Using gamepads on the mac

January 12, 2006 9:13 AM

Gamepads and a Powerbook G4 running OS 10.4. Any recommendations or help?

I want to run a game emulator and other games on my Powerbook and play mostly on my TV. To get that real video game feel I would like to get a gamepad, preferably two so I can play against my roommates. Does anybody have any experience with using gamepads on the Mac? Is it possible to use two gamepads at the same time?

posted by helvetica to computers & internet (7 comments total)

I've never personally tried two gamepads, but GamePad Companion will allow you to map multiple USB devices to different keystrokes. (And is also damned handy to support USB mice which don't have native Mac drivers.)
posted by nathan_teske at 9:53 AM on January 12, 2006

Oh hey, the screenshot on GamePad Companion's page shows two gamepads in use. So I guess that answer would be: Yes.
posted by nathan_teske at 9:53 AM on January 12, 2006

I bought 2 modded super nintendo controllers from here...AWESOME!!! Definitely a good time and they've worked impeccably. If you're looking for that old school experience, these are pretty damn sweet. (I've used these successfully with SNES, NES, MAME, etc...no problems yet)

The only caveat is that they're a bit pricey...$30 a piece for the SNES controllers. There's a slightly cheaper DIY option if you already own some controllers from one of your older systems.
posted by johnsmith415 at 10:05 AM on January 12, 2006

I have a playstation-to-USB converter cable thing that I bought on eBay for a few bucks. It works perfectly with USB Overdrive, which provides good gamepad drivers for OS X. Haven't tried multiple controllers, though.
posted by bcwinters at 10:22 AM on January 12, 2006

Lik-Sang offers the SmartJoy Dual PLUS usb adaptor for Windows/OSX, a usb dongle with two Playstation controller ports. These things are great, especially if you have a few old playstation controllers lying around. They also offer other assorted SmartJoy adaptors for other console gamepads/joysticks, in case you prefer XBOX/Gamecube/N64/Saturn/SNES gamepads.

It's been my experience that actual console gampads are almost always better than any computer gamepad.
posted by drumcorpse at 10:30 AM on January 12, 2006

While the other answers left here are probably more up your alley, so to speak, know that the new Xbox 360 wired controllers connect via USB, so you could plug them into your powerbook, but wether some bright spark has made drivers for them yet, or not I don't know.

I only bring this up as the 360 controllers are pretty much the best controllers I've ever used. Very comfortable and have a very high build quality. 'Course they're more expensive than other options, but If comfort and quality are what you're looking for the most, I'd definitely suggest looking into the 360 controllers.
posted by jcruden at 10:54 AM on January 12, 2006

I have a xbox to USB converter that I love! I use an old xbox controller with a driver I found online. You can buy the adapter on ebay or lik-sang.
posted by Jomoma at 1:30 PM on January 12, 2006