Classic Game Room - ATARI 7800 JOYSTICK CONTROLLER review

[supershadow64ds]

Throw out that garbage of a controller. Just use a Sega Genesis controller!

[honkifyalikebeer1979]

Looks more like a bass drum pedal.

[zdog34whatnow]

MY COMPUTER IS SO SLOW THAT THE ADVERTIZEMENT FREEZES

[MuttonAndTheHam]

I never found the controller to be that bad, I never played the 5200 to compare, that looks rough since it doesn't self center. But this was fine, took a little getting used to, I think almost every controller takes a little getting used to though.

[MetalFanx2000]

Stella should win a nobel price.

[greggv8]

Does the 7800 controller actually have two buttons that do separate things or are they just two switches in parallel?

[penguinblack]

@greggv8 the buttons do separate things.

[Luigi84289]

They got rid of the key pad which is great (I'll never understand the logic behind putting keypads on controllers) and reduced the complexity down to 2 buttons but they couldn't figure out a good layout. I'll also never understand why the 5200 controller is so complex for games so simple. Luckily you can just use a genesis pad, works like a charm.

[deadlygroove1]

I used to use my Sega Master System controller on my Atari 7800. It worked flawlessly.

[Ryio5]

当たり!!

[Buizeru421]

@Ryio5 ww

[Mikej2156]

Oh and the Cord on that controller is annoyingly feeble

[juggafette]

i can,t get how you can sit and talk about a controller in 4 minutes i,m not hatin you just sayin i can,t do it

[TheSuperemiel]

i like that dog

[hejjagedu]

0:56 and onwards: giant THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID

[Egames101]

he was using a treat to nod his head

[MrStewToobe]

one of my relatives had an Atari 130XE , and it came with these controllers.

It did slide around in my hand, but I didnt really mind it that much, loved playing Star Raiders, Missile Command, Asteroids and that.

[rkoguy]

Stella!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[schizrade]

Good old days weren't always so good...

[kickie3]

rc car

[Mdonkin961]

when u were holding it softly at the joystick part u practically threw it around the room

[MrSaturn33]

Worse than the Atari 5200 controller. Think about it. At least you could hold that thing in your hand. The joystick was non self centering which was a problem for fast paced games that required quick movements like Pac Man and Dig Dug, but it was really not that big of an issue once you got used to it and it had an extreme advantage: You could hold the thing. The movement was smooth and you could use your thumb or hold it with your finger with ease, it didn't rock back and forth like a retard.

[imjustborddude]

man you need to get a 500xj EPXY by Konami so much more responsive

[2040Rumely]

I actually liked this controller alot! I still had Double Dragon for Atari 2600 and I used that controller to own that game! I thought it worked good fro Pole Position II. I actually used the controller so much, that the buttons sometimes didn't work, and the plastic piece on the top of the joystick would slide off during a fierce gaming moment!

[millergamer]

I love your dog

[DanZero77]

Ah yes, the infamous Pain Line joysticks! Having to play 7800 when all the cool kids had the NES and their way better D-pads, I grew accustomed to this controller very well. It worked well on certain games I had (Tower Toppler, Xevious, Choplifter) but it FAILED at others (Pole Position II, Crack'ed, Hat Trick, Xenophobe) Anything requiring a very precise control it never did well at. I'd have my trusty 2600 Slik Stik for all the rest of the games. Still worlds better than the 5200 sticks.

[dwfvidsfloyd]

playing with that controller was a pain/ a real pain after 30 minutes your left hand would be in pain.i was one of thous who got the atari 7800 for christmas.

[parliboy]

Highwaysonyfan: Atari 7800 owner here. Trust me the real thing was not more comfortable for extended play. Frequent breaks required to avoid cramping.

[highwaysonyfan87]

i did the remote control thing he mentioned pretending there were 2 buttons on the side and using a joystick at the same time.

it's more comfortable than an atari 2600 controller. I don't see what Mark is complaining about

[denzal689]

jeez how hard is it to just clench your week finger (pinky), wedding finger (ring) and your fuck you finger (middle) to hold it in place?

