Latest Lists

What is this Arkanoid controller?

Back in the early 90s when I was a kid, my uncle gave my dad his NES system, games, controllers, etc., when he got a Sega. When I was in high school, my dad finally gave it to me, and when I went off to college I took it with me. It's been a long time since I've played it regularly, but I've got a friend who's really into old games, and I hooked it all up again. I have the game Arkanoid and a special Arkanoid controller. I looked on an online auction site to see what they were going for, out of curiosity and wondering if these special controllers are rare. The catch is that I can't find a single controller that looks like mine - they are all Nintendo off-white with a black knob on the bottom of the controller face (which is the same as mine), and they all have a black button on the top of the controller face. Mine does not; mine has a red rectangular button on the top of the face instead. I cannot find a single image or reference to this layout. Anyone out in the web know anything about this? I can't find any reference anywhere to an off-white controller with a rectangular red top button. Yes, it was made by Taito (or at least it has the Taito logo across the top, above the button like in all the Vaus controller images I've seen). It is an NES controller - it plugs right into my NES and works with the game. I wish this site would let me upload a pic of it, but it doesn't seem to have that capability.

Public Comments

1. What brand is the controller? It should say Taito on it. I don't think anyone else made a controller like that. Perhaps it was a first run version of the controller that was revised very soon after the game was released which would make it rare. I've never seen one like that though. The only other game that was compatible with a Vaus controller was Chase H.Q. but that was for the Famicom and Famicom Vaus controllers used different plugs than the NES. Arkanoid 1 and 2 also for the Famicom had very similar controllers. Update: You can upload a pic onto any site that allows you to and then provide a link to it. My guess is you got a very early version of the Vaus controller.