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Original XBOX controller cables not holding up well - advice?
BlindZenDriver
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So I dug deep in the closet and found my box with original XBOX controllers and so, the plan being I want to use a controller with my PC (I bought an adapter cable). However it turns out not everything has survived equally well, in fact the parts sold by Microsoft themself is the worst for wear 
It is of no consequence that the foam cushion on the headset has just crumbled away, apart from just being like wtf, however that the cable on both controllers has become somewhat sticky is a downer. I am thinking maybe I should just try a careful wipe using a wet cloth with a bit of soap, but is it the right way to go?
One of the two controllers was actually placed in a zip tie bag, while the other was just in the box along with the headset and a bunch of cables only the sticky cables issue is the same either way. Is seems those greenish black translucent cables are not made to last.
My plan is to try and do some gaming on my PC using a XBOX controller, the hope is it will work well with some classic arcade games and also just some newer titles like Lonely Mountains Downhill
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Also just a observation. My hands must have shrunk since back when I last used the original XBOX, those controllers are HUGE. I recall now there was some controversy back then, but somehow I just forgot the size of them it will take a bit of getting used to I think.
It is of no consequence that the foam cushion on the headset has just crumbled away, apart from just being like wtf, however that the cable on both controllers has become somewhat sticky is a downer. I am thinking maybe I should just try a careful wipe using a wet cloth with a bit of soap, but is it the right way to go?
One of the two controllers was actually placed in a zip tie bag, while the other was just in the box along with the headset and a bunch of cables only the sticky cables issue is the same either way. Is seems those greenish black translucent cables are not made to last.
My plan is to try and do some gaming on my PC using a XBOX controller, the hope is it will work well with some classic arcade games and also just some newer titles like Lonely Mountains Downhill
----
Also just a observation. My hands must have shrunk since back when I last used the original XBOX, those controllers are HUGE. I recall now there was some controversy back then, but somehow I just forgot the size of them it will take a bit of getting used to I think.
Bones heal, glory is forever.
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https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197970666737/
Also, this is arguably my favorite PA strip and it's perfectly relevant here:
https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2002/03/25/ursine-adventures
ROFL - I remember that strip. Time flies.
My thought was really that it would make sense to use my XBOX controllers as is, apart from a XBOX to USB adapter cable that is needed - Primarily just to not have to buy a new controller, since I already have enough stuff. However I've sort of given up on the project now.
I have cleaned the cables, but it does sound like it is just a question of time before they will get sticky again and the thought is just not nice. On top of that comes that getting windows to work with the controllers requires jumping through hoops, not impossible hoops but I am somewhat reluctant to mess with security settings to get things working - maybe if my machine was just for gaming.
Instead I have packed away the XBOX gear and dug out a box a little more recent, there I found my XBOX 360 controller which "just" required a wireless receiver to work as drivers are actually available in Windows 10 64-bit. Now the re-charge battery pack for that XBOX 360 controller was dead, but it came with a 2xAA battery option also so I'm good.
Thanks all.
not limited to controllers, but the entire industry has largely moved away from it in the last 10 years or so.
I totally missed that - now I feel silly for adding to my stuff pile by buying a wireless connect thing.
Thank you for making this more known as I suppose others may miss that also (or would have gotten misinformed by this thread).
That... isn't true? the 360 controller used a proprietary connection, there's no mini-USB on it, and that proprietary cable/connection was only for charging. I don't think you can use a wireless 360 controller plugged into a cable with a PC. I could be wrong on that. There was a version of the 360 controller that was hard wired to USB, that will work.
Yep, PS3 controllers were MiniUSB connectors and worked over a wired connection. The 360 controllers were not.
It is rather striking to me how Sony uses industry standards as opposed to Microsoft, which does all sorts to make it so that people must buy their XBOX gear.
Same thing also with storage, with SONY you can use just normal USB sticks and they even document how you can replace the hard drive + provide the backup functionality needed to migrate from drive to drive. With Microsoft it is very much the opposite, closed standards, USB connectors disguised as some non-standard connector...
I gave my PS3 an SSD which cut load times in half and it still in use on occasion, my 360 has been in a box for years.
Windows doesn't natively support dualshock 3s, although Steam does if you use it to play games through Steam's launcher. But I don't think Steam provides bluetooth support for them, you have to either use them wired or have to use a bunch of clunky 3rd party program shit to get bluetooth working.
Bluetooth works well universally, but it does introduce more lag, and there are also more limits on bandwidth that limit the number/type of devices. As an example, when Nintendo added Bluetooth audio support to the Switch, concession had to be made on the number of controllers that could be connected while Bluetooth headphones were in use. So there are limits to Bluetooth.
Microsoft actually has it right in this case. the 3rd revision of the Xbox One controller, and now the Series X/S controller support both Bluetooth and the Xbox wireless protocol. If you connect it to an Xbox, or to a PC using the xbox wireless dongle, you use that protocol, which has more bandwidth, lower latency. But for any other device, it can connect via Bluetooth wirelessly, and even supports a wired connection. It really is the best of all worlds.
The Xbox 360 supported generic USB storage for game installations (with the requirement of USB 2.0 or higher, I believe). I don't know if the PS3 ever did this--if they did, it was years after Xbox did--considering they also forced mandatory game installations before Microsoft.
The Xbox One had it day of launch, as I recall. The PS4 did it...four years into the console's lifespan, I believe? Before that, all you could do with a USB storage on a PS4 was move images for backgrounds and play certain kinds of media.
Microsoft certainly wanted to sell their own storage solution back then (and so did Sony before that, in the form of memory cards), but for some reason Sony was adamantly opposed to the idea of USB storage for years. Their reputation for proprietary storage formats isn't just limited to the Vita.
Beta, minidisk, playstation memory cards, memory stick, umd, blu ray…
Sony has a long and storied history here.
Let's play Mario Kart or something...
Sony they created something new,seems fair they wanted to make money from that. It is not like they took existing tech and changed the physical shapes of connectors which is what Microsoft did. The original XBOX was a PC in disguise, it had USB connectors only they were changed so that one could not connect standard USB gear. Then with the 360 they forced you to buy hard drives in special boxes and pay double or more per GB, plus they opted not to support Blu-tooth going instead by their own propriety standard and so on.
Yes, Sony didn't allow people to install software of USB storage - go figure. It wasn't for "some reason", it was to combat piracy. The only reason Microsoft chanced their tune was due to poor sales, they had to try and make the machine more attractive somehow.
It's not just Rocket League. Other games are or were in the same boat.
Well, there are pros and cons.
Remember this one:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=kWSIFh8ICaA
Apparently they needed to "combat piracy" until they relented and decided to let users install software onto USB storage years after Microsoft did, and years after you could already read USB devices on Playstation consoles. Go figure.
There is a big difference between inventing new tech and taking existing standard tech and disguise it as something special and proprietary like Microsoft did. Beta was technically better than VHS, there was nothing like the Minidisc and similar can be said for all you listed.
Microsoft gave the XBOX non-USB USB 2 connectors to stop people using standard USB stuff and hide the machine was a PC, for the 360 they forced people to buy standard hard drives in a Microsoft box increasing the price times 3 and so on. Heck Microsoft even sold special cables to connect to XBOX'es only those $30 cables were $2 standard network cables in Microsoft wrapping...