Video: Modding the all-in-one Atari 2600 controller

Those of us who grew up in the 1980’s fondly remember all the time we spent playing video games on the stalwart Atari 2600.

And those who were born after everyone’s favorite decade? Well, there is always retro gaming and plenty of accompanying (software) emulators.

Recently, a new mod tipped up that will make it easy to claim every one of the control types needed for those retro Atari 2600 games. As you can see in the image above and video below, the case for this custom joystick is housed in a wooden box that’s painted black.

It features a joystick cannibalized from another video game controller and boasts an ethernet cable, a slew of finger-friendly external switches and buttons, along with some electronics inside the box.

One of my favorite games the Atari 2600 was the original Pole Position back in the day. If you like Pole or any of the other titles that require the rotating paddle controller, you’ll be happy to know that the silver knob you see under the joystick rotates for control and can be used with ease for such games.

The talented individual who created the custom controller goes by the handle X2Jiggy and all of the instructions needed to make your own version are available on Instructables.

Frankly, the entire project doesn’t seem too overly complicated for even someone who thinks of themselves as a novice DIY enthusiast. So, yes, check out the video to learn more about building a retro Atari controller.