The Sega Saturn IR Pads

Some months ago I was browsing ebay.fr, when I suddenly saw some Sega Saturn Joypads in their original box. Since I am a mad collector of Sega Saturn stuff, I had to get these. After a closer examination (the original picture made by the seller was probably from a webcam made pre 1990) I noticed that those pads are actually wireless infrared pads. I didn't know that there were such things available for the Saturn, since I never was interested in wireless stuff. My father once bought a wireless (radio controlled) mouse, which didn't work at all. We once had a wireless (radio controlled) keyboard for the PC, which didn't work too well either. Hell, we even had wireless LAN at home, which... you guessed it, didn't work too well either. So naturally I wasn't a fan of wireless things. That was until I experienced the Xbox 360 and PS3 wireless pads as well as the Nintendo Wiimote, which DO work quite well. I remember my mate, throwing a strike in WiiSports bowling, whilst taking a dump on the toilet. So, the new Bluetooth technology seemed to work really well, whereas the old radio controlled technique worked not so well... what should I think about the old infrared technology then?

There are two things, which make these pads so great:

IR TECHNOLOGY

When I tested these pads for the first time I really wasn't expecting anything. I even was expecting, that they don't work at all and have a lag or something like that. I was then even more amazed, when I noticed that they work nearly as well as the bluetooth pads on the nextgen consoles. They have a really large freedom of movement. I can even turn my back to the Saturn and play whilst aiming the pad at my wall! Also there is no noticable lag. Every command is executed as if I'd play with an ordinary pad. There is only one point in my room, where the pad does not work anymore, but that's a point, where I don't see the TV anymore either. So... totally amazing IR technology, which I haven't experienced like that before.

DESIGN

The other great thing about them is, that they have been slightly changed in design. At first I was like: "Oh noes, the Sega Saturn pad is the best possible Joypad ever made, how can they change its design?". When I was holding it for the first time I immediately felt it to be more comfortable. It's a tad thicker and especially heavier now, due to the batteries you have to insert at the back. That gives it an even better feeling than the original, very light weight pads. The little chambers, where you put the batteries, also stand out a bit, which gives you a much better grip. Also the shoulder buttons are a tad different now. They don't dangle losely around anymore, but fit thight and have a... "more comfortable" microswitch inside. It's hard to explain, but everything feels much more solid! The D-Pad feels a bit different as well, with much softer movement plus it has this weird stuff on it, which gives it more grip. But maybe that'll hurt after long gaming sessions. This I have yet to test.


So, when I post an extensive text like this one, only for some weird Sega Saturn joypads, I must be really amazed. I never thought, that you can improve the original Sega Saturn pad plus I feel a little bit nextgen due to the new freedom I have whilst playing Saturn. The pads have its price, though. For the set of two pads, a receiver and the original Box I had to pay around 45 EUR, which is quite much. They have also been released in Japan, so maybe you can get those a bit cheaper. I can only recommend them to anyone who is used to his Xbox360 or PS3 wireless pads by now.