I actually owned two of these back in the day, and I used them constantly on my friend's Atari 800XL computer. Playing Spelunker and other timing-sensitive games was a million times better with that huge controller in my hand. I miss them enough to want to buy another couple of those and a working used Atari 2600. And then I'd need about 20 different games and I'm good to go! Who needs the PS3 or 4, or the XBox 360 or One? Or even a Nintendo anything? Okay, maybe that's overdoing it....
I thought it was pronounced the way Mark pronounced it to be honest but after a look about online seems it is pronounced 'wicko' - I was basing it on how Wipac is pronounced.
Excellent joystick, although I prefer the bat version. Perfect for Atari 2600 games, I set my last world on Seaquest using one. And I have modded another one to use the two buttons separately for MSX machines.
This is a nice stick, I just reacquired the one from my youth recently (we used ours with Atari 8-bit and ST computers rather than 2600) and it actually works better now than it did back in the late '80s/early '90s -- evidently it needed a rest! One of the reasons this is still a good stick is the fact it doesn't use flimsy clicky microswitches and is thus a lot more sturdy and less prone to failure than some later, cheaper sticks. Take good care of it and this will last for a good few years.
I had this controller for my Atari 800 computer for many years! I had both the famous red ball and bat stick versions. Both long gone, donated. Right now, I have more joysticks and one them, an HRAP 3 SA, has a reproduction Wico redball handle mounted on the joystick lever. It's a red part joystick and one of my controllers. Honestly, they're not good for fighting games. Those grommets are terrible and make diagonal movements harder. You need to be able to do diagonals to play Street Fighter or the SNK fighting games.
Original controller was built like a tank? Hardly, we went through a ton of those things in the early 80s. The inside was white plastic junk and the rubber boot on the outside didn't last long either.
My dad had this joystick when I was a kid... only he didn't play on the Atari with it. This joystick was great for games on the Commodore 64 just like the original Atari joysticks. Any controller with a 9 pin connector would be compatible with the Commodore 64. Even the Sega Genesis controller would be compatible.
Actually WICO just made an adapter for the 5200 that you just plug the command controller into and it has a keypad for the 5200 too. And the second buttons work as the 5200's second button. And lastly because it is an adapter you can plug in other controllers too like the genesis controller.
Try one off those Suzo The Arcade joysticks, those are one of the best josticks ever made! Look for the first becase it is the best version of The Arcade.
On what computer were u playing zerg? Im kinda new too retto games, but i love them:3 i have NES, C64, Atari STe 1024/520 and a Atari STf. i bought them to make Chiptune music, but the games are REALLY cool. And im not even a gamer, except for oldskool games^^
I have one that looks slightly different that I got with some Amiga device I bought. I thought it was the worst joystick I've ever used. The stick was too damn stiff and it took far too much energy to move. I can see from the video yours does not suffer from this issue. Though I wonder if that's because yours is well used, thus, it started out like crap, or if the same model name really had two different versions of such differing quality. I have a Wicco (no model on the device but online they call it a 500) that was/is the best joystick I ever had for the Amiga.
Wether it's called the Why Co or Wick O "I would call it Wicko in my part of the woods" is debateable but when it comes to it this looks like a damn good aftermarket joystick for the 2600 a system where pads shouldn't really be used on as it was sticks only back then although they are being used on there in modern days.
I have a couple of Wico controllers for the 2600 here. One is simply called "BOSS", with a gray and black base, and a trigger-style grip with the button on top. The other one is basically the same as what you have here, but you can swap out the joystick part for a trigger-style, ball or club-looking thing. It also has a way to switch between 4 and 8-way control. Found both of these at my local thrift store for less than $2 each. Now if I could only find a Wico controller for my 5200 for that cheap....
