Cheetah CharacteriSticks

The CharacteriSticks are a range of licensed joysticks made by joystick manufacturer Cheetah in 1992, which are tie-ins for various properties.

Joystick Models

 * T-800 (Terminator 2: Judgment Day)
 * Alien (Alien 3)
 * Bart Simpson (The Simpsons)
 * Batman (Batman Returns or Batman: The Animated Series)

Why They Flopped

 * 1) The build quality leaves a lot to be desired, as the CharacteriSticks are cheaply made, and use nasty contacts rather than microswitches.
 * 2) The CharacteriStick handles are really uncomfortable to hold and aren't made for long game sessions, especially the Alien and Bart Simpson joysticks, as they have carved spiky bits that cut into your hand. On top of that, the handles are also pretty wobbly.
 * 3) The paint on the joysticks can deteriorate, which is especially noticeable on the Bart Simpson joystick, and the stickers also come off rather easily.
 * 4) To top it all off, the CharacteriSticks are really expensive (£12.99 or £14.99 depending on the version). This may have been excusable for microswitched joysticks, but not for contact-based joysticks, especially for ones that feel cheaply made.

Trivia

 * Each joystick had two versions, one with the standard 1-button joystick layout based on the Cheetah Annihilator that was compatible with most 9-pin joystick ports (and also included the Sinclair ZX Spectrum +2/+3 pass-through connector), and another one made for the Nintendo Entertainment System, which has the same layout as the Cheetah 125+ joystick, and thus has an "auto-fire" feature, along with added Select and Start buttons.

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