LGR Oddware - Nintendo 3D1 PC Joystick

John Covil

Hey Clint, regarding your recent unpleasantness with YT, I fired my shot on getting you some advice/help/answers. It's a long shot, but I have a connection to a connection to someone with a lot of YT experience and pull, so we'll see if it helps.

That certainly smacks of the kind of strange licensing mojo that made the 64DD the third wonder of the... oh right. Yup. Ninty's usual hardware shenanigans: NES Classic, SNES Classic, and soon to be N64 classic. Whoops!

oh doom what can't you be played with.

Back when a good joystick was like having VR

Ahh the 90s. They were all about the joysticks.

Maybe it's from an alternative timeline where Nintendo gave up after the Virtual Boy and became a PC focused company?

SuperBunnyBun

Is this the only thing nintendo has made for the PC? Besides ports of educational games (typing or finding mario)

kiwapebre

Wow that Mario game for DOS is something I have totally forgotten until now, played that so much back then.

Mac84

Wow! I got one of these years ago, but when I tried to trade it in at a local retro game shop they thought someone just slapped a Nintendo sticker on it and didn't want it. Glad I held onto it... it's quite an odd piece indeed. Funny that on the front of the box (see 4:33 mark) they spelled NIntendo with a capital I. Way to go Laral group! :D

Patrick Moore

I had one of these joysticks back in the day! It's even possible that it's sitting in a box somewhere, but I doubt it.

LGR

Instant copyright claim from Nintendo, I bet

SammyToesis

What a mysterious joystick, nice video! Also, I wonder what happens when you plug this joystick into a non-politically correct computer?

Glen Rea

Another great review, Clint. Nice to see an industry from my home area featured (The Gillingham where Delphi Automotive hail from is the only one of the three in the UK pronounced "Jillingham", though :) ). Keep up the great work, best channel on YT and an honour to be your patron!

LGR

It was the first couple Need For Speed games for me, I got quite good at joystick driving :)

LGR

Totally, none of the official Nintendo PC games I own support a joystick. It's so strange.

LGR

Gravis Phoenix, huh. That is one I've never come across and I have a bunch of their stuff!

LGR

Nice! I wonder if UnWired still has a presence there at all under their new owners

Gary DiFiore-Ridolph

Farmingdale, New York? That's within driving distance from where I live! So weird! Love the oddware as usual :)

Kris Asick

I find Terminal Velocity and Fury3 are good standbys to have for testing joysticks out with DOS and Win9x respectively. One joystick I really want to get my hands on someday is the Gravis Phoenix... just 'cause. ;)

It's almost as hideous as the N64 controller! :P Speaking of joysticks, I remember playing Midtown Madness with a flight stick way back when.

i wonder who at nintendo thought that this joystick was a good idea to make. the only games that nintendo ever really released for the pc were mario teaches typing and mario is missing, which were both controlled with keyboard and mouse as far as i'm aware.

LGR

Glad you enjoyed it!

LGR

It's true. That massively chunky design is pretty iconic for their 90s era of console products.

LGR

I'd love to make one someday! I'm still looking for the couple earliest titles in the series before I do :)

LGR

I never saw either one myself! Genuinely thought these were bootleg devices at first and I'm still amazed that it even happened, if only for one year in the 90s.

LGR

Ha! It sure does. One of the most bland names on Oddware to date.

LGR

Doom only lets you shoot at a fixed rate so it made no difference :)

LGR

Pretty decently at least.

LGR

They're MA-12Cs! Fantastic studio monitor speakers. I got mine on Ebay, they're usually around $70 for a good pair.

LGR

Totally, the timing of this and the obscure nature of the deal is just bizarre. I hope someone comes forward with more info once this goes live!

LGR

Ha! Yeah, a bit of a proto-Wii Sports design

LGR

It's decent.

LGR

Heh, BOSS. I see what you did there.

Pablo Rodriguez

That handle makes the joystick look like a fencing sabre. Maybe Nintendo hoped they'd use it for a fencing simulator and ended up dissapointed that it was for flight simulators and shooters instead.

ReeseRiverson

Out of curiosity, how does it do for Descent? :o

Rob Caporetto

That design is quite unique. But the whole Nintendo licensing thing? By the mid 90s, that feels so darn weird to be honest. Even a few years earlier, I could kind of imagine it… …but by the mid 90s, they pretty much were set in terms of dominance, so did they need the extra promotion. But, I guess the sound of the mighty dollar can never be turned down ;)

Blair Harrison

reminds me of the fx-2000 for some reason

David Pruitt

Clint I gotta ask. What are those Roland speakers and where can I get them?

Do you see any SEGA accesories for PC made in the 90s? Nintendid what Segaren't my friend.

BastetFurry

Looks like it could work just nice with Descent.

I was hoping you would try the rapid fire in Doom! Still a great episode, had no idea that Nintendo licensed anything besides toys and such.

Retail Archaeology

Laral Group sounds like the name of an investment firm that goes around buying regional grocery store chains 😅

I personally find this a very strange and bizarre thing for Nintendo to do, and whatever the plans were they didn't go as expected. I only saw the wireless headphones in late December 1998 at a Circuit City of all places - wasn't even looking for them, just got a glimpse of the brand name and halted to make sure it was Nintendo's; never saw the joystick around my neck of the woods.

Robert Launder

I'd love to see you do a retrospective on the MS Flight SIms.

avfusion

That design just screams Nintendo. They have forever designed their products so they could be dropped from breast height onto a concrete floor repeatedly and survive.

floverSaeu09

Wow that is definitely an odd flight stick controller xD bahahaha

Lindsay Michelle

Nintendo 3D1 sounds like a Chinese knockoff of the Nintendo 3DS, haha. I don't understand why they made this joystick in the first place - to capitalize off the Nintendo's popularity? It's just so odd seeing the Nintendo 64 logo on a PC joystick in the first place... o.o

Brad Russell [Toukz]

Really enjoyed this Clint, thanks!