The Joy of Sticks - Part 1
Game controllers have evolved over time by changing shapes and names depending on the consoles they were used with. Here is a brief look at their history.
Atari CX10 & CX40
When the Atari VCS (2600) was launched in 1977, it came with the CX10 game controller. Fairly soon, it was discovered that the controller is costly to mass produce and the long stick travel made gameplay unnecessarily difficult, so CX10 was replaced by the similar CX40 model.
IMG_6879 (2)Finnish Museum of Games
The CX40 was cheap to manufacture but not very durable. Metal fatigue made the contact cups come loose over time, and the tape holding the arrangement in place was not exactly built to last. In the press, membrane switches were already seeing as antiquated in the mid-1980s.
Suncom Technologies TAC-2
The US company Suncom Technologies was one of the first manufacturers that tried to go beyond copying Atari’s game controllers. The best-known product from their fairly extensive range was probably the TAC-2; “TAC” is short for “Totally Accurate Controller”.
IMG_6854 (2)Finnish Museum of Games
Introduced around 1984, the TAC-2 uses a distinctive switch design that can also be found in a few other Suncom models. The simple construction is very durable indeed, but the feel of the fire buttons, in particular, is not to everyone’s taste.
Spectravideo QuickShot I & QuickShot II Turbo
Some sources refer to the QuickShot I, introduced in 1982, as “the world’s first ergonomic game controller”. While it has a more contoured design than the Atari CX40 and a fire button has been added to the end of the stick, it is technically very close to the Atari.
The QuickShot II updated the design, making the grip handle even more pronounced and adding an index finger fire button as well as automatic fire to help with shooting. Switches were replaced with a new design where the lower end of the stick pressed down on metal strips.
Spectravideo QuickShot II Turbo (opened) by Spectravideo InternationalFinnish Museum of Games
The QuickShot II Turbo is the final version of the QuickShot II; advertisements stated that its microswitches will last for at least one million engagements. In pratice, these were “open microswitches”, meaning they were not actually microswitches at all.
Alberici (Rushware) Cobra
While the name Rushware Cobra might evoke the United States, this controller is actually made in Italy by Alberici. The Cobra was a fairly costly controller (FIM 425, equivalent to €138 in 2021) introduced to the Finnish public in issue 2/87 of Mikrobitti magazine.
Alberici (Rushware) Cobra by AlbericiFinnish Museum of Games
In retrospect, the Cobra was an exceptionally well-built controller, but its large size makes it less generally usable. The massive control stick is best suited for flight simulation, for example, but Atari connector does not really support analogue joysticks.
Wico The Boss
Wico from the United States was one of the early manufacturers of Atari compatible joysticks. They stood apart from Atari products with their high quality, as the design used leaf switches similar to those in the arcade machines of the time.
Compared to the inexpensive membrane switch, this structure is more durable by some margin. The downside was the high cost of the controller. The Boss displayed here was slightly less expensive while still being well made as seen in inside.
Coin Controls Competition Pro
The Competition Pro 5000 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. Being industry-standard switches, they are easy to replace when worn.
IMG_6810 (2)Finnish Museum of Games
Competition Pro controllers were manufactured and distributed by several different companies in different countries and regions. The field of controller manufacturing was confusing at the time: Dutch company Suzo manufactured the Competition Pro as the Prof Competition 5000.
Speedlink also manufactured and marketed its own Competition Pro Retro version together with the German Individual Computers in the 2000s. However, it was based on the later Competition Pro Star model and was not as robust as its predecessor.
Commodore VG-200AQ
Commodore made its first Atari compatible controller in the early 1980s, and it was followed by a few other original designs. In Finland, however, a large variety of controllers were sold under the Commodore name – or at least an affiliation thereto.
Beeshu ZoomerFinnish Museum of Games
The “flight controller”, commonly known as the Beeshu Zoomer, was occasionally sold in Finland as the Commodore VG-5600. However, the most common of the “Commodore” controllers in the late 1980s is the VG-200AQ.
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