Steering Wheel (Colecovision); Mission Stick (Saturn); Flightstick Pro (3DO).
The Virtual RC controller is pretty obscure, though easy to find (direct from the source). Only the wheel and the trigger work, so the other buttons are just for show. I had no intentions on the Coleco wheel, but it came with the system. I found out quite a few Saturn games use the Mission Stick to good effect, though the 3DO stick is solely for Wing Commander III. Ignore the trackball in the corner, that's for another picture.
More rhythm controllers! From top to bottom: DJ Hero Renegade Edition (PS3); DJ Max Trilogy Muse-On (PC); Keyboardmania (PS2).
I already have a keyboard stand for my rhythm controllers, but using the case as stand for DJ Hero ends up being quite spiffy, and hey, it came with the thing. There's duplicates of the keyboards because the game supports doubles mode, which plays very much like a real piano does (one hand for each keyboard).
From left to right: Eye of the Judgment + a full box of cards (PS3); BUZZ! Buzzer (1 of 4) (PS3); Mahjong Controller (Neo-Geo).
In order by type of controller: X-Arcade Trackball (PC, PS2, Xbox); Roller Controller (Colecovision); Atari TRAK BALL (Atari 2600); Act Labs Light Guns (PC); Light Phaser (Master System); Super Action Controller (Colecovision).
The X-Arcade and the Act Labs guns are for my MAME needs. The buttons of the X-Arcade are subpar, but otherwise it's a very solid controller. The Roller Controller is pretty much dedicated to Slither and the Roller Controller is the only reason I got the Super Action Controller and the aforementioned wheel (they were all packed with the system). The Atari trackball was found at my parent's house, among with a lot of Atari controllers. I only took pictures of the trackball and the paddles (shown below).
From top and then left to right: Chaos Reins Spinner (Jaguar); SegaScope 3-D Glasses (Master System); Taito Paddle (DS); Slide Controller (DS); WonderBorg (Wonderswan); Atari Paddles (Atari 2600); Belkin n52te (PC); The Strike Fishing Rod (Xbox 360).
The Jaguar spinner is solely for Tempest 2000 and is subsequently one of my favorite controllers. Makes an amazing game even better. The glasses and the WonderBorg aren't really controllers, but they're novel, aren't they? The Atari paddles are purely for Warlords, as is the 2600 for the time being.
These are just a few I had omitted from the previous shots. Balance Board (Wii); Beatmania add-on doohickey (Wonderswan); Hyper Stick Pro Otomedius Gorgeous Edition (Xbox 360).
I know I said I wasn't eager for portable controllers, but I'm a big Beatmania fan and not many other games for Wonderswan were justifying themselves. I almost didn't include the Otomedius stick, because the pad is barely used in the game and doesn't work well at that, but it's certainly unique and otherwise the stick is arcade quality. I switched the ball of the joystick to pink, since it just seemed to fit better than the blue one included. I tried to switch the joystick entirely to Seimitsu, but the Sanwa plate was welded in.
The primary controller missing from my collection is the insanely expensive DJ Dao Doubles Beatmania IIDX controller. I won't be considering a ASC for GuitarFreaks unless DJ Dao develops the one he hinted about over a year ago, or someone else beats him to it. I haven't seen anything else where the games would justify the controllers, though I'm keeping my eye out and my ears open should someone try to convince me. I'd also like to make a few controllers: Namely a dual arcade stick controller, for games of the Robotron ilk, a MAME compatible arcade quality spinner (or four), and at least another trackball for MAME (four total would be optimal, but two for Marble Madness would suit me well).
If anyone has any questions or, even better, suggestions on controllers I've missed, let me know!