View Full Version : SMS controller with a atari 7800
geezuzkhrist119
10-10-2009, 01:23 PM
i was just looking on chasethechuckwagon and saw that someone is selling a modded sms controller that works on a 7800.
http://www.chasethechuckwagon.com/item.cgi?show_item=0000206124
doesnt the sms and the 7800 have the same controller ports? if so i would think it would work without any mod done
I think I remember doing that as a kid and it always worked fine. Hell, I remember hooking up the controllers we had for the C64 and used them on our Atari. We used to always plug a controller into whatever it could fit into to see if it would work and I remember always getting positive results.
Steve W
10-10-2009, 05:46 PM
Well, after the Atari hit it big along with the Atari computers, the 9-pin plugs on joysticks sort of became an 'unofficial' standard in the video game and computer industry for a good while. You can swap most 9-pin controllers between different machines and they'll all control directions, if not always multiple fire buttons. The one exception off the top of my head are the hand controllers for the Intellivision II and the TI Home Computer's twin joysticks. Commodore's machines had 9-pin ports, and of course all the Atari computers and most game consoles had them, and the Sega systems had them until the Saturn. That's the primary reason Atari sued Sega in the '90s, because Atari had the copyright (or was it a patent?) on that type of joystick port and configuration/compatibility, and Sega never licensed it for use in the SMS and Genesis.
MissingNo_1231
10-10-2009, 06:14 PM
all I know is that I usually play my 7800 with a Genesis controller. I like it a whole lot better personally.
thunderkid
10-10-2009, 06:55 PM
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that the Sega controllers when plugged into a 7800 will only have 1 fire button. The controller needs to be modified to enable the 2nd fire button.
Mitch
10-11-2009, 12:07 AM
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that the Sega controllers when plugged into a 7800 will only have 1 fire button. The controller needs to be modified to enable the 2nd fire button.
You are correct.
Mitch
T2KFreeker
10-11-2009, 01:46 PM
You are correct.
Mitch
Yes, that is what I was about to say. Modification is needed to have two buttons. Even when using the Genesis pad with your 7800, you only have one fire button.
geezuzkhrist119
10-11-2009, 10:06 PM
would modding a sms controller to work on a 7800 be hard?
if its easy i might want to do that
ShinobiMan
03-31-2010, 04:04 PM
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that the Sega controllers when plugged into a 7800 will only have 1 fire button. The controller needs to be modified to enable the 2nd fire button.
You are correct.
Mitch
This is actually good to know. When I was a kid I used my SMS controller on my 7800 with no problems, but I suppose the games I played never utilized the system's second button.
Anyone else hate the joystick that came with the 7800? Man I wish I could get my hands on one of these: http://www.atariage.com/controller_page.html?SystemID=7800&ControllerID=24
http://www.atariage.com//7800/controllers/con_Atari7800Joypad.jpg
Rickstilwell1
03-31-2010, 07:14 PM
This is actually good to know. When I was a kid I used my SMS controller on my 7800 with no problems, but I suppose the games I played never utilized the system's second button.
Anyone else hate the joystick that came with the 7800? Man I wish I could get my hands on one of these: http://www.atariage.com/controller_page.html?SystemID=7800&ControllerID=24
http://www.atariage.com//7800/controllers/con_Atari7800Joypad.jpg
I've got one of them but the thumbstick was unscrewed from it and I didn't get it with my controller. It was still a nice buy on ebay. The US joysticks are harder to get used to. I tend to hold them at an angle while I play and it gives me a better time than if I hold it facing straight up. Also I use my firmly pressed thumb to move the stick around rather than my fingers.
OldSchoolGamer
08-28-2017, 11:20 PM
Indeed my controller of choice is a modded NES controller. It does recognize the 2nd button in 7800 games that take advantage of that.
jb143
08-29-2017, 01:21 AM
Heh, not 2 hours ago I pulled a 7800 controller out of a box of random gaming stuff, played around with it for a couple of seconds, thought "what were the designers thinking", and put it back in the box.
Dire 51
08-30-2017, 12:19 PM
I haven't even bothered with the 7800 Pro-Line (or "Pain-Line," as they were once accurately described) joysticks since I got this (http://edladdin.com/Seagull-78-Controller-Adapter-ec-2-001.htm). Fantastic little device.
would modding a sms controller to work on a 7800 be hard?
if its easy i might want to do that
Modding is not necessary for playing 7800 games with a Sega Master System pad or "Control Stick." You need an Edladdin Seagull 78 and a Master System Rapid Fire adapter. I talk about this at the 20 min 19 seconds point in my Wired-Up Retro presentation here: https://youtu.be/SXN4silDFiQ