The driver will read the controller’s input, but it won’t map anything you do to what a game might expect (for example, press the space bar to jump in a platform game). Open the preference pane to verify this: when connected, your controller should show up in the list. Wired controllers simply plugin to the USB port and are connected immediately. Plug in your wireless USB dongle now and press the big X button to connect the controller to the dongle (I’m assuming it’s already been paired). Head over to the Releases section and download an installable DMG archive.Īfter installing the driver, you’ll find a new item under System Preferences called Xbox 360 Controllers: The project was forked and further developed on GitHub, where you can find the latest version. No official Mac drivers are available for the Xbox controllers, but Colin Munro developed one back in 2005. Installing the Xbox 360 controller’s driver To alleviate this, Microsoft have released two versions of this controller for PC gamers: the Xbox 360 Controller for Windows (wired, USB cable attached), and a more elegant version called the Wireless Xbox 360 Controller for Windows (same controller as the one that came with the Xbox 360, plus a wireless USB dongle).Įither controller will work fine, here’s a picture of the one I’m using: Those are great, but traditionally there was no way to connect them to anything else (they don’t use standard Bluetooth). The Xbox 360 came with wireless controllers that used to hook up directly to the console.

Which Xbox Controller am I referring to hereīefore we start, let’s clear up a small misunderstanding that may arise with Xbox controllers. Turns out it’s actually a breeze to setup: let me show you how it worked for me on OS X El Capitan. But I had no idea how to connect my Xbox controller to it. My more powerful hardware is Mac based, and Dolphin runs great on my Mac Mini. While the controller connects without issues, the Surface sadly just isn’t fast enough to run Dolphin. I have a wireless Xbox 360 controller for Windows at my disposal, but the only Windows hardware I have is the first generation Surface Pro. Dolphin is available for Windows, OS X and Linux. It’s an open source project that allows us to play Nintendo Gamecube and Wii games on modern hardware.

I’ve been experimenting with the marvellous Dolphin Emulator recently.

Dolphin emulator keyboard controls mac