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Use Xbox Controller on Mac OS X

Posted by pudge on from the makes-it-easier-to-shoot-down-trolls dept.

JoeXboxer writes "I'm not sure why anyone would want to, but there's an open source driver to allow you to use your Xbox game controller on Mac OS X. In related news, McDonald's announced new Xbox-sized combos that will stretch America's bladders to the limit. One of these stories is a joke. It's hard to guess which one."

5 of 56 comments (clear)

  1. Connection Hardware? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I wish he'd tell us how to get the damned controller actually PLUGGED INTO the Mac...no hardware to my knowledge exists! Gold Brick for OS X, perhaps?

    1. Re:Connection Hardware? by capmilk · · Score: 4, Informative

      The USB standard has 4 signals: +5, GND, D+, D-

      The Xbox controller connectors have 5 pins - it is assumed (but maybe not yet proven) that the extra pin is +12V for the rumble-pack-vibrator inside the controllers.

      Looking head-on at the front of your Xbox, with controller port "1" to the left, and port "4" to the right, if you look into one of the controller ports, you'll see 5 pins along the bottom half of the port (on the center piece of plastic, there's a small triangle on the left side pointing down to the first pin, which I'll call "pin 1"

      ___________
      |v |
      -----------
      1 2 3 4 5

      ("v" denotes the triangle pointing to pin 1)

      Here's what signals correspond to each pin:

      1 - +5V
      2 - D-
      3 - D+
      4 - ?? (probably +12V)
      5 - GND

      Pins "1" and "5" are longer than the other pins. This is just like standard USB connectors - the power/GND signals get connected first when you insert a connector, assuring a solid power connection before any of the other signals get connected.

      I've actually measured 5V across pins 1 & 5 while the Xbox was powered-on. NOTE: When Xbox is powered-off (but still plugged-in), I read ZERO volts across these two pins - this probably means that it would be impossible to make a remote-control that can power-up the Xbox.

      Pins 1 & 5 are common across all 4 connectors (Pin 1 on port 1 is connected to Pin 1 on ports 2/3/4, the same goes for Pin 5 across all 4 ports). This makes sense - it's just a fixed power supply.

      Pins 2&3 (USB D-/D+ differential data lines) are separate pairs to each port (this also makes sense - they have to be).

      Pin 4 (which is believed to be +12V) is NOT common across all for ports. This (along with the fact I can't measure 12V on it) probably means that it's not just a steady power-supply signal that a controller's rumble-pack can tie-into as needed, but a signal that the main CPU controls independently per port. It may be 12V that gets turned on programmatically, or it could be something else. Whatever it is, this signal seems to go out (on separate pins) off the USB daughterboard onto the main board (whereas the D+/D- pins don't - they go directly to the TI USB controller on the daughterboard).

      An additional bit of info (not helpful unless someone wants to hack at the USB daughterboard itself), here's where each ports' D+/D- signals connect onto the TI USB chip:

      Port 1's D+/D- go to TI's "DP3/DM3" pins.
      Port 2's D+/D- go to TI's "DP4/DM4" pins.
      Port 3's D+/D- go to TI's "DP1/DM1" pins.
      Port 4's D+/D- go to TI's "DP2/DM2" pins.

  2. not sure why anyone would want to?! by BillYak · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Think about it. The success of a console relies /completely/ on people sitting and playing their games for hours. If you ship a console with a shitty controller, no one will buy it. A lot of money, research, and development goes into making a product people feel comfortable holding for hours on end.

    Compare it to, say, a Logitech gamepad. They sell keyboards, mice, trackballs. Hey, if they can make a few bucks off a game pad, it is worth it to them. Their entire operation is not based around people holding their control for hours at a time.

    Next time you see a made-for-PC gamepad, look at it, think of usability, and compare it to your favorite console controller. The console controller is /almost always/ more comfortable, more intuitive, and has more buttons that are easily accessible from the "standard" playing position.

    A lot of effort goes into making a good console controller. How is it bad, or surprising for that matter, that people want to apply it elsewhere?

  3. XBox-PS2 controller adapters by Lachrymite · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This is good news for me, but not because I like the XBox controllers. I actually can't stand them, they're way too big and clunky for me. As a big fan of the PS2 controllers though, this is great because you can buy adapters that let you use the PS2 controllers on the XBox. I don't use a single regular XBox controller, just PS2 ones now. These are the ones I have, and I've never had any problems with them. I'd test them out with this driver, but I'm currently out of the country on business. Anyone have an adapter and interested in checking out if they work?

  4. better yet... by DrStrangeLoop · · Score: 4, Interesting

    buy an usb adapter for the game cube controller from lik-sang [they need money for the lawsuit vs microsoft, so its the slashdot-correct option, too]. the gc pad is recognized as a HID device, and it works with mame right out of the box.

    --strangeloop