September 17, 2024, 7:56 am | Read time: 7 minutes
Controllers have become an integral part of today’s gaming market. But how did this success story actually begin? TECHBOOK nostalgic Lars Lubienetzki takes a look back.
My first controller was a model of iconic simplicity: a straightforward control stick on a rectangular base, crowned by a fiery red button in the upper left corner. Classics like Summer Games and Decathlon left my hands drenched in sweat – and quickly spelled the end for my joystick. In the fervent quest to set a new world record, the rapid, jerky movements eventually caused the joystick’s contacts to fail. This article sheds light on why joysticks have fallen out of favor and their surprising connection to airplane controls.
Movement with a rotary knob
The history of all controllers began in the 1950s. It was during this time that the first ideas for computer games emerged. The mother of all games consisted of a light point and two virtual bars. The first video game was known as Tennis for Two. At the beginning of the 1970s, Atari developed a more sophisticated version called Pong and became a video game giant.
Both games have one thing in common: the bars are moved up and down using a rotary knob. For a long time, control via a rotating knob supplemented by one or more buttons was standard for the first video games. The world’s first games console, Magnavox Odyssey, also relied on a controller with a rotary knob in 1972.
Ralph Baer, the inventor of the Magnavox Odyssey, was already working on a joystick at the time. When the games console was released, however, he opted for a controller with a rotary knob.
Video game machines pave the way for the joystick
The first joysticks appeared in amusement arcades shortly afterward. The arcade game Space Race employed a joystick to navigate rockets vertically. It was no coincidence that the first joystick appeared in a flying game. The controls of airplanes served as a model for the first joystick. At the beginning of the 20th century, pilot Edward George controlled his biplane with a lever. This gave rise to the name “George Stick”. The “George Stick” later became the joystick.
Atari supplied the original joystick model in a bundle with its legendary Atari VCS 2600 games console. The unassuming black joystick, encased at the bottom in a bellows skirt with a fire button nestled in the upper left corner of the casing, was originally designed for a different purpose.
Atari’s chief designer at the time, Kevin McKinsey, later even apologized for his joystick. Initially, this control unit was only intended to be used for the video game Tank and for controlling tanks. Hence, the bellows skirt, which is used in tanks to protect the control unit from dirt.
Kevin McKinsey conceded that his joystick lacked ergonomic design and was notably cumbersome. Nevertheless, his joystick became a style icon over the next few years, and other controller manufacturers took their cues from it. At the same time, Atari also defined the interface standard for joysticks. Many home computer manufacturers subsequently installed an Atari joystick interface in their computers, including Commodore in the C64. The “bread box” even had two ports.
Good and bad joystick variations
At the same time, many bad and some good joystick variants emerged. The basic shape of the Atari joystick initially remained the same. Many controller manufacturers changed the control lever. Additional buttons appeared on the housing and on the joystick itself. Some manufacturers tried trackball control, as we know it, from the first computer mice. The shape and size of the joystick changed. Some joysticks were more reminiscent of the joysticks used in airplanes.
The material used influenced the price. Cheap joysticks are almost exclusively made of cheap plastic. They are not fun to play with, at least not for long. They creak and crunch with every movement. It is not uncommon for these simple devices to break during a quick action.
A few manufacturers, however, have opted for a particularly sturdy construction. The vending machine manufacturer Wico offered real joystick gems. The Wico devices impressed with a metal shaft and large buttons that were otherwise only found on video game machines. However, so much attention to detail also costs a lot of money.
An English manufacturer found a niche between scrap and luxury. Kempston Micro Electronics supplied the prototype for the Competition Pro. This joystick defined a new joystick standard from the mid-1980s.
The red joystick, topped with a ball head and featuring two large buttons, quickly became a favorite among gamers. But the real innovation was hidden under the sturdy housing: small microswitches. As a result, the world records for sports games such as Decathlon tumbled by the dozen. This was because the microswitches in the Competition Pro could withstand the intensive shaking of the joystick for a little longer.
Nintendo supplies the gamepad predecessor
The directional pad made its debut on the popular NES and was solidified as an accepted control feature with the Gameboy. With the controller for Super Nintendo, the Japanese company provided the template for later gamepads as early as 1990. Compare the controllers for the Playstation or Xbox with the first SNES controller.
In addition to the now standard directional pad on the left-hand side, there are four buttons on the right-hand side and the famous letters “X”, “Y”, “A” and “B”. The SNES controller also has two buttons called “Select” and “Start”. Sound familiar?
Further controller generations are larger, arrange the buttons differently, and fit better in the hand. However, the basic design did not change much. The joystick later made a comeback in the form of two small levers on the top. The sticks are thumb-operated, allowing for maneuvers like 360-degree character rotations. The levers could then not only be turned but also pressed. This is how certain actions are triggered in some games.
Haptic elements find their way in
By the way, there are special steering wheel controllers for racing games. They significantly increase the fun of sprinting around the racetrack. These steering wheel controls also date back to the first controllers with a rotary knob. At the end of the 1990s, Microsoft introduced the first steering wheel controllers with so-called force feedback. The controller replicates the forces exerted on a steering wheel during high-speed driving in an actual car.
Haptic perception during gaming became increasingly important from the 2000s onwards. For controllers, this technology is called Dual Shock. Sony implemented it for the first time in its PlayStation controllers. Ever since, gamers have experienced tactile resistance when pressing buttons, which varies with the gaming scenario, or the device vibrates in your hands during particularly nerve-wracking game sequences.
Controller haptics have continued to improve in recent years. Sony again delivered even finer sensory moments with the DualSense technology in its PS5 controller. When the racing car drifts off the track again in Gran Turismo and skids over grass or gravel, this driving sensation is transferred to the whole body via the fingertips.
Controllers with freely configurable button assignments have been appearing since the mid-2010s. Especially in the e-sports realm, professional gamers utilize these controllers to tailor the controls to their unique playstyles. These devices are now also available for private use.
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The joystick is dead! Long live the joystick!
A lot has changed in the world of computer games since the iconic Atari joystick. Better hardware makes for a more realistic gaming experience. Modern gamepads have not only kept pace with this development but have also added a haptic layer to the gaming experience with force feedback, Dual Shock, and DualSense.
At the same time, there is currently a small retro wave, triggered by Atari. In 2023, a new edition of the iconic Atari 2600+ console was released, naturally with the legendary joystick. The Atari 7800+ is also due to be released in a relaunched version this year. New games have even been announced for the console.
Friends of the Competition Pro have long been served by the manufacturer Speedlink. This modern heir to the Atari joystick legacy now comes with built-in retro games and a USB interface.