Xbox 360 Wireless Receiver for PC's

[Zeosstud]

Microsofts Wireless Receiver for PC's is showing up on store shelves according to a number on online sources.

http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/02/21/wireless-receiver-for-windows-available-now/

Is it just me or does that open up ALOT of opportunities for Mame and various control panel setups.  Like the one I built (with a friend)



Has anyone actually gotten their hands on one to try it out??  I am lucky enough to also have the Wireless Wheel and the Wireless headset, hope wal-mart has these on the self here in Missouri, will be heading over after work.


Zeosstud

[Howard_Casto]

That's cool and all, but aren't the controllers like 60 bucks?  So you are paying 80 bucks to hack a pad?

It'd make a lot more sense to use original xbox pads, which are now very cheap, have the same amount of buttons and also come in wireless (third party) flavors.

I'm just saying....

[JackTucky]

Has anyone actually gotten their hands on one to try it out??  I am lucky enough to also have the Wireless Wheel and the Wireless headset, hope wal-mart has these on the self here in Missouri, will be heading over after work.
Zeosstud

Is that wheel as badass as it looks?

-J

[Zeosstud]

Howard..  The controllers can be found for like $40 but still your right its not cheap, my personal problem / reason is that I play my xbox 360 on my big screen which I sit about 10 or so feet from, to far away for using a corded controller.  Besides wireless is COOL.  Being a 39 year old Retro Gamer, anything I can do that even makes me think I am cool, works for me.

As far as the wheel goes, I have to be honest, it is pretty darn good.  It makes a great game like PGR 3 even better and makes other good driving games great.  If you can anchor it down right its fun, I really really dislike trying to use it on my lap, hell I built a fold up table just so I could have something solid to attach it to for playing.  While its certainly not very convient, when I get it all setup I know I am gonna be playing for awhile.

Zeosstud

[SirPoonga]

What I don't like about the wireless adaptor is when you plug a headset in all computer audio comes out of the headset.  Other than that I am using it for XNA development.  I'm guessing there will be an update in the future when Live Anywhere is launched to have the controller act more like it does on the 360.

Though I can now use my xbox headset for skype conversations

[Zeosstud]

I have been goofing around with the controller pictured above and the wireless adapter all morning on my Samsung Q1 UMPC, I have to admit, its pretty cool.  I installed Joy2key to make thing even easier.  I dont have alot of hard drive space left on the umpc but I configured 25 or so games and its all smooth as silk.  I have not goofed with my wireless headset yet, guess I will do that next.  Frankly the whole thing is pretty cool, cant wait for my next road trip so the wife can drive and I can sit and play Robotron. 

Zeosstud

[vrf]

zeos... you have a Samsung Q1? Cooollll..... Now let's see you build a portable mini cab for it. 

Oh, and I agree that it would be cool to have a wireless arcade controller for use while sitting on the couch. Would help a lot of people get into this hobby who don't have room for a full cab.

[Howard_Casto]

zeos... you have a Samsung Q1? Cooollll..... Now let's see you build a portable mini cab for it. 

Oh, and I agree that it would be cool to have a wireless arcade controller for use while sitting on the couch. Would help a lot of people get into this hobby who don't have room for a full cab.

Oh absolutely, I agree... the flaw in that logic though is he's made a wireless 360 controller.  Yes there are some live arcade games that'll work on the controller, but it's totally wrong for actual 360 games.  Much like the vc games on the wii, the arcade titles on xbox live arcade are totally overpriced and nobody should buy them out of protest.  And since there isn't any homebrew on the 360 yet, there is thus no need for arcade controls on it 

So I'll go back to my original point..... it's a really nice idea, but it isn't cost-effective.  You can get a wireless xbox classic controller, for example, for around 15 bucks.  The original xbox, once modded (which you can even do via software at this point) can play virtually every emulator avilable on the pc, which means you'll get use out of the controller.  Then with a simple 5 dollar cable (we are up to 20 bucks on hardware so far) it'll hook up to the pc and work in a more traditional setup.  That would be a really sensible use for a "console" arcade panel as there would be a large enough number of games to play with it on said console.

I guess what I'm saying is if you want to use your 360 controllers on your pc and you already have a 360 than these adaptors make a lot of sense.  On the other hand, hacking a arcade panel for the 360 doesn't make a lot of sense to me because, well it's a 3d system and thus 99% of the games are analog.  I guess some people are willing to pay 15-20 bucks for 25+ year old arcade games though, I'm just not one of those people.

With that being said I'm about to build a set of neogeo panels for the wii pretty much to exclusively play metal slug 6 with so I can understand why an individual would do that.  On the other hand I wouldn't reccomend that anyone else make arcade panels for the wii, because unlike me, they probably aren't crazy. 

[vrf]

I guess some people are willing to pay 15-20 bucks for 25+ year old arcade game...

yeah, it's called "doing it legally."

[HaRuMaN]

I guess some people are willing to pay 15-20 bucks for 25+ year old arcade games though, I'm just not one of those people.

Where are you getting your figures?  I bought a 1600 Microsoft Points card for about $20.  The most 'expensive' Xbox Live Arcade game I've seen yet is 800 points.  A lot of games are actually 400 points.

[johnperkins21]

Howard, besides what HarumaN said about arcade games not costing more than $10 (which is more than they're worth, but most are at $5), these games have updated graphics and network play. Some are definitely worth it, while most others are just a little overpriced, and still a decent buy.

The idea of using a 360 hack for an arcade stick is a pretty good idea. You can use it on the 360 for the arcade games, and then move it over to the PC for a little MAME action. While it might be a little pricier than using an old XBOX controller, it has more flexibility. And it's what, $20-$30 more? I'm willing to shell out a one time fee of $80 for a controller that works on my 360 and PC for some older games that I love to play. Cheaper than a day at Gameworks.