The "paddle" and "driving" controllers looked the same, but they did not have the same function.

A paddle controller for the Atari 2600 had a hard stop, so that it could only make one revolution (or a bit less) in each direction. Therefore, you could use it with Tennis or Pong or whatever else just had you going back-and-forth.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paddle_(game_controller)

A driving controller spun freely in both directions without stopping its motion. This was not analogous to the steering wheel of a car, but it did permit driving games to be relatively free-wheeling, and you could spin the car's wheels endlessly in either direction.

In my experience, paddle controllers were more compatible with more games, but if you had a diverse library, it behooved you to keep driving controllers on-hand for that eventuality. Other unique controllers included the BASIC Programming pads, and one of those space games which had some really intricate controls on the dash.

The "driving" controller class was the type that was supported by Tempest. Analogous to the arcade controller, you could spin indefinitely in either direction without having the physical tab to stop the motion. This definitely contributed to the fun and suspense of the gameplay!

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bandrami 3 hours ago | parent [-]

Mine had no stop so it must have been the driving controller (though now I may be mixing up my 2600 with my 7200). Time flies.

	▲	toast0 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Driving controller makes way more sense for tempest, and the lack of use. My family had a pretty extensive collection of 2600 games, and two sets of paddles (needed for four player paddle games, we had one, but it wasn't very good and the 2nd set of paddles was wonky anyway), but no driving controller or any games that used it. I had several driving games, too. But they used a joystick or the paddles.