Mattsius Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 Microsoft confirmed on Wednesday that it plans to stop making joysticks and other PC gaming hardware sold under the SideWinder brand. The software giant said in a statement that the shrinking market and "highly competitive pricing" for game-related peripherals made it unwise to continue in the category. This article raises the questions: *Does this affect you guys and gals in any way? I like the SideWinder products very much and I hate to se them go, but do you guys feel the same? *Have you got any SideWinder products at home and if that is the case, which product(s) and in what kind of games do you use them? The company said it will discount prices to help retailers clear out their existing inventory of SideWinder joysticks, game pads, steering wheels and other devices. Cheap joysticks and stuff. Great! I'm definitely going to buy some stuff, probably a joystick or two. Here's the short news story in whole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleto4_ryan Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 *Have you got any SideWinder products at home and if that is the case, which product(s) and in what kind of games do you use them? Have the Sidewinter joystic pro for the plane simulations...and it is perfect... The company said it will discount prices to help retailers clear out their existing inventory of SideWinder joysticks, game pads, steering wheels and other devices. great timing. Now that i want to buy one game pad -------------------- anyway does anybody thinks this is one effect because of the many X-box looses? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeddlingMonk Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 Sometimes I can't say enough bad things about Microsoft. But there are two things about the company I really like: their knowledge base, and their game controllers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burge Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 I bought the Sidewinder joypad in '97. It's got 10 buttons, comfy as all get out and I can't see myself ever needing to upgrade (although if analogue takes off in PC games...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin_Br Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 I'm a Logitech guy, so this doesn't affect me at all --Erwin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinny Minnie Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 Yup, Erwin, I'm a Logitech aficionado as well (I own two of their game pads). Er, and I have a Cyborg joystick, but that's because I'm a lefty and you can pull that whole joystick apart and reassemble it for a southpaw... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AGZanthia Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 Never used a joystick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benny Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 The sidewinder stuff has always been great....except for one, the Sidewinder Freestyle Pro. Its useless tilt function and rubbish dpad have made me stop using it. Personally I just use console pads now with a convertor since they are usually the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattsius Posted July 11, 2003 Author Share Posted July 11, 2003 Originally posted by pleto4_ryan does anybody thinks this is one effect because of the many X-box looses? I doubt that it has that much to do with the XBOX. Like the news story said, "the shrinking market and "highly competitive pricing" for game-related peripherals made it unwise to continue in the category". Another factor is probably that gamers don't use joysticks and gamepads etc. that much anymore. Nowadays it's mostly the mouse+keyboard combination that's used in PC games. On the other hand I think that Microsoft is probably concentrating it's production to XBOX related stuff and therefore shutting down the not so central parts of the company. That was poorly explained, but maybe someone got it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arik Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 I've never found any Joystick or Gamepad to be more comfortable or fun to play with than a keyboard and a mouse. In fact, I think they're much less comfortable; They're the main reason I don't like playing console games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AGZanthia Posted July 13, 2003 Share Posted July 13, 2003 Gamepads can b used with computer too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattsius Posted July 15, 2003 Author Share Posted July 15, 2003 Originally posted by AGZanthia Gamepads can b used with computer too. And let's not forget steering wheels. Originally posted by Arik I've never found any Joystick or Gamepad to be more comfortable or fun to play with than a keyboard and a mouse. It depends a bit on what kind of a game it is. This might sound a bit weird, but I actually play the NHL series by EA Sports with a MS SideWinder Precision 2 Joystick. Well, it works great for me, I win over my brother and my brother-in-law almost every time we play. And I might add that they use a keyboard. I have a MS SideWinder Game Pad Pro also, but I've never found any use for it so it gathers dust most of the time, so I must agree with you on the gamepad part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aranolorion Posted July 15, 2003 Share Posted July 15, 2003 meh. the controller s for xbox is the same as a sidewinder. and i never use a gamepad for PC anyways - go mice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleto4_ryan Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 Originally posted by AGZanthia Never used a joystick. never???? not even the old ones (atari etc) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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