[hobocamptheater]

if the button you play with index finger was to the right of the atari logo you could play with the joystick with your thumb and push the buttons like shoulder buttons.

although it would be awkward to use the joystick.

[Mynameismehi]

O gee it's not that bad of a controller. you have to be an idiot to not be able to hold it right. it's not slippery. The joystick is sometimes stiff almost like the n64 controller. i do agree that the sega genesis controller is better for people who grew up more into the 90s. but i think 80s kids would have preferred the arcade style joystick. I LOVE MY ATARI 7800!!!

[exodice]

@BKVisionFreePerView because it sucks?

[T6600C]

I like that controller, actually, and use it on my C64 sometimes... lol

[Drag2hand]

Take off the Atari emblem and then smash it and set it on fire, then get a nice genesis controller. Still, I think the genesis controller is really awkward.

[gameboy3800]

i remember when this guy had like 200 videos out. now, over 1300. nice job man. u get better every time.

[luishomeroremohsiul]

was this a direct competitor for the NES? : /

[VideoGameMaster007]

Atari 7800 was not bad but yeah the got damm joystick was bad.

[lVlagneto]

One more good part, the joystick is METAL!

[ilikepienotu]

Greatest dog evor

[92greenz34]

my genesis controller would not acellerate with pole position 2 so i got stuck using it gota say its awefull but better than 5200

[shadowtsunami]

go sega genesis controller on 7800

[cybersalad]

All of this is redeemed by the fact that they made a game featuring Granpa Munster Al Lewis.

[Pacfan98]

Luckily, you can use a 2600 joystick controller. Thats what I always use on my 7800. :-)

[AlexanderLindell]

Atari cant make a proper controller

[Ollie7475]

@AlexanderLindell, the 2600 controller was good, and the 7800 gamepad controller was great!

[RockRossProductions]

at least it doesn't have a numerical keypad

[deathtsunami]

uncomfortable

[repsak3]

how about you put it on the floor horizontal use the atari plac for a hand rest for the joystick and the other hand on the end with the wire and buttons

[redFUNblanket]

i have an atari 7800 and i actually like the controller it might be something you have to get use to but i love it^-^

[Tiriris]

Actually are both buttons the same and not like a or b buttons. Well i had such a controller. It was nice. This review guy never realy used it . Since he does not play a game with it it's not realy a review...

[ProManUnitedFan]

They should have put the grips on the other side of the buttons. It wouldn`t be as awkward

[vmcvkycb]

This controller was actually released in Europe to as a standard. I don't know if it was changed at some point during prodtuction to the other pad, but there are some PAL consoles going about with this pad

[cryinglion]

I owned a 7800 system back in the day. I can't remember what I did with it. Wish I still had it.  Anyway, though I agree with this review about the controller...I would have to say the controller here is WAY better that the 5200 controller!!

[andoc]

I remember having the same problems mentioned in this review. You knwo, I would like to see one now and check how is it wired inside, maybe there's some way to retool or move it into something more ergonomic.

[ruveid]

how come the atari 5200 controller had a pause button and this one doesn't ? :O

[atari2602]

This controller is an abomination to both God and man!

[dizzyizzy24]

ur holding it wrong,the atari logo is suppose to face you and the cord facing your palm and r left hand on the joystick, but ur right about its awkwardness

[Tryzon]

You should just be able to buy that steel Atari plate without the controller attached. I don't want a bad controller, I just want the Atari plate!

[AtomicFe]

IMHO it is the best joystick never made. I bought my first one to replace one of my coleco controller in 1984. And i still use it today on my PC (thanks to the Stella adapter USB device) ! I used it with all computer i had. This Joystick is purely fantastic and the first serie indestructible!!. (later edition i guess "made china with cost cutting..." are however crap. not solid at all. But the first ones are awesome!!

