The worst peripheral(s) you have gotten for your system

[ZeetherKID77]

I haven't really gotten any shoddy accessories for my game systems, but if you hated or still hate accessories for any system, post those rants and raves here.:P

[omnedon]

http://www.thosewerethedays.de/items/joysticks/sega_master/sega_control_stick.jpg

It made my game play instantly 50% harder. Was sure glad I paid for that. :(

[jajaja]

I havnt gotten that much accessories for my consoles, but if I have to choose I guess I have to say Zinger joystick for NES. I dont like this joystick. Maybe I only tried it for the wrong games tho hehe.

[scooterb23]

U-Force, hands down...or off...or whatever it was supposed to be.

[Jed]

I 100% agree with the U-Force... Power Glove ranks up there too.

[stuffedmonkey]

Oh man, there were a ton of crappy NES and SNES accessories... The power glove, the Uforce, as already mentioned. Dont forget Rob the robot. Yeah he looked cool - but how many little kids were heartbroken to find out he was totally 100% fucking useless? The NES max controller was pretty horrible as well.

On the SNES side - I really felt like the Super Scope 6 stole cash directly out of my little hands. There were like 2 games made for it... I think that was the last gimmick prepiheral I ever bought.

[DDCecil]

The Turbo Touch 360 (NES/SNES/Genesis - It's too bad. The commercial made the controller look awesome...) and anything/everything made by MadCatz.

Actually, the NES Max works great on Fester's Quest, and my brother won't play it without it.

[Bluteg]

Power Gloves and NES Max controllers that obvious...

How about those batarang shaped PSX controllers... Baraccuda thats the name I think... the ones that remarkably look like the new PS3 controllers.

[sharp]

The horrible football (or soccer for americans) controllers which were released here in Europe. It reactions on motions which makes the game unplayable and the player looks like a clown.

[heyricochet]

http://www.thosewerethedays.de/items/joysticks/sega_master/sega_control_stick.jpg

It made my game play instantly 50% harder. Was sure glad I paid for that. :(

Aww, I love this joystick. I use it all the time to play shooters on sms. Hmm.. I have tons of accessories, but I still have to go for the obvious u-force and power glove for nes. They really just don't work. That and the gamecube mic since I'ved barely ever used it even though I've played mp6 a lot. Its just really useless.

[omnedon]

That stick moves the D-Pad to the right. The D-Pad is on the left on the pads. Are you left handed by chance? LOL

[Muscelli]

I once bought this haggard ass sega saturn controller with crusty buttons and one of those "Auto" features... man that thing was a piece of trash

[shoes23]

I bought a Mad Catz steering wheel for the PS2/X-Box. The damn thing is completly unplayable unless you mount it to something. Try to turn the wheel and the entire controller attempts to flip over in your lap. It has suction cups on the base, so I tried the easy fix and suctioned it to a TV tray, tried turning the wheel again and just ended up flipping the entire tray over. They should have loosened the steering up A LOT.

It is also designed to right itself after turning too, so in control sensitive racers (i.e. Gran Turismo 4) you find yourself never being able to quickly straighten as the wheel bounces from left to right back to left again back to right again and you race like Nick Nolte after two quarts. Arcade style racers (i.e. Midnight Club/Burnout 3) are a little more forgiving with it, but still don't offer the same sense of control.

If you feel the need to get a racing wheel save a little more money and spring for something of better quality.

[CrimsonNugget]

http://www.thosewerethedays.de/items/joysticks/sega_master/sega_control_stick.jpg

It made my game play instantly 50% harder. Was sure glad I paid for that. :(
This and some third-party pad for my Saturn. The pad wasn't really responsive at all. And yeah, the SMS joystick is impossible to play with IMO.

[Push Upstairs]

That shitty PS2/XBOX controller that looks like a steering wheel but without a base.

Total crap. Made trying to drive that much harder.

[Cryomancer]

Gamecube mic is pretty useless so far.

[PDorr3]

I still hate myself for spending like $20 for an xbox memory card...I stuidly had no clue that you saved the games to the hard drive in the system...I never used the card once.

[GarrettCRW]

That stick moves the D-Pad to the right. The D-Pad is on the left on the pads. Are you left handed by chance? LOL

I'm a lefty and I can confirm that that thing sucks like Monica Lewinsky. :evil:

[cr0n0]

power glove. Awesome idea for its time, but the technology was not there yet. I used it as a superhero type glove when my friends and I use to play superheroes.

[jdc]

I've never gotten any shitty peripherals because I learned a long time ago that, with the exception of a few items, nearly all 3rd party stuff is garbage. The money that you save over buying 1st party isn't worth the lack of quality. 1st party always works and the calibration is spot on, so why buy 3rd party if you don't have to?

