Saitek P2600 Rumble Pad PC Game Controller

by Saitek

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 10 x 9 x 3 inches ; 3.5 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000AL7034
• Item model number: PP18
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #27 in Electronics > Computers & Add-Ons > Game Hardware > PC Game Hardware > Controllers > Gamepads
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 2, 2001

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The Saitek P2600 Rumble Pad has high quality, varied rumble forces, so gamers feel closer to the action. You can instantly configure your pad's controls to the perfect set-up for first person shooter (FPS) games with a single button press. It features ergonomic controls with soft-touch handles that increase both grip and comfort in your hands.

Product Description

HIGH-QUALITY VARIED RUMBLE FORCES ALLOWS GAMER TO FEEL CLOSER TO THE ACTION 1-BUTTON INSTANT CONFIGURATION OF GAME PAD S CONTROLS FOR THE PERFECT SETUP OF FIRST-PERSON SHOOTER GAMES ERGONOMIC CONTROLS WITH SOFT-TOUCH HANDLES INCREASE GRIP & COMFORT ADVANCED PROGRAMMING PROVIDED BY SAITEK SMART TECHNOLOGY SOFTWARE

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not quite as useful as previous models, February 13, 2008

By 

Jason E. Garten-Benz - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Saitek P2600 Rumble Pad PC Game Controller (Personal Computers)

I've enjoyed using Saitek gamepads for awhile now due to their useful programmability combined with having a decent number of buttons. This model appears to have two more buttons than the P2500 (the 2500 and other similar models to it only had two shoulder buttons) but it actually has the same number since the two joysticks don't have the click-in-the-joystick-buttons. Mind you, the joysticks click in as if they were buttons, but they don't actually do anything. This makes the gamepad slightly less useful to me as I often set one of the joysticks to the mouse, and the built-in button as the mouse click. Using another button for the mouse click makes selecting things in various games a bit awkward and not as fast.

The odd thing is, that according to their website the P990 and P2600 Wireless which use the same 4-shoulder-button model also apparently have working joystick buttons. As the rumble feature isn't particularly useful, IMO, and Wireless controllers have their own set of problems, I'd suggest tracking down a P990 instead.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great pad, January 5, 2007

By 

A. Stern "heptadragon" (Cedar Rapids, IA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Saitek P2600 Rumble Pad PC Game Controller (Personal Computers)

I've been using this pad with a variety of games and I'm very impressed with its performance all around. It feels great and the rumble function works well in all of the games I've tried that support it. I have only a couple of minor complaints: the first is that I have to unplug the cable when playing certain games (e.g. Mage Knight Apocalypse) or strange things will happen (the camera goes nuts). This is apparently a bug with a number of Saitek peripherals, though, and not just the P2600. My second complaint has to do with the FPS button. It's placed just so that it is possible to bump it with a thumb in the throes of gaming, and when it is activated all of your controls are switched to FPS mode (i.e. they don't work anymore). This can be an issue of varying concern depending on what game you're playing. Granted, if you are able to run the configuration software you can disable the FPS mode switch and the button will function like an additional button, but as I'm running XP x64 I don't seem to be able to run the config software. Other than that, I love this gamepad a hell of a lot more than any of my console controllers... I'm contemplating plugging it in to my PS2's USB ports to see if it would even work right now.

I would NOT use this for FPS mode, but I grew up on the keyboard/mouse combo (except for Goldeneye and Perfect Dark) so using a controller seems sacreligious.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Gamepad Par Excellence, September 22, 2008

By 

M.L. (NYC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Saitek P2600 Rumble Pad PC Game Controller (Personal Computers)

An excellent gamepad all around--my weapon of choice for nearly every game (despite the fact I own several Logitech Dual-Actions).

I find that the controller size is perfect: a bit bigger than the Logitechs, they tend to sit better when I pick up the controller. Both analog sticks are right where your thumbs end up, making it very easy to accurately move them, even when you need to nudge them slight distances with great accuracy. The shoulder triggers are large and well placed-whether you use your pointer and middle fingers or whether you just use the pointer fingers, you'll find that you won't hesitate for a millisecond to find any trigger button. The fact that there are six face buttons is a dream for those arcade-style games that need them (Marvel vs. Capcom, etc).

There are two downsides that every single person will face with this controller, though they shouldn't be nearly enough to discourage you.

The first is the FPS feature activation button--it sits on the top of the controller near the face buttons and did tend to get in the way in the beginning--I never use the feature and hitting it by accident has unwelcome effects on gameplay (sometimes, your buttons won't work until you press the button again). I for one virtually never hit it anymore, but if it were still a problem for me, I wouldn't hesitate to pop out the button with a screwdriver--it's not like you would actually use the button, not ever.

The second is the Directional D-Pad (if you won't really be playing classic/emulated games, this shouldn't be an issue to you). Although it's comfortably shaped, it makes for somewhat buttery gameplay. It's tough to pull off complicated combo moves in fighting games, because your timing will be inevitably thrown off a tiny bit because the D-Pad moves too softly and gel-like. It shouldn't be a problem in more forgiving games like Mortal Kombat (and of course games like Mario will work just fine), but it took me weeks and weeks to get my super moves working every time in Marvel vs. Capcom. I persevered solely because of the six face buttons and I must say it's entirely worth it. As for the "durability" of the D-Pad: I have used the similar P990 (which is similar in every way to this gamepad, except it doesn't have the rumble feature) for years (with a fair amount of abuse) and the D-Pad is as steady as the day it arrived in the mail.

It's a shame that discussing cons takes so much longer than listing the pros, even though the pros outweigh the cons by many orders of magnitude. If you're looking for a great rumble gamepad, BUY THIS CONTROLLER! You won't be sorry. As a note, the Saitek P990 Dual Analog Game Pad will do everything this gamepad does except the rumble--I wholeheartedly recommend that controller as well.

P.S. Don't forget to install the Saitek driver. Even though Windows will automatically detect the gamepad, you still need to download and install the official Saitek driver or else some games won't recognize the controller properly.