[maestri09]

it really was a bad controller. you really couldn't hold it in your hand the way they show it in the pictures, because the joystick's movement keeps shifting the controller out of your hand--especially when your hand got all sweaty while playing. The only thing I could do was set the controller on the floor, press it down with my left hand, and then use the joystick with my right hand. Far more stability.

[jasonblake2345]

use your thumb on the joystick

hold the 2 buttond with your thumb and pointer and with your other hand 4 fingers under controler and thumb on top of joystick

[jasonblake2345]

also i really like this controller.

i played planet smashers and its awesome

[jasonblake2345]

my atari flashback controller is smaller, and has a pause button. do you think the controller will work on a 7800. my controller is a 9 pin

[dogeymon83]

I actually like this controller.  Video games were supposed to have a joystick. That was part of their identity.

I played Tower Toppler for a long time with this controller and it was actually no problem whatsoever. I actually like it. It makes the system unique.

[narotu200]

trid it with a wiimote

[TheMetroidMurderer]

You should seriously get a atari flashback 1 "mini 7800" conroller it's smaller and is alot better than the 7800 controller the flashback controller has the same 9 pin connection so it should work.

[adog262]

Tried that, doesn't work. lol

[bewd6797]

atari 7800 controller is like a collecovison with no keypad

[nutherefurlong]

I have that controller and it worked OK. I held it sorta sideways, though, with the stick at like a 45 degree angle to the ground, so I had a better grip on it.

[NeilTheDruid]

Blimey! I tried the bit where you hold the controller and try to press the two buttons with my tv remote - which looks a similar size. My hand doesn't work that way! My index finger is having a small fit.

[youtubasoarus]

As much as that controller sucks. It really has a warm place in my heart for all the days I spent playing games with it. And that Metal plate is cool.

[Bittergamer1886]

Stella says: The 7800 tastes like chicken!

[TheMetroidMurderer]

The atari flashback 1 or mini 7800 controller is alot better probobaly because it's smaller.

[RJTamm93]

I actually like the US 7800 controller :(

[dogeymon83]

Didn't they ever release any kind of flat accessory you could mount the controller onto..... to keep it a little stable? Seems like you could easily build something like that. Even just a flat piece of would with some clamps to hold the controller down.

[dustyatari]

does the sega genisis use 2 buttons while playing atari 7800 or is the atari 7800 joystick or gamepad the only way to use 2 buttons?

[Darkspy945]

get a 6 button sega genises controller

[Tedrix6]

whoa holy shit! 7 thumbs down on my comment?? im not hatin i was just saying

[PlaystationMasterPS3]

@tedrix6: why do you post dumb comments, of corse its gonna be crappy

[lsdbrownies]

lol the dogs like "i dont want a joystick, i want food. you have been starving me for years."

[thlogger]

the atari 5200 and 7800 controllers weren't very good, almost ALL other controllers back then were innovative and were loved by anybody, it was alot more pleasing back then when all the controllers didnt have analog sticks and just standard D-Pads...

[IAMMILITRON]

he plays retro games because they kick most modern games asses, he's referring to the controller being bad

[NightGoblin5]

nah todays games are better

[dougd1015]

Retro games are the best man!

[Nihim]

Without retro games we wouldn't have modern games--also twenty years from now there's going to be people who think you're retarded for liking the xbox or playstation.

[shasha2727]

i think your holding it wrong i think your supposed to have the atari 7800 to your left, lay on your stomach, put it on the ground, put on some shoes you dont need, and stomp it into the ground so noone ever has to see it again

[EdgarKritik]

....you want to smash it, but you can't because it says Atari!

:-)

NICE!!

[MrMynameisalex]

never played one, but it looks like a piese of shit!

[zattle123]

just hold it horizantally when you play with it

[tophenuts]

I remember picking up a 7800 at a yard sale down the street from my house when I was kid. That controller sucked!