[Elusive]

http://www.thosewerethedays.de/items/joysticks/sega_master/sega_control_stick.jpg

It made my game play instantly 50% harder. Was sure glad I paid for that. :(

Really? I've tried one a few times, it makes games with a lot of movement (Space Harrier, After Burner, Streets of Rage, TransBot and so on) a LOT easier than using the standard SMS joypad.

Clear third-party controllers, for any system. You know, the kind that break when you pick them up, breathe on them or even have the nerve to be in the same room as them. Ugh. So plasticky, so tacky, so achy breaky, yuck.

[Sinistral]

Some of the third party Ps1 controllers are really bad - I have one called a "wild things cyber pad" and its easily the worst control pad in existence - its like they set out to make the most uncomfortable pad to hold ever.

I understand many people don't like the Sega Master System control stick - but if you play with it for a while it does actually get easier to use.

[ClassicGameTrader]

This is why I love this board!!! That the NES MAX was the first thing I thought of too!!!

http://i5.ebayimg.com/03/i/04/a2/eb/db_1_b.JPG

Nintendo, you should be ashamed of yourself!!!

[qbertandernie]

roll n rocker?

ive never used mine for fear of breaking it, but a floor mounted "D" pad you ride like Aladdin rides jewels? seems like itd be ass-hard to use..

[namzep]

Super Scope 6. Damn thing drained batteries like nothing else I've ever seen. Also, have to agree on the Power Glove. Most imprecise control I've ever seen. Also, any wireless controllers that were made more than five years ago. I remember those stupid IR remotes that the NES had that had to have direct line of sight and might not even work then.

[Necron99]

This is why I love this board!!! That the NES MAX was the first thing I thought of too!!!

http://i5.ebayimg.com/03/i/04/a2/eb/db_1_b.JPG

Nintendo, you should be ashamed of yourself!!!

personally I like the NES Max controllers..but only for certain games since the D-pad is more sensitive. but It's definately not a controller for all games.

I'd have to say that the worst i own is the Epyx Controller for NES....it's kinda like an atari controller but you need to use your right hand to contol the joystick(your left hand goes under the controller and around to reach the buttons)
http://ste.homelinux.com/~cuddlecub/epyx500xj.jpg

second would be the SMS lefty joystick as pictured earlier. while the idea at the time was good, it's not something most people can just pick up and play.

again, the power glove is crap, the U-force sounds like crap too but i'd still like to see one.

another worst is the Aura Interactor....it's nothing more than a sub woofer that straps onto you back and weights a ton. an awesome idea but not at all usefull
http://ste.homelinux.com/~cuddlecub/interactor_kit.jpg

[scooterb23]

Just wanted to put my 2 cents in on the SMS joystick omnedon showed.

I love that thing.

I am a right handed player, but dammit...being that I am more skilled with said right hand, I want to use that hand to control my character. Button mashing takes no real motor skills...so I can do that with me left hand just fine.

I wish there were more reversed sticks out there honestly.

[Zap!]

The NES max controller was pretty horrible as well.

The Max was awesome! It was my favorite controller, and was great for games where rapid fire was needed, such as Track N' Field.

[sleepycal]

I'd have to say that the worst i own is the Epyx Controller for NES....it's kinda like an atari controller but you need to use your right hand to contol the joystick(your left hand goes under the controller and around to reach the buttons)
http://ste.homelinux.com/~cuddlecub/epyx500xj.jpg


Interesting the variety of opinions we get here...
1st the Sega joystick, then the NES Max, and now the Epyx 500XJ.

I can't say how it is for the NES. I haven't used either of mine yet. However on the Commodore 64 and Amiga, it was the absolute best. Its weakness was durability. Sometimes the plastic mounts inside would crack and the joystick became less responsive. I probably broke 3 or 4 of them. Maybe I was just harder on controllers back then. It was also excellent for the SMS. I don't remember using the control pads to play many games on that system.

I now own 2 NES models, 3 or 4 Atari/Commodore models and 2 or 3 SMS models. I pick them up wherever I see them, cause I never know if I might one day break another.

Worst accessory? The xbox mem card someone mentioned would certainly be the most useless. The plastic dance pads for the playstation are probably the most frustrating as you find that they start moving around the floor with you.

[Zap!]

This is why I love this board!!! That the NES MAX was the first thing I thought of too!!!

http://i5.ebayimg.com/03/i/04/a2/eb/db_1_b.JPG

Nintendo, you should be ashamed of yourself!!!

