Coin Controls Competition Pro

The world of gaming is full of rivalries: Nintendo vs Sega, Amiga vs the Atari ST and TAC-2 vs Competition Pro. Hobbyists continuing to play on 8-bit and 16-bit home computers are usually divided into either camp depending on whether they enjoy the looser and more flexible feel of the TAC-2 or the exact and clicky control of the Competition Pro.

The Competition Pro 5000 shown here was, in all likelihood, originally designed by Coin Controls Ltd, and it uses closed microswitches, a common sight in industrial applications as well as in arcade machines. They are installed in the top part of the controller body, with a metal pin in the middle. As these are industry-standard switches, they are easy to replace when worn. This makes the controller extremely durable. Not only that, but the industrial switches will actually last for millions of engagements. Fire buttons use a similar leaf switch mechanism as in the Wico products, for example.

Competition Pro controllers were manufactured and distributed by several different companies in different countries and regions. The Dutch company Suzo manufactured it as the Prof Competition 5000, but even this version was advertised in the UK press as the Euromax Competition Pro. This is descriptive of how confusing the field of controller manufacturing was at the time. Suzo later sold a similar-looking controller known as the Prof Competition 9000 (see glass case); however, it uses cheaper and smaller microswitches and a cost-reduced fire button implementation.

Speedlink also manufactured and marketed its own Competition Pro Retro version together with the German Individual Computers in the 2000s (on display in the glass case). However, it was based on the later Competition Pro Star model and was not as robust as its predecessor. There was also a USB version available that was criticised for its high inputlag. Nevertheless, credit is due to the Competition Pro Retro, as at least it was available in the current millennium; no one had been manufacturing Atari compatible controllers for a long time.