I'm setting up one of my older computers as an older gaming pc. I'm going to be installing Windows XP and trying to play older games for Windows, mostly from the mid 90s to early 2000s. Anyway, I see all these cool Gravis controllers/joysticks at thrift stores, but being new to PC gaming in general, I don't even know the name of the input on these controllers. It's like a large version of VGA. Is it the parallel port? The PC I will be using won't have that port, so I'm also wondering if I can get a "to USB' adapter and be able to use them. Thanks for any help!

It's probably a serial port.

You can definitely get a serial-to-USB adapter. (I had one so I could use an old microcontroller programmer with a modern machine.) You'll have to investigate whether or not it will work with a particular Gravis joystick. I'll bet someone here knows much more.

Mostly this is a game port. Alot of older soundcards have one on them.
See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_port

Edit: And yes, there are Game Port to USB adaptors, too :)

Yes, the game port/midi port. It's dual use.

You just buy yourself SB Live and you'll ok. You will be also able to use SBLive in DOS if you choose to play older games

Best use for an old computer! I'll add some links of what you'll need:

15 pin to USB 2.0 adapter (15 pin) -> I used an adapter like this in the past to operate an old controller until it died in my hands from hours upon hours of enjoyment! It doesn't need drivers, just plug & pray... sorry, play!

Most possibly this is what you'll need, but in case your port doesn't look like that of the above link, check out the following links:

Parallel to USB adapter (25 pin)
Serial to USB adapter (9 pin)

Cheers!

If you have USB ports in that machine, I don't think you want to buy older joysticks/controllers with older game port plugs.

Just buy a good USB joystick/flightstick from a store, and you are all set up for those old games which need a joystick. Thrustmaster T-16000m is a good one, Logitech Extreme Pro 3D is probably also fine (a bit cheaper).

The only reason you'd want an older gameport joystick is for DOS games (to run them in real MS-DOS on and old PC, MS-DOS never supported USB devices I think), but for DOS games you'd use DOSBox anyway, which lets you use modern USB joysticks fine with old MS-DOS games. All Windows games (Windows 9x and newer) should run fine with USB joysticks, even running them in e.g. Windows 98SE.

Also, if you see them somewhere, forget about those ancient Gravis PC GamePads:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravis_PC_GamePad

They were more like a gimmick (I had one, but in the end used it very little), no PC game really ever needed one but were just as playable with e.g. the keyboard. If you want to play old games with a gamepad, get some newer (preferably DirectInput, but I guess XBox360 gamepad works also) gamepad instead. Analog joysticks though, they are very much needed with many flight sims, space combat games and racing games.

tl;dr:

If you have a mouse, keyboard, and an USB flightstick/joystick, then you are all set for playing old PC games (as far as PC gaming controllers go).

One-and-a half year old thread. That post was not even remotely useful, and you know it. Please don't act like this.

You seem to lack an understanding of what sort of unintelligent life form you're attempting to communicate with.

Calling him unintelligent is an insult to unintelligent people.