Sign The Petition!

[InternalPrimate]

The petition for Genesis/ Mega Drive Wireless controllers is up. I'd appreciate everyones support. Here is the link (http://www.petitiononline.com/tbriggs/petition.html).

I'm going to attempt to spread the word on multiple forums, any help would be appreciated. In fact, if you're a member of Facebook or Myspace, maybe post a bulletin asking friends to sign? I don't know, just throwing out ideas. I'm an idea man :p

[JDB]

lol, is this where we see everyone's real name?

[InternalPrimate]

I appreciate the support :)

We're at five right now, but I haven't started campaigning on other forums yet. Blame my job.

[Kollision]

My part is done! :)

[sonicwatcher6969]

Signed it, 13 now.

[108 Stars]

Collision Cat signed with his nickname^^

[Zebbe]

Signed it. Tom, since this is your project, put it in your sig :).

[megabomberman]

Well thats me on board, good idea Tom, the genesis had terribly unreliable controllers for breaking before anyway so it would be great to have premium quality wireless ones available!

[Kogen]

No, they have fine controllers that don't break unless you're some kind of greasy, fat man who crushed them in flabs of blubber and sweat.

The wireless feature is why we need them since wires are very annoying.

[megabomberman]

Ah Kogen, how nice of you to join in, and I will contradict your previous statement be re-iterating that Sega Genesis and Megadrive controllers have a habit of fucking up, be it the wire that comes out of the top of the controller, buttons getting damaged or directional pads jamming to one direction... And no I'm not a sweat etc etc (insert more lameness here) :cool:

[108 Stars]

megabomberman, you are absolutely corretc. Mega Drive-controllers suffer from a poor production quality. I recently played Monster World IV, and in order to be able to control it well enough to get through the jump-passages I had to test 4 of my controllers till one was good enough. The D-pad is indeed lousy, and I am considering buying a modded PS2 or PC-pad to use with my MD; today´s controllers are way better.

[Zebbe]

The MD controllers are awful if we talk about the 3-button ones. The 6-button controllers are excellent in both quality and design though.

[JDB]

you should see how fustrated my mate gets when one of the directions on the d-pad JUST... WON'T.... RESPOND!!!!!!!


Which is why I use a homemade-oldskool-style joystick - razzledazzle!

[TmEE]

You need the clean the pads inners !!! I love 3 button pads, so comfortable... and that d-pad is great. 6 button pads are nice too.

[108 Stars]

This shows that you are used to cheap clone-consoles; Sega´s 3-button pads really are very low-quality. You should not need to clean inside with a good pad.

[TmEE]

EVERYTHING needs a clean after say 13 years... that's as old as my ORIGINAL pads are, got them with my MD2.

[108 Stars]

You talk like the pads only had such problems after 13 years, but MD pads usually get problems after not more than a year. They were shit.
The NES-pads were good in production quality; they are still in perfect working condition. To bad their design is so godawfull.

[TmEE]

not gonna argue more... they're better than most others consoles pads I've had (PSX ones are pretty crap)

[108 Stars]

You have no idea what you are talking about. MD 3-button-craps are crap, and denying it is lying to yourself. Most other console pads had better production quality. Dreamcast, Saturn, PlayStation, NES-pads were all definately superior in quality. This is not even a matter of taste, but a matter of fact. SNES controllers had mostly issues with the L- and R-triggers.

[TmEE]

my experience says otherwise

[playgen]

I've got tons of 3 button pads, and every single one of the is unresponsive and worn. Sure opening them up and cleaning them might help improve some, but I'd rather just play with my flawless 6 button pad and Arcade Power Stick which are both old and well used but work perfectly nonetheless.

[108 Stars]

Anyway, I hope that that company is using high quality parts for their stuff. I can buy new standard MD and SNES pads in the original design on eBay, made by no-name companies, and they are just horrible. No use having a wireless pad if the quality of the material is low.

[megabomberman]

In order for our positive points of view of the MegaDrive to contain credence our criticisms have to be honest, no use going around with our heads in the sand saying everything the MegaDrive did was godly...

In this case their 3 button pads were THE WORST controllers ever made (in terms of quality). At home I have a bag of 12 and 2 of them are working decently. And these are hybrids of the other bunch, just such a pathetic quality level.

And what really gets me is they were so fat and heavy.. How did sega mess this one up? These things were falling apart in 95 too so the 13 year argument doesn't hold up. I remember me and all my friends who all owned the console were always replacing broken down ones.

The 6 button ones I got last summer have been working supremely thank god! I was expecting the bloody things to break any minute the way the other ones were biting the dust.

