TheoryStick

The TheoryStick is an arcade-style controller made for use with Theorysonic computers, typically those running TSUG. Despite being a TSUG accessory, it also works with Windows and Macintosh computers as well as long as the appropriate software is installed. They are designed to replicate regular joysticks found on most arcade cabinets.

History
The idea for creating a joystick accessory for a Theorysonic computer came up the during development of the Tournament machines, which used rotatable knobs to control the paddles. The idea for developing this accessory actually came into fruition when one engineer at Drillimation Studios California was trying to fix a problem when porting the popular arcade game Mr. Driller to TS-UGOS.

The accessory took three years to develop. Upon testing the joystick, it worked, but it still needed revisions before being released. Despite this, a few engineers visited the American Theorysonic headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia to present the accessory. The product received a mixed reception from employees there, but Theorysonic was able to make the revisions before it was sent to the main Theorysonic headquarters in El Kadsre.

Several revisions to the stick had to be made when Drillimation ported Lucky Star and Angry German Kid to TS-UGOS. Every Drillimation game ported to that platform behaved differently and additional extensions had to be programmed in order to make sure the accessory worked properly. Despite these troubles, Drillimation decided to package the stick with the TS-UGOS port of Mr. Driller G.

Upon release, Namco had found this accessory useful for TS-UGOS. In fact, they thanked Theorysonic for fixing the issue with porting arcade games to TSUG.

TheoryStick 2
The second version of the TheoryStick was released in 1996. It had new features, such as having the ability to move the player in 16 directions, an eight-button layout, and USB support.