The upcoming ZipStik arcade style joystick


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Posted by ZipStik Staff on October 21, 1999 at 06:52:58:

I just wanted to let the enthusiasts of this msg board in on a newcomer to arcade style joysticks named the ZipStik. This is just a little sneak peak of the ZipStik, the newest arcade style joystick for the PC. In a joint venture with a friend who has seven years experience in the arcade industry leading the way for a large family oriented arcade chain store in the US, I decided to expand my current business from PC sales and service, to include the production of arcade style joysticks. After about 3 months of research and development, the ZipStik is born. We are in the last stages of releasing the ZipStik, and are expecting on shipping the first units in two weeks. To give you an idea as to what the ZipStik includes, here is a list. It measures 2 feet wide, and 1 foot in length in a sleek wooden case all made with the arcade standard 3/4-inch particleboard. The top also has a slight downward slant to give it a realistic feel. When looking for an interface, we decided to go with the Hagstrom KE-IC because of its performance, and reliability. This IC allows for a keyboard to be hooked up to it along with the joystick and there is no chance for ghosting considering it uses 24 dedicated switches instead of a matrix style interface. A Macro key sequence and custom key programming is also going to be available. A 10’ PS/2 cable is connected to the interface to allow plenty of cable length to move the joystick. A USB interface is also in the works. There is a 2-Player Mortal Kombat layout, which can be either straight across, or angled for increased elbowroom during 2-player action. The face is covered with a custom overlay just like that of a real arcade. The color of the overlay can also be customized to just about any color desired. The sides are fitted with T-molding, which can be either in a chrome or black. MAME default key settings with 6 buttons for each player, a 1 and 2-player button, and a third button, which will be configured as the insert coin button. All of the buttons are also available in an assortment of colors also. It will come standard with either two Wico Ultra 8-way joysticks, or Happ’s Ultimate Joystick and that too can have custom colors. But the best of all is the price that will most likely be in the range of $120-130. And for those of you looking for something to hook up to a game station controller such as a N64 or Playstation, we are also going to be selling just the case and hardware minus the keyboard encoder to allow you to wire up to whatever you want. So in this case, you can hack up any joystick you desire to get that arcade feel. The expected retail prices on the shells will be around $80. We have plenty of pre-order stock so there will be no delay in getting your order ready and shipped out. So keep your eyes peeled, we will begin shipping really soon. I have taken some preliminary pictures, which are available to check out at: http://welcome.to/zipstik


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