Here are some pics of a joystick I made and use to play a lot of my games on PS3/PC.
Thought I could share it with everyone here.





Eventually, I plan to put an overlay on top, but I need to find someone to print it on vinyl for me (cheaply).


Tell me what you think and tell/show me what you use!

My favorite controller to use is the Classic Controller for my Wii. I wish I could use that for my computer but I can't. I also have a Gamecube controller that I sometimes use for my Wii also but it isn't as fast as the Classic Controller and the Gamecube controller can't be used for my computer either.

PacmanandMariofan : Its possible to use the GC controller. I used to use one myself.

Wal-Mart used to sell a converter for PS2, XBOX and GC controllers years ago. Maybe its possible to find it on eBay or Amazon?



It actually was this exact one.

It worked great and let you use all three at once if you wanted.
I used to have a ps2 controller and GC controller plugged in all the time.

vanelan : that's awesome. I built a controller myself too in a summer camp where all of the materials were provided. The controller is only meant for arcade games where you don't have to go in a diagonal direction so I stick with my keyboard. I haven't taken a picture of it yet so I'll describe what it looks like: it has four buttons close to each other and to the right of them is a black joystick. For the bottom of the controller all I'm going to say is that there are a lot of wires and other parts that make the controller work.

PacmanandMariofan : That's really cool. I would love to see that if you get around to taking a pic of it.

I cheated a little. I used a thing called the Cthulhu Multi-Console so I could use it with USB without too many headaches.
It still required me to wire up the stick and buttons, but it definitely was much easier than trying to hack a USB controller.

That additional port is a work in progress, but eventually I hope it will be able to work with NES, SNES, Genesis, Atari and PS1.

If you're interested, I can show you pics of my Neo-Geo arcade. It probably is wired similar to how you made yours.

You made that controller? Nice, the only thing I can make is a mess. My favorite controller is the 3 button Sega Genesis controller. It fits well in the hand, the buttons are in a nice place and it just looks nice. 

My favorite controller is a custom build controller that I build from a PS2 controller with turbo, I modified it so I can play it on most consoles, and my PC. I'm actually pretty proud of it, since it was the first actual thing I ever "build". I would post pictures, but I have now way of doing so.

It's really cool that you made that controller yourself. Good job!!

My favourite game controller that I've ever used is the Dualshock controllers for PS3 (not sure what their exact name is).

My husband also has two USB controllers for playing emulated retro games on the computer, but I'm also not sure what the exact model name for these is either.

maguc : You need to figure out a way to get a pic! I really wanna see that.

Annette : They are Dualshock 3 (so clever, Sony...)

GenesisJunkie : It took me so long to plan. I made drawings upon drawings upon drawings before I finally decided to just do it.
I couldn't decide what I wanted to use as material, then I couldn't figure out what color to make it...everything just wasn't right in my head.
It wasn't too difficult to do though. Making it was rather time consuming, but it really helped to have a table saw and drill press at the time.

I would love to see pics of the guts of your controller. Are the buttons and joystick taken from an arcade cabinet of were they purchased new? What are you using for a circuit board? Are you familiar with the work of Ben Heckendorn? This reminds me of some of his early work.

I prefer to use my pc controller (looks like a Dualshock), but it recently bit the dust. I only have a steering wheel logitech controller (that I never use), and my keyboard, so I guess keyboard for now.

That's a pretty sweet controller you made there. What are the top buttons for? I was thinking turbo maybe?

I've got big hands, football player hands; I've even been told they've been in someone's nightmares chasing them. But if I had to use that controller, I'd probably need to get my toes involved.

thephantombrain : I am familiar with Ben Heck. I used some of his previous work to decide how I wanted my layout.
The joystick is a Seimitsu LS-32 and the buttons are Seimitsu clear PS-14-KN 30mm (screw in) and the home/start/select buttons on the front are PS-14-D 24mm (snap in).
The PCB is a Cthulhu Multi-Console.


The joysticks I bought on eBay (looked new tho) and the buttons I bought new from videogamesnewyork
Perhaps I can take a pic of the inside when I try to troubleshoot that 9-pin connector.

I also can show you my Neo-Geo control panel. Much easier to swing open the panel and take a pic.
I put 4 PS-14-KN buttons in there to replace the terrible HAPP buttons that came with it and will replace the HAPP joystick when I make a mounting bracket for some Seimitsu LS-32s. (If you can tell, I really like Seimitsu. )

The only thing I would do differently with the joystick is prob use stranded wire on the next one instead of solid.
The solid wire is really stiff and makes it hard to get everything in the box without having to cut everything to almost exact length.

Eirinn: The orange buttons are Start, Select, and Home when used with PS3. Otherwise, they function as button 9, 10, and 11.

I use the keyboard, and the config is the following - 


A: R
B: T
Up: Numpad 5
Down: Numpad 2
Left: Numpad 1
Right: Numpad 3


There is my config, it feels comfortable and you are not moving your handa and fingers around the entire time, like playing BopIt.

DittoDude44 : Its more or less the same thing. I keep my fingers on the bottom 4 buttons for the most part since most of the games on here have 4 buttons or less.

I just use my Ps3 Dualshock 3 controller it works pretty well for anything I might need. If not I just use my keyboard.