I remember my cousin had the BOSS controller for her 2600 but I never warmed up to it. The 2600 aftermarket controller I used was by a company called Pointmaster and it was pretty decent for what it did, but damn was it tall. Maybe even taller than the Wico CC that Mark used here.
lil hack for berzerk... stand adjacent to a wall near a robot and slightly move back the robot will chase you and hit the wall 9 times out of 10. i usually try to sneak a diagonal shot in and use a wall as cover.. they will rush the wall and die. BY HITTING THE WALL. lmfao
We had a Wico Command Control for the Vic-20. Dad broke both of the original controllers, so he got this one as a replacement. Excellent build quality, we could absolutely wrench on it without concern.
I have a wico 5200 command control with that stupid adapter cable that costs a small fortune on its own. I was damn lucky to find it with a 5200 4-port and a 2600jr in box for $10 at a yard sale. I think I used up my yard sale luck for the year at that place.
I preferred the "baseball bat" version. The little rubber feet were the only things to die on mine, too. Melted like they were made out of gummy licorice.
There's an Activision plug n' play that has the control shape based off this Wico control. I think I read that it was made that was as a tribute to 3rd party accessories since the collection was a 3rd party developer at the time for the Atari.
Nice video- I had another version of that Wico joystick for my Atari 800 when I was a kid. After a while it stopped moving to the right, but it was great while it lasted.
You can fix those Wicos just by gently bending the metal and reattaching the wire for whatever direction stopped working. A soldering iron from Radio Shack is all you need for the repair. Well, and also a roll of soldering flux. What's that, $12? =)
well, all depending on which version of the Wico Commander you have (I've got one 'Balltop' version, same as in the review and one 'Bat-style'), since the 'Bat-style' one I have utilizes both buttons in a lot of Amiga 500/1200 games (those that support two buttons, that is - such as the Turrican games, etc.)
16 Bit Video Game Review I've got one that is the same model number but looks slightly different. Worst joystick ever. Takes all your strength just to move the thing. Too stiff. The button select is for which button you want to be the first button. With two button games both will work. You probably got the crappy one like I do. Bad practice to make two joysticks with the same name perform so differently. Wondering if perhaps the joysticks people like are just well used and have stopped being stiff. Strange that the same model would have such different build qualities. I have a different Wicco (with white rubber - no model number) that is the best joystick I ever had...
Wico controllers kick ass. Damn near impossible to break and can be used as a bludgeon when necessary. I've got two of the ball top models hooked up to my Atari ST, two "bat" versions attached to the C128 and another bat for use with MAME.
Serious question: Since the Wico has a button on top of the stick and can therefore be used equally well with either hand, why are you using your RIGHT hand to work the stick? If you prefer gamepads, shouldn't you be using your LEFT hand to work the stick, since all gamepads are designed with the movement controls on the left? I always find it interesting that so many right-handed people love gamepads and will defend them as being the best way for a right-handed person to play video games, but hand them an ambidextrous joystick like the Wico and they instinctively use it with their right hand.
@@josephheston9238 And yet back in the 80s, left-handed gamers found the standard Atari joystick awkward to use since it had the stick on the right and they wanted to use it with their LEFT hand. In fact, at least one company made a left-handed adapter that allowed you to turn the stick 90 degrees to the right. Back then, if a joystick/controller didn't force you to use a specific hand, everyone held the controller with their non-dominant hand and used their dominant hand to work the stick. Which is why gamepads (and many arcade controls) always seemed backwards to me. I find playing left-handed to be EXTREMELY awkward.
About how you get these packages... I notice your address goes to a US site, and I was just wondering - Is this some sort of forwarding facility? Do you use rockets or are the packages beamed directly to you somehow? Just curious!
***** My faves of old school joysticks (possibly to review): * The Amiga Power Stick...teeny..tiny, palm it, and it shreds. * The Epyx 500XJ, similar form factor, but with a larger throw. * The Zircon Video Command (aka the Fairchild Channel F controller for other systems)... awesome for shooters.
That was my favorite controller for my Commodore 128 back in the day!
These were the elite controllers for their day. I had one for my Atari-800.
