Games

JOYSTICK-IT adds a physical joystick to tablet-based gaming

JOYSTICK-IT adds a physical joystick to tablet-based gaming
The ghosts don't stand a chance with the JOYSTICK-IT physical joystick accessory
The ghosts don't stand a chance with the JOYSTICK-IT physical joystick accessory
View 3 Images
The ghosts don't stand a chance with the JOYSTICK-IT physical joystick accessory
1/3
The ghosts don't stand a chance with the JOYSTICK-IT physical joystick accessory
The JOYSTICK-IT physical joystick accessory for tablet-based gaming
2/3
The JOYSTICK-IT physical joystick accessory for tablet-based gaming
The JOYSTICK-IT physical joystick accessory for tablet-based gaming
3/3
The JOYSTICK-IT physical joystick accessory for tablet-based gaming
View gallery - 3 images

While touchscreen tablets such as the iPad have proven themselves to be extremely popular gaming devices, games that require a directional input suffer from difficult to use and easy to lose track of onscreen touch control pads. The JOYSTICK-IT iPad Arcade Stick is a simple accessory that solves this problem by sticking over the top of the onscreen control pad to provide a physical joystick when needed.

Featuring solid milled-aluminum construction, the JOYSTICK-IT from ThinkGeek doesn’t require any wires or batteries. The device itself has no moving parts with a spherical surface on the bottom of the device allowing the joystick to be rolled around which causes the outer edge of the base to contact the screen and register input on any capacitive touchscreen. Although the JOYSTICK-IT sticks to the screen, it is easily removable and repositionable.

The JOYSTICK-IT physical joystick accessory for tablet-based gaming
The JOYSTICK-IT physical joystick accessory for tablet-based gaming

Although ThinkGeek says the JOYSTICK-IT will work with any device with a capacitive touchscreen, its size will make it less than ideal for mobile phones, but it looks just the thing for adding some extra precision to tablet-based gaming.

The JOYSTICK-IT costs US$24.99 (although at the time of publication it was out of stock).

JOYSTICK-IT iPad Arcade Stick from ThinkGeek

View gallery - 3 images
1 comment
1 comment
JoeB
What a dumb idea! Why not hang a 5.1 speaker system on it and have a spinning, mirrored ball with flashing colored lights attached above it. Doesn\'t this defeat the purpose of having a \'tablet\"?