Neo Geo pocket: A joystick never beaten

So, this will probably be a very short 'One for the road' but its an important one. Its not often people actually discuss what was the best joystick or thumb stick or joypad but maybe this little article will get people talking.

Your probably wondering 'why would anyone care', well, people do care, they just dont realise it. Whilst your sitting there playing on your 360, PS3 or even your SNES or NES you are using the one accessory that will probably determine how much you enjoy a particular game. Use a bad joystick and that game can quickly become the bain of your life. Use a good joystick and that game can become the best gaming experience of your life.

The Neo Geo Color thumb stick (pictured above left) in my humble opinion is perhaps the finest example of any joystick/thumbstick around, even in todays hi-tech world. The ease at which the stick moves enables you to perform moves that you could only dream of on any other device. It makes game play sublime and I have never sat there and thought "My god, if only I had a better stick". Which is exactly what the next Joystick did....

The Atari 7600 joystick (pictured right), if ever there was a joystick to throw out of your window, this is one of them. Try and play on this and you will quickly find that frustration rules the day. But perhaps there is one stick that can save the day for the Atari. That honour might just about go to the next contender...

This little blob to our left is actually the PSP thumbstick...and what a terribly horrible piece of rubbish this is. Some people do like it, or at the very least 'put up' with it. Its a mystery why because quite simply it has to be the most ill conceived stick ever manufactured. Play on this at your peril. This is not to say the PSP is bad...well...actually...lets say thats another 'one for the road'.

So if thats the worst of the worst, are there any sticks that can compare to the Neo Geo Color?

Well perhaps a couple come close.

The Cheetah joystick (left) was a wonderful stick back in the late 80's to early 90's. I personally played Sensible World of Soccer with this and it withstood a lot of hardship. One of the key things to achieve on SWOS was the 'curl'. To be able to magically curl that ball around the keeper from 40 yards was key to becoming awesome as opposed to just good. Many sticks were poor to good at this task but the Cheetah was one of the few that pulled it off to a high standard.

But what of today's market? I actually can't comment on the PS3 as I regret I have not yet had a chance to use it controllers, but it cant be that different from the PS2 controller. As for the 360 I have to say its very good and crosses the divide of hardcore gaming to its XBLA games very well indeed. Although a dedicated arcade stick would not go amiss.

What of Nintendo though.....

As you can see...over the years they have kept to a formula that has worked. No stick in sight. Although this applies to most of its consoles and hand-helds over the years, there are the odd exceptions from the N64 to the current Wii. Now thats more than a stick! Regardless how unique and individual it is, I doubt very much it will go down as one of the best sticks ever conceived. I have money on that Nintendo will not do a 'Wii 2' and we wont see the Wii sticks again, its rare for Nintendo to do the same thing twice...or at the very least, if they do a Wii 2 then it will be very different from the current one. Having said that....there is probably a good reason why I am not a betting man.

So stick or pad? Well both have their place, if its stick go for the Neo Geo Color, if its a pad....there is only one Nintendo.