The reason MeltedJoystick.com exists is because the minds behind the site realized they had as much passion for video games as they did for movies. The reason behind the name for the site itself is based on a much more personal account.

Taking on a near mythic quality, the story goes that in 1997, in hopes of winning a gold controller for beating the Mario Circuit on Mario Kart in less than 1:30:00 - a brand new blue N64 controller was used so much, so often, it actually melted the stick. Some theories hold that the controller had a defect that led to premature melting, but in my mind it was dedication to gaming, not manufacture error, that led to the end result.

This was a story that was well-known amongst our circle of friends (and now the world!) - but it was also thought this was a pretty unique occurrence. Considering how far gaming has come along since 1997, you would also think things like melted joysticks would also be a thing of the past. Yet if recent anecdotes are any indication, not only are melted joysticks still prevalent, they span multiple systems.

In what I will dub "Modern Warfare Meltdown" there comes the story of an Xbox 360 controller that has seen so much First-Person Shooter action, including the onslaught of the recent Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 release, that the left-hand joystick has now developed a distinctive list. Like a controller possessed, it will track up and to the right if simply left to its own devices. Plus, unless you happen to be used to it, the handling is no longer what you would call cherry. This is what happens when you put all your time into FPS action.

It doesn't end there - in what I will dub the "PS3 Rubber Rubout" there is another case of a controller that has suffered a bit of meltage itself. And this time it just comes from straight play time - and you know you play a lot when the rubber coating on your left-hand stick just starts to slag off, just like when your sunburn begins to peel. I'm surprised the entire stick just hasn't given up the ghost, but if I ever reach that point, I would be little proud of myself despite the time it must take to reach such a state.

But enough about what we already know, the real question is what is your melted joystick story? Have you or your friends found yourself in a similar situation? It doesn't have to be limited to current systems - old and new alike, we want your story. Maybe you have a story about a guitar-shaped controller that has issues. We don't judge, we just want to know your story.

One caveat, it's called MeltedJoystick.com not broken joystick - it takes a lot of work, a lot of time and certainly a lot of effort to earn a melted joystick. All it takes to earn a broken joystick is fit of rage (believe me, I know from personal experience) or lapse of judgment. So while the story about throwing your Wii remote through the TV might be amusing (in retrospect), it's not quite what we're looking for. But if you do have a good story you can help us write the next chapter in the MeltedJoystick.com story.