Whatever Happened to the Joystick

Sometimes technology disappears completely, but often it just fades into the background – still existing, still being used and sold and, occasionally, desired, but probably looking wistfully back on past glories.

Which neatly described the joystick’s steady slide away from THE gaming peripheral to a fondly remembered icon. But the joystick’s tale is a long and convoluted one – and it worth looking back into its often mysterious and ill-studied history before explaining why it will rise from the ashes like the mythical phoenix.