One of the most popular joysticks of the ’80s returns as a cheap but cheerful retro treat

• The QuickShot II joystick is back and available today under the name “TheQuickshot II”
• This recreation preserves the iconic design of the original, but introduces new features
• It only costs £29.99 (around $40) and is compatible with modern PCs

The iconic QuickShot II joystick from the 1980s is back, thanks to British retro hardware brand Retro Games.

Available today under the rather clunky name “TheQuickshot II”, it costs just £29.99 (or about $40) and is fully compatible with modern PCs. The design looks very similar to the original, a hugely popular choice for Commodore 64 owners throughout the ’80s and ’90s, save for a few tweaks like switching to a modern USB Type-A cable interface.

The feel has also been meticulously recreated, with the original shape and similar tactile and clickable internal microswitches, perfect for fast-paced arcade games. There’s even the old rapid auto-fire switch (used to trigger rapidly repeating inputs), which has been carefully redesigned to work with modern hardware.

For compatibility, a few new buttons have been added to the base to reflect the inputs available on a standard modern controller. In theory, it should work with pretty much anything, although it would obviously feel most at home with one of the better arcade games.

Given its relatively low price, TheQuickshot II seems like the perfect impulse buy for anyone craving some old-school gaming goodness, or potentially an affordable gift for the Commodore 64 enthusiast in your life.

Follow TechRadar on Google News And add us as your favorite source to get our news, reviews and expert opinions in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!

And of course you can too follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form and receive regular updates from us on WhatsApp Also.

Dash is an experienced technology journalist who currently serves as gaming editor at TechRadar, where he helps oversee coverage of video games and related products.

Before joining the team, he was a contributing editor at PLAY (formerly Official PlayStation Magazine) and has also written articles for several of the UK’s biggest gaming magazines, including Edge, PC Gamer and SFX.

Now, when he’s not putting his greasy little gloves on the latest gaming hardware or gadget, he can be found listening to J-pop or feverishly devouring the latest Nintendo Switch otome.