Rock Paper Shotgun writer struggles to run Microsoft's 1996 SideWinder Game Pad on modern PCs
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In a Rock Paper Shotgun retrospective, the writer could not get the original Microsoft SideWinder gamepad working on a current PC and tested a later USB SideWinder model instead.
A Rock Paper Shotgun writer paid 2 euros at a car boot sale in 2026 for Microsoft's 1996 SideWinder Game Pad 1.0, aiming to test it on modern PCs and games.
The pad uses a 15-pin game port that USB later displaced. An old Sound Blaster Live card proved incompatible and a game port-to-USB adapter did not help, so the writer turned to the newer USB SideWinder Plug and Play.
That model held up in Final Fantasy VII, Balatro and Stardew Valley, but in Titanfall 2 the writer could not sprint or turn the camera, and incomplete control mapping also blocked shooting.
Microsoft started the SideWinder brand in 1995 and dropped it in 2003, supposedly over poor sales.
The writer judges that getting the original pad onto current systems is a compatibility hurdle too great for many people.
The Rock Paper Shotgun writer dates the Microsoft SideWinder Game Pad 1.0 to 1996.
At a car boot sale in 2026, the writer paid 2 euros for a SideWinder Game Pad 1.0 and set out to try it with modern PCs and games.
The controller connects through a 15-pin game port, a connector later phased out as USB took over, and the writer says game port-to-USB adapters are now hard to obtain.
The writer's 1990s Creative Sound Blaster Live card did not work with their motherboard, after which they bought two more SideWinders along with a game port-to-USB adapter.
Following further unsuccessful attempts, the writer settled on the newer SideWinder Plug and Play, which offers USB but has fewer buttons.
Playing Titanfall 2, the writer could neither sprint nor turn the camera, and incomplete control mapping also prevented shooting.
According to the writer, the SideWinder held up in Final Fantasy VII, Balatro and Stardew Valley.
The SideWinder brand debuted in 1995 with the 3D Pro and Standard joysticks.
According to the source, Microsoft closed the SideWinder brand in 2003, supposedly because of poor sales.
In the writer's view, the compatibility problem will prove too much for many people.
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