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PlayStation 3 Controller On Android Devices

Posted by timothy on from the mix-n'-match dept.

An anonymous reader writes "You can now use the PS3 Sixaxis Controller on Android phones and devices. This requires your phone to be rooted, however it is incompatible with most HTC devices and some newer Samsung devices due to the need of specific Bluetooth protocol. It can sync four controllers at once with buttons completely configurable."

16 of 133 comments (clear)

  1. Re:"Most" HTC devices? by Thantik · · Score: 2

    HTC devices are supported, you just need to be running an AOSP based ROM. In the stock sense-based ROMs, HTC uses a different (incompatible) bluetooth driver.

  2. Re:But why? by grumbel · · Score: 3, Informative

    When it comes to old 2D games the Playstation 3 controller is pretty much the best on the market, thanks to its solid dpad. Also there really aren't many alternatives to begin with. The Xbox360 controller doesn't talk Bluetooth and the Wiimote lacks a lot of buttons. A Wiimote and a ClassicController together would work, but would be rather bulky. And as far as normal PC controller go: There aren't many Bluetooth controller either, most wireless ones talk their own proprietary protocol.

  3. Re:Pounds Head Into Desk.... by Alex+Zepeda · · Score: 3, Funny

    Good thing you bought a Google Experience phone. I hear they're very open. :)

    --
    The revolution will be mocked
  4. Yay? by Jethro · · Score: 4, Funny

    Be more useful for me if I could use my Android phone AS a Sixaxis controller. Or at least a lot cooler.

    --


    In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is kinky.
  5. What is it with BT? by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Can anybody explain for me why the state of BT, even on devices that amount to general purpose computers, is so fucked compared to other common interconnects?

    I understand that, when one or both devices communicating are likely to be embedded ones for which driver update is impractical or impossible, the specification of assorted "Protocols" is desireable(and extremely convenient, as in the case of USB's "Classes"). What I don't understand, though, is why the various BT protocols seem to be so device/driver dependent. Some dongles support protocol X, others don't, others do with a cracked copy of BlueSoliel Y or higher...

    Why is it up to the bluetooth device, or to its driver, to support high-level protocols(even on PCs) rather than just handling the low-level link stuff and letting the OS or userspace handle the clever stuff? It seems vaguely like discovering that your NIC is handling SIP in-driver, and if you happen to buy the wrong one, VOIP just won't work. I can understand why a maker of embedded chipsets might produce an IC combining a NIC with some VOIP-centered DSP stuff and an application processor, for the convenience of people building VOIP handsets and such; but encountering such a thing in a PC would be a bit of a shock.

    Why is BT so weird?

    1. Re:What is it with BT? by grumbel · · Score: 3, Informative

      Can't answer the general case, but when it comes to the Playstation 3 controller the situation is basically this (at least as far as I understand it):

      1) you connect the controller via USB to let him now the Bluetooth address of your computer/phone
      2) you press the button on the controller to power it up
      3) the controller now contacts your computer and says hello
      4) your computer needs an application running to answer that call

      The problem is step 4), the Playstation 3 controller seems to use well known ports for this (HID stuff I think) and your average OS already has an application listening on those ports, thus you can't just add another application to listen on the same ports and have to kill whatever is already running there to make it work. It's essentially the same thing as when you want to run two webservers on port 80, it simply doesn't work.

      With the Wiimote in adhoc mode the situation is much simpler, as it is the computer that is contacting the Wiimote, not the Wiimote the computer. Thus there are no ports on the computer to worry about and you can simply run a Wiimote app on the PC and have that talk to the Wiimote. The Wiimote however can also be synced with the PC (when pressing the red sync button instead of 1+2), when that is done the situation reverses again, its now the Wiimote contacting the PC. Not sure what ports it uses for that and if there are any conflicts.

  6. Another Option by mschoolbus · · Score: 2

    For some phones, the game gripper is a good option http://www.game-gripper.com/Default.asp

    Does not require root, as it physically pushes the keyboard buttons.

  7. I've never understood... by Sasayaki · · Score: 4, Interesting

    ... why people just accept that in order to do anything cool with an Android phone you have to jailbreak it first.

    Among my friends there's about a 25/75 split between Android users and iPhone users (disclaimer: I've got an iPhone). Honestly, I don't really get the fanboy fuelled 'hate-dom' that seems to flare up whenever we get into a debate about the respective merits of our devices, especially because we're arguing about the superior brand of telephone. Really...?

    I do find it strange, though, that despite Android phones having superior cameras, consumer-friendly features including the ability to replace your battery, better and faster processors, more ram and physical keyboards (in all ways, physically, superior to iPhones), whenever a debate comes... it's inevitable that one of the main arguments (usually the first one) that's bought out by the Android users is "It's open and it's free as in freedom", usually said with this smug grin, as though the iPhone is not. They're right, of course, but...

    But then I ask something like, "Can I replace the 'telephone' app freely then?" and they nod eagerly and say, "Yep, you totally can, you just jailbreak it like this and-" ...

    I can accept that Android has a great deal many superior features to the iPhone, but I eventually went with iPhone because it had the best user interface, painless upgrade process, everything about it 'just works' (unless it doesn't, such as 3GS wifi-access-point-mode), and the app-store is by far the best. Some people say, "If you're not willing to tinker with your devices you're not a real geek", at which point I tell them that it's just a telephone and I expect it, and its apps, to just work, all the time. It should not need to be tinkered with.

