Most of what I'll be posting on this site I’ll be able to explain, or at worst I'll have some interesting, illustrative context that I can share. I typically try to keep total mysteries close to the vest until I feel like I've exhausted all avenues of research, though. This unidentified gamepad falls into that second category; I have no provably concrete details to share about this thing, even after a good bit of hunting!
Is this controller a sample of something official -- perhaps planned, but never released? Is this an unknown third-party production that just happens to make use of a seemingly stock Atari 2600 Junior console part? Is this something a skilled hobbyist carefully machined and assembled? Is it something else entirely? (Get in touch if you have any details, or if you have one of these, too!)
I acquired this pad earlier this year from a seller in Malaysia. They stated that they didn't have any others of these to sell, and they said they didn't manufacture it themselves. The gold foil-like sticker on the back looks well-aged, and the controller doesn't otherwise seem like a modern creation, either. It's not 3D-printed; none of components seem new -- everything here conveys "decades-old". The one sticker on the front face looks like an audio cassette player drive/idler hub, but that doesn't hold any meaning that I'm familiar with, other than, you know, generally, the 1980s/1990s. If this wasn't the only one of these that I had I'd try lifting the sticker to look underneath, but... probably there's nothing there to find.
This mystery pad does, of course, resemble many Famiclone controllers. That being said, it doesn't have other features that are often common to FC gamepads (Start/Select buttons, microphone molding in the shell, a turbo option, etc). It was conceivably made for use with an Atari-compatible machine, having just a basic D-pad and two buttons which share functionality. It uses a standard DB9 plug with no identifying info. Its main feature is the cleanly-cut metal plate that seems to have been machined from the metal trim that gets used with "short-rainbow"-style 2600 Jr. consoles.
Obviously there are some similar Atari-compatible gamepads out there, like these basic JY101S pads that came with some 大雅電子股份有限公司 (Dar Yar Electronics Co. Ltd) produced 2600 clone consoles.
There's also the player two pad that came with the Dar Yar “2800” console, a 2600-compatible clone that strongly resembles the traditional red and white Famicom. The player two controller depicted on the box (which was not what was inside, at least in the one that I own) might be the closest analogue to this mystery pad.
At left, detail of the gamepads that came with my Dar Yar 2800 clone console; at right, the console box for the same 2800 that depicts a player two controller which looks even more similar to the mysterious Malaysian gamepad. Author photos.
Naturally, the most immediate comparison one might make is to the gamepad that Atari did release: the CX78 gamepad that could mostly be found in Europe and Australia (and has now recently been re-released by the modern iteration of Atari with the wildly creative "CX78+" name). The design and aesthetics of the "Europad" and this mystery gamepad aren't really all that alike. One could unscrew the little thumbstick from the D-pad, but even then, it's pretty dissimilar.
Anyway, I shared photos of this enigmatic pad with the Unauthorizon community on their Discord server a few months back. This cool place is full of folks who are unhinged (laudatory) in the exact right way to be experts in recognizing decades-old, sometimes obscure hardware, and can regularly identify commonalities, differences, unique things, etc. I am always impressed by the knowledge shared there.
The reverse side of the PCB inside the gamepad controller (left) plus a closeup detail view of the E logo on the board. Can you identify this? Author photos.
Here’s the opinion of Unauthorizon community denizen forple, which I super appreciated reading:
That "E" mark on the PCB is a manufacturer logo. I've seen it before but I don't know who it is
I don't think this was a hobbyist made controller
There's too many parts here that would require more than just a single hobbyist's typical part budget
Firstly, this shell is completely custom
It doesn't have Start/Select molded into it like the official controllers do. Naturally this would point to something like the Player 2 controller of an official controller since it lacks Start/Select buttons, except there's no evidence or trace of the microphone molded into the plastic
At most it's using a clone controller's mold of the 2P Controller that doesn't have turbo in some form and doesn't have the microphone, which is actually kind of a big ask out of many clone consoles
Since turbo controllers sort of became an unofficial standard, moreso when Sharp embraced this functionality officially with the Sharp Twin Famicom (otherwise it was limited to hardware mods or external controllers officially)
On top of what may be a totally custom controller shell, we've also got to cover the metal plate on the front, and that's already a good telltale sign, if not the "MADE IN MALAYSIA" sticker as well
That itself has to be custom made and would also absolutely cost a lot and couldn't easily just be done as a "please do like 2 of these" if you're using typical industrial services for this
The only way you could crank out a controller of this quality as a hobbyist is by either happening to have the right mold from an existing device to use as a base and having a high budget to get industrial quality metal adhesive plates made (that have to custom fit the controller's front) Or the creator "knows a few people" who just so happens to know everyone related to every part of the process
And that's saying a lot since the X1 JOY CARD exists as a controller, which Sharp made for their X1/X68000 machines, and that recycles their Famicom controller mold (specifically the 2P controller of the Twin/Titler consoles) and has essentially a laminated plastic piece slapped on the front.
Not to mention the numerous Famicom clone controllers made of much lesser quality that often cheap out on a front metal plate.
I would essentially conclude that this is supposed to be a well made third party controller, because it's better than most clone controllers in terms of (perceived) build quality and also much better than most hobbyist efforts of that time period (seriously, they got a custom PCB, controller buttons, and metal plates for this) and it arguably outdoes a lot of official controllers too for quality
If it's a hobbyist one off, then it's got to be a damn good one at that
Examples of the FC controller mold/components and the Sharp X1 Joycard gamepad controllers that Unauthorizon user forple posted with their comments in Discord.
Certainly, it should be noted that Atari has no known manufacturing history in Malaysia, so the chance of this being some kind of official product likely lies between slim and none. While the country was expanding and diversifying its electronics manufacturing industry during the 1980s and 1990s, one could (and still can) find a fair number of counterfeit and other unauthorized productions available there. That having been said, we're now decades after the the Atari 2600's heyday, and we're still finding and learning new things about it, so I wouldn't call the prospect of this gamepad being something official a total impossibility.
There's one last little clue, though, that (to me) hints that this gamepad is "official-adjacent" at best. Take a look and tell me this isn't the same typeface being used to label the two buttons. They’re not completely identical but they sure do seem like they came from the same manufacturer to me.
At left, close-up detail of the labeled buttons on the mystery Malaysian gamepad. At right, close-up detail of the labeled buttons on the JY101S gamepads. Both use what appears to be the same typeface.
Regardless, I do hope that I eventually learn more about this thing’s specific provenance. Mysteries are fun; solving mysteries is even more fun. And of course, if this kind of thing is super interesting for you like it is for me, and sharing/discussing clone hardware is right up your alley, consider becoming a Patron for Unauthorizon.
