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Question Two unidentified 6-button joysticks

Trepolo

Junior Member
I have two 6-button joysticks that are shaped like playstation joysticks. I can't find anywhere on interent for what console are they. Their output has 7 holes in the lower row and 8 holes in the upper row.
 
Connector looks like Famicom or Neo Geo AES, but the action buttons are labeled like the 6-button Sega Genesis (Mega Drive) or Sega Saturn. The Start and select buttons and grips resemble PlayStation.

I dunno. That controller is a mess.
 
So it's probably for Famicom or Neo Geo AES but modified version of their controller? Or there are more consoles with this type of connector?
 
So it's probably for Famicom or Neo Geo AES but modified version of their controller? ...

I couldn't say "probably" because the button layout is wrong for both of those systems. I would guess it's for some kind of bootleg / clone system.

... Or there are more consoles with this type of connector?

This extension cable on Console5 lists a few systems that would fit the same cable:
https://console5.com/store/neo-geo-...troller-joystick-extension-cables-6-1-8m.html


I have all of those except the "CDZ" version of the Neo Geo.

With Playstation design elements, it's definitely newer than any of those systems. My guess is that it's for some kind of bootleg / clone system, but I still can't tell what platform it would be. Very strange controller.
 
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Thanks for all the answers, it's obviously a very strange controller 🙁 it's a good idea to post it on reddit, going to do it 😉
 
Interesting coincidence. I was looking for power supply details for the "PolyStation PSone" bootleg Famiclone system I came across (giving it away with two controllers and light gun). I came across this page with pictures of a different (older?) PolyStation:
https://web.archive.org/web/20110207003816/http://.www.nesplayer.com/pirates/polystation.htm

I can't really see the connector though. It looks like a 9-pin connector (like Atari, Sega Genesis, and most Famiclones) -- not the 15-pin Famicom EXT connector like your controllers seem to have. The controller body definitely has the same mold.
 
Old school 15 pin serial port controller.
yup. That was my first thought.
...but serial was typically 25 pins before it was 9 pins.

My take:
I see a lot of Chinese CMVS Neo Geo systems (consolized Neo Geo MVS arcade boards) which have Sega Saturn ports instead of the typical Neo Geo ports that these pads would fit. These pads have the same layout as Sega Saturn but would not require a demux to convert the encoded controller data into discrete switches for each direction/button. Yes, those Chinese CMVS system have a Saturn demuxer built-in. You can even find the circuit for doing this DIY, but why bother when you can easily “padhack” a controller like this for the same results without wasting a Saturn pad or doing needless conversion?

Because it’s based on arcade hardware the 15-pin port on a Neo Geo AES is literally just a common connection and a pin for each direction/button. That’s so you could wire arcade switches up to it directly with no other electronics (no encoder or shift register or whatever).

Many Neo Geo arcade boards had these ports in addition to the contacts on the non-standard JAMMA-like edge connector... like my old MVS MV-1. I added DB15 to my other MVS board (MVS MV-1FZ) using a JAMMA breakout and regular old PC-style ports.

There are vestigial buttons for a Neo Geo but I’m pretty sure this is your typical Neo Geo padhack.
 
Here’s an example of a Sega Saturn pad hack for Neo Geo.
c31ba4e695b389a6203a053217c192da.jpg


Someone literally just directly wired the buttons they needed to that cable. NG only needs Up, Down, Left, Right, Select, Start, A, B, C, D, and possibly Insert Coin (MVS), so many of those buttons aren’t used. The cables they sell at Console5 look exactly like the ones in the OP which makes me even more confident that it’s a padhack Neo Geo controller. After all: Who wants to sacrifice a real Sega Saturn controller?!
 
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