I will begin this by stating that this is the official Xbox 360 wired remote, the same one that may come packaged with your Xbox 360, unless it comes with a wireless one. The only difference between this regular Xbox 360 controller, and this Xbox 360 Controller for Windows is one thing, the windows version comes packaged with a driver disk. Now this disk is unnecessary if your windows machine has access to the internet because windows will most likely recognize the device and install it for you. If not I recommend going to Microsoft's website and download the latest drivers, instead of using the disk.
I will not go into to much detail about the controller itself because most of use have been there done that. If you haven't used a 360 remote I will say though I prefer them over the PS3 style remote because it has a better grip(IMO) and the rear trigger buttons are a lot easier to use for pressure sensitive inputs because of the upward curve, compared to the downward curve. An example of where this comes in handy would be for light gas or brake pressure in a racing game. The quality is of course of high standards, this is not a cheaply built remote and you can expect this to last.
IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING THIS REMOTE AND HAVE SOME MORE MONEY TO SPARE, I RECOMMEND FIRST CHECKING OUT Xbox 360 Officially licensed F.P.S. Pro Wired GamePad OR THE Razer Sabertooth Elite Gaming Controller for Xbox 360
**************** OPERATING SYSTEMS COMPATIBILITY TESTING ***************
XBOX 360--
It will work like any other 360 remote, so no worries.
PS3--
Doesn't function by itself, you must purchase an adapter like HDE® Xbox 360 To Playstation PS3 Controller Adapter but there are others on amazon you can purchase.
Windows--
I have only tested this on windows 7, although it should work on xp,vista,7, and 8. On 7 it automatically installed my drivers so there was no need for the packaged driver disk. You will only need it, if you plan on playing with a pc which has no internet. If I get requests in my comments, I have no problem checking its compatibility in xp,vista, and 8.
I tested this on Steam and played a game which was fully controller compatible, borderlands 2. When I launched Steam Big Picture Mode, I was able to navigate through the menu's with the remote, and still use the mouse anytime i wanted to switch. Although I did have a small problem that my inputs weren't registering. Not sure what happened, but once I removed and reinserted the controller usb, everything worked fine. In game all the buttons worked perfectly and no mapping was needed.
Linux(Ubuntu)--
Now that Steam has come to linux, it allowed me to actually take gaming on Linux serious LOL (sorry to people who actually enjoy the other games on linux). When I launched Steam, I clicked Big Picture mode and was surprised to see that it actually now worked. The controller worked without any type of software or driver installation. Big picture mode responded very well to all my inputs and was actually faster than the windows version.The only problem I had was that the buttons weren't mapped correctly, I didn't goto options and see if I could remap them, but there should be the settings to do so, if not it will get fixed automatically.
The game I tested was Team Fortress 2. This game is only partially controller compatible. I was able to navigate the games menu, but some buttons and the right analog stick didn't work. I tried remapping the buttons and still couldn't get it to work. But I know that as time passes and more linux games are released, it will work as it should. For now the important thing is that this microsoft remote will work in linux.
Android--
I put this into my Asus Transformer Prime, which has a docking keyboard with USB, running Android 4.1. I plugged it in while on the home screen and was able to navigate through my icons, through the different screens, and even onto my apps menu. But although you have the ability to do this, its not optimal. It's much easier to use the touch screen because button mapping placement is odd and confusing.
The game I tested was Dead Trigger. Im not sure how much support they put into remotes but in the game menu the remote was worthless, and had to use the touchscreen. But once the game was loaded, I was able to play with the remote fully enabled. I remapped my buttons, and It was amazing. I hated using the onscreen buttons for gaming on my tablet, so I never played. But with a remote it completely changes gaming on an android device.
| National Stock Number | 7025-01-616-2959 |
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