Joystick Controller [3RD PARTY]

I have only had these for a little while, and I read where some people said they aren't long lasting, so keep in mind I am reviewing these within the first month of ownership. FYI these are by "retro-bit," in case you are interested.Feel (Overall)Let's be honest, this is what most people are looking for. Well, they got the shape right. Holding it feels similar to the original.Feel (Stick)The stick part on my old ones was a soft, squishy plastic. On this one it is a hard plastic. With the new stick when you move it, it feels like there are set directions, like you distinctly feel clicks at N, NE, E, SE... etc. The old version is smoother, feeling more like a flight stick, for those who have used one. It feels "fragile", as if doing too much rigorous playing would break the stick control.Feel (Button)The button is black (all of my originals are red), but that's not an issue for me. Speaking of the button, it is very "clicky". It doesn't feel quite as user friendly for high-volume button mashing like the old one.QualitySo far, both of the ones I purchased work, so quality is fine. Again, if anything changes about that, then I'll change my review.Bottom LineThey do what they are supposed to do, emulate an Atari (or similar era device) joystick. The similarity to the original is accurate in shape, but leaves a bit to be desired in stick and button feel. They also feel fragile, which is the opposite of an Atari joystick. The old ones I had took abuse from angry children, angry adults, biting children, wall smashes, throws, strong people intentionally trying to bend the stick too far, and a whole lot more. Over 35 years later, they still work! Will these?Should you buy theseI gave them a 3.5 star (rounded up), because they get the job done and aren't terrible. If you need some inexpensive Atari sticks, then I would go with these. If you are looking for the real Atari experience, pass these by. Find some originals (more expensive usually) or wait for a better copy to come along.

When I first tried this gem I noticed the buttons click much more loudly than my old one. Then I remembered my old one is at least 30 years old and does not work very well. If you play games that require this Atari C64 and what ever else uses this you can't go wrong.

I should have read the reviews on this joystick before I bought two of them! I had a working game system but no joystick, so I figured this would work. It did work great... for about 4 minutes. Despite the fact that I take extreme care of my equipment and everything else I have works great, this joystick broke in my own hands while playing ms. pacman. I wasn't even using much pressure on it. Thinking maybe it was just bad luck on that one, I plugged in my second joystick -- this one lasted about 6 minutes, then the exact same thing... DO NOT BUY! These are VERY cheaply made and poorly engineered. Despite the fact that they look the same as an original Atari joystick, they are NOTHING like them. You would be better off buying a used joystick on ebay. :(

This is almost an exact replica of the original. Visually it's actually impossible to tell that it's aftermarket and I wouldn't be surprised if the manufacturer was using the original molds for the case. Unfortunately, the plastic used for the ring below the stick that actually depresses the the little metal pads that act as buttons on the PCB is very brittle and immediately broke the moment I moved the stick.Luckily, because this is an exact copy of the originals, parts can be swapped between the two. Because I had purchased this controller to replace an original that had a short in the fire button lead, I had enough working components to assemble a working controller. What I ended up doing was taking the top half of the original controller with the OEM Atari plastic ring and screwing it to the bottom of half of this one with the modern cable and PCB. This solution works like a charm, but it really is a shame that this manufacturer cheaped out on that one component. If it weren't for the brittle plastic joystick ring, this would be a 5 star product.

Same feel and grip as the original. The handles were a bit fragile but the pads were good enough to make it work with other parts I bought. For the price, it was about right.

The controller works, but it has some serious trouble with making my Atari character go up, and it is also stuck in the down position (making my character automatically go down without me pushing the joystick at all) , but I am overall pleased with it. It works with Space Invaders perfectly, but not in games in which you can move in all directions. This controller is over 30 years old, and that is acceptable. I bought a brand new one for my other games.

These are exactly what my son wanted....hope they continue to work....have not had that long ...will come back with an update, if something goes wrong

I just purchased the Atari joystick so that my kids could play some of the games that I grew up with. I received the joystick yesterday and did not really even use it until today. After playing only five games, the joystick is already not working. Like another reviewer stated, the joystick does work side to side, but that is about it. So if you are only playing Space Invaders, Centipede, and other games with ONLY side scrolling action, then I guess it is okay. The product as a whole is very cheap and I would not recommend.