The Budget Gamer: Special Edition - Titanium X-Joy Converter
Written By: J. Michael Neal

So I’m sitting watching G4TV right, I know, I know, it’s a pretty crappy channel, but what can I say, when nothing else is on my TV usually ends up there sooner or later, anyway I’m sitting watching G4TV when the guy on G4TV.com starts talking about how to turn an Xbox controller into a USB gamepad for the PC. It’s incredibly simply how it’s done too: you basically cut the cable on an Xbox controller, cut the cable on the end of a USB connector, and twist the wires of corresponding colors together. Connect it to the PC, download some drivers, and you’re ready to play. So I’m sitting there, watching him play Vice City on the PC, thinking “Holy crap! That’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen!” The only problem was you essentially have to destroy a perfectly good Xbox controller and perfectly good USB connector in the process. So I figure if it’s that easy to do there must be something out there that converts the controller without destroying it and pretty much limiting it to PC use only. Enter the Titanium X-Joy Converter.

This has to be the best $13 bucks I’ve ever spent. I’ve spent years looking for just the right gamepad for the PC, but have always kept a limit on how much I was looking to spend. I knew I didn’t play that many PC games that worked better with pads, and spending $50 on something to play emulated NES games was a little counter-productive, so I’d just keep waiting until the right thing came along. Well, the wait is over. This little beauty lets your Xbox controller pull double-time, working as a PC pad AND your Xbox controller on the fly. You connect the X-Joy Converter to your Xbox controller through the little “breakaway” point that looks like a PS/2 end. This act of pour genius makes switching from the Xbox to the PC as simple as humanly possible - unplug, plug, install drivers, enjoy: no cutting, no wire twisting, and no senseless destruction of a perfectly good pad. You can leave the other end of the Xbox controller and the X-Joy connected to their respective systems and just switch the pad back and forth whenever you need to - essentially getting two pads for the price of… well, none considering that the Xbox comes with a free one and you couldn’t find a descent PC pad for $13 if you tried!

Ok, ok, so by now I’m sure you’re thinking “Interesting…”, right? Well, what if I told you that the drivers FULLY SUPPORT ALL XBOX CONTROLLER PROPERITES? I am not joking - I’m talking full analog support, full stick support including the “inside” click buttons, AND force feedback where available! Everything the controller can do on your Xbox it can do on your PC. It can handle even the most complex button configurations for games like Hitman 2, and the pseudo-six button layout of the original (i.e. Gigantor) Xbox pad can fill in for any of the older console controllers, you emulation gamers out there.

If you have an Xbox and spend any time with PC games that just don’t fit the mouse/keyboard configuration, there is no reason to not have this thing. It’s cost effective out the yin-yang, it’s nearly idiot-proof to install, it doesn’t limit your Xbox controller to just PC use or ruin a perfectly good USB cable, and its just plain old cool as hell. Play-Asia sells them for $10.09 + $3 shipping and handling, providing links at the bottom of the page to where the drivers can be found as well. In four days your package will arrive straight from Hong Kong and you’ll be able to enjoy some truly righteous budget hardware!

Highs:

• Cheap as hell.
• Wicked cool.
• Fully functional.
• Piece of cake to install and configure.
• Two pads for the price of none.

Lows:

• Not a single damn thing.

Final Verdict

What, you don’t have one already? It really is as amazing as it sounds. Sports titles, racing games, action-adventure, old-school emulation, it does it all! Go order it now!

Overall Score: 10.0

Posted: 9-10-03