Can someone tell me why there are no cheap joysticks for the PC?

[ElPolloDiabl]

...Like the kind that are good for arcade games.

Gravis are the the only ones that qualify everything else is - gazillion dollar flightsticks.

A tough joystick lets you get agro :hammer: while your playing.

[CaptChaos]

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.27821

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.30476

Read the reviews, second one seems crap.

[giZmo350]

There used to be about ten years ago. Dozens of them. But, THEY DIDN"T WORK! Because they are analog. People simply stopped buying them. Joystick type games stopped being created for the PC (except for maybe flight sims). The PC gaming industry had to think of something to get a share of the market back and sell joysticks. Hence, the magnificent, 300 button, 36 way, 360x16, multi-gesture, totally orgasmic.... PC  FLIGHTSTICK! Ta-Da!

The biggest reason I own an Amiga is just so that I can play a game with a cheapa$$ digital joystick that works! I have never tried a USB PC joystick so don't how well they work.

I remember looking for a USB joystick to use on my Mac-Mini to play Amiga games under emu - NO WAY! Coudn't find any thing other than the Orgasmabat 3000 for around $80. I also bought some vibrating USB joypad off ecrap - that's in the dump. I feel your pain brother!

[CaptChaos]

You could always get digital gamepads for PCs, but yeah digital joysticks werent common.

[lsmart]

How cheap did you expect? I am happy with these:
Competition Pro Retro

[runequester]

I hear mixed things about the USB joysticks, but the comp pro is a tempting purchase

[CaptChaos]

Isnt the USB comp pro the one with the terrible delay?

I've heard its unusable for fast action games.

[57goldtop]

...Like the kind that are good for arcade games.

Gravis are the the only ones that qualify everything else is - gazillion dollar flightsticks.

A tough joystick lets you get agro :hammer: while your playing.

Madcatz make a really good quality 6 button Street Fighter style joystick with authentic Japanese Sanwa parts.  

http://gizmodo.com/5161299/mad-catz-street-fighter-iv-fightsticks-review

The TE version is my favorite.

I am using mine for MAME.

[KThunder]

I used to use a gravis gamepad pro, which was a lot like a playstation 1 controller that connects to the gameport. It worked perfectly.

then for quite a while I used a rewired Xbox original controller. There are instructions and drivers online. That is really cheap and works really well.

Lately though I'm using a Logitech Wingman Cordless. This thing works great.

I usually just use the keyboard for games that work best with a joystick. Esp. the "up for jump" type games. the cursor keys work great for that, or wasd.

[Ral-Clan]

I bought an old USB Logitech Wingman from the thrift store, opened it up and soldered a normal 9-pin sub-D connector to the direction contacts and a fire button pad.

Now I can use it as an "interface" to connect any old Amiga/Atari/Commodore digital joystick to my PC.  I use my Wico bat joystick to play games on WinUAE and in VICE.

You can buy something similar already made called the Stelladaptor.

http://www.stelladaptor.com/

My method only cost about $6 for the gamepad and the connector, though.

[jj]

Supply and Demand.  Most people use joypads these days.  Given how good the 360 controller is and given you can just connect the wired ones to a pc and download the drivers from microsoft or buy a wirelss reciever for the wirelss controllers, then you already have access to the best gaming pad money can buy.
 
Most New PC games support xbox controllers out of the box now.

[Gary McCulloch]

...Like the kind that are good for arcade games.

Gravis are the the only ones that qualify everything else is - gazillion dollar flightsticks.

A tough joystick lets you get agro :hammer: while your playing.

To bad you didn't live closer, I would give you my Gravis I got out in the shed.  It has to be used in the game port that came on the older graphics cards.

BTW, how would you work around that in today's PCs?

[whabang]

I had a TAC-2 modded to run on the midi port of my PC back in the days when Windows still supported my soundblaster.

It worked like a charm, and was perfect for WinUAE.

[redrumloa]

How cheap did you expect? I am happy with these:
Competition Pro Retro

The USB version is completely unusable garbage.

[Ilwrath]

Lately though I'm using a Logitech Wingman Cordless. This thing works great.

+1 -- The Logitech Wingman series are great PC pads, and entry level corded USB ones can be found fairly cheap.

(eta- I think Logitech dropped the Wingman name, and just sell them as GamePad and RumblePad controllers, now.)

As for cordless, I use XBox 360 controllers, now, and while it's a little on the pricey side to pick up the PC base as it only comes packed with an extra controller, they work great, too.