Rating: 
Summary: Excellent quality joystick
Review: This joystick works great and has a very good quality and feel during gameplay, and although it is overpriced it may be worth splurging for if you love flight sims especially (Microsoft Combat Flight Sim 1 and 2, etc.). I haven't tried it with a first person game yet, I still prefer using a mouse with those.Can you live without it? Yes, since for most games the force feedback component isn't really an essential part of the gameplay. Is it worth paying twice as much for it as the Logitech 3D force feedback joystick? I don't know, I just saw a few reviews saying the Logitech one didn't last as long.
I think the Sidewinder is worth it, ....
Other than the price, the only other con I can think of is that the force feedback is pretty strong and can wear you out after a while. I can't see a small kid using this. As others have mentioned, it does disable the force feedback if you aren't gripping the joystick, but that doesn't bother me.
Some might also consider the large size of the base as a negative, it's about 10 inches wide, but it does make it very stable. The problem is I can't put the joystick in front of my laptop, it is way off to the side, but I have gotten used to it.
Rating: 
Summary: Nice stick
Review: This one has the same nice force feel as the FF1 with a nicer base. I do not like the unprogramable throttle or the lack of a shift button (or one that can be programed as a shift button)
In my oppinion the only thing this one has over the Logictech FF 3D is better programming for the sensitivity and the heavier base.
Rating:
Summary: XP Does Work
Review: This product does work with Windows XP. It is the Force Feedback that does not work. Force Feedback 2 works fine. I have Windows XP and have had no problems with this device. It works as specified and I like it.
Rating:
Summary: HOLD ON TIGHT!
Review: VERY FORCEFUL AND ACCCURATE AND FITS MY SMALL HANDS BETTER THAN OTHER BRANDS......I WOULD PREFER A LARGER OR LONGER LEVER FOR THE THROTTLE, BUT ALL IN ALL THIS STICK HAS A GOOD BALANCE OF FEATURES AND INSTALLATION WAS EASY ENOUGH
Rating:
Summary: Expensive joystick, decent force feedback
Review: Wanting a controller for racing and flight sim games, I purchased the Microsoft Sidewinder Force Feedback 2 Joystick. The first thing I noticed is that it seems to be well made. It is quite heavy, but not too heavy to hold. The force feedback is the #1 reason anyone would buy this, and this feature varies from game to game. On some games, it felt totally unnecessary and didn't add anything to the game. On others, it complimented it nicely. The feedback response seems to be strong on this controller. I would recommend this controller to anyone that is *really* into gaming. Otherwise, forgo the feedback and just get a regular joystick. If you play console type games or shooters, get a gamepad! One thing to note - whatever you do - do NOT lose the CD that comes with this. It contains the drivers needed to install this joystick. Microsoft does NOT have them on its website. Windows XP will not auto-detect and install the joystick.
Rating: 
Summary: no juice?
Review: WARNING. have a spare laptop pwr cable around. those folks at microsoft forgot to package a $3.00 power cable into the box. for the price ($60) of the joystick, they could have thrown in a power cable. how cheap can you get. had to go to radio shack for the cable. (1 week down time) if they only included the power cable, i would have given them a 5/5. installation is a breeze and it actually works. using it on a xp home and laptop setup. FOLKS, you have to read that little label that overs the USB plug to tell you to load the software first!!!! don't blame microsoft if your not gonna read the manual. love the built in transformer. one less thing to kick around the floor, trip over and break, and makes a great ballast to keep the joystick planted on the table. Finally someone added 1+1 together to get 1!
Rating:
Summary: no power?
Review: WARNING. have a spare laptop pwr cable around. those folks at microsoft forgot to package [the] power cable into the box. for the price [$$$] of the joystick, they could have thrown in a power cable. how cheap can you get. had to go to radio shack for the cable. (1 week down time) if they only included the power cable, i would have given them a 5/5. installation is a breeze and it actually works. using it on a xp home and laptop setup. FOLKS, you have to read that little label that overs the USB plug to tell you to load the software first!!!! don't blame microsoft if your not gonna read the manual. love the built in transformer. one less thing to kick around the floor, trip over and break, and makes a great ballast to keep the joystick planted on the table. Finally someone added 1+1 together to get 1!
Rating:
Summary: Rating By Carlos
Review: Well, I sincerely just ordered this joystick but a friend of mine also ordered it by amazon, the best site, of course and I got to test it and I felt it awesome. Its incredible movement and all its functions made me obsetioned of buying this thing and If it wold not be the maximum,I would give it infinite stars. I hope more people can get to have this awesome joystick
Rating: 
Summary: No support for Microsoft's own OS
Review: Whatever you do, don't spend over (...) buying a joystick from Microsoft!! They force you to continually buy new hardware by not supporting their own devices in new versions of Windows (XP has no support for the Force Feedback line of joysticks) and they refuse to let you download the latest versions of their controller software (v 4.0 is the latest, but you can only get it with new purchases). If you buy a Microsoft joystick, plan on only being about to use it for a year or so until Microsoft moves on, and expects you to lay down another (...) for their next model. If Microsoft wants to get into the gaming industry, they should at least start supporting their own hardware.
Rating:
Summary: Well Worth The Money
Review: When I went into the market for a new joystick, I concentrated on finding one thing: control. Control is the most important thing to consider when buying a joystick, and the Force Feedback 2 delivers lots of control. Eight programmable buttons, a throttle, and an eight way programmable hat switch, rudder control, and not to mention over 100 different forces. When I got the joystick I bought this model for two reasons: 1.) the rudder control (which I desperately needed) and 2.) for the Force Feedback itself. Imagine being in a heavy crosswind while trying to land in Flight Simulator and actually feeling resistance! It is in one word awesome. Another nice feature is the eight direction Hat/POV switch. This is a nice feature because it adds additional control, and it is located right at the top of the joystick itself (your thumb naturally rests there.) And finally the rudder control. The rudder control rests on the Z axis (twists left to right.) This is a great feature because you don't have to bother with expensive pedals to control the rudder and the control is right there. The only drawback I can find with it is the price. It usually runs $80 and up. Which really isn't too bad, all points considered. So if you want a good, quality joystick, then the Microsoft Sidewinder Force Feedback 2 is the joystick for you.
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