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6 button gamepad (game port) on Windows 98 SE

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First post, by Danger Manfred

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I recently got this 6 button gamepad which I assume is an Interact PC Superpad.

The feel of it is great, almost exactly like a real SNES controller, even the plastic used feels identical, there's just two downsides:

- The buttons that you would assume to be Start and Select only turn autofire on and off respectively - it's not much of an issue though, since these are usually not used during actual gameplay but just in menus or to pause, and many games do not use the shoulder buttons, so I could probably just remap it.

- The real issue: Windows 98 SE only knows gamepads up to 4 buttons. I tried passing it off as a joystick with 6 buttons, but Windows would not recognize it as connected then.

I assume there must be a driver for it then, but I tried googling for it and found nothing.

Would anyone here know what I'm doing wrong, or any alternative way to make at least the six buttons work?

Reply 1 of 3, by Jo22

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Hi there! I've got same gamepad, it's a nice alternative to the classic Gravis gamepad.
As a long time SNES fan I do really appreciate both of them! 🙂💙
Unfortunatelly, I don’t have a driver, either. Got it without any box..

"Time, it seems, doesn't flow. For some it's fast, for some it's slow.
In what to one race is no time at all, another race can rise and fall..." - The Minstrel

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Reply 2 of 3, by Danger Manfred

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Jo22 wrote on 2025-02-14, 16:54:

Hi there! I've got same gamepad, it's a nice alternative to the classic Gravis gamepad.
As a long time SNES fan I do really appreciate both of them! 🙂💙

Unfortunately, to play SNES games, 6 buttons really is the minimum (while many games do not use the shoulder buttons at all, XABY + Start + Select is the minimum to enjoy SNES games imo.

Oh well, there's still the Gravis Gamepad Pro that has everything the original PSX controller also had, thanks to its proprietary protocol. Guess I'll have to use that.

Reply 3 of 3, by Jo22

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Danger Manfred wrote on 2025-02-14, 21:17:

Unfortunately, to play SNES games, 6 buttons really is the minimum (while many games do not use the shoulder buttons at all, XABY + Start + Select is the minimum to enjoy SNES games imo.

That's true, but often start/select and L/R aren’t used in-game very often.
So in case of an SNES emulator the keyboard can be used for them.
Okay, games like StarFox do need L/R a lot I must admit. 😅

What I really like about the Gravis Gamepad and the PC Superpad is the form.
I've played for so many years on the SNES that it felt just natural to me.
To me, the SNES controller is like the Model M* of the gamepads.

Danger Manfred wrote on 2025-02-14, 21:17:

Oh well, there's still the Gravis Gamepad Pro that has everything the original PSX controller also had, thanks to its proprietary protocol. Guess I'll have to use that.

Hi, there's another one, I think.
Some versions of Mega Man X for DOS shipped with a gamepad that had special support. SSF2 did support it, too, I guess.
Funnily, it looks like a Sega Genesis/MD six button controller! 😄
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW4BfUkHyN0

(*IBM Model M keyboard. Is often being considered the mother of all keyboards and clones were common on AT PCs.
The Model F was popular before, I think. In the XT era. That makes the NES controller the Model F of gamepads? 😉)

"Time, it seems, doesn't flow. For some it's fast, for some it's slow.
In what to one race is no time at all, another race can rise and fall..." - The Minstrel

//My video channel//

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