Everyone I knew who had one pronounced it Wick-O
I actually owned two of these back in the day, and I used them constantly on my friend's Atari 800XL computer. Playing Spelunker and other timing-sensitive games was a million times better with that huge controller in my hand. I miss them enough to want to buy another couple of those and a working used Atari 2600. And then I'd need about 20 different games and I'm good to go! Who needs the PS3 or 4, or the XBox 360 or One? Or even a Nintendo anything? Okay, maybe that's overdoing it....
3:34 & 3:46 - Did I just hear a voiceover on an Atari 2600 game?! =D
I always thought it was pronounced Wick-o
I'd've thought Wee-Ko...like Nico, Chico, and Pico (de Gallo).
That's what I thought too, especially when I heard a commercial that had a jingle that said "Your stick-o won't go wack-o, unless it's Wico."
Todd Hargosh So it is Wico lol!
I thought it was pronounced the way Mark pronounced it to be honest but after a look about online seems it is pronounced 'wicko' - I was basing it on how Wipac is pronounced.
Excellent joystick, although I prefer the bat version. Perfect for Atari 2600 games, I set my last world on Seaquest using one.
And I have modded another one to use the two buttons separately for MSX machines.
but can i use it to play truxton on the sega genesis
It works wonderfully on c64. I used it as a child at my Grandfather's to play Classic games which were a whole new world to me at the time.
This is a nice stick, I just reacquired the one from my youth recently (we used ours with Atari 8-bit and ST computers rather than 2600) and it actually works better now than it did back in the late '80s/early '90s -- evidently it needed a rest! One of the reasons this is still a good stick is the fact it doesn't use flimsy clicky microswitches and is thus a lot more sturdy and less prone to failure than some later, cheaper sticks. Take good care of it and this will last for a good few years.
I had this controller for my Atari 800 computer for many years!
I had both the famous red ball and bat stick versions. Both long gone, donated.
Right now, I have more joysticks and one them, an HRAP 3 SA, has a reproduction Wico redball handle mounted on the joystick lever. It's a red part joystick and one of my controllers.
Honestly, they're not good for fighting games. Those grommets are terrible and make diagonal movements harder. You need to be able to do diagonals to play Street Fighter or the SNK fighting games.
That commando controller sounds cool on paper but it does makes me wonder if future games could take advantage of the extra button or not?
Nice video! Thanks for the drip down memory lane with the 2600.
Original controller was built like a tank? Hardly, we went through a ton of those things in the early 80s. The inside was white plastic junk and the rubber boot on the outside didn't last long either.
why you pronouncing it like that?
🕹🕹🕹🕹🕹🕹🕹🕹🕹🕹🕹🕹🕹
Ethel the Cyborg Ninja is awesome & totally why I come to this channel.
Said nobody ever.
My dad had this joystick when I was a kid... only he didn't play on the Atari with it. This joystick was great for games on the Commodore 64 just like the original Atari joysticks. Any controller with a 9 pin connector would be compatible with the Commodore 64. Even the Sega Genesis controller would be compatible.
Actually WICO just made an adapter for the 5200 that you just plug the command controller into and it has a keypad for the 5200 too. And the second buttons work as the 5200's second button. And lastly because it is an adapter you can plug in other controllers too like the genesis controller.
You need a Tac-2 :)
Try one off those Suzo The Arcade joysticks, those are one of the best josticks ever made! Look for the first becase it is the best version of The Arcade.
Awesome video Mark 🙂. I used to see these wico joysticks being sold at my local flea market in the early to mid 1990s
On what computer were u playing zerg? Im kinda new too retto games, but i love them:3 i have NES, C64, Atari STe 1024/520 and a Atari STf.
i bought them to make Chiptune music, but the games are REALLY cool. And im not even a gamer, except for oldskool games^^
I have one that looks slightly different that I got with some Amiga device I bought. I thought it was the worst joystick I've ever used. The stick was too damn stiff and it took far too much energy to move. I can see from the video yours does not suffer from this issue. Though I wonder if that's because yours is well used, thus, it started out like crap, or if the same model name really had two different versions of such differing quality. I have a Wicco (no model on the device but online they call it a 500) that was/is the best joystick I ever had for the Amiga.
