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May 28, 2023

This Adapter Lets You Use an Original Xbox Controller with Your PC

If you're old enough to remember the release of the original Microsoft Xbox,

If you're old enough to remember the release of the original Microsoft Xbox, then you probably have fond and/or traumatic memories of fighting over the controllers with your friends. The OG controller was massive in size and tiny in popularity. The smaller "S" controller, which was released later and that resembles modern Xbox controllers, was far more popular. But there are some people who prefer the larger "Duke" controller. For those people and himself, Tom Mason designed this adapter that lets people use original Xbox controllers with their PCs.

If you like the smaller "S" controller form factor, then you can connect an Xbox 360, Xbox One, or Xbox Series S/X controller directly to your PC with a USB cable and it will work. But that isn't true for the original chonky boi Xbox controller, because it had a propriety plug. And there aren't many third party PC gamepads that match the size (much less quality) of that controller. This adapter provides a solution. Just connect the controller's plug to the port on one end, then a USB cable from your PC to the micro USB port at the other end. The PC will recognize the adapter as an Xbox 360 controller, so you can use it with a huge range of games.

Though the original Xbox controller had a propriety plug, it is actually just a USB plug in a proprietary package. But Mason couldn't simply rewire and attach a standard USB-A plug, because the communication protocol is also proprietary. So Mason needed hardware to act as an intermediary between the controller and the PC. He chose to use a Teensy 4.1 development board for that purpose, as it can perform both USB host and USB device functions. To the controller, it looks like a USB host; to the PC, it looks like a USB device (an Xbox 360 controller).

The hardware was as simple as connecting an original Xbox controller extension cable to the Teensy 4.1's pins, then cramming it in a 3D-printed enclosure. The code was more complicated and required reverse-engineering the communication protocol. The original Xbox controller outputs a set of 20 bytes that correspond to the states of the buttons and joysticks. Mason's code parses those bytes and uses them to set the states of the virtual Xbox 360 controller's buttons, which the PC interprets just like they came from a real Xbox 360 controller.

If you're a fan of the original Duke Xbox controller, then this adapter is an affordable way to use that controller with your PC. Mason released the code and schematic, so you can build this yourself if you have basic soldering skills.