Perfect Peripherals

In one’s long history of video gaming, one has undoubtedly gone through several, if not dozens, of peripherals. Joysticks, gamepads, fishing rods, maracas, mice, keyboards, you name it. I’m not sure what got me thinking on this track the other day, but I started wondering: what are my most beloved, most used, and most revered peripherals I’ve used throughout my gaming lifetime? A few immediately came to mind…

Stuff I Have Now

Hands on Throttle and Stick Support (H.O.T.A.S.S.)

I’ve already written a love letter to this thing, but it’s still one of the longest-running and important pieces of equipment I have. Without this, I’d have to find room on my tiny desk any time I wanted to use my joystick. Well screw that. This thing allows me to safely secure my stick, throttle and pedals all within easy reach when I need them, but out of the way when I don’t. I’ve no idea where I’d be without this thing.

Microsoft Sidewinder Force Feedback 2 Joystick

I’ve had a lot of sticks in my time, and none come close to the versatility, strength and precision of this thing. It has an amazing center that never waivers, and it works with old and new games. I love this thing soooooooooo much.

Stuff I Used to Have

CH Flightstick Pro

I had simple joysticks before this one, but none of them had a throttle, a hat, or felt this good. This stick took me through the entirety of X-Wing, TIE Fighter and Wing Commander: Privateer, just to name a few, without batting an eye. While I’d never give up my Sidewinder, sometimes I miss this thing.

Sound Blaster AWE32

This was my second sound card: my first was an Adlib that came with the Leading Edge 486-66DX I got back in the day. I was lucky the case for that thing was so big because this thing barely fit in it. I got this primarily for TIE Fighter, as it was cheaper than the Roland MT-32, and to be honest, I’ve had a Sound Blaster in every PC since, even my current one.

Sierra Screamin’ 3D

As with many things, you always remember your first, and I will always have a fondness for Sierra’s Screamin’ 3D card, based on the Rendition Verite chipset. The card wasn’t the greatest — it’s 2D performance was meh — but it came with A-10 Tank Killer II, so I was sold.

So many wonderful pieces of hardware over the years. What about you guys? What are some of your fondest pieces of hardware? I look forward to hearing about them on the forums. Thanks for reading!