After 10 years of searching I was beginning to think none of the few final M2 pads that were built had survived the gaming and electronics shows of 1995-1996. One finally surfaced, along with some other really nice M2 items. Even more surprising is the fact that it is a fully functional pad. I had been told years ago by a Panasonic employee that the final pads were mock-ups, so it was even more of a surprise to find a pad like this. There are a few pictures in gaming magazines of the time showing this pad alongside the console. The pad has an analog steering wheel, analog joystick, D-pad, 7 face buttons, 2 shoulder buttons, and a trigger button on the back. Pictured next to a black M2 proto pad.
Totally jealous. And how about some pictures of that system? Id kill for that, let alone that controller.
Very interesting hardware. Is there any software that works with, or responds to the analog controls?
Amazing find! Does it predate the N64 controller? They look very much alike. I like the Jog-con-like analog wheel, pretty ideal for racing.
I'll be putting some pictures of it up shortly. I was half expecting it to be a mock-up or without a BIOS as the seller stated he didn't know whether it worked or not. I hooked it up to a step down transformer and it fired right up. It even played the disk the seller included in the lot. Yes. The best example is of course IMSA racing. The analog steering wheel is awesome in that game. There is also a different M2 driving demo, which was included in the lot, that I had only seen pictures of before in magazines. It also makes good use of the analog controls. There was a fully functioning M2 console (which was on display at gaming and electronics shows of the time) and a disk with various demo programs.
Always wanted at least one of these controllers to have survived from back in 95-96 not actually thinking any would have. To actually see someone with one though is awesome.
