10-foot-high gaming joystick named world's largest by Guinness World Records

Nov. 8 (UPI) -- A Dartmouth University professor's 10-foot-high version of a classic Atari 2600 video game joystick has been dubbed the largest video game joystick in the world by Guinness World Records.

Mary Flanagan, who is a game designer and artist in addition to being Dartmouth's Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Professor in Digital Humanities, said she built the scaled-up Atari joystick, which she dubbed [giantJoystick], out of wood, rubber and steel in 2006.

The joystick, which weighs about 3,000 pounds, is designed to take single-player classic Atari games like Space Invaders, Asteroids and Centipede, and make them into multi-player experiences. Flanagan said the joystick is designed to be operated by two or more people at once.

"Games can be universal and provide people with an opportunity to connect in novel ways," Flanagan said in a Dartmouth University news release.

The joystick has been named the largest video game joystick in the world by Guinness World Records, and will appear in the 2022 edition of the book, the record-keeping organization said.