ArrowPAD, the ultimate gamepad for MSX

Who doesn't remember those summer afternoons in the 80s playing Track & Field or Nemesis series by Konami? Without a doubt, unforgettable memories but also a time of risk since many of those games were very demanding with the keyboard and even more in the hands of a child. Since then, many of us realized the advantages of the keyboard against the joystick which was clumsy and ineffective depending on the game.

More than 30 years later, our machines are still suffering the old failures and although we have the necessary means and knowledge to practically repair all the MSX keyboards, the spare parts are not always available (membranes) or we don't achieve a satisfactory or durable result.

With this premise, the Spanish user Daniel Padilla decided to take a step forward and extend the lifetime of our keyboards. For that purpose, he designed ArrowPAD, a device that, unlike a conventional gamepad, it uses normal keys from a keyboard. On top of that, the cursor layout chosen is the same as Philips MSX keyboards. Bravo!

As can be seen in the pictures the finish could not be more professional taking care of every detail. The body is made of machined aluminum with a total weight of 500 g. The front sticker offers two different color schemes matching with Sony (red) and Panasonic (orange/black) MSX computers. The connection cable features a classic DE-9 connector. And that's not all, the packaging will be in line with the device. In a word, impressive!

The first batch of ArrowPAD will go on sale coinciding with the next MSX meeting in Málaga (Spain) scheduled for the 3rd of September of 2022. The estimated price is 70 €. If you are interested, please fill in this form.

Relevant link: Daniel Padilla on Twitter