Lets hope the Messiahs do turn out to be Messiahs in terms of quality cause if they are anything like the original 3 buttons they'll go bankrupt with refunds...

[Zebbe]

Here are their SNES pads. They look great:

http://www.playmessiah.com/products/classics/limited-edition-wireless-snes-controllers.htm

[evildragon]

You know what's amazing? My old Atari 2600 joysticks still work great, sometimes I'll plug them in and Play Sonic 2 with it. (have to start game with gen controllers, cause ataris only button is "B", so there's no start button)..

[Kogen]

Wow, some of you guys are either extremely retarded or just unlucky. I have like 4 3-button pads and the only one that doesn't work right is like it because I got stuff inside the the C-button a long time ago(cleaning would fix it, I guess). Other than that, all my controllers work perfectly. So don't say it's fact when I have a bunch of well used controllers that work perfectly. And to say a PSOne pad is good voids anything you can say - it's easily one of the worst designed and built controllers of all time on a popular console.

The only ones I ever had randomly break are third-party ones.

[evildragon]

Just because you say yours work doesn't mean it's fact either. You may just had good luck.

[TmEE]

there's no point in arguing... some of us are lucky and/or take good care of their stuff

[mick_aka]

Is it at all possible that build quality differed by region?

All of my old (grey start button) 3 button pads, of which I have around 8-10 of, are working perfectly, even the one I've used so much it's worn smooth and shiney!

However, the later 3 button pads I have (red start button) do not work correctly, not a single one of them, and I generally just butcher them to use the outter casings with older pad innards.

[evildragon]

Actually, I think the red button ones are early.

[TmEE]

I have pair of red button ones...

[evildragon]

ANYWAY, this argument is stupid, lets move back on topic, which is about wireless controllers from messiah, and the petition.

[GameUser-16-32-128]

my experience says otherwise

It's very strange how your 3 button controllers can still work when the "A" button on mine just decided to not work. This was on a model 1 bought in February of 1990 at a Playco store in Southern California after playing Altered Beast and Revenge Of Shinobi extensively for 6 months. I messed up the screws in the back trying to get them off so I could open the controller, but I was using the wrong screwdriver at the time (silly me). Those 6 button controllers I bought the day Street Fighter II: SCE was out were rock-solid and flawless in design, functionality and longetivity. I never had a problem with them. You probably only played with your 3 button MD2 controllers less than any of us did. Maybe that's way they still function properly for you. :?

[Scooter]

I've never had a control pad fail on me on any of my systems new and old (Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast, PS1, PS1, N64). I have plenty of pads that have the buttons worn to shiny condition. I've been playing for a decade and a half on the same Genesis control pad without a single problem ever.

[mick_aka]

Is it at all possible that build quality differed by region?

I really would like to know this, does anyone here actively use pads from different regions?



Actually, I think the red button ones are early.

The grey button pads came with my MegaDrive 1, the red button pads with my MegaDrive 2 (matches the power and reset buttons on the MD2)

[Zebbe]

InternalPrimate: Have you posted about this at DigitPress? It would be a good place to do it.

[InternalPrimate]

Wow. This kind of got off track. The Genesis 6-Button controller may be my favorite controller ever, which is why I'd love to see it go wireless :D

As for Messiah's quality, I can vouch for them. I now own two SNES pads and two NES pads. Both work perfectly. All controllers also have the batteries they came with. Which I think is impressive since I use my SNES a lot. The one issue everyone should know about though, is the lack of a d-pad.

Instead of a d-pad, Messiah implemented a "Rotating Directional Pad". Here's their bullet point for this feature:


360° Rotating Directional Pad: The Wireless Controllers features an Arcade Style 360 degree D-pad. The top thumb rest of the D-pad rotates freely allowing you to execute even the most difficult combinations effortlessly.

Basically, it feels a little between the PSP "nub" and a Neo.Geo portable stick. It takes a little getting used to at first, but I've come to prefer it. Except in fighters. Whereas I can pull off a shoryuken 90% of the time with a wired pad, that drops to around 75% of the time with Messiah's pad. That's a real statistic right there. I actually sat down, counted, and did the math :D


And Zebbe, the link is now in my sig. Thanks for the advice. Also, you're the reason the petition's title is ...Genesis/Mega Drive... and not ...Genesis/MegaDrive... :p

[Kogen]

A 360 degree pad? If it had that, I'd not get it. My only experience with that sort of thing was it sucking.


Just because you say yours work doesn't mean it's fact either. You may just had good luck.

I didn't say it was fact, I was just disputing someone else's egotistical claim of fact. I'll agree with what someone else said: it's due to taking care of it and partially on luck(as is everything).

