New computer now what? help!

[Gamerforlife]

Just got my hands on a new computer myself, something of an early Christmas gift. I tried running a free Steam copy of Batman: Arkham City I got from a friendly forum member some time ago, and it ran without a hitch. I can't do this mouse and keyboard thing though, my console gamer instincts just cringe. Anything I should know about using a 360 or PS3 controller? Is it just plug and play with the 360 controller? I've heard that using PS3 controllers requires some kind of software

[ninjainspandex]

Just got my hands on a new computer myself, something of an early Christmas gift. I tried running a free Steam copy of Batman: Arkham City I got from a friendly forum member some time ago, and it ran without a hitch. I can't do this mouse and keyboard thing though, my console gamer instincts just cringe. Anything I should know about using a 360 or PS3 controller? Is it just plug and play with the 360 controller? I've heard that using PS3 controllers requires some kind of software

they make usb dongles that you can buy to sync up your xbox controller, all you have to do is download some drivers and your good to go. its funny im the opposite i ended up buying a xim adaptor to allow for mouse and keyboard use on the xbox so i can play black ops 2 with my friends, it baffles me how people can play fps games with a joystick and do well but there are people who can. Unfortunately im not one of them

[RyaNtheSlayA]

I was surprised how inept I was at console FPS when I first got BLOPS 2 for the WiiU. I've gotten better, but, no matter how good you are with the joystick controls the M&K will always be faster and more accurate.

[Hobie-wan]

I can't do this mouse and keyboard thing though, my console gamer instincts just cringe. Anything I should know about using a 360 or PS3 controller?

*smacks your hands with a ruler*

No!

You will learn!





Ok ok. If you can find an old wired 360 controller that will work. The dongles work too, but it is hard to find a real MS one. I have a knockoff, but it works fine. Just keep in mind that if you only have 1 controller, it is a pain in the butt to end up turning on your 360, then sync to the PC, then turn off the 360. Then have to sync with the console again later. I was glad when I had one just for my PC. Or you could get a PS to USB adapter and use a PS1/2 controller.

[EvilRyu2099]

I was surprised how inept I was at console FPS when I first got BLOPS 2 for the WiiU. I've gotten better, but, no matter how good you are with the joystick controls the M&K will always be faster and more accurate.

This!

[Niode]

Just got my hands on a new computer myself, something of an early Christmas gift. I tried running a free Steam copy of Batman: Arkham City I got from a friendly forum member some time ago, and it ran without a hitch. I can't do this mouse and keyboard thing though, my console gamer instincts just cringe. Anything I should know about using a 360 or PS3 controller? Is it just plug and play with the 360 controller? I've heard that using PS3 controllers requires some kind of software

I tried and tried to get my PS3 Dual Shock to work with my PC via bluetooth for free. I gave up in the end. I'm not paying money just to get a bogstandard HID device to work in, at best, most games. I went and bought a cheap knock off Xbox 360 Wireless Adaptor from ebay and with a little driver jiggery pokery it's been working flawlessly.

If you only have one wireless 360 controller I'd advise you to buy a wired controller for your PC, unless you must have wireless then I'd recommend getting a dedicated controller for your PC. It's a real chore having to sync and resync a single controller all the time.

[isiolia]

Just got my hands on a new computer myself, something of an early Christmas gift. I tried running a free Steam copy of Batman: Arkham City I got from a friendly forum member some time ago, and it ran without a hitch. I can't do this mouse and keyboard thing though, my console gamer instincts just cringe. Anything I should know about using a 360 or PS3 controller? Is it just plug and play with the 360 controller? I've heard that using PS3 controllers requires some kind of software

PS3 controllers don't have an official driver, and at least for a while the ones that did support them were semi annoying to use (they weren't signed, so you had to enable unsigned drivers at boot). May be decent now, but I haven't messed with it in a while.

360 controllers are directly supported in Windows for many newer games. The "for PC" packages on shelves are the same controller, just with a driver disc and possibly a wireless receiver, depending.
I'd echo the sentiment to use a wired controller unless your setup would really benefit from wireless. Even the official wireless adapters have a tendency to blow a fuse (which you can fix or just solder solid metal in for, but still). Mine seems like it has to be re-synced with my PC after every time I charge it over USB too.

You still may want to get a third party driver or additional controller(s). There are two gaming input APIs for Windows right now. DirectInput, the standard one for years, and XInput, which is the 360 console's input API. Games may support both, but often it's one or the other, with many modern multiplatform games favoring XInput (particularly cross-platform games).

When XInput is supported, 360 controllers tend to be exemplary. Things work exactly like they do on a 360. The extent that the official drivers support DirectInput, on the other hand, leaves something to be desired. The analog triggers can't behave as buttons. For plenty of tasks, that's fine - don't exactly need them for emulating older consoles for example - but not always. Third party drivers fix that if it's an issue.

Logitech also makes their Dual Shock style gamepads for PC, which are another common choice.


If you have arcade sticks (usually wired anyway), 360 ones should work easily. PS3 is hit or miss, usually based more on your PC's USB controller than the stick itself.

[Niode]

Just got my hands on a new computer myself, something of an early Christmas gift. I tried running a free Steam copy of Batman: Arkham City I got from a friendly forum member some time ago, and it ran without a hitch. I can't do this mouse and keyboard thing though, my console gamer instincts just cringe. Anything I should know about using a 360 or PS3 controller? Is it just plug and play with the 360 controller? I've heard that using PS3 controllers requires some kind of software

PS3 controllers don't have an official driver, and at least for a while the ones that did support them were semi annoying to use (they weren't signed, so you had to enable unsigned drivers at boot). May be decent now, but I haven't messed with it in a while.

360 controllers are directly supported in Windows for many newer games. The "for PC" packages on shelves are the same controller, just with a driver disc and possibly a wireless receiver, depending.
I'd echo the sentiment to use a wired controller unless your setup would really benefit from wireless. Even the official wireless adapters have a tendency to blow a fuse (which you can fix or just solder solid metal in for, but still). Mine seems like it has to be re-synced with my PC after every time I charge it over USB too.

You still may want to get a third party driver or additional controller(s). There are two gaming input APIs for Windows right now. DirectInput, the standard one for years, and XInput, which is the 360 console's input API. Games may support both, but often it's one or the other, with many modern multiplatform games favoring XInput (particularly cross-platform games).

When XInput is supported, 360 controllers tend to be exemplary. Things work exactly like they do on a 360. The extent that the official drivers support DirectInput, on the other hand, leaves something to be desired. The analog triggers can't behave as buttons. For plenty of tasks, that's fine - don't exactly need them for emulating older consoles for example - but not always. Third party drivers fix that if it's an issue.

Logitech also makes their Dual Shock style gamepads for PC, which are another common choice.


If you have arcade sticks (usually wired anyway), 360 ones should work easily. PS3 is hit or miss, usually based more on your PC's USB controller than the stick itself.

Yep my Mad Catz TE stick works flawlessly on my PC. Just plug and play. Great for NeoGeo emulators

[isiolia]

Yep my Mad Catz TE stick works flawlessly on my PC. Just plug and play. Great for NeoGeo emulators

Mentioned on the Deals forum, but the Mad Catz web store has the WWE branded SE sticks on sale for $19.99 through the 17th.

[Gamerforlife]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'm going to look into those options