Difference between revisions of "XE-1 AP"

Latest revision as of 12:32, 24 June 2023

XE-1 AP

Manufacturer: Dempa

Type: Control pad

Release	Date	RRP	Code
JP	1989	¥13,800 (13,800)13,800e^[1]
JP (re-release)	1994	¥9,800 (10,094)9,800e^[2]

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The XE-1 AP is an analog Sega Mega Drive control pad developed and manufactured by Dempa. Released exclusively in Japan in 1989, it is the first analog thumbstick game controller ever released, and is primarily designed to simulate the control arrangements of real-life fighter aircraft for use with flying games like After Burner II. While intended for use with Mega Drive, Mega-CD, and 32X games, the XE-1 AP is also compatible with several Japanese home computers through the use of additional controller adapters.

Overview

Ahead of its time, it was the first controller to feature an analogue thumb-stick, analogue slider, shoulder buttons and grip handles.

The controller has the following features:

Ten face buttons, including six buttons and four switches.
Four shoulder buttons
Analogue thumb-stick
Analogue slider, which can be rotated to suit the user. It allows for a third analogue axis or throttle.

Many of the buttons exist as switches to maintain compatibility with the computers the controller supports. Others are turbo switches, or are simply not used in the majority of circumstances. There is also a switch to turn the controller back to "digital mode", allowing it to remain compatible with all games on each system (aside from computer games that do not support joysticks).

The controller was an attempt at simulating/miniaturizing the HOTAS controls of Sega arcade cabinets such as After Burner II (running on the Sega X Board system) on a handheld controller for home systems.

Around 1994, it was re-released with a revised price of 9,800 yen.

Compatible Games

A number of games support the XE-1 AP's analogue controls, including some first-party Sega releases, including:

Support for this controller largely remains in the Westernised versions of these games, with the notable exception of After Burner III, which instead features 6-button support (the Japanese version is 3-button or analog only). It is unknown if any home computer ports of Sega arcade games support the control pad.

Legacy

Released in 1989, its use of shoulder buttons predates the release of the SNES controller in 1990. Its use of grip handles and four shoulder buttons also predates the PlayStation controller's 1994 release by five years.

Its use of an analogue thumb-stick predates the Nintendo 64 controller's 1995 unveiling by six years and its 1996 release by seven years. Its additional analog slider was also a precursor to the second analog stick of the PlayStation's Dual Shock controller in 1997.

