Your preferred wireless controller

[Vithe]

Hi all,

So I have Hyperspin all setup finally and I have it connected to my TV. I'd like to do an actual arcade cabinet setup some day, but until then, I am just using this as a game console system which is awesome!

I am looking into picking up a couple wireless PC game controllers because right now I am using wired XBOX 360 controllers and would love to use something wireless.

I was curious if anyone had some suggestions on which wireless controller to go with?

I would really like something that has six buttons on the main part of the controller as well as trigger buttons, but I cant seem to find anything like that.

What's your preferred wireless PC game controller?

[DrMoney]

The closest thing to what you want would be a wireless Sega Saturn controller but I have no idea how you get that working on your setup. Aside from that, PS3 controller + a bluetooth adapter have been the best I've encountered. They have the best d-pad which is super important for any kind of retrogaming, the joysticks seem to be the most responsive, they're extremely light but not to the point that they feel cheap, you can use 2 per adapter so as to save you precious usb slots, the PS button is natively mappable unlike the 360 controller's which makes a handy exit button. and they're readily available since they're still in production. Your Xbox 360 controllers could still be useful for PC Games since they're natively recognzed by several games (Sonic Generations, Bioshock) and I've heard that some games such as Super Meat Boy will only recognize those.

[Vithe]

Thanks for the reply. The ps3 controller sounds like an interesting choice. I love the fact that you can remap the PS button.

[DrMoney]

Not a problem. Something tat bears mentioning as it will save you a lot of headaches: Be sure the bluetooth adapter you plan on purchasing is compatible. I got lucky with mine as it wasn't documented as supported but did work. It was a ~$20 Rocketfish one I got at Best Buy which seems to be pretty common now. MotioninJoy (That is in fact the correct spelling) is the best program/driver set I've encountered with this as it allows you to emulate other joysticks if need be.

[Eminem]

have to agree with dr money on this, i bought a usb dongle from amazon for 3$ basic but ur ps3 controllers can connect, then motionjoy will allow you to map the buttons, its great!!!! xbox360 controllers require a microsoft usb adapter which is pricey, also u can use wii controllers with the usb adapters as well, have fun

[azzbarb]

wireless ps3 controller is good but i found it to be a pain with the bluetooth so now i use a wireless 360 pad and it works excellent with everything from emulators to pc games and xbmc (with xpadder).

[charlie1212]

I'm using the X360 wirelless controller as I absolutely hate Sony's joypads. They are too small, too light and I hate the left analog stick position. I got my wireless adapters from DinoDirect for 8 bucks a piece. I have one in my cab, one on my personal PC and one in a bartop cab for a friend.

[Vithe]

Not a problem. Something tat bears mentioning as it will save you a lot of headaches: Be sure the bluetooth adapter you plan on purchasing is compatible. I got lucky with mine as it wasn't documented as supported but did work. It was a ~$20 Rocketfish one I got at Best Buy which seems to be pretty common now. MotioninJoy (That is in fact the correct spelling) is the best program/driver set I've encountered with this as it allows you to emulate other joysticks if need be.

Well that kind of scares me. I just ordered "IOGEAR Bluetooth 4.0 USB Micro Adapter" from Amazon. I hope it works with my ps3 controllers!

[DrMoney]

I believe that one's supported, couldn't hurt to double check with the MotioninJoy site. The issue azzbarb brought is most likely due to MotioninJoy drivers overwriting the original bluetooth's drivers. There are workarounds if you use multiple bluetooth devices though.

[djvj]

I had no idea you could only use 2 ps3 controllers per bluetooth dongle...

[DrMoney]

Well I'm going off of MotioninJoy's capabilities, it's possible you could do more through something different.

[StellarX]

It's a bit pricy now apparently (I think i got it for 28$ originally), but I've been extremely happy with this controller. It's comfortable, has enough buttons for every system I've set up and works out of the box just fine with all my emulators so far. It has some really nice key binding software for the emulators you may use that don't support joysticks or if you want to set some specific key combinations.