Wow, a lot of Max haters. Doesn't being the first controller with wings account for anything? It was revolutionart, and I totally love the thumb pad and rapid fire.

[Famidrive-16]

Gamecube mic is pretty useless so far.

I kinda wish Nintendo wouldn't make one-use peripherals like that. Just ends me up with an accesory I'll never use again, unless I get an absolute urge to play [*Game* !!!] again.

[Slimedog]

roll n rocker?

ive never used mine for fear of breaking it, but a floor mounted "D" pad you ride like Aladdin rides jewels? seems like itd be ass-hard to use..

Perfect. I've got one too and it just seems like a lawsuit waiting to happen.

[Slate]

another worst is the Aura Interactor....it's nothing more than a sub woofer that straps onto you back and weights a ton. an awesome idea but not at all usefull.

http://ste.homelinux.com/~cuddlecub/interactor_kit.jpg

Oh boy. I Forgot about that. I bought a Mostly boxed one at a yard sale (Part of the box is gone) and did it ever give me an aching back! I would have rather bought the R.O.B That i was a minute late for... Even though it was just the unit..

[davepesc]

http://www.thosewerethedays.de/items/joysticks/sega_master/sega_control_stick.jpg

It made my game play instantly 50% harder. Was sure glad I paid for that. :(

I loved the control stick AND I'm right-handed.

But, the SMS track ball, I owned that and Sports Pad Football for an hour before I asked my mom to take me back to the store for something else.

[MarHel78]

I never had most of the old accessories mentioned here, so I'd have to go with something more recent: The GameTrak Unit for PS2. There are 2 games that make use of it: Darkwind, which is a 2.5D fighter, which involves boxing, turning around (by pressing a little mat with your foot) and dodging blows, and is as unresponsive as a truck on black-ice, and Real Sports Golf or what it's called, which I didn't play yet.

http://www.motherdigital.info/images/page_images/gametrak3.jpg
http://shop.gameplay.co.uk/images/products/PT1576_1_sm.jpg http://shop.gameplay.co.uk/images/products/PT1576_2_sm.jpg

The Gametrak is published by Atari in Germany, and was awarded "most innovative product 2004" at the Games Convention, but sales didn't do this honor any justice. The price tag for this still is €99.99, but if you're lucky, you can find one for around half the price.

[rbudrick]

The NES max controller was pretty horrible as well

Either you love the Max or you hate it. I loved it. I thought the D-Pad was an extremely innovative idea that allowed for 360 degree (street fighter-ish) movement. And if you didn't wantr to use the red swivel thingy in the middle, you could just use the black pad around the outer edges. Unfortunately, no games really took advantage of the 360 red thingy ala Street Fighter.

I used that pad for everything, and it did nothing but help my game. I just never could fathom why people dissed it so much.

-Rob

[weredog]

I don't even remember the name of the stupid thing, but it was a control pad for the NES.The directional control wasn't a button or joystick, rather it was a flat circular piece of plastic with the crosskey imprinted on it.In theory you were supposed to rub your thumb against the pad rather than press down.This was supposed to make the games easier to control and help reduce "Nintendo Thumb".
In reality the controller operated in one of two ways.Either it would be too sensitive and send you speeding into the nearest enemy or bottomless pit or more often than not it would decide to be contrary.In this case it wouldn't respond at all, leaving your character standing in the middle of a monster infested area helplessly awaiting the inevitable death blow.

[Slimedog]

The NES max controller was pretty horrible as well

Either you love the Max or you hate it. I loved it. I thought the D-Pad was an extremely innovative idea that allowed for 360 degree (street fighter-ish) movement. And if you didn't wantr to use the red swivel thingy in the middle, you could just use the black pad around the outer edges. Unfortunately, no games really took advantage of the 360 red thingy ala Street Fighter.

I used that pad for everything, and it did nothing but help my game. I just never could fathom why people dissed it so much.

-Rob

I loved it, then hated it. I got it and thought it was the best thing ever. I used nothing but the Max for about a year. Then I was having some trouble with a platformer where I kept un-ducking at inopertune times. I eventually tried the old controller and beat it easily. Just out of curiousity, I went back and used the original controller to blow through about a half dozen other games that I had written off as "too hard" when I was using the Max. I was really pissed at the time and decided that the Max was the worst controller ever.

In retrospect, it was probably better than the regular at games with a lot of diagonal movement, like Ice Hockey. But there was also a bit of learning curve when using it.

Also, the Epyx 500XJ rocked my C64 like a hurricane.

[heyricochet]

That stick moves the D-Pad to the right. The D-Pad is on the left on the pads. Are you left handed by chance? LOL

Nope, actually I'm a righty :) I just like it for some reason.