The XE-1AP is similar in design to the Sega Saturn's 3D Control Pad, released in 1996. In turn, the Saturn's 3D Control Pad was the basis for the 1998 Dreamcast Controller, which in turn was the basis for the 2001 Xbox controller, in turn the basis for the 2005 Xbox 360 controller.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{AccessoryBob
 | accessoryimage=XE1AP.jpg
-| imgwidth=320px
-| accessoryprogramscreen=
 | title=
+| type=Control pad
 | maker=[[Dempa]]
 | madefor=[[Sega Mega Drive]]
 | romsize=
-| releases={{releases
+| releases={{releasesMD
 | md_date_jp=1989
-| md_rrp_jp=13,800
+| md_rrp_jp=13,800e{{fileref|XE1AP JP Box Front.jpg}}
+| md_date_jp_1=1994
+| md_rrp_jp_1=9,800e{{fileref|XE1AP MD JP BoxFront Later.jpg}}
+| md_type_jp_1=re-release
 }}
 }}
-{{stub}}The '''XE-1 AP''' is an unusual analogue controller manufactured by [[Dempa]]. It is compatible with the [[Sega Mega Drive]], but also with a number of other Japanese consoles and computers (some require extra adapters). The device was not released outside of Japan, though is revolutionary in many ways due to the fact it was released in 1989 - nearly a decade before analogue features of this nature became mainstream.
+{{stub}}The '''XE-1 AP''' is an analog [[Sega Mega Drive]] control pad developed and manufactured by [[Dempa]]. Released exclusively in Japan in 1989, it is the first analog thumbstick game controller ever released, and is primarily designed to simulate the control arrangements of real-life fighter aircraft for use with flying games like ''[[After Burner II]]''. While intended for use with Mega Drive, [[Mega-CD]], and [[32X]] games, the XE-1 AP is also compatible with several Japanese home computers through the use of additional controller adapters.
-The controller has ten face buttons, four shoulder buttons, an analogue stick and an analogue slider (which can be rotated to suit the user). Many of these buttons exist as switches to maintain compatibility with the computers the controller supports. Others are turbo switches, or are simply not used in the majority of circumstances. There is also a switch to turn the controller back to "digital mode", allowing it to remain compatible with all games on each system (aside from computer games that do not support joysticks).
+==Overview==
+Ahead of its time, it was the first controller to feature an analogue thumb-stick, analogue slider, shoulder buttons and grip handles.
+The controller has the following features:
+*Ten face buttons, including six buttons and four switches.
+*Four shoulder buttons
+*Analogue thumb-stick
+*Analogue slider, which can be rotated to suit the user. It allows for a third analogue axis or throttle.
+Many of the buttons exist as switches to maintain compatibility with the computers the controller supports. Others are turbo switches, or are simply not used in the majority of circumstances. There is also a switch to turn the controller back to "digital mode", allowing it to remain compatible with all games on each system (aside from computer games that do not support joysticks).
+The controller was an attempt at simulating/miniaturizing the [[wikipedia:HOTAS|HOTAS]] controls of [[Sega]] [[arcade]] cabinets such as ''[[After Burner II]]'' (running on the [[Sega X Board]] system) on a handheld controller for home systems.
+Around 1994, it was re-released with a  revised price of 9,800 yen.
 ==Compatible Games==
-Several games support the XE-1 AP's analogue controls (including some first-party [[Sega]] releases):
+A number of games support the XE-1 AP's analogue controls, including some first-party [[Sega]] releases, including:
-*[[Mega Drive]]:
-**''[[After Burner II]]''
+===Mega Drive===
-**''[[Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco GP II]]''
+{{AccessoryCompatibilityList|XE-1 AP|category=Mega Drive games}}
-**''[[Fastest 1]]''
-**''[[Galaxy Force II]]''
+===Mega-CD===
-**''[[Musha Aleste: Full Metal Fighter Ellinor]]''
+{{AccessoryCompatibilityList|XE-1 AP|category=Mega-CD games}}
-*[[Mega CD]]:
-**''[[After Burner III]]''
+===32X===
-**''[[Night Striker]]''
+{{AccessoryCompatibilityList|XE-1 AP|category=32X games}}
-**''[[Star Blade]]''
-*[[32X]]:
+Support for this controller largely remains in the Westernised versions of these games, with the notable exception of ''After Burner III'', which instead features 6-button support (the Japanese version is 3-button or analog only). It is unknown if any home computer ports of Sega arcade games support the control pad.
-**''[[After Burner Complete]]''
-**''[[Space Harrier]]''
+==Legacy==
-Support for this controller largely remains in the westernised versions of these games, with the notable exception of ''After Burner III'', which instead features 6-button support (the Japanese version is 3-button or analog only). It is not known whether this holds true for the two 32X games. It is also unknown if any home computer ports of Sega arcade games support the unit.
-==Promotional Material==
+Released in 1989, its use of shoulder buttons predates the release of the SNES controller in 1990. Its use of grip handles and four shoulder buttons also predates the [[PlayStation]] controller's 1994 release by five years.
+Its use of an analogue thumb-stick predates the [[Nintendo 64]] controller's 1995 unveiling by six years and its 1996 release by seven years. Its additional analog slider was also a precursor to the second analog stick of the PlayStation's Dual Shock controller in 1997.
+The XE-1AP is similar in design to the [[Sega Saturn]]'s [[3D Control Pad]], released in 1996. In turn, the Saturn's 3D Control Pad was the basis for the 1998 [[Dreamcast]] [[Dreamcast Controller|Controller]], which in turn was the basis for the 2001 [[Xbox]] controller, in turn the basis for the 2005 [[Xbox 360]] controller.
+==Promotional material==
 <gallery>
 File:XE1AP JP Flyer.jpg
 </gallery>
-==Physical Scans==
+==Physical scans==
 {{Scanbox
 | console=Mega Drive
@@ Line 60: / Line 81: @@
 | item1name=Warranty card
 }}
+==References==
+<references/>
 {{Clear}}
 {{MDThirdPartyControllers}}

Mega Drive, JP
Cover

Mega Drive, JP (Reprice ver)
Cover
Manual Warranty card

Difference between revisions of "XE-1 AP"

From Sega Retro

Latest revision as of 12:32, 24 June 2023

Contents

Overview

Compatible Games

Mega Drive

Mega-CD

32X

Legacy

Promotional material

Physical scans

References