<s>
The	O
Atari	B-Device
CX40	I-Device
joystick	I-Device
was	O
the	O
first	O
widely	O
used	O
cross-platform	O
game	B-Device
controller	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
CX10	O
was	O
released	O
with	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
Video	I-General_Concept
Computer	I-General_Concept
System	I-General_Concept
(	O
later	O
renamed	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
2600	I-General_Concept
)	O
in	O
1977	O
and	O
became	O
the	O
primary	O
input	O
device	O
for	O
most	O
games	O
on	O
the	O
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
addition	O
of	O
the	O
Atari	B-Protocol
joystick	I-Protocol
port	I-Protocol
to	O
other	O
platforms	O
cemented	O
its	O
popularity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
the	O
standard	O
for	O
the	O
Atari	B-Device
8-bit	I-Device
family	I-Device
of	O
home	O
computers	O
and	O
was	O
compatible	O
with	O
the	O
VIC-20	B-Device
,	O
Commodore	O
64	O
,	O
Commodore	B-Device
128	I-Device
,	O
MSX	B-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
later	O
the	O
Atari	B-Device
ST	I-Device
and	O
Amiga	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Third-party	O
adapters	O
allowed	O
it	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
on	O
other	O
systems	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
,	O
TI-99/4A	B-Device
,	O
and	O
the	O
ZX	B-Operating_System
Spectrum	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Atari-style	O
joystick	B-Device
declined	O
in	O
popularity	O
as	O
games	O
relied	O
on	O
multiple	O
buttons	O
for	O
gameplay	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Systems	O
from	O
the	O
third	B-Application
generation	I-Application
of	I-Application
video	I-Application
game	I-Application
consoles	I-Application
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Nintendo	O
Entertainment	O
System	O
and	O
Master	O
System	O
included	O
two	O
action	B-Device
buttons	I-Device
on	O
their	O
controllers	O
(	O
with	O
the	O
NES	O
controller	O
also	O
including	O
two	O
menu	O
buttons	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Atari	O
's	O
own	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
7800	I-General_Concept
shipped	O
with	O
two-button	O
controllers	O
as	O
well	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Atari	B-Device
joystick	I-Device
works	O
by	O
connecting	O
the	O
ground	O
pin	O
to	O
one	O
of	O
several	O
pins	O
in	O
the	O
Atari	B-Protocol
joystick	I-Protocol
port	I-Protocol
,	O
thereby	O
dropping	O
the	O
voltage	O
on	O
that	O
pin	O
and	O
creating	O
a	O
signal	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
noticed	O
by	O
a	O
controller	O
in	O
the	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
this	O
reason	O
,	O
Atari-style	O
joysticks	B-Device
are	O
sometimes	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
"	O
digital	O
joysticks	B-Device
"	O
,	O
largely	O
to	O
differentiate	O
them	O
from	O
the	O
analog	B-Device
joysticks	I-Device
found	O
on	O
systems	O
like	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
and	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PCB	O
connects	O
the	O
switches	O
to	O
pins	O
in	O
the	O
9-pin	O
D-connector	B-Protocol
that	O
leads	O
to	O
the	O
console	O
via	O
a	O
cutout	O
in	O
the	O
upper	O
right	O
corner	O
of	O
the	O
base	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ergonomics	O
of	O
the	O
base	O
and	O
the	O
need	O
to	O
hold	O
it	O
while	O
pressing	O
the	O
fire	O
button	O
led	O
to	O
fatigue	O
of	O
the	O
left	O
thumb	O
that	O
became	O
known	O
as	O
"	O
joystick	B-Device
thumb	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
especially	O
common	O
in	O
games	O
that	O
required	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
fire	O
repeatedly	O
or	O
hold	O
down	O
the	O
button	O
for	O
long	O
periods	O
,	O
like	O
Eastern	B-Application
Front	I-Application
(	O
1941	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
games	O
that	O
required	O
fine	O
control	O
,	O
like	O
Jumpman	B-Application
,	O
these	O
solutions	O
were	O
generally	O
unsuitable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
CX40	O
remained	O
popular	O
throughout	O
the	O
run	O
of	O
the	O
2600	O
and	O
Atari	B-Device
8-bit	I-Device
family	I-Device
machines	O
,	O
but	O
by	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
their	O
run	O
many	O
3rd	O
party	O
improvements	O
had	O
appeared	O
and	O
Atari	O
introduced	O
new	O
controllers	O
of	O
their	O
own	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Released	O
