The ScooterBlog

Thought I would just take a minute to follow-up on all of the comments and my own extra limited impressions of the device:

• First, my thanks to everyone visiting. It looks like this is the post and mention of this device, which seems to be in all of my local Wal-Mart stores, and thus likely across the country.
• The device definitely seems to be hit and miss for people. This doesn’t surprise me, it’s a Hong Kong cheapie and likely cost everyone involved about a buck to make. Computer configuration could be a big deal with this too, seeing as the drivers may be good, but also maybe not wonderfully refined. Of course, making those ports USB 2.0 WOULD have been nice.
• The XBox port appears to sometimes act like a USB port of its own, which makes sense. For those who don’t know, the XBox’s controller ports are nothing more than reshaped USB 1.1 slots, which is why adapters for people to use keyboards with Phantasy Star Online, and in reverse, easy-to-make adapter cables for PC, gained some ground a couple of years back. This also means that the fact that it picked up on some controllers just fine but not others could have some legs … to ask a Hong Kong company to have the USB PID’s for every XBox pad (yep, just like a PC device, they got ‘em) might be asking a bit much.

The whole thing, plus some discussions on the virtues of some early next-gen wireless controllers has got me thinking of some new tests, which could give people super-cheap wireless pads on their computers. Think PS2 wireless, or Wavebird action.

Update: Tried a third-party GC pad. It took a couple of tests for the force feedback to click in, but it did do so. Could have been the pad as easily as it was the USB converter.