When video game consoles were new, there was an emphasis on emulating the arcade experience. However, concessions were inevitable when creating a home version and not just from a audio-visual standpoint. Control methods were often changed to accommodate the particulars of a console’s input device. Trackball and dial-operated games had to work with a joystick or a D-pad, and while arcade cabinets could support numerous buttons, few home systems had more than one or two to work with.

Enter the Neo Geo, an absurdly expensive console designed not to simulate but precisely replicate arcade games at home. Much has been written about the system’s sky-high cost and brick-like cartridges, but the key to the Neo Geo’s greatness was the joystick: a black, sturdy hunk of plastic that perfectly mimicked the controls of a Neo Geo arcade cabinet.

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Granted, the home version wasn’t as colorful as the arcade board was, and the buttons lay in a slight groove instead of sticking out, but the layout and feel of the device was ideal. The 8-way joystick clicked firmly in each direction it was pressed, and the four buttons were just springy enough to cushion my fingertips. With its wide base, I could comfortably place the stick on my lap and rest my wrists while I played.

I realize that every home console at the time had an arcade-style joystick available as a separate purchase, but it speaks volumes to SNK’s objectives with the Neo Geo that the standard controller was a giant joystick. This was a case where size does matter; much like the games, the Neo Geo joystick was designed to make the competition’s equipment look flimsy and child-like.

Ultimately, the Neo Geo never took off with the mainstream gaming audience but it continued to survive as a niche product for over a decade, long after its contemporaries were replaced by newer hardware. Even though it too has been discontinued, the Neo Geo’s legacy lives on through its joystick, now available for all three current generation systems. There’s a few extra buttons on there now to bring the device up to date, but there’s no analog stick or superfluous D-pad. The Neo Geo joystick endures as a relic of gaming’s past, perfectly suited for classic arcade games while largely incompatible with modern software.

The Neo Geo is Dead. Long Live Neo Geo.

Daniel Feit was born in New York but now lives in Japan where he teaches English to Japanese children and writes for Wired Game|Life. Follow him on Twitter @feitclub or visit his blog, feitclub.com