    I just don't understand why when the inevitable fanboy war comes, that the very first feature that seems to be produced is "It's open if you jailbreak!". I mean, isn't that the very definition of jailbreaking? Making something closed open? (and yes, iPhones can do it to...)

    My second question is...

    Awesome! Is there an iPhone port of this?

    --
    Check out my sci-fi book "Lacuna" at http://goo.gl/MVxX8
    1. Re:I've never understood... by RobbieThe1st · · Score: 2

      I don't know why they accept it. That's why I got a Nokia N900. Root available(just install an app) easily, unlocked, open bootloader(so you can dual, triple or quad-boot whatever the hell you want), and a full Linux stack.

      Oh, and it's supported using the Sixaxis controller since at *least* January of last year... Not that I care, not having one, but...

      Yea.

    2. Re:I've never understood... by Veggiesama · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I can accept that Android has a great deal many superior features to the iPhone, but I eventually went with iPhone because it had the best user interface, painless upgrade process, everything about it 'just works' (unless it doesn't, such as 3GS wifi-access-point-mode), and the app-store is by far the best. Some people say, "If you're not willing to tinker with your devices you're not a real geek", at which point I tell them that it's just a telephone and I expect it, and its apps, to just work, all the time. It should not need to be tinkered with.

      No offense, but I can't stand the "it just works" cop-out. I have heard it so many times, it sounds like it was ripped straight from an Apple commercial. Of course "it just works"-- even Androids "just work," if you mean they can do all the basic functions, like making calls, storing contacts, showing the time, accessing webpages, etc., in some fashion or another without a ton of modification.

      However, when given the ability to customize and personalize, some of us enjoy going the extra mile to upgrade a sufficient "just works" interface to an optimal "OMG check out what my smartphone can do" interface. Sure, the default Android browser works fine, but I want tabbed browsing, so I upgrade to Dolphin HD. The default gTalk app does what it's designed to do, but I'm a power chatter with five or six different IM accounts (which could require many different apps!), so to standardize the interface and save on the RAM, I grab eBuddy for an all-in-one solution. And that's not even getting into all of the cool stuff (and money-saving stuff) you can do if you root your phone.

      I think that when a geek gains that ability to tinker, "just works" becomes "hmm... maybe I can do better." If you don't have any other options, you don't bitch about a lousy interface--you learn to adapt. For instance, every microwave oven I've ever owned has had a POPCORN button on it that always seems to burn any popcorn I give it. Naturally, I just ignore it like many others do. However, if I could take that button off and replace it with a +30 SECONDS button (in addition to the regular +1 QUICK MINUTE button) or a QUICK RECALL button or something other that would be more useful, I would do it in a heartbeat. But I can't, because the microwave's interface is locked and can't be modified. So you learn to adapt to the quirks and ignore the deficiencies.

      However, as soon as you learn you have other options, the minor problems become glaring obstacles that can be overcome with a little bit of research and tinkering. Maybe that's not a big deal to some people, but I like it.

    3. Re:I've never understood... by subreality · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Awesome! Is there an iPhone port of this?

      Yep, coming soon, you just jailbreak it like this and-" ...

      This is actually one of my big misgivings about my iPhone. I have to jailbreak it to do a lot of cool things with it, and Apple goes way out of their way to make it obnoxiously hard. I skip most of the upgrades because it's a complete PITA to plan an upgrade path that won't lose my jailbreak.

      I'm giving very serious thought to switching to an Android phone where I can jailbreak it once (possibly with vendor-blessing, or perhaps not), install Cyanogenmod, and be done with it.

      If I wanted the best vendor-supplied experience, the iPhone has it, hands down. But I'm a tinkerer, and Android is calling.

    4. Re:I've never understood... by Boycott+BMG · · Score: 3, Informative

      But then I ask something like, "Can I replace the 'telephone' app freely then?" and they nod eagerly and say, "Yep, you totally can, you just jailbreak it like this and-" ...

      If you mean the dialer app, then yes you can replace it, without rooting. In fact, there is very little you must root to do. Off the top of my head I have only had to root to do the following:

      Install custom ROMs/patches.
      Run a personal firewall/ad blocker.
      Run a wireless tether app that doesn't require that I pay the phone company extra.
      Run a VNC server.
      Run a program that over/underclocks my phone.

  8. Re:Pounds Head Into Desk.... by lowlymarine · · Score: 2

    So how's that working out for you on up-to-date versions of iOS? Or any other untethered jailbreak, for that matter?

  9. Re:Pounds Head Into Desk.... by bruno.fatia · · Score: 2

    I don't really know/care.

    Posted from my Nexus S

  10. Re:Interesting maybe kinda but not really by Aranykai · · Score: 2

    Most likely you will be able to find it in many places, most obviously Google, when its released. You know, like all the previous versions of android.

    Oh, I'm sorry, you wanted to be bitter.

    --
    If sharing a song makes you a pirate, what do I have to share to be a ninja?
  11. Re:Interesting maybe kinda but not really by NorQue · · Score: 3, Informative

    So where can I find a copy of the source code for Android 3.0, 3.1, or 3.2?

    The AOSP git repository? Here's the announcement for 3.2: http://groups.google.com/group/android-building/browse_thread/thread/6a3b3a1c225a11f5/6f36c6c857cfe57f