I pretty much had the exact same joystick for my Commodore 64. Bst joystick I ever had IMO, especially for that top fire button.
The BEST joystick for your Commodore 64, Vic-20, or Atari 2600
Great. now I just gotta remember he wants a different 5200 controller, and make one. ☺
Yep, that's what Ethel (and really just about anything) needed: More Heyzoos.
Holy crap that thing is a beast... We wants it, precious; We NEEDS it...
Wether it's called the Why Co or Wick O "I would call it Wicko in my part of the woods" is debateable but when it comes to it this looks like a damn good aftermarket joystick for the 2600 a system where pads shouldn't really be used on as it was sticks only back then although they are being used on there in modern days.
Always remember... THAT patent, is still pending.
I just noticed the exploding animation for the robots on Berserk is a smiley face.
I have a couple of Wico controllers for the 2600 here. One is simply called "BOSS", with a gray and black base, and a trigger-style grip with the button on top.
The other one is basically the same as what you have here, but you can swap out the joystick part for a trigger-style, ball or club-looking thing. It also has a way to switch between 4 and 8-way control.
Found both of these at my local thrift store for less than $2 each. Now if I could only find a Wico controller for my 5200 for that cheap....
I remember my cousin had the BOSS controller for her 2600 but I never warmed up to it. The 2600 aftermarket controller I used was by a company called Pointmaster and it was pretty decent for what it did, but damn was it tall. Maybe even taller than the Wico CC that Mark used here.
lil hack for berzerk... stand adjacent to a wall near a robot and slightly move back the robot will chase you and hit the wall 9 times out of 10. i usually try to sneak a diagonal shot in and use a wall as cover.. they will rush the wall and die. BY HITTING THE WALL. lmfao
I have two of these sticks. They're all I ever use with my 800XL. Using a Genesis pad kills the authenticity.
I had the pistol-grip version. (Before that I had a Wico Boss, which was the slightly downmarket version.)
if im not wrong that joystick is the same i got when i was a kid and it was working on the sega genesis !!!
Yes, the fire button was the "B" button, good for Road Rash if you don't need to punch or kick...
We had a Wico Command Control for the Vic-20. Dad broke both of the original controllers, so he got this one as a replacement. Excellent build quality, we could absolutely wrench on it without concern.
I have a wico 5200 command control with that stupid adapter cable that costs a small fortune on its own. I was damn lucky to find it with a 5200 4-port and a 2600jr in box for $10 at a yard sale. I think I used up my yard sale luck for the year at that place.
I think the 2600 joystick should be called the joy pad or gamestick
I had the Wico bat, it was awesome! It survived many of my tantrums
I preferred the "baseball bat" version.
The little rubber feet were the only things to die on mine, too. Melted like they were made out of gummy licorice.
You could use this to play some arcade sega genesis games like ms pacman and frogger.
Anyone else think CGR is just a elaborate cover for a grow op?
There's an Activision plug n' play that has the control shape based off this Wico control. I think I read that it was made that was as a tribute to 3rd party accessories since the collection was a 3rd party developer at the time for the Atari.
hmmm
Does anybody know if you could use a controller like this, to operate a 12v motor?
Y co built to last , but bloody awkward ! I have 8 or 9 of these and I hate them! But I like u , keep up the good work!
Who else skipped the" banished from..." intro when it was still used?
The Atari controllers worked for about a year, if you were lucky.
Nice video- I had another version of that Wico joystick for my Atari 800 when I was a kid. After a while it stopped moving to the right, but it was great while it lasted.
You can fix those Wicos just by gently bending the metal and reattaching the wire for whatever direction stopped working. A soldering iron from Radio Shack is all you need for the repair. Well, and also a roll of soldering flux. What's that, $12? =)
I've seen these around for quite some time. Even though I would go for a Sega Arcade Power Stick, seems like this one would be really cool to try out.
1:42 That's because it is.
