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Question about C64 joysticks

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Ken Vaughn

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Jan 16, 2010
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Colorado, USA
My recently acquired C64 came with lots of games -- almost all require a joystick to play. My C64 came with game paddles, but no joystick. I have some IBM PC joysticks, but of course these plug into a 15 pin PC game port.

What are my options?

Should I look for a used Commodore joystick?
Are there any currently manufactured joysticks which will work?
 
The C64 uses the same pinout as the Atari 2600 joysticks (actually, a lot of computers and consoles are compatible with the 2600 joysticks). That should work fine for you.
 
Real Atari compatible joysticks are plentiful, as NeXT suggests. Aim for some of the more reliable models, like Suncom Tac-2, Wico Red Ball etc (most Wico's actually), Competition Pro etc. The company Quickjoy (once Spectravideo Quickshot, later its own brand) made a long row of joysticks, some good but many quite fragile. The key here is that you don't need a particular Commodore compatible joystick, although many sellers will point out they are because the Commodore computers were so popular.

Beware though that there were a few oddballs with different pinout. The Sega Genesis/Megadrive is almost compatible, but has some lines swapped which might do damage on a C64. The TI-99 uses a DB9 connector but completely different pinout if I recall correctly. Some other early video game consoles too, but those should be so rare to find that it is highly likely you will stumble across them unless you find some odd looking joystick at a flea market.
 
Right on, Atari compatible is what you can use, or Commodore. I don't own any, but I hear Commodore brand joysticks aren't that great. But any Atari one will work.

Also when you go to play a game, use port 2, that was default Player 1 for the C64 for some reason.
 
I built a c64 gamepad type thing a while back but I ended up doing it from new parts, that cost somewhere around $25-30 I think (the biggest expense was the stupid plastic enclosure). It'd be cheaper to hack a cheap joystick or even buy the Atari most likely. (Just so ya know).
 
Ken, thankfully, this is one area that should be pretty easy to resolve. As alluded to/mentioned, the DB9 port the 64 uses is compatible with basically anything that will fit in it. Just about anything for the Atari will work, as well as Sega Genesis controllers. For reference on my C64, I got a 1985/1986 era joystick for about $5 including shipping. It was a replacement Atari 2600 joystick, but on the box, it said "For use with the Atari 2600 or Commodore 64/128" and you're likely to find that's the case.

In terms of rarity, you should be able to go on Ebay just about any day and find a decent deal. Commodore did make joysticks, but I have to say that my offbrand 2600 joystick works just great and actually feels/looks better to me than the ones Commodore made, but then again, I liked the old 2600 joystick, so I'm partial to that.

Hope that helps.
 
My personal recommendation for a quality single-button joystick for either C64/128 or Atari 2600, or any other system that uses DB9 single-button would be the Suncom Slik Stik. They also marketed a nearly identical joystick (the stick itself is the same width instead of a ball on top of a stick) called the Starfighter.

http://www.videogamecritic.net/cont/2600_c.htm
(scroll down a bit)

If you need a 2-button, there's the Tac-2 by the same company.

Here's a video that some guy made including the innards of the stick:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18qixphFYOQ

I realize that you already got a stick, but who knows who will read this. :)
 
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All of the multi-button joysticks I remember were wired to the same pins, to facilitate right- or left-handed operation, or to give users a choice between using the index finger or thumb.
 
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