...but it was so cool when I discovered my Genesis controller worked with the 7800

[Segadude3000]

I would hate playing SMS with that joystick

[recall87h]

That controller looks like shit!:(I bet if I used it for 30 seconds I would throw it out the window!!!!!>:(

[exodice]

@recall87h i understand the controller is terrible, but that seems a little over violent.......LOL

[armonigann]

Imma have to go against the grain on this one because I don't think they suck that much.....yet.

[OlekDw]

Looks like a nunchuck.

[skaterdean0]

first!!!

[Tryzon]

You should just tear off that awesome Atari plate and chuck the actual controller in the bin. Frame that plate, I say.

[CheatingSoi]

WTF! I just got an Atari 2600 on craigs list and it came with these controllers and I new something was wrong because I knew the 2600's was not supposed to SUCK! Err now I gotta get new controllers.

[Tryzon]

That is absolutely tragic. I feel your pain, comrade :C

[lurkerrekrul]

If you haven't gotten new controllers yet, I recommend that you look for some by Wico. They made the joysticks for many arcade machines and their home controllers are pretty rugged. Definitely much better constructed than most Atari-compatible joysticks.

The Command Cotrol model is the most common and popular. They also made one called The Boss. It worked ok, but only had a single button on the stick and the handle swivelled around the shaft.

[harleykman]

Ehhhh....

fortunately the Atari-style plug was also used for the Commodore, ST, and Amiga computers, so there were literally *thousands* of other joysticks you could have picked.

My favorites were made by Epyx and Gravis.

[zifzi10]

Solution to the problem: Duct tape. Tape it to the ground and there you go. Your support.

[sidorak900]

ha ha good solution

[glitchkings2]

u hate every game controlla and yr dog to but yr dog is the best she is so fuunny

[unknown2594]

watch the gamecube controller review

[RobVideoGameGuy75]

And the Sega Genesis controller review.

[Tryzon]

How can you hate "every game controller"? Don't you like a single one?

[renegadeskinninja]

he he so easy lol

[tombert256]

i never though the 7800 pad was so bad, but I never really used it...I built my own arcade machine with the standard button interface :-P. Maybe under frequent use it sucked

[Trodlgrimm]

Two button joysticks are smart, because not all people are right-handed.

[Herbarius]

Note those are two DIFFERENT buttons, they don't do the same thing. Like the A/B buttons on the NES. Some 7800 games as well as (naturally) all 2600 games only use one of those buttons.

However, opposed to the standard 2600 controller this one is actually equally suitable for both right-handed and left-handed people. Or should I rather say, equally unsuitable ;)

[antonioxeijo]

colecovision

[graydarkblinkyfreak]

it feels like u want to smash the controller t the ground but you cant cuz it says atari! lol

[pastasauce8]

The controller would be better if it didn't look like they joystick will fall off at any second and if the buttons were on the rigid part of the controller behind the joystick.

[AlkaponX57]

i use a genesis controller or a 2600 for the 7800

[narutoramen1112]

me 2 its WAY more easy and WAY more convinient.

[Chopsticksnitemare]

lol giving ur dog a treat to make him nod and just lol

[canadadiabolo]

he said 5200

[rejectofsoul24]

when

[KevinSilentControl]

i'm wondering why they didn't make the joystick smaller.. would be pretty smart if the've done that.

[drinkbudyXD]

i had olmost the same controller on an old console,and god damn it they broke alot of times,cause its hard to use

[wesley12106]

your dog looks just like my dog but like the bottom of her belly is white

[Videogamehistorian00]

I like using it, it's pretty good for the games on the Atari 7800.

[Link4587452]

This controller is nothing compared to the 5200 controller in how bad it is.

[CCowell125]

I tried using several SEGA Mega Drive controller with my 7800, but they all glitch up and act like you're always pressing a button in game, and pressing right never registers, which is pretty annoying.

[AMD889]

i hate how when that made the flash back 1. they made the same crappy controller but now its like 10X smaller!!!

[chris18112]

that dog is cute

[thecollinstyle007]

u should put your dog in the new reviews too!