in	O
the	O
summer	O
of	O
1983	O
,	O
the	O
CX842	O
"	O
Remote	O
Control	O
Wireless	O
Joystick	B-Device
"	O
was	O
a	O
rebranded	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
Cynex	O
Game	O
Mate	O
2	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Atari	O
also	O
advertised	O
the	O
CX43	O
"	O
Space	O
Age	O
Joystick	B-Device
"	O
,	O
the	O
most	O
radical	O
change	O
to	O
the	O
basic	O
concept	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
7800	I-General_Concept
's	O
CX-24	O
Pro-Line	O
joystick	B-Device
was	O
designed	O
to	O
be	O
backward	B-General_Concept
compatible	I-General_Concept
with	O
the	O
2600	O
and	O
its	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
CX40	O
was	O
the	O
only	O
model	O
in	O
widespread	O
use	O
until	O
about	O
1981	O
,	O
when	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
Space	B-Application
Invaders	I-Application
on	O
the	O
2600	O
quadrupled	O
that	O
platform	O
's	O
sales	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Suncom	O
later	O
introduced	O
the	O
TAC-2	B-Device
,	O
essentially	O
a	O
larger	O
Slik-Stik	O
with	O
buttons	O
on	O
both	O
sides	O
,	O
for	O
left-handed	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
the	O
VIC-20	B-Device
,	O
Commodore	O
International	O
introduced	O
a	O
joystick	B-Device
that	O
was	O
essentially	O
identical	O
to	O
the	O
Atari	O
model	O
with	O
the	O
exception	O
that	O
the	O
top	O
plate	O
on	O
the	O
base	O
was	O
white	O
instead	O
of	O
black	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wico	O
was	O
a	O
major	O
supplier	O
of	O
arcade	O
game	O
joysticks	B-Device
and	O
adapted	O
these	O
mechanisms	O
for	O
home	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
robust	O
and	O
unique	O
,	O
the	O
500XJ	O
garnered	O
widespread	O
praise	O
and	O
was	O
the	O
only	O
other	O
joystick	B-Device
of	O
the	O
era	O
to	O
achieve	O
widespread	O
popularity	O
to	O
the	O
point	O
of	O
becoming	O
a	O
standard	O
of	O
sorts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Early	O
gamepads	B-Device
were	O
essentially	O
CX40s	O
with	O
the	O
base	O
exposed	O
to	O
the	O
user	O
and	O
the	O
joystick	B-Device
on	O
top	O
removed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sega	O
's	O
Master	O
System	O
and	O
Genesis/Mega	B-Operating_System
Drive	I-Operating_System
controllers	O
are	O
compatible	O
with	O
the	O
2600	O
,	O
although	O
the	O
console	O
can	O
only	O
read	O
one	O
fire	O
button	O
on	O
the	O
Sega	O
controllers	O
–	O
the	O
2	O
button	O
on	O
Master	O
System	O
controllers	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
B	B-Device
button	I-Device
on	O
Genesis	O
controllers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Sega	O
Control	B-Device
Stick	I-Device
was	O
the	O
only	O
Sega-made	O
controller	O
actually	O
marketed	O
for	O
its	O
compatibility	O
with	O
Atari	O
and	O
Commodore	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Atari	B-Device
joystick	I-Device
was	O
so	O
popular	O
that	O
adaptors	O
for	O
its	O
standard	O
of	O
connector	O
were	O
available	O
for	O
platforms	O
like	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
and	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
were	O
even	O
factory	O
modified	O
CX40s	O
,	O
notably	O
the	O
Trisstick	O
from	O
Big	B-Device
Five	I-Device
Software	I-Device
,	O
that	O
placed	O
the	O
converter	O
electronics	O
inside	O
the	O
CX40	O
case	O
and	O
replaced	O
the	O
cable	O
with	O
one	O
suitable	O
for	O
the	O
TRS-80	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
its	O
single-button	O
configuration	O
makes	O
it	O
unsuitable	O
for	O
general	O
use	O
with	O
Sega	O
's	O
consoles	O
,	O
an	O
Atari	B-Device
joystick	I-Device
can	O
be	O
used	O
in	O
the	O
player	O
two	O
port	O
for	O
certain	O
two-player	O
games	O
with	O
minimal	O
controls	O
,	O
so	O
long	O
as	O
a	O
standard	O
Sega	O
controller	O
is	O
plugged	O
into	O
the	O
player	O
one	O
port	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
a	O
CX-40	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
control	O
Tails	O
in	O
two-player	O
mode	O
in	O
Sonic	B-Application
the	I-Application
Hedgehog	I-Application
2	I-Application
,	O
as	O
all	O
three	O
Genesis	O
fire	O
buttons	O
are	O
mapped	O
to	O
the	O
same	O
jump/spin	O
-dash	O
function	O
(	O
and	O
with	O
the	O
Master	O
System	O
for	O
the	O
1	O
and	O
2	O
buttons	O
)	O
,	O
although	O
player	O
two	O
cannot	O
pause	O
the	O
game	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
absence	O
of	O
a	O
Start	O
button	O
.	O
</s>