The battery life is ridiculous as well. I've basically been using them nearly a year on the same set of batteries.

I don't have a 360, but it also has a switch on top so you can use it as a controller on your xbox 360, I believe.

Oh, it also works as a remote control in XBMC.

[Eminem]

u dont need to go nutz on a usb dongle, heck, i have an extra one i'd give you if u wanted, like i said i paid next to nothing for them, i did research first, usb blutooth dongles, are like hdmi cables, they all do the same thing (basically) but u dont need to shell out big bucks for what u need them to do, its just hype bro, i read that ppl were able to connect devices to them via usb blutooth, and i took the chance, worst case scenerio i'd just chuck them newayz what's 5 bucks really? but they work

http://www.amazon.ca/USB-BLUETOOTH-DONGLE-WIRELESS-ADAPTER/dp/B003UI58L0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344293029&sr=8-1

these are the exact ones i got

[djvj]

When I bought my dongle, I just read the reviews on newegg and ppl said they were using it for PS3 controllers. So I bought it, was like $8 or so.

[zero dreams]

My setup is also on my living room TV. My favorite wireless controller I have used was my PS3 Logitch controller since it felt great & I could map the PS buttton, as Dr Money said, but it got the worst reviews ever for durability. Don't buy it because it'll tear up in 2 months. Currently I have the wireless Xbox 360 for windows. It came with a dongle that has been magical so far. I've connected four wireless controllers via this dongle & the pairing is a as easy as pressing a button on the dongle and controller. For the controller & dongle I paid $60 at Best Buy. Best wireless controller investment yet. If you do look for said controller make sure it is the PC version. With the rechargeable battery packs it rocks.

[Tristeele]

X360 4 wireless controllers on my htpc. The wireless piece cost all of 10 bucks on Amazon. Never had any problems. I'm not a fan of Bluetooth personally...

[Fursphere]

Logitech F710

Extremely flexible if you want to mess with it. (keyboard programming and what not)

[Hyperion]

I love my PS3 controller but I'm finding it hard to get it to work smoothly on PC. I had it working well with PPjoy (I think that's was it) on my P4 32bit XP machine. However upon upgrading to 64bit Win7 I had to use Motioninjoy which requires me to load it on start up and enable the controller every time, which as you would imagine shatters the illusion of hiding windows. If anyone can get their PS3 controller working well ie. pick up at any time, press the PS button and it works I'd love to hear from them.

Otherwise what's the best no fuss wireless controller? Or should I go down the authentic route and buy some of the various wired adapters and buy the original controllers for all the systems?

[Trnzaddict]

The best pad for this kinda stuff has to be the 360 chatpad but they dont have rf drivers yet. You have all your buttons at your fingertips. No hassles trying to do ahk keycombos for Escape, save/load state etc.

[DR9]

x360 w/xpadder, works great plus triggers style suits racing games a bit more. Also I use it for XBMC which is able to integrate the x360 as a remote.

[Vithe]

So I finally got my Bluetooth dongle in today and it doesnt work with MotionInJoy Guess I'll head to Best Buy and see if they have the Rocketfish one.

[Hyperion]

I bought this one not long ago and it works fine with Motioninjoy. This one in particular is no longer available but it is really a generic unit and you can find them everywhere. There were a lot cheaper ones from Hong Kong when I was looking but bought this one because it was domestic and would arrive sooner:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/270929650739?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649#ht_4038wt_1103

[schism]

I have 2 of the controllers Stellarx recommended. Logitech Wireless Gamepad F710.

These controller are top notch and "just work".

I also have a 360 controller but like the F710 better. I use the software it comes with to set it up. It even has a button that lets you jump from gamepad to joystick easy (this is more useful then it sounds).

[Ind_noobling]

PS3 Dualshock 3 controller with the 10$ bluetooth dongle.. Works ok so far.. But i would really love it if there was a wireless Saturn style gamepad.

[Hyperion]

Hi Ind_noobling:

Are you running win 7 64bit? Moitioninjoy? Can you just pick up and play or do you have to enable it each time your PC starts up?

Thanks