I have one of these it's great. I've had it apart, very good build quality.
does this joystick work on the atari flashback consoles
I have two of these. Pretty cool stick! But I like the Wico Boss a lot better.
still that not a thats not a controllers it looks more like a claw machine
White Zombie's La sexxy!
It’s pronounced Wic Co.
I own 2 of these. Very awesome to own if you have a 2600.
I had that controller for a bit. Decent Joystick but I always felt that it was clunky and the two buttons made no sense to me.
well, all depending on which version of the Wico Commander you have (I've got one 'Balltop' version, same as in the review and one 'Bat-style'), since the 'Bat-style' one I have utilizes both buttons in a lot of Amiga 500/1200 games (those that support two buttons, that is - such as the Turrican games, etc.)
Inzimus Doto Zulen If I recall correctly the Two buttons did the exact same thing, but only could be toggled with a switch.
16 Bit Video Game Review
I've got one that is the same model number but looks slightly different. Worst joystick ever. Takes all your strength just to move the thing. Too stiff. The button select is for which button you want to be the first button. With two button games both will work. You probably got the crappy one like I do. Bad practice to make two joysticks with the same name perform so differently. Wondering if perhaps the joysticks people like are just well used and have stopped being stiff. Strange that the same model would have such different build qualities. I have a different Wicco (with white rubber - no model number) that is the best joystick I ever had...
Please review the Star Cursor.
How does it do for mrs pac man on the 7800?
Thanks for the Review Mark! I just picked one up per your recommendation! Party On Dude!
Wico controllers kick ass. Damn near impossible to break and can be used as a bludgeon when necessary. I've got two of the ball top models hooked up to my Atari ST, two "bat" versions attached to the C128 and another bat for use with MAME.
I really want all those games you have
What games do you play?
You can throw it at wolves?
this review has been approved by lord karnage
I have that controller for my Amiga 500!
Always thought it was meant for the Amiga :-P
Wico Command Control + Commodore 64C = VERY fun times in my early life!
loving the "PAT. PEND" on the bottom
Great. now I just gotta remember he wants a different 5200 controller, and make one. ☺
Nuts and milk
love it mark
I like the fire/action button on the ball of the joystick; really user friendly.
I have the baseball bat version of this controller and I love it. I'd rather have the ball version like you have, I plan on buying one eventually.
It's funny to imagine somebody creating a robot that walks around and shoots, but has one eye that rotates round and round.
Some ask: WICO? CGR asks: WHYNOTCO?
Serious question: Since the Wico has a button on top of the stick and can therefore be used equally well with either hand, why are you using your RIGHT hand to work the stick?
If you prefer gamepads, shouldn't you be using your LEFT hand to work the stick, since all gamepads are designed with the movement controls on the left?
I always find it interesting that so many right-handed people love gamepads and will defend them as being the best way for a right-handed person to play video games, but hand them an ambidextrous joystick like the Wico and they instinctively use it with their right hand.
He may be left-handed.
@@josephheston9238 And yet back in the 80s, left-handed gamers found the standard Atari joystick awkward to use since it had the stick on the right and they wanted to use it with their LEFT hand. In fact, at least one company made a left-handed adapter that allowed you to turn the stick 90 degrees to the right.
Back then, if a joystick/controller didn't force you to use a specific hand, everyone held the controller with their non-dominant hand and used their dominant hand to work the stick. Which is why gamepads (and many arcade controls) always seemed backwards to me. I find playing left-handed to be EXTREMELY awkward.
I wonder if Derek can stand a hit of that.
About how you get these packages... I notice your address goes to a US site, and I was just wondering - Is this some sort of forwarding facility? Do you use rockets or are the packages beamed directly to you somehow? Just curious!
***** My faves of old school joysticks (possibly to review):
* The Amiga Power Stick...teeny..tiny, palm it, and it shreds.
* The Epyx 500XJ, similar form factor, but with a larger throw.
* The Zircon Video Command (aka the Fairchild Channel F controller for other systems)... awesome for shooters.