SPEEDLINK SL-650212-BKRD Competition PRO EXTRA USB Joystick - Anniversary Edition, Retro-Arcade-Stick, schwarz-rot for PCs and Android Devices

Ordered this as wanted to have an authentic experience using WinUAE and WinVice64. I have an Amiga and use my Zipstik or Competition Pro with it.. and at first I tried to find an adapter that would allow me to use these joysticks on my laptop.. However, I saw the new and improved version of the Speedlink USB Competition pro and thought I'd give it a go.It arrived in a lovely little box.. the joystick is sturdy and nicely made.. most important, though, it has the satisfying click of a high quality microswitch joystick.. in fact, I was surprised at how hardy it was.. as I am used to the loosened-over-time joysticks I own for my Amiga. I plugged it in and it recognised right away (Windows 10 64-bit) and it came up as an option under controllers in WinUAE and WinVice.Using it is a dream.. it functions perfectly and is SOOOOOOOOOooooo much better than using either keyboard or an Xbox 360 controller. It also has 4 INDEPEDENT buttons, meaning you can play modern, retro styled indie games too!It also comes with 20 free games.. a code is provided to download them from the Speedlink site. I have not done this yet so can't comment on their quality, but they look like graphical revamped versions of classics like trailblazer and IK+.If you want a classic joystick for your PC then this is the answer!!

Bought to play Atari games on PC via HATARI emulator. Initial impressions are it seems sturdy enough with robust joystick movement and fire buttons, very similar to the originals (I believe you can upgrade the microswitches if you so wish too).One issue I found was the fire buttons are wired up so that primary fire is the right button (no use for right handers, ie the majority of us). Some emulators may let you map this, but not HATARI... but it can be easily fixed by removing the 4 screws on the bottom (note one is under a tamper sticker) and swapping the green and brown wires (2 wires worth of quick soldering required, see picture I guess you could swap the buttons but they are 'melted' in too with a tab of plastic, soldering was neater and easier tbh). Now works perfectly and in the correct sense, but a tad annoying for a £30 product, should be switchable/modular... Will have to do the same to my other one arriving soon too, but a small price to pay for being able to play classic games with a 'classic' joystick!...

Overall a decent package of classic joystick and games. The joystick generally plays well although the stiffness of movement may be an issue for some. I also found the moulding on the case - where the two halves join - to have a sharp edge and was uncomfortable to hold. It needed scraping with a sharp blade and sanding down a touch to fix it. The games package is a nice extra but some games do not allow full compatibility with this joystick - which is strange, as i would have expected the games to be vetted for this. For example, on Turrican Lode jumper there is no method to open traps to the right. Only traps to the left are functional and this makes the game almost impossible to play in later levels. Similarly, in the Jump Boy game the right-fire button on the joystick does not function and so shooting is not possible.It would be interesting to see if others report these problems with the games package too.So, its good but it also could have been better with a bit more care with quality control and games package playability.

For some time I've been using a modern gamepad for emulating the C64, Amiga and Mame. This is all well and good, but for a more 'authentic' feel, I needed an old style controller. Having owned a Competition Pro back in the 8-bit days, this was a no brainer. I use mine with Windows, I've not yet tested it with Andriod. Plugged in, let Windows set it up and I was all set. Works great in WinVice and Mame. The stick and the buttons feel high quality, with the satisfying clicking that comes from a microswitch controller. This is also a very good controller to buy if you have the C64 Mini as it is much better than the controller that comes included in the box.For Mame, I suggest you rotate the controller 90 degrees, with either the buttons on the right or the left and change the stick settings accordingly, otherwise, it will be very difficult to use all four of the buttons.

I'd love to give this 5 stars because it's a pretty good repro of the old Competition Pro but...The left and right fire buttons are assigned to different outputs and, depending on the software you use, it can be a major PITA to change them over. I even considered opening the thing up and rewiring them so the dedicated "main" button is swapped to the left. I'm a real old skool gamer and prefer the stick in my right hand, the fire button to my left and having the fire button on the right is not ideal.Otherwise, the advertised retro games - which may or may not be any good - aren't available from the included instructions. Call me an ignorant Brit if you will, but I don't speak German, and following the link provided took me to a German language site where the games were not present. Even clicking around didn't reveal 'em. I contacted Amazon about this and so far... crickets. Not even an acknowledgement. Bad show on the seller's part and on Amazon, who, to be fair, are too busy sending Bill Shatner into space at the moment.Even so, and despite the decent build quality, I am disappointed.

I bought this to go with the new ZX Spectrum re-release, and I’m very happy with it. The construction is extremely solid, with a precise mechanical feel. You can clearly hear and feel when the microswitches engage, which adds to the tactile feel. However, the joystick might be a little too stiff for some players.The four buttons are mapped to the standard Xbox-style controller buttons: A, B, X, and Y. There’s also an auto-fire switch located on the rear of the base.While I wouldn’t recommend it for use with modern games, it’s an essential addition to any retro gaming setup.