[megabomberman]

Kogen you are such a wum, lets leave this be now, if any one pleases we can start up a new thread and rant about it for the next week....

But we should leave this thread to Tom and his ambitious effort to bolster the Megadrives hardware division!

Good on you!

[Kogen]

I'm not entirely sure what a "wum" is, but you're the one going on about it. I was merely replying to someone else, not you.

If you actually looked at the focus of my post instead of being a nerd, I was commenting on how a 360 touch-pad would ruin the purchase for me. A normal 6-button controller with wireless is all I want. And I would likely use this with an Atari 2600 too as the joysticks suck.

[Zebbe]

And Zebbe, the link is now in my sig. Thanks for the advice. Also, you're the reason the petition's title is ...Genesis/Mega Drive... and not ...Genesis/MegaDrive... :p

Great :D! Your words about the SNES and NES pads really makes the hopefully upcoming Mega Drive/Genesis ones even more anticipated by me. That 360 degree rotation thingy sounds interesting :).

[TmEE]

It's very strange how your 3 button controllers can still work when the "A" button on mine just decided to not work. This was on a model 1 bought in February of 1990 at a Playco store in Southern California after playing Altered Beast and Revenge Of Shinobi extensively for 6 months. I messed up the screws in the back trying to get them off so I could open the controller, but I was using the wrong screwdriver at the time (silly me). Those 6 button controllers I bought the day Street Fighter II: SCE was out were rock-solid and flawless in design, functionality and longetivity. I never had a problem with them. You probably only played with your 3 button MD2 controllers less than any of us did. Maybe that's way they still function properly for you. :?

Well... I've had my MD since around 2000 and the controllers have standed pretty much everyday use since that time... I have cleaned A button once though...

And I don't really like this 360 degree rotator idea

[108 Stars]

Well, the 360°-D-pad sounds very nice indeed; especially when playing games that require fast reaction, an average D-pad with it´s edges can hurt the thumb in long sessions.

[playgen]

The little stick on the Neo Geo Pocket is superb, so if its anything like that then all the better.

[evildragon]

The grey button pads came with my MegaDrive 1, the red button pads with my MegaDrive 2 (matches the power and reset buttons on the MD2)
Interesting, cause here in America, that's backwards. Early Model 1's had red buttons, but all later systems had white buttons.

[InternalPrimate]

The little stick on the Neo Geo Pocket is superb, so if its anything like that then all the better.

I was actually really hesitant about comparing it to the neo geo pocket... I completely agree that it's superb, but the Messiah controllers aren't exactly like that. I just wanted to stress that while it feels as low to the controller as the PSP nub, it's more of a stick like the neo geo pocket.

Like I said, it takes some getting used to. This is because not a lot of movement is required to make a character move. Once you get used to it though it feels really comfortable. The pad is concave so you won't have to worry about blistering fingers. Which was a MAJOR problem for me back when I spent 2-3 hours a day playing Street Fighter :D

[Zebbe]

Tom, how many internet autographs do you want before the petition is sent in?

[InternalPrimate]

Before actually posting it, I was hoping for 1,000. It's going super slow though, and I don't know if I can get enough exposure. So we'll see.

[Zebbe]

We should tell Ken to post this on the main page. 50 000 visitors a month should bring some more signers. Just 2% of those and the goal is reached!

[Mr Smith]

Couldn't be bothered to read all four pages of this post so can somebody summarize it for me. I'm going to sign that petition thingy now.

[InternalPrimate]

Couldn't be bothered to read all four pages of this post so can somebody summarize it for me. I'm going to sign that petition thingy now.

Me begging for signatures... megabomberman and Kogen argument... me begging for signatures. Four pages of nonsense :p


We should tell Ken to post this on the main page. 50 000 visitors a month should bring some more signers. Just 2% of those and the goal is reached!

I think that's a great idea. I'll run it by Ken. I'm also thinking of coming up with an article about this, hopefully that would garner a little more exposure.

[Dirt Ball Gamer]

Sighned it yo

[InternalPrimate]

Much appreciated :) I just got home from class, and Vinny suggested posting on the Sega.com forums. I'm going to look into it first thing tomorrow. I kind of ran around certain forums today, and got nothing done. I need to rethink my strategy in promoting this.

[108 Stars]

So, InternalPrimate, now that you have given me the sexual service I demanded for helping spread the word (I promise I won´t tell anyone about the huge mole on your butt), I made a thread on a big German Sega-forum and linked to the petition.

[InternalPrimate]

Thanks for the help Stars. Like I said, it's really slow going right now, so I need all the help and support I can get.

