How The Sega Dreamcast Solved Joystick Drift 20 Years Ago

The Sega Dreamcast is a system that set a lot of interesting ideas in motion for game consoles with one part being looked into heavily to now solve Joystick drift for different systems like the Nintendo Switch. Today we'll take a look at the Dreamcast controller and why it doesn't drift.

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Twitter: @SpawnWaveMedia

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#Sega #Dreamcast #SegaDreamcast

[HutchMuch]

something i immediately noticed is how easy this controller looks to repair. phillips head screws, singular large board, very few pieces, that’s so cool

[gamernaut]

I've taken apart the Saturn's Arcade Racer wheel and noticed that it, too, had no potentiometer or any physical parts rubbing together like other racing wheels of that era. It rather had a ring rotating by a sensor that read the grooves that were cut out of the ring. Possibly some magnetism at work here as well. SEGA apparently had some genius hardware engineers.

[maverick]

The Dreamcast didn't fail us, we failed the Dreamcast.

[Mr.Septon]

Joystick drift is something that just absolutely drives me nuts. Having it resolved decades ago just makes it all the more awful.

[mbh]

I still have the same four Dreamcast controllers that I’ve had for decades… no drift. I guess this is one of those situations where you say… They don’t make things like they used to.

[thatryeguy]

Wow, Sega was the best. I bought my Dreamcast that I currently have on day one, 9/9/99, and I had no idea the analog controller used this technology. My mind is blown. Thanks Spawnwave!!

[TFxTV]

I've always thought the dreamcast analogue stick felt alot tighter and more accurate than anything else, explains why it feels soo good to play games with it, that and the size makes it a joy to hold

[markx]

Obviously, Sega knows how to make a joystick. After all, they were the only console maker (after the exit of Atari) with years of experience in the Arcade business. Arcade machines take a lot of abuse, so it better not be too fragile.

People who owned Sega consoles knew their controllers were the best. The problem was convincing the masses who only ever played with a Playstation controller and had grown used to its inadequacies. Talk of who had the best controller just wasn’t much of a thing in the early 2000’s when everyone was obsessed with graphics.

[fredo]

I think the wildest thing is how that stick isn't even soldered down. That's cool as hell.

[MaskedGuyCh]

I still miss the Dreamcast and its beautiful startup. The controller was way ahead of its time too.

[andremalerba]

I think other companies haven't followed this trend 'cause these sensors might be more expensive and companies always charged a lot for new controllers so if it breaks they can sell more

[marccaselle]

I too miss Sega being in the hardware race. I put all my eggs in the Dreamcast basket.

I bought over 50 games for it and had 4 controllers and 4 vmus and all the manuals. It was a awesome system with lots of fun games.

I wonder if it had a DVD drive and played DVDs, if it would have stuck around a few more years.

I'm sure there was lots of games in development when Sega said Yoink! And pulled the plug.

These days I play Dreamcast on barocera and it's amazing!

[MmntechCa]

IDK why Hall sensors aren't just the default. I can't imagine they're saving that much money, since they're in literally in every brushless DC motor. Then again, if they made the controllers more reliable, they couldn't charge you $70-$100 for a new one every two years.

[DarkReturns]

The Dreamcast was the first system I ever bought, with my own money anyways. I'll never forget the first time I saw Soul Calibur. What an amazing system for it's time!
After that I bought an Xbox at launch, which was even more awesome because of all the Dreamcast sequels!

[sparkz]

Weird that he didn't mention the triggers are also hall sensors. Current xbox controllers use the same technique for the triggers. Hopefully they all start to use hall sensors soon.

[matthewcortazzo]

So cool to see this! I am currently equipping hall effect sensors in an industrial application for monitoring fan speeds, and it's really cool to see the tech was applied to a controller 20 years ago!

[non_one_c]

I’ve been using the same Dreamcast Controller for my entire life and it still holds up well and feels perfectly. No issues at all.

[HarryVoyager]

Hall Effect sensors have been big in flight sim joysticks for years, largely because they are both very precise and don't wear out.

I think they took hold earlier there because it ended up being such a niche market serviced by enthusiasts, so it was easier to justify in a $200-$300+ joystick.

[DanielSerranoRamos]

Sega has always been super innovative and pushing the boundaries. Back in the '80s the Sega Master system here in the US had active shutter 3D glasses for a couple of their 3D games something that most people wouldn't have in their own home until the 3D glasses craze for TVs hit about 6 years ago.

[gamered]

I put a concave stick cap on my Dreamcast controller and it feels perfect.

The convex surface and rough plastic is my only complaint with it. I haven’t ever even had trigger problems with mine.