Can I use a XBOX 360 controller with the G73JW-3DE?

Hi,
I am a long time console gamer and would like to use a normal controller for gaming, so can I use a XBOX 360 controller with the G73JW-3DE?

If not, is there something similar you would recommend?
Thanks

 

I have plugged my Wired XBOX 360 controller into my ASUS and used it for gaming on multiple occasions. The controller is designed to work with Win7 and XBOX I believe. The wireless controller is a different matter. I was not able to get that working easily, although I believe there are ways to do it. I just didn't care enough to do it as I already had a working wired controller.

 

Xbox 360 Controller for Windows

Google is your friend... But I am not 100% sure this link will give you all your answers. But their seems to be countless web sites with this data.

 

You can use ANY wired and wireless XBOX 360 controller on Windows XP/Vista/7.

Wired controllers are preferred as its basically plug & play. If you have a wired 360 controller, just download the drivers from microsoft, install, and play away. You can buy the 'Wired 360 controller FOR WINDOWS' but i swear to you, it is the EXACT same thing as the regular wired 360 controller, but it costs $5 more and includes a driver/install disk which you can get online for free anyway like I mentioned.

As for wireless, its a little bit more tricky, but it works. Not to sure of the whole process, but I know you need one of these;
Amazon.com: Xbox 360 Wireless Gaming Receiver for Windows: Video Games

 

You don't need any kind of driver disk at all with Windows 7 if you use an XBox 360 wired controller. I bought a wireless one. The reason is that the cord is really long and most people will be sitting very close to the screen when playing so it's a lot of cord that is always in the way. I splurged on the wireless receiver and controller. For the wireless version you do need a driver. It makes playing Batman Arkham Asylum a lot more fun to play on my laptop.

 

No reason it won't. I use my wired 360 controller and my Dualshock 3 when I game.

 

Right, you have to use one of this, just plug in and windows update download and install the driver, that simple.

 

Thanks, I just went to Best Buy and bought the Wireless Controller combo. I didn't want to wait 3-5 days to buy just the receiver online (I was told MS hasn't sold the receiver separate in about 2 years). It was only $20 more for the wireless over the wired, so I went for it. I wanted the Official controller, or else there were a few cheaper wired ones.

One thing I did notice is it is pretty hard to find PC games in the store. I went to BB, Walmart and 3 gamestops all of which had crappy PC game selections, with BB having the best. There were a few games i wanted that I just couldn't find. Guess I'll be going to eBay for them.

 

Steam is your friend, at least twice a year

 

Download Steam, man. That's the place to get your PC games. They run sales quite often. Download them directly to your computer. You never have to get off the couch. There's also Direct2Drive and GoodOldGames. I'm sure there are others but Steam is the main one that everyone uses. I bought Batman Arkham Asylum from Microsoft's "Games for Windows". It also has a client you download and it downloads your purchases to your computer. The other one I bought a few games from is EA. They offer games as direct downloads. I bought Dragon Age, Mass Effect 2, and BFBC2 directly from EA at various times on sale.

 

Thanks for the advice.

If I use steam, can I play the games offline? I'm sure there will be plenty of times I will be out of the range of a hotspot.

 

yes, the client can run in Offline mode as long as you save your password

 

Any ideas on how to use the controller in the games? i can sign into live, use the home button to bring up the xbox live menu, navigate that menu with the controller, but can't use it to do anything in game.

 

You probably need to bind the joystick buttons in the game's setup menu.

 

For the record the wireless controller is plug & play and has the same compatibility the wired one does, you just need to make sure you get the usb wireless adapter for PC.

 

Beware of going the wireless route!

I say this because there is no way of turn off the controller other than disconnecting the battery pack (unless the game is GFW). Even disconnecting the receiver leaves the controller on.

 

False, the controller turns itself off after a period of inactivity.

Batteries last a long time too, but I got a rechargeable battery pack that charges via usb just to not have to buy any batteries in the future.

Like this one, 3600mAh Battery with USB Charging Cable for XBOX 360 - DinoDirect.com

It was like $4.00 from DX or Meritline

 

Right, I thought this too. The game is BioShock 2. I went into the menu and click bind for the button but it has no idea I press a button on the XBOX 360 controller.

So you guys that have it working simply installed the drivers, then your games could see the controller?