I also just took Vinny's advice and posted a thread on Sega.com's website. It's under the older systems forum. I've tried several forums though, and this is really the only one in which I've gotten a positive response so far. Like I said, I still believe the demand is there, it's just a matter of searching out those who would want this, and getting them to take some time and sign a petition.

EDIT: I just added the petition to digg, so if anyone wants to help, maybe just digg the story.

[AD2101]

Signed it. Its up to 44 signatures I just hope if they make this its not the same as the cheapy wireless ones you can snag on ebay. I'd like to think they'll be as responsive and as nice as the Sega first party wired 6 button controllers, holy shit would that rule.

[InternalPrimate]

We're up to 50, which is where I wanted to be at STARTING the day. Thanks again for everyone's support!

[Zebbe]

We could really need a banner right under "Latest review/feature" at the start page...

[108 Stars]

Maybe Sega-16 could hype it a bit with a feature?

[InternalPrimate]

Maybe Sega-16 could hype it a bit with a feature?

That responsibility falls on my shoulders. The thing is, I'm already two weeks late on another feature I have to write. I just need to figure things out.

53 signatures right now. I hoped for more, but I'm not complaining. I'm still waiting to hear back from a couple of websites about promoting the petition. I'm still of the opinion that I'll keep the petition going for as long as it takes.

[108 Stars]

You should really do a feature asap; ´m ashamed to say it, but in Germany´s biggest forum regarding retro and Sega-stuff, many people either don´t trust the petition or say that new controllers (and stuff like Mega Cart, Beggar Prince or anything new for old consoles) are useless crap anyway. Such are the words of diehard Sega-"fans" and collectors...

[Zebbe]

Say that...?

[matteus]

Well that might be a German opinion but it certainly isn't a British one....*waves flag*

Funny how we take the Retro scene with open arms....

[108 Stars]

Yes, I am truly ashamed of my people. I think I must use my authority as Kaiser to throw all those morons into a dungeon.

[TmEE]

I'm the retro scene in Estonia... and maybe few other people who I don't know... Retro as we call it, MD and such...

[David J.]

I just signed it... computer access is limted, but eh, I signed it. :)

[InternalPrimate]

Again, thanks for the support. I'll start a feature today, putting it at a higher priority than my other obligations (which I swear I'll finish soon!).

[KnightWarrior]

I don't like the 3 Button controller

I just love my 6 button Controller..I'm not signing, why...

I dont like the O shape dpad...not good in fighting game or games like Sonic...

[108 Stars]

WTF? Such a D-Pad is especially good for Street Fighter II and the likes!^^

[sonicwatcher6969]

Nobody said you HAD to buy one, you could just sign for the rest of us, because we might want one.

[108 Stars]

Because people who are not interested in the product prefer to spend the 2 minutes it might take to sign complaining about the idea instead of just helping the others.

[KnightWarrior]

I just signed...

Do a Saturn Style Controller

[TmEE]

I don't like the controller either but I signed anyway... 20th to do it

[InternalPrimate]

Just a little update:

This week I've been buried in mid-terms. I've literally been studying for tests tomorrow since 9am this morning. So I didn't forget my petition, and I'm not giving up.

As for the feature, I'm at a crossroads. Before coming up with the petition, I decided that I'd write a feature on the Yobo Famiclone/Genesis. I ran the idea of holding some kind of contest for the machine (I have no use for it) once the feature was finished by ken. He ok'd it, and I bought the console.

So I'm wondering if I should somehow incorporate the petition in with the feature/contest, or write an entirely separate feature. Again, I value all of your opinions!

[108 Stars]

So, Internal Primate! Still waitin´for that feature!

But in the meantime a guy from a German forum has asked Messiah about MD-controllers....and here is their answer:

Hello,

Thanks for your comments.

Right now we are in development of Genesis (MegaDrive) controllers but don't have a firm release date yet.

Please check our website for updates.

Thank you for supporting Messiah Entertainment, Inc.

Sounds promising, right?

So I say you get that feature up pretty soon to back them up and show the interest!

[Zebbe]

Great. I wonder if these 77 signatures helped them determine their decision... ^^

[108 Stars]

Well, I bet it would be 777 by now if we had the article online...:(

[Zebbe]

Perhaps even all seven fever :).

[Mr Smith]

My contribution should count for at least 200 signatures from average people.

[Joe Redifer]

Sign my petition! (http://www.petitiononline.com/joered12/petition.html)

[Mr Smith]

I was expecting an on-line petition to make you King of the Known Universe or something similar. I must admit though, on-line petitions are, for the most part, gay and I was very tempted to sign.

[Dirt Ball Gamer]

Yo, blow tha whistle

[1magus]

SIGNED!