[CecoBg3]

haha the CGR dog rlz :D

[yoshi88mario]

lololololololololololololololo­lolololololololololololollolol­olollol

[PlaidLaiden]

Okay, I'm sorry to comment again, but there's a mistake of sorts in your description, that I wanted to make you aware of. Atari tested mulitple controller configurations in the test market for this system, and this is the one that the gamers preffered. Notice how excellent it is for games like Donkey Kong, Ms. Pac-Man, Ball Blazer, DigDug, etc....they must not have had the opportunity to play Asteroids or Robotron, as I think I've come close to breaking my writsts using the proline for those!

[ihateschool778]

the joystick looks like a fukin lamp

[lurkerrekrul]

Ahh, the Atari Painline controllers. :)

[jdigitalseven]

I remember the 2600 hand cramps!!! But I still miss my Atari :)

[armonigann]

Haha..Sounds like something Lenno would say.

[lurkerrekrul]

I think I read it in a magazine. It DOES sound like something Leno would say though.

"The Atari ProLine controller? More like the Atari PAIN-Line controller!"

[GTALOVER9]

I Love your Dog xd so Cute

[Snotnarok]

Apparently someone didn't watch this review, I was looking over a classic game store that had a "plug and play" atari 7800 with built in games, and proudly stated

"Go back in time with a retro-style game console that includes 20 classic Atari games and two Atari 7800 inspired joysticks! " and it has a very similar controller. Seriously did no one think of classic game room when they were making this device?

[MajorPirvates]

CANT WAIT TO GET MINE OF EBAY =Y

[DustinSandine]

This vid made me LOL!

"You want to smash it BUT YOU CAN'T Cause it says Atari"

Great Vid Man

[PlaidLaiden]

I really enjoy your videos!

[Landmark356]

It has a similar shape the the Atari 5200 controller but with fewer buttons and no numeric key pad.

[puppetmaster983]

the second controller's buttons look like tylenols

[KotLeopold]

Yeah, explain how. He said hold it SIDEWAYS. I'm not sure how else to take that. Anyone you try to hold it sideways is going to make playing awkward. If he meant 'on its side,' that's a different matter and still awkward!

[KotLeopold]

Anyone have a problem with these getting unresponsive REALLY quickly? I don't mean the button pressing but the joystick movement.

[notyoursavior78]

I think the best way to hold and play with the controller is to hold it sideways, even still though it is akward controller. I generally prefer not to play games with it and use a Sega Genesis controller instead.

[KotLeopold]

Yeah, no. If you turn it on the side it won't change direction, what seems like right would be down or left depending on how you're holding it. If you can manage relearning direction, I guess so, but I doubt you ever tried it.

[NightSprinter]

If you hold it upside down, it DOES feel like you're holding a Phaser from Star Trek.

[SONICmf]

"It makes you just wanna smash this thing into the ground but you can´t, cause it says Atari"

LOL!

[rolofgild]

nice doggy

[Link4587452]

Atari 2600 controller ftw!

[meh138]

what? the 2600 control is pretty bad.

[Link4587452]

Better than this.

[Link4587452]

You hold the Wiimote like a remote.

[Benjoreally]

But it doesnt have a joystick.

[luarionte]

He should try the Atari 5200 Rollerball controler thats actually bigger than a game console!!!

[MetalGearNaked]

Yeah it's bigger than the NES!!

[xproximusx]

whats worse the 5200 controller or 7800 controller

[TenguGuy]

5200, it doesn't even work.

[coolninjatv]

lol thats right XD

[imperiallion]

i love your reviews and i love you awesome dog too. man keep it up im in aw with your large content hats off to u.

[gamingupyournose]

You apparently haven't seen the 5200 controller.

[kittendeathsquad]

that controller was horrendus! also its so fragile! i brok mine after a week.

[RCW85]

I owned a 7800 at one time. I plan on buying a 2600 in the near future.

[TrashTalkingGamer]

man i love how you put ur dog at the end of ur vids. 5/5

[thanksj]

Weird, I never had a problem with it.