Xbox 360 Controllers For PC

[Daniel Thomas]

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c208/takahata1973/IMG_0006.jpg

(I posted this on my games blog just now, and wanted to pass it along to the forums here)

Great news, everyone! I've discovered that Xbox 360 controllers will work on a PC. This is a mystery I've been trying to solve for some time, and unfortunately, none of the sales people at the retail stores (Best Buy, Gamestop, Target - am I still supposed to be boycotting Target?) could answer that for me. One kid at Best Buy told me that the 360 pads were not USB ports after all.

Thankfully, the 360 pads do have USB, and they will run on your PC. All you need to do is visit Microsoft's website (groan) and download their drivers. Microsoft is selling "Xbox 360 Controllers for PC," which I assume is packaged with an installation disk, but any ordinary controller will do.

As the picture shows, I bought a Pelican controller, which is $10 cheaper than Microsoft's pad. It's just as comfortable, and the controls are just as precise, and the extra long cord is a nice plus. I'd suggest this pad for your Xbox 360 or PC, at least until Micro$oft starts dropping the price.

I paid five $5 for a hardbound copy of Crime and Punishment, and there's no bloody way in hell I'm paying $40 for a game controller.

The PC has always been cursed with some crummy pads, but there essential if you have console emulators. The Pelican pad is just about perfect, so I'll be steadily buying three more. Four-player MULE, here we come!!

[Poofta!]

im still using the age old Microsoft Sidewinder Gamepad, i love that thing, but looks like ill have a replacement.

[keiblerfan69]

Yeah thats what I'm using mine for. I like playing Guilty Gear X with it.

[Joker T]

Cool, not really a discovery though...it has been known for a while that 360 pads work with PC.

[Daniel Thomas]

I didn't know if that others were aware of it or not. I couldn't find anyone around here who had a clue, but isn't that always the case?

I used Microsoft's Sidewinder pad - the one with the Saturn 6-button layout - for a long time, until the cord finally gave out. I have an older Sidewinder pad with four buttons ala SNES, but that's a bit stiff (for some reason, it's the only controller Project Tempest accepts). My third PC pad is a Logitech Dual Action, which, frankly, I can't stand. It's a poor man's PS2.

So having the 360 controllers around is a great improvement. Heck, they're so good I may be more inclined to get an Xbox 360 when the games pick up and the price drops.

[Joker T]

I really want to pick one up. I'll have it for PC and than if someone comes over I have a pad. I usually make my friends bring pads over, and I surely will because the ones for 360 are really damn expensive @_@

[X SMF X]

Here is an alternative that may save you some cash as well.

I modified the dongle at the end of a standard xbox controller that I had laying around the house and converted it to USB. I then installed the XBCD driver that I found on the net, works like a charm.

There is a nice little tutorial here with a link to the drivers

http://www.fury-tech.com/Modding/Xbox-Controller-PC-Conversion-Mod

[Tan]

nice mod, does that XBCD driver work with any other xbox peripherals?

[Joker T]

Seems like alot of games don't support game pads these days.

[halbert]

I also modded an XBox controller to work with my PC... Fairly easy to chop off the end and splice on a USB connector. It's much higher quality than most PC gamepads, and cheaper, too. For the most part, I have gotten the XBCD drivers to work with all of the emulators I run, so this is a viable option for anybody interested. :)

[slip81]

I thinking about getting one of thse for my Mac, since drivers also exsist that will allow you to use the controller under OS 10.3 and above.

[c0ldb33r]

Here is an alternative that may save you some cash as well.

I modified the dongle at the end of a standard xbox controller that I had laying around the house and converted it to USB. I then installed the XBCD driver that I found on the net, works like a charm.

There is a nice little tutorial here with a link to the drivers

http://www.fury-tech.com/Modding/Xbox-Controller-PC-Conversion-Mod

I did the same thing. I was a fast, cheap, easy mod. Finally I've got a great PC gamepad :D

Here's a tip, if you buy a second dongle (I bought a controller extension cord that's actually just a 3 foot dongle) you can still use the same pad with the xbox. Just plug it into the xbox dongle not the usb one :D

[Iron Draggon]

I looked at the new 360 for Windows pads recently, but they were too expensive. And the colors clashed with my PC. They would be great for a MAC, but who has a white PC? They should release it in black, then I might get one.

[CYRiX]

Alright CYRiX has got some answers:
1. Don't like the color? Wait for this company to release their full replacement colored cases (http://e-linksoft.com/)
2. There is this one site that lets you configure ANY gamepad for ANY game (so you can use a 360 controller). TOO BAD I CANT REMEMBER IT!!!! o well if I remember it I'll post it.

[fargus]

I've been using the USB ports on my PC to charge the battery pack for awhile now but haven't downloaded the driver to make it work. I like the ability to charge the controller when I'm not playing.

[s1lence]

I've been using the USB ports on my PC to charge the battery pack for awhile now but haven't downloaded the driver to make it work. I like the ability to charge the controller when I'm not playing.

The wireless controllers are not compatable with PCs. The usb on those controllers is for charging only.

[diskoboy]

I've been using the USB ports on my PC to charge the battery pack for awhile now but haven't downloaded the driver to make it work. I like the ability to charge the controller when I'm not playing.

The wireless controllers are not compatable with PCs. The usb on those controllers is for charging only.

Really? Well dammit.

I guess the core bundle is good for something, after all! LOL

[Daniel Thomas]

That's too bad. I've wondered if the wireless controllers would work on a PC. Have I mentioned yet how good these controllers are? They're perfect for all my emulators; it's only a bit touchy when playing Tempest 2000 on Project Tempest.

MS sells a 360 pad "for PC," which is the same controller with an install disk. It's not necessary, since you can download the drivers from the MS website, but the price is the same, so you're fine either way.