Gaming

Why use a joystick when gaming?

I have been playing video games since the late 80’s. My passion has always been in fighting games; such as Street Fighter (Entire series), Mortal Kombat (Entire series), Double Dragon, Streets of Rage, Shinobi, Marvel vs. Capcom (Whole series), and many others. It was always very difficult for me, after several hours of play, to perform certain movements with ease and rapid precision because my thumbs and palms hurt and throbbed tremendously. This would bother me so much that I would consider quitting.

Don’t get me wrong, I love traditional thumb pads, they are great and have been modeled and adjusted over the years to make the gaming experience more enjoyable, fun, and less throbbing (smile). However, it doesn’t matter which systems you played on; be it Saga Genesis, Nintendo, NEO GEO, PlayStation (1-4), XBOX, XBOX ONE, etc., I found that traditional pads could not avoid sore thumb syndrome after hours of gaming.

I decided that I couldn’t take it anymore and that it was time to fully enjoy the various games that I have grown to love playing over the years. My solution was to try something different … get on the Joystick! I bought my first joystick in 1992 for the Sega Genesis and it was the best investment from a gaming perspective that I chose to make. Suddenly I went from being a very good player to an exceptional player in my inner circle of friends of the game.

I remember before online games existed; I played with friends during our neighborhood gaming sessions and they accused me of unfair play because I was able to perform movements with precision and without hesitation due to playing with a joystick. Playing with a joystick led me to be even more passionate about games than ever. It even led my friends to start using them because they saw the advantage it created for me.

I know that not all joysticks are the same and can be expensive, but with research you can find the inexpensive ones that are right for you. I understand that some gamers still prefer to use the traditional pad that comes with consoles, but I must admit that playing with a joystick has saved my gaming experience and my thumbs; all while constantly maintaining and renewing my love for games old and new today.

If you are a true gamer and you love video games, and you want to get the most out of each game, I recommend that you switch to a joystick and you will not regret having done it.

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