The QuickShot Intruder 1 Joystick

Considering I’ve not posted anything in eleven months, you might think I’ve been polishing and crafting the perfect article, waiting till the right moment to unleash its profundity on the world. However, you’d be wrong – it’s about a silly 25-year-old joystick, the QuickShot Intruder 1.

I’m a sucker for buying unusual videogame-related stuff, particular in job lots; they don’t have to be rare, just a little different. So when a listing of 16 old shop stock joysticks appeared on Ebay, I was straight in there. Most of them were old ‘Quick Gun Turbo’ NES joysticks, but this one stood out –

There were two of these in the lot – the sealed one in the photo and one with a tattier box. I’m not someone who obsesses over keeping sealed things sealed, but having two of these meant I could at least nose around the unsealed one.

The QS-149 Intruder 1 (to give it its full, snappy title) supports Atari, Commodore, Sears (never actually seen one of these), MSX, Amstrad CPC 464 and Master System computers/consoles. It only has two fire buttons, so it’s no use for the Mega Drive.

Some of the more interesting features –

Turbo Fire Selectors

Although they look quite natty, they just have three settings – 0, I and II.

Fire Button Cover

Designed to look like some kind of missile launching thing or maybe an eject button, the flip-top cover actually ‘protects the major from fire button dust and wear’. Certainly, there’ll be no chance of wearing the button out if you keep it covered up.

6 US Military Insignia Stickers

For that finishing touch to your wonderful new joystick, why not add one of these insignia stickers to complete the look of a gritty fighter pilot, as you play F19 on your Amiga.