Editing Game port (section)

===Replacement by USB===
The introduction of the first [[USB]] standard in 1996 was aimed squarely at the sort of roles provided by the game port, but initially had little market impact. The subsequent release of the [[IMac G3|iMac]], which featured no legacy ports in favor of USB, started a rapid expansion of USB in the market.<ref>{{cite web |first=Benj |last=Edwards |url=http://www.macworld.com/article/1135017/imacanniversary.html |title= Eight ways the iMac changed computing |date=15 August 2008 |website=Macworld}}</ref> This led both to new gaming devices using USB, as well as the profusion of adapters. For instance, the 1997 [[Microsoft SideWinder#Precision Pro|Microsoft Precision Pro joystick]] was re-introduced in a version that used a game port connector, but also included a USB adapter in the box.<ref name="3DP-Vert">{{cite web | url = http://code.google.com/p/sw3dprousb/ | title = 3DP-Vert, a USB adapter for the Microsoft SideWinder 3D Pro, Precision Pro and Force Feedback Pro | author = Grendel |access-date=2015-11-11}}</ref> The rapid takeover of USB meant that this was superfluous when the Precision Pro 2 was released the next year in 1998. By 2000, game ports were purely for backward compatibility with now outdated devices.

[[Microsoft Windows]] discontinued support for the game port with [[Windows Vista]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://social.technet.microsoft.com/forums/en-US/itprovistahardware/thread/4491e426-a9ec-4fea-8bf0-4a54fa2744ae/ |title=Hardware Compatibility and Drivers 5600 |last=Rivera |first=Andre |date=11 September 2006 |quote=Q: Are MIDI/game ports supported under Vista? A: We've removed support for these types of devices, in favor of USB connected devices. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081231062533/http://social.technet.microsoft.com/forums/en-US/itprovistahardware/thread/4491e426-a9ec-4fea-8bf0-4a54fa2744ae/ |archive-date=2008-12-31 }}</ref> though USB converters can serve as a workaround.