 

I don't have Bioshock 2, unfortunately. I intend to play it since I liked the first one so much but haven't gotten around to it yet. The games I have automatically see the controller in some cases. Batman Arkham Asylum does and defaults to the controller when you start it up. I believe that Fallout 3 New Vegas does as well although I always play it with the keyboard. For the game to get that "Games for Windows" certification on the box, they must support the controller. You must have installed the Wireless Controller software since you have the app and you can press the "Home" button to pull it up. I wonder what is preventing your games from "seeing" it automatically. If you go into the options for the game, is there no way to select game pad controls? You only get the option for keyboard/mouse controls? On older games like Psychonauts I have to go into the interface configuration inside the game and assign the left d-pad to "move left", the A button to jump, etc. On new games with the Windows certification I don't have to do anything except turn on the controller before I start the game.

 

Just wondering, when you said you bought the wireless combo, was it the Play & Charge kit combo like this ( http://tinyurl.com/237mm7k), or was it a Wireless controller + Windows wireless receiver combo?

 

I was thinking along the same lines but if he gets the "Games for Windows" app to pop up when he hits the big XBox button in the middle of the controller then I'm thinking he has the right controller and receiver. Furthermore it must be communicating and working. Perhaps he doesn't have the controller turned on before launching the game?

Note: When you turn on the controller, the top left green light around the big circle button should be lit solid indicating Player One. If it is flashing then you don't have the controller synced with the receiver. It should be on and lit for player one before starting the game or the game won't see that you have a controller and will default to keyboard/mouse controls.

 

Bioshock 2 isn't compatible with the 360 controller.

 

Mass Effect doesn't either... Even though it is a console port of the game it doesn't support the controller. I don't know about Mass Effect 2. I have it, but I haven't played it since I never finished the first one and the save game from the first will feed the start game of the second.

 

Mass 2 doesn't either but there's a mod for both games that enables the 360 controller/interface. I can half understand why all three games don't because they all have completely different interfaces and controls than their console counterparts but it still sucks though that Bioware/2K just couldn't roll a small feature in. Hate that, there should be a rule if your game is on the PS3/360 then it should support the controller.

 

I agree, although I personally found ME2 to play perfectly fine with the KB+M combo.

 

I found this, not sure if it works:

bioshock2 has controller support. Just browse to \Program Files\BioShock 2\MP\Builds\Binaries\" and edit the default.ini file. Search for UseJoystick=False and UseController=False and set True instead of False. Save file (attention, the file is read only, so you have to save somewere else and replace) or unset read only permission. Do the same in \Program Files\BioShock 2\SP\Builds\Binaries.

Also found a program called Xpadder that claims to allow controller use for anything you want, including Word if you wanted it.

Anyone use Xpadder?

 

Using the xbox 360 controller rawkes. KB+mouse is more sophisticated but with the controller I can lay in bed or on a lounge chair and game rather than having to sit at a desk. Much more comfortable for long gaming sessions.

Steam is great too. Their holiday sales are amazing. As long as a game isn't brand new it can often be found on sale there for 5 to 10 dollars.

 

I've never used Xpadder, but I have used Joy2Key, which I assume works similarly. Basically, it's a "middle-man" program that converts gamepad key presses into keyboard key presses.

So, you set up the "X, Y, A, B" buttons to something like "U, I, O, P" or whatever else you want. Thus, pressing the blue "X" button on the 360 pad will type "U". Final step is to go to your game of choice, go to the keyboard options, and match up keyboard presses to the ones you assigned to the 360 pad in Xpadder/Joy2Key. So in this case, if you want your Xbox's blue "X" button to reload your weapons, have the game's reload command mapped to the "U" key. Make sense?

Summary: [Xbox controller button pressed] -> [Xpadder/Joy2Key converts to keyboard key press] -> [set your game to use this key press for whatever you want]

 

For using wireless it must be the wireless receiver, the play & charge kit will now let you play. I should charge the controller though if you prefer it to the cheap china charger I use.

Do not forget that you can use PS3 controllers and Wii controllers on PC too, its just not as plug & play as the 360 controllers.

Here I have a little recap of using each controller on PC and its pros/cons as well as how to's

 

I've read the viking's controller lineup before, and found it to be extremely helpful. Definitely give it a look, and thanks to ViciousXUSMC for taking the time to create it.