Logitech Wingman Force 3D

by Logitech

Product Details

Data Sheet [58kb PDF]

• Item Weight: 3 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00004VUFH
• Item model number: 963223-0403
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #23 in Electronics > Computers & Add-Ons > Game Hardware > PC Game Hardware > Controllers > Joysticks
• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 25, 2000

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The force-feedback technology of Logitech's WingMan Force 3D joystick allows you to feel the action, weapon recoils, and explosions of your games. The space-saving design takes up minimal room on your desktop. Features include a twist handle function and lock, seven programmable buttons, eight-way hat switch, high-precision throttle, and rapid-fire trigger. It is compatible with USB-equipped PC systems.

Product Description

Feel the action in your games with this force feedback joystick / 7 programmable buttons / Twist handle for rudder control USB interface syncs the joystick to your computer with lightning-fast, pristine signals Package includes WingMan software and bundled games including Castrol Honda SuperBike World Champions, by Midas Interactive, on CD-ROM Requires - PC with Pentium class processor at 166MHz or faster 32MB RAM 20MB available hard disk space CD-ROM drive USB port Windows 98/2000/Me

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

87 of 90 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Logitec makes another great product!, March 19, 2001

By 

Adam (Scranton, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Logitech Wingman Force 3D (Personal Computers)

When shopping for joysticks, I find it can be very difficult searching for just the right one that will work for you. Just as equally difficult is finding one that isn't overpriced garbage. Even when you do finally find one that suits you, you find many drawbacks in its design, such as poor website support, lack of game profiles, bad software design and overwise. The silution to all of these difficult questions when deciding on which joystick to purchase is simple...The Logictec Wingman Force 3D, hands down! This joystick is the answer to all my prayers. The forcefeed back is just as good as the Microsoft versions at HALF the price! The control is wonderful, crisp and clear without those pesky twitches when the stick is in a neutral position like some of the lower quality joysticks I've seen in the past. The web support is second to none, offering the latest game profiles, software upgrades and patches which is one of the main reasons I returned my Microsoft forcefeedback for this little beauty. One last little perk when comparing this joystick to its competitors is versatility; although they don't advertise left and right hand playablility, using this joystick left-handed is pretty comfortable which gives it another perk when you absolutely demand both mouse and joystick use. Enjoy this great joystick and happy gaming!

33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Logitech Wingman is better then Sidewinder Joystick, December 3, 2002

By 

C. Nimmo "Nimmo" (Hendersonville, TN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Logitech Wingman Force 3D (Personal Computers)

I was a MS controller junky all the way, until I got this controller as a gift one year. I'm impressed; it is way more stable then the MS Sidewinder I was using. I had more control in the corners on NASCAR 3 and 4; Jane's Flight Sims really liked it. I could pause mid barrel roll and hang there, never could get the Sidewinder to do that. Also the Logitech feels better. Tighter compared to the loose flopping feel of the sidewinder. I now have two Wingmans, one for each computer, and they are still going strong. I'm not knocking the Sidewinder line completely, but when it comes to Joysticks, MS has some work to do, to catch up to this one. The controller has a game port connector with a USB adapter cable. It works great under USB.

Also Win XP sees is it, likes it, and loads it. I don't like the Logitech software, but of course I don't like Sidewinders software either.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Questionable build quality, but the price is right..., June 15, 2004

By 

J. Williams (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Logitech Wingman Force 3D (Personal Computers)

A few years back you'd pay $150 for a force feedback joystick. Those were the days when serious flight simmers paid top dollar for the best quality they could get. Unfortunately, those days are gone, and force feedback joysticks (along with quality joysticks in general) are fewer in number than ever, and not as good as they used to be. Now that MS has stopped making Sidewinder products, and Logitech replaced their older (and better) Wingman Force stick with this one, there's not a lot of choice left if you want force feedback. On the positive side, the price is now much lower than it used to be.

I'm on my second one of these sticks... the first one I got from Amazon had a defective motor in it. Other than that, the initial feel of this stick is actually pretty good - better than I expected, based on the other reviews - and if I hadn't gotten a defective unit I'd probably give it a higher score. But taken with some of the other problems I've read about here, I have to think there are probably some real quality control issues with this stick. I can say definitively that this model is not nearly as solid as either MS's last force feedback stick or Logitech's previous model. But both of those sticks were built like tanks. At least the buttons all feel really nice on the Force 3D; solid but clicky and springy, and with a nice throttle with the perfect amount of resistance. The hat switch works well too - much better than my old Sidewinder Precision Pro (and it's concave now, just to update what an earlier reviewer said about previous revisions).

As for the force feedback itself, it's not the best but it's not bad either. If you're a flight simmer you will probably appreciate having force feedback - this is not really a stick that's intended for other types of games. It's a flight stick, and it does add a lot to the realism of flight sims to be able to feel things like ground bumps and aerodynamic forces on your airplanes (some sims even let you feel things like turbulence). The force effects by default are strong enough, but you can make them stronger if you want to (some people have complained that the effects feel weak, but you can really crank them up with Logitech's included utility). It can be surprisingly forceful given how light the stick is. That said, the motors do feel like they're straining if you really crank it up.

Centering is always an issue with force feedback sticks because they rely on the motors for centering rather than springs. Some people prefer a standard stick for this reason. Unlike some older force feedback sticks that use a combination of cables and motors for centering and other non-force effects, this stick seems to use only motors, so the centering doesn't feel very smooth - it feels very digital, like the motors have a certain number of levels (which feel like detents) where they will allow the stick to rest. It's hard to explain, but the result is if you push the stick in one direction, it's almost like it "clicks" as it goes through the various levels of resistance from the motors. This is constant and there's no way around it; you just have to get used to it. It's not that hard, but it's definitely a different feel from an analog stick that uses cables and springs for centering.

Some have complained about stick sensitivity with this model; I haven't had a problem in Flight Simulator 2004, which is all I've used it for. Even with the loose "dead spot" when centered, if you just take the stick sensitivity down a couple notches in the game settings it's absolutely fine. The centering right in the middle is definitely a bit loose but it doesn't seem to really matter much, and it's a common issue with most force feedback joysticks.

Overall, I'm glad I purchased mine, but I would probably have rather paid more for a better stick. I feel this is priced about what it's worth. Whether you want force feedback or not is a question in itself; if you're not sure, this is a good stick to test out, being as cheap as it is.