Atari to Release an Official Atari Arcade Joystick for iPad

MacRumors · Sep 5, 2011

Atari has recently updated their Atari's Greatest Hits iOS app to include support for an upcoming "Atari Arcade -- Duo Powered" joystick. The description links to this image and desciption:

Relive the fast-action excitement of all your arcade favorites, like Asteroids, Centipede, and Missile Command.

Simply connect your iPad to Atari's Greatest Hits app for Duo, and you're ready to share the fun with family and friends anywhere!

The device appears to be very similar to well received iCade from ThinkGeek.

Technabob speculates that this new iPad-compatible joystick's simpler design may be cheaper than the iCade which is priced at $99. The iCade carries a mini arcade cabinet design while the Atari Arcade Joystick offers a more open layout.

The design appears to support both landscape and portrait orientations. No details are provided, but it's likely the device also uses Bluetooth rather than going straight into the dock connector. This is how the iCade works as well, by emulating a Bluetooth keyboard. This system also makes it easier for 3rd party developers to build in support for the accessories.

Atari's Greatest Hits offers 100 classic Atari games for the iPad and iPhone. It was the first app to provide support for the iCade with several others following. No word on when Atari's joystick will be available, just "soon".

Update: DVICE reports that the ATARI Joystick uses the dock connector (not bluetooth) and will be available for $60 on October 2nd. at Target.

Article Link: Atari to Release an Official Atari Arcade Joystick for iPad

dhrlove · Sep 5, 2011

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I know what I'm getting for Christmas.

striker33 · Sep 5, 2011

These will only ever take off if Apple releases its own controller and makes it a standard for all new iOS games.

appleimac27 · Sep 5, 2011

The iCade looks a lot better. Also, "severak others?"

androiphone · Sep 5, 2011

iWant so badly

I would actually buy an iPad for this - as it would look way better than using my iPhone.

macnisse · Sep 5, 2011

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Cool!

OriginalMacRat · Sep 5, 2011

Needs a Trackball

Games like Centipede and Missile Command need a trackball.

0098386 · Sep 5, 2011

I'm not sure if anyone else uses arcade sticks here (my temporary+current setup

http://yfrog.com/z/mgn29mj), but they get bashed around a lot. I wouldn't want any £500+ device stood upright in a holster on such a controller!

RodThePlod · Sep 5, 2011

dhrlove said:
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I know what I'm getting for Christmas.

Hahaha - me too! My kids have duly been told: "This is what daddy wants for Christmas"

Atari will sell skip loads of these if they price it right - $69 or something similar...

mutantteenager · Sep 5, 2011

Umm it's a touch screen device, with a physical joystick add on....

Hairball · Sep 5, 2011

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Too bad the games suck. This controller would be cool for good games.

lilcosco08 · Sep 5, 2011

mutantteenager said:
Umm it's a touch screen device, with a physical joystick add on....

Exactly. Tactile feedback+ precise control. Touch input just doesn't cut it for these types of games (See street fighter)

----------

Hairball said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_5 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Mobile/8L1)

Too bad the games suck. This controller would be cool for good games.

Without these games that "suck", we wouldn't have the "cool" games

shartypants · Sep 5, 2011

nagromme · Sep 5, 2011

Looks smaller and simpler than the iCade, which I like. If its cheaper, and/or if powered means powered (so it can charge the iPad) then Im likely to buy!

thelonelylimo · Sep 5, 2011

I'll own one.

the8thark · Sep 5, 2011

Nintendo should really be worried about stuff about this.
It's really going to take market share from the DS and similar things.

APlotdevice · Sep 5, 2011

OriginalMacRat said:
Games like Centipede and Missile Command need a trackball.

Unfortunately a trackball would be pretty hard to implement with the current workaround. (ie. behaving as BT keyboard)

the8thark said:
Nintendo should really be worried about stuff about this.
It's really going to take market share from the DS and similar things.

This thing, which you couldn't even call a "handheld" by any stretch of the imagination, is way to niche to take any significant market share from the DS. Or even its fledgling successor, the 3DS.

A gamepad attachment for the iPhone and iPod touch would be a more plausible threat. Though only if it was an official Apple product. Otherwise it just won't get enough support to really matter.

Drunken Master · Sep 5, 2011

Hairball said:
Too bad the games suck. This controller would be cool for good games.

Woah, revionist history much?

Since when did Asteroids, Missile Command, Space Invaders, Pong and the like "suck"?

3NV7 · Sep 5, 2011

OriginalMacRat said:
Games like Centipede and Missile Command need a trackball.

Indeed. Almost none of the arcade games included in the Atari collection originally used an actual joystick. They were all spinners/trackballs/buttons. The 2600 games are another story, obviously.

DeepIn2U · Sep 5, 2011

And I was hoping for something a little more compact like a Bluetooth Joystick

Zeemote JS1

Although this puppy worked with S60 Nokia phones something more advanced with better design and ergonomics would be better no? Yes I love the arcade style.

1239689 · Sep 5, 2011

1239689 · Sep 5, 2011

erijkgabriel · Sep 5, 2011

Duo Powered

What does Duo Powered mean. Couldn't really find anything on that. Is it a company, technique?

NightFox · Sep 6, 2011

the8thark said:
Nintendo should really be worried about stuff about this.
It's really going to take market share from the DS and similar things.

The iPhone/iPod has already taken its cut out of Nintendo's DS market. I don't see that a joystick base is going to make any difference - I'd imagine that the thing thats protecting the DS right now is its low price compared to the others, and it's a real on-the-go device combined with tactile, push-button control. This Atari option. I can't see many people taking this joystick thing around with them or playing it on the train like you can with a DS.

Yes, the glory days of the DS are behind it, but I don't see anything like this making a difference.

0098386 · Sep 6, 2011

^ Also the games. Don't forget that. Pokemon shifts 50 million games a generation, and god knows how many Mario shifts in all the games he has now.
I find a lot of iOS gamers don't realise that gaming platforms are about the games. It's how the Gameboy and DS did better than the Gamegear and PSP despite Nintendo releasing weaker, cheaper consoles.

Drunken Master said:
Woah, revionist history much?

Since when did Asteroids, Missile Command, Space Invaders, Pong and the like "suck"?

It's not revisionist - it's a different gaming era. A lot of the games I loved as a kid are now almost unplayable through choppy framerates, ancient/dull gameplay. I had my fun with those years ago but everything has moved on.

Atari to Release an Official Atari Arcade Joystick for iPad

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