Joysticks: An Illustrated History of Game Controllers

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very well-founded text, very informative technical section — Golem.de

The joystick is the interface between people and screen action, between reality and fantasy. Millions of gamer hands have been turning and pressing it for 30 years. Joysticks, the second work from Gameplan, is the book about the most beautiful accessories in the world, an encyclopedia and illustrated history of input devices.

From the classic Atari stick to the handy pads from Sega and Nintendo to the optical precision devices of today's first-person shooters, Joysticks plays with the best, but also the most notorious, controllers.

Joysticks provoke emotions: controllers are thrown out the window after the eleventh game over and the button has to be held up as a final apology: "It's not my fault - my pad is stuck" are the last words of the multiplayer loser. Scapegoat, accomplice and lifesaver: pad and stick are the only accessories that every player picks up - that connects them.

Reading samples: here

Joysticks: An Illustrated History of Game Controllers 1972 - 2004
First edition: Thread-bound, 144 pages completely in color. With detailed appendices and equipment list.
ISBN: 3-00-012183-8