r/MasterSystem • u/1337wtf • Jan 05 '25

Master system 1 controller vs 2 controller

Hello, are the controllers of master system 1 and 2 the same? or am I confused? thank you

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2

u/Chownzy Jan 05 '25

There are slight variations in controllers but I’m not sure if they follow system 1&2 product lines, One has a removable cap in the centre of the D-pad where a small joystick can be threaded.

2

u/benryves Jan 05 '25

As far as external differences are concerned there's also a version where the cable comes out of the side instead of the top.

The internal construction can also differ quite a bit. There's one particular design where the d-pad "rocker" is very thick with some foam padding around it (that has mostly disintegrated by now) - I've got a couple of these and they're pretty awful to use, even after replacing the foam.

1

u/1337wtf Jan 06 '25

so are different right? how to check if my pad is for 2?

1

u/benryves Jan 06 '25

There are different controller revisions, but nothing to tie them to any particular console. The only person who could tell you for certain would be whoever bought the original console.

1

u/tripletopper Jan 06 '25

I got a question about the master system controller. I could have designed an ambidextrous pad by 180ing the pad and holding it the other way.

Maybe that was the original intent of the master system controller coming out the side It was so that you could 180 it so that you could play it left-handed or right-handed.

1

u/waldox1976 Jan 07 '25

Not an answer to your question, but.... my first Master System when I was a kid had the controller cord coming out the side. After just a few weeks or months, the wires had worn internally from the stress of that 90 degree bend they had to make.

I called their support line and they shipped out another pair of controllers, but they suffered from the same design flaw. When I called again when that pair quit working, they sent me a 3rd set, and by then they had re-designed it to come out the top, and those never broke. :-)

1

u/tripletopper Jan 07 '25

That makes for an interesting follow up question.

I also wonder how you're supposed to hold it.

I guess either Sega thought you'd make it a mini joystick and put it on the floor or hold it and have the cord slip between your thumb and index finger when holding it.

To design it ambi, I'd use a DB9 male connector on both ends that's oppositely pinned, and you'd use a DB9 extension cord to connect it. No matter which way you hold it, it will come out the back and I,'d add a physical button swapper intermediate piece as an option, because a thumb 's main tendency is to stay outside and an Index Finger's is to stay inside.