Stelladaptor
from Grand Idea Studios & Atari Age

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This is going to be a very short product review.  It is not because I don't want to put the time or effort to do something longer.  Sometimes, a product comes along that is just so good, that it leaves you kind of speechless.

To me, an example of that type of product is the Stelladaptor.

First off, let's take a look at the description from Pixels Past & Atari Age:

The Stelladaptor 2600 Controller to USB Interface allows the use of standard Atari 2600-compatible controllers, including joysticks, paddles, and driving controllers, with modern computers running Windows, Macintosh, or Linux operating systems. Any Atari 2600-compatible joystick, when plugged into your computer through the Stelladaptor, will behave as a normal joystick. This allows the use of classic Atari controllers with any software that will work with an 8-direction digital joystick controller (left, right, up, down, and diagonals).

In addition to joystick controllers, the Stelladaptor also automatically recognizes the Atari 2600 paddle and driving controllers. To take advantage of these controllers, software running on the host computer (such as emulators or games) must be updated to accurately handle the data being sent by the Stelladaptor. We have worked closely with the authors of the excellent z26 Atari 2600 emulator for Windows and an updated version of z26 has been released that automatically recognizes when the Stelladaptor is plugged in and allows you to play joystick, paddle, and driving controller games. You can also use your Atari 2600 joystick and paddle controllers in the popular MAME arcade emulator. 

Stelladaptor will work with any emulators that support standard USB controllers. Paddle controllers will only work in emulators that allow configuration of analog USB controllers (such as MAME32 and MacMAME), or emulators that have been updated to directly support the Stelladaptor (such as z26). We will be working with emulator authors to add native support to additional emulators in the future.

Sounds pretty cool, huh?  People have been searching for the longest time for a good way to interface classic Atari controllers into their PC for retrogaming, emulation, etc.  Some previous attempts have been made to create a good Atari to PC interface.  Some have been OK, some have been no so OK.  After having used the Stelladaptor for two months, I can say it is a complete success.

It couldn't be any more simple.  Plug a USB cable into one end of the Stelladaptor, and plug the other end into a USB port on your PC.  Then, plug in an Atari joystick or paddle into the Stelladaptor.  On my system, Windows XP Pro immediately recognized the Stelladaptor, and no additional drivers were needed.

Next, fire up your favorite game or emulator.  I have used the Stelladaptor with games such as Activision Anthology, Atari 80-In-1, Stella, Atari800Win, and even a few more modern games.  The device has worked flawlessly with everything I have tested.

For you Mac fans out there, this device also works great with a Mac.  At the recent PhillyClassic 5, I played Indy 500 on a Mac via a 2600 emulator.  Several of these devices were hooked up for multiplayer Indy 500, and it was just like having a real 2600 available for play.

Well, now that I have gushed about this device for a few minutes, lets get to some nitpicking.  First off, you have to provide the USB cable to plug the Stelladaptor into your PC.  Yes, I know it seems like an insignificant complaint, but I guess I would have preferred to see the USB cable hard-wired into the Stelladaptor.  I have already tried to take this device on the road (most recently to the 2004 Funspot tournament) and both times I have forgotten to bring the USB cable.  Having the cable hard-wired into the device (in my opinion) would be much more convenient.

For each controller you want to hook into your PC, you need 1 Stelladaptor.  Want to play a buddy in COMBAT on your PC?  You will need two of the Stelladaptor devices & two USB cables.  Along with the existing single-controller Stelladaptor, I think it would be cool to have a slightly larger version with two inputs instead of one.

Conclusion:

If you are looking to play some of the "old school" games on your modern PC, and want to play them the way they were meant to be played, this is the device for you.  My personal enjoyment of the classic game emulators, and the commercial classic game compilations has increased dramatically since I started using the Stelladaptor.   Playing Space Invaders or Ms. Pac-Man works OK with a PC joypad, but using the real Atari joystick makes the gaming experience so much more fun.

The manual is extremely thin, but there sure isn't much information that you need to get it up and running.  Just plug it in & go.  The manual is somewhat reminiscent of the old Atari 2600 cartridge manuals.

AtariAge & Pixels Past want $29.95 for this little jewel.  Initially, I thought the price was a little steep for what you get, but now that I have one, I can say the price is well worth it.

For more information:

Pixels Past

AtariAge Store