Add a tiny joystick to your project with this PSP thumbstick. This is a replacement component for PSP1000's, but we think they'd make for a great little joystick/thumbstick add-on for a wearable, or portable project.
The joystick is a 'self-centering' analog-type. That means it basically acts like two 10K potentiometers, one for up/down and another for left/right. Connect one the VCC pin to your power supply (3 or 5V is best) and the ground pin to ground. Then read the two remaining pins with an analog pin each. As the joystick is moved around, the voltage will follow the motion. When you release the joystick it will center itself. There are 4 pads on the bottom, you are best off soldering 4 wires to these pins and then gluing the whole thing down.
For a tutorial on how to read analog joysticks, check out this Arduino tutorial - it can easily be extended to any microcontroller!