There are quandries big and small especially if you’re confused about whether you want to use your XBox 360 or your PC for your gaming entertainment. You really enjoy your XBOX-360 wireless controls for your XBOX 360 console. Sometimes you prefer using your wireless Xbox-360 controls for playing PC games. Can this be done? This wireless receiver is a simple adapter that connects into a USB 2.0 port on your PC and lets you use use the Xbox 360 Wireless Controller, Xbox 360 Wireless …
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{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
First off, the receiver and controller/accessories connect very easily and work great. No issues with lag or bad connections.
The downfall here is that unless your game can specifically be setup to map controls to a gamepad/joystick, you’re out of luck (kinda). Microsoft doesn’t include any mapping software at all, which really doesn’t make a lot of sense, since so few PC games would be naturally compatible with the remote.
Luckily, there is a great piece of software called Pinnacle game profiler. It allows you to specifically map each button to a movement/function in any game (customizable by game). You get a free 30 day trial ($20 after that), but it’s worth the money. After spending about 15 minutes setting this up, it works great. I have tested it out on Half-Life 2, F.E.A.R. and Call of Duty 2 with no issues.
As you can see from the other reviews, this device works very well for some, and not so well for others. Putting aside the interference problem with other 2.4ghz devices such as mice (2.4ghz wireless routers will NOT give you problems), I believe there is a single solution to almost everyone’s problem, which I will outline below.
After installing the device & software, I couldn’t get my black wireless xbox360 elite controller to sync with the receiver. The ring light on the controller would rotate while trying to connect to the receiver. The light on the receiver would blink attempting to locate the controller. After a few seconds, the ring on the controller would stop rotating, and start blinking. A connection could not be made.
After some research, I found the solution. The issue is with USB power. The receiver needs A LOT of it. If you have other devices on your USB, especially high powered USB keyboards or mice, the receiver might not work. Try removing all USB devices and rebooting your PC with only a PS/2 mouse and keyboard connected. The receiver and controller should sync up immediately, even before you finish booting into windows. This fixed my problem.
If this is your problem, there are two solutions. 1) a USB PCI interface card, or 2) an externally powered USB hub (NOT BUS POWERED). I believe the receiver needs a lot of power because its capable of syncing to four separate devices. The USB on most motherboards simply isn’t strong enough. Hope this helps.
5.0 out of 5 stars
XBOX 360 WGR
I received this item on time. I’m having a lot of fun playing my games.
5.0 out of 5 stars
I plugged it in turned on the xbox wireless controller and started the PC game and started playing. Awesome!!!
Plug and play, it was so easy and worked perfectly!
You don’t have to be any computer smart at all.
As of this writing, the best value for this device is yet to come. Xbox 360 owners will enjoy being able to reuse all types of Xbox 360 wireless controllers on their PC games, but there are two major hangups that will have to be corrected with time.
1) It has been reported this item does not work with Vista yet. I can’t comment on this.
2) The “Games for Windows” brand is just getting off the ground. As this brand evolves, each game with this logo on the box will support this controller natively. There won’t be any need for mapping software. That means, for old games… you’ll have to find something to map the controller.
If you are interested in XNA, get this. XNA (nutshell) is MSFT’s platform for future game development, and it includes tools hobbyists can use to make games at home and play them on Windows or their Xbox 360. That makes this item a must-have if you plan to join XNA Creators Club and deploy your games onto your Xbox 360.
Still, the potential of this is really yet to be realized. XNA is in its fledgling state, even though to this point it has to be considered a success. “Games for Windows” has just a couple of titles on the shelf as of this writing, but is intended to explode by the end of the year. It might be that if you’re willing to pony up for the Xbox 360 Wireless Headset and Racing Wheel, you may get more value out of this and you can use those items on your PC.
When I compared buying a wired controller versus buying this (I already had two wireless controllers), this is obviously the better value. Just consider the facts above, and look at how things have changed since this writing, and decide for yourself.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Handy
This is a very handy device to have if you’re making the switch (or just want to use your controller on your PC) from Xbox 360 to PC, but still want to retain your controller…
3.0 out of 5 stars
Barely works.
This product only works on USB 2.0 (the high powered ones) and even then only if you unplug almost every single unnecessary USB device.
5.0 out of 5 stars
It works!
What more can I say? It works on with all windows operating systems from Windows XP to the Windows 7 Beta & RC.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Works like a charm!
This works very well with my 360 wireless controller. The initial pairing went w/o any issues and now it connects within 1 sec of pressing on the middle X button on the joypad…
4.0 out of 5 stars
Xbox 360 to PC
I have Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy so it is hard for me to use a mouse/keyboard to game on PC. I have an Xbox 360 so attaching my controller to my PC allows me to play PC games…
2.0 out of 5 stars
Stay AWAY!
This thing kills all my USB devices on my computer. If it is unplugged your devices still won’t work & it will not sync until you restart your computer.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very good, easy to install and to use
Excelent product. The installation CD is not updated for Vista but you are readily prompted and directed to download the correct installation file.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ideal for emulators
Awesome, works perfectly. It couldn’t have been any easier to install in my Dell Inspiron 530s running XP Media Center 2005(which outputs to my 60″ HDTV).