PC Control Pads
 

When I relegated my very first PC and many of its peripherals to the bin, amongst the things I kept was an oldschool Microsoft Sidewinder gamepad (control pad). Despite having a d-pad that will be the probable cause of arthritis of the thumb, I liked the pad. I liked its plug and play compatibility, sleek, no nonsense aesthetic, the amount of face buttons it had (9) and, perhaps perversely, I liked that it lacked an analogue stick, maybe because this was another element that contributed to the illusion that I was in 1993 when in fact this was 10 years later and I was playing an emulator.

I've just bought a new laptop, and it doesn't have a game port, so at least for now the Sidewinder and I are going our seperate ways, and I need a replacement. Any recommendations for good PC control pads? Suggestions to buy USB versions of any of the current console pads will be met with laughter.

I currently have a Logitech Dual Action gamepad that works great and it has the same layout as a Playstation controller. It includes (you can also DL it) a key mapping program in case your game doesn't have controller support. It worked with every game I've added so far. You can't see it in the pic, but the pad does have double trigger buttons at the top and there's a MODE button that lets you switch from digital to analog since you mentioned you prefer using a d-pad (unless I'm reading that wrong).

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b8...-192250901.jpg

However, Logitech made another controller with the exact same name (dunno why they did that) that got some middling to bad reviews concerning the left analog that craps out on them after several weeks of use. Mine, however, continues to work fine since I've gotten it last year. Unfortunately, it's what's shown on the official website and it appears to be more common so I don't know how difficult it'd be to find mine. Here's a pic:

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b8...N-R53260-1.jpg

I use a wired 360 controller on my PC for pretty much every newer PC game with controller support. They usually support 360 pad natively and even change the button icons to match (Batman, Braid, Metro 2033 for instance). Combined with JoytoKey I can use it with most games that don't support controller natively as well.

Only problem is the dpad, but then pretty much every controller nowadays has a terrible dpad because Nintendo has the patent on the good one.

I have a USB Saturn pad that works just like the regular one. So if you like that one's dpad, it's pretty sweet.

http://211.154.131.249:9090/webedit/...1614139864.JPG

Beautiful for Saturn emulation via SSF too.


I also resently got one of these

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41GVmNetlkL.jpg

which lets me use my legit SNES controllers, and has so far worked great.

Laugh if you want, but the Xbox 360 wired controller works great with the PC. Not entirely sure what you'd find so hilarious about that.

I wish they still made the Gravis Gamepad Pro. It's the PC equivalent of the Playstation 1 controller, before analog came along, but it's perfect for any game through that era.

Yep. I still have my black USB one and that thing is a god send. Its functional with a majority of older generation of games. :D It was worth more than 20 bucks when I got it over a decade ago.

Dualshock 2 with joy 2 key, though if you were gonna do that I guess you'd just want to get a Dualshock 3, which you apparently don't want.

I either use a wired 360 pad or a USB adapter with a DualShock 2. The reason I use both is that some older PC games fail to recognise the second stick with the 360 pad. Others natively support the 360 pad making it the preferable choice by far.

I've got a 360 pad I can use, as well as a converter I got from radioshack for $10 so I can use my PS2 controller since I still like it a lot better.

PS3 pads on PC, depending on the OS, can be way more trouble than it's worth. With Windows 7 it's nearly impossible and by the time everything is set-up the desire to play a game is lost and an overwhelming need to smash the damn thing into small bits becomes a bit too much to keep under control.

It's actually not hard to set-up on XP, however. Still not worth it.

I tried the PS3 controller stuff on Win7 a few months back. Wow, I'm glad there's automatic save points on the OS, cause god damn, it killed off my USB ports, Ethernet, CD drives, etc. Way too much hassle for something that Sony should just come out with drivers for. But whatever.

Luckily, I have a 360 controller sitting around so I picked up a wireless signal thing for PC and it works like a charm. Great investment if you happen to like the 360 controller.

I've been using a "Universal USB Converter" which accepts PS1/PS2, Gamecube and Original Xbox controllers as inputs. It also features two usb ports on the thing itself, which I'm gonna guess is for daisy-chaining or... something. "Fuck it, toss in some more usb ports!"

http://images.futime.com/productimag...T-8D91-big.jpg

As long as we're on the subject, anyone know of a way to get Wireless Xbox 360 controllers connecting to the PC? I vaguely remember some sort of wireless adapter by Microsoft that came out a few years ago, but at the time it was very expensive.

Who I wouldn't kill to get one of those.

Specifically, they were amazing for playing beatmania IIDX on the PC with since it had extremely little to no lag when using it. Since Radio Shack doesn't sell them anymore, those in particular are hard to come by.

I mean, I have one in mind from Play-Asia, but eh, I'd much rather have that.

But going on about the Thread. I have a Windows Sidewinder controller and a wired 360 controller. Both of which are just alright.

Too bad I love mine. :3:

The 360 controller I got was through the MS Live Club rewards thing a few years ago, and I think it was advertised as a Wireless PC 360 Controller. It came with a little dongle that plugs into your USB slot and then the controller works with that one. I think it also requires the dongle being plugged into the 360 to work, since when I turn the controller on for use with my PC it hasn't even turned on the 360 across the room.

The software for the 360 receivers is terrible, but you can still find the bundles at Microcenter. I've got a receiver if someone DESPERATELY wants it.

But I have the "crappy" Dual Action from Logitech and it works fine. I've screwed around with Glove Pie and stuff with Wii remotes and PS3 Sixaxis with my bluetooth receiver, but its all too bothersome.

I have an EMS USB JOY2 that is for ps2 -> PC for ultimate gaming goodness. I originally bought it to hook up a DDR pad for stepmania, but it works well for ps2 controllers as well.

I need to get myself a wired 360 controller :(

I also use wireless Xbox 360 controller with a wire connector and the controller drivers on my Mac. Shit works like a charm!