The fans of simulation games seem to be quite keen on spending good money on controllers that look as real and life-like as possible, and that's exactly the reason why Thrustmaster has introduced the HOTAS WARTHOG, a full replica of the joystick, dual throttle system and dual throttle control panel of the U.S. Air Force A-10C attack aircraft.

The Warthog is actually a lot more than a simple joystick, since, beside the “stick” itself, it also includes a throttles and a control panel.

The joystick features 19 action buttons, along with a “Point Of View” hat that employs the H.E.A.R.T HallEffect AccuRate Technology magnetic sensor system: 16-bit precision (65536 x 65536 values), with no gimbals (cardan joints).

Pressing on the joystick's buttons and triggers requires pressure identical to that required in an actual airplane – a true first in the world of joysticks and, for complete freedom of use for flight simmers, the joystick handle is detachable and can also be used on the base of the HOTAS Cougar.

The control solution also packs a dual throttle system that allows for independent control of 2 motors, namely a locking system lets the user either attach the 2 throttles together, or keep them independent of one another.

The magnetic sensor technology used for the throttles (14-bit resolution, with 16384 values on each throttle) provides a very good level of precision, while the Pull and Push system allows for the switching to the idle and afterburner detents.

The throttles feature a total of 17 action buttons, a “Point Of View” hat and a “mouse hat / slew control”.

Last, but certainly not least, the control panel provides an extensive number and variety of controls, including here a Friction Wheel that allows users to manually adjust the resistance of the throttles according to their own preference.

The panel also sports 5 programmable LEDs and backlighting during low-light conditions or dark night flights and a “trim wheel” and 15 action buttons, including numerous push buttons with resistance identical to that on a real airplane and industrial metal switches (2 or 3 positions) with highly realistic pressure.

Given the enhanced level of gaming realism this solution enables, it should come as no surprise that it's also pretty expensive, users having to cough up around 500 US dollars in order to get their hands on the HOTAS WARTHOG.