PC Pinball Controllers Get Retro
We posted about pinball a few days back, and in the process spotted something that's up for auction on eBay even as we speak - the Thrustmaster Wizzard Pinball Controller for the PC (albeit Windows 3.X/Windows 95, apparently).
Not sure if it's Windows XP-compatible, but an older review at pinball site LastBandit notes: " It's still not like the real thing (maybe try standing up at your desk and leaning yourself into the keyboard ends, drink and ashtray nearby) but it adds to the feel of playing pinball on a computer... I am disappointed in the lack of support this controller has received from pinball game manufacturers." So it'll probably only work for about 3 late-'90s games unless it has easily configurable drivers, doh - anyone got one and can tell us?
But wait - it gets better! Not only was there a Thrustmaster pinball controller, but there's also the Philips Virtual Pinball controller for PC, "a pinball controller which you place on your desk and then stand right-up in front of, you can then nudge, slam or tap the flipper buttons." Bulky and bizarre looking, and even sporting built-in tilt sensors, RetroBlast points out one recently for sale on eBay.
Comments
I bought these back when I was in college, circa '95-'96. The idea was great, and Thrustmaster put out some good products at the time, but they kinda sucked. This is in the days before USB was as common as it is now (was it even created then? probably not), thus, it still used the joystick port for input. This meant that most pinball games on the PC wouldn't even recognize it.
The idea of smacking the round part of the controller to "tilt" the machine was very inovative, but I returned them before the end of the week, since they didn't work with most of the games I owned.
Posted by: Shawn Wheatley | January 30, 2006 7:18 AM