At long last, X-Arcade on your Xbox 360

Noobsaibot21

As exclusively revealed here on the TDS forums by yours truly, here is the cheap and cheerful method of using an X-Arcade on the 360.

As i'm sure you all know, I am not too fond of the way Microsoft have strangled the console accessories market with a security feature designed to prevent unauthorised third party manufacturers bringing controllers to market. Sounds somewhat reasonable for MS in fairness. However, Microsoft have so far refused to let the good folk over at xgaming develop an official Xbox 360 adaptor for their awesome arcade sticks leaving all of us with few options but to buy from the limited range of 360 joysticks out there.

This is quite annoying as there are many people out there that purchased the X-Arcade believing there would be no issues such as this (And, with the appropriate adaptor, there is NO ISSUE playing with an X-Arcade on Wii, PS3 or almost any other console from the last 10 years). We dont all have the kind of money and space for an official 360 hori stick to line up along side our X-Arcade sticks either. There are some workarounds which are either far too expensive - This thing costs about £60.... and you'd need two of them for 2 player - or, worse still, way too messy to do yourself - no one likes to solder and inevitably get it wrong.

It's especially annoying as, with the huge library of classic arcade games on XBLA as well as the recently released Street Fighter IV and forthcoming Tekken 6, the 360 would have been the perfect console for the X-Arcade. But I've managed to stumble upon a device which can overcome this injustice to hardcore gamers everywhere. Almost hidden in the back of the DCSLinks online shop, this humble little device from the good folk at BlazeX (doesn't mention the manufacturer on the site) does exactly what it says on the box. So what you need is:

1 x Two player X-Arcade Control Stick 1 x PSOne/PS2 Controller adaptor for X-Arcade 2 x BlazeX PS2 to 360 Controller adaptors 2 x Xbox 360 Wired Controllers

This would also work with the Tankstick or single player stick if you have those - You'd only need one of everything if you have the single arcade stick. Using a similar method to the XFPS device (Which is an overpriced, laggy piece of rubbish might I add), you simply hook it up exactly the same way by connecting the Wired 360 pad (Not sure if this works with a wireless one - doubt it) to the Blaze and hook your X-Arcade (Through the PS2 controller adaptor) to the Blaze too. Same for player two, you then connect to the 360 and power on.

As you can see from DCSLinks, this method is so much cheaper that the XFPS option. I have tested it with Street Fighter IV and Ikaruga on Xbox 360 and can confirm that it works absolutely flawlessly. DCSLinks is the only site i've seen this item for sale on and, when XGaming customers know of it, it will sell out extremely quickly. Not sure why BlazeX don't make a bigger shout with this - certain games on 360 are even better with a PS2 pad (PES in particular).

High score fans will also be chuffed to know that there is ZERO BUTTON LAG using this method. The only downside to this is the lack of a 360 guide button but it's a minor price to pay.

So there you have it. This is the cheapest and easiest way to use the X-Arcade on an Xbox 360 and is likely to stay that way for the forseeable future. Enjoy.

animaX

Nice to see that it works, but the question is does it lag or drop inputs!

Noobsaibot21

No button lag or missed inputs whatsoever. And I gave it a thorough going over

Andrew76

Thanks for the heads up on this, got mine in the post yesterday and they work a treat alright - SFIV was much more enjoyable for crap players like myself! And then I got RROD that night - assuming it was just back luck and not related.

Noobsaibot21

Andrew76 wrote: »

Thanks for the heads up on this, got mine in the post yesterday and they work a treat alright - SFIV was much more enjoyable for crap players like myself! And then I got RROD that night - assuming it was just back luck and not related.

That sucks on every level. I've only ever had RROD once and, if I get it again, that's it - PS3.

Noobsaibot21

Just to note, the X-Arcade company are now officially supporting my method.

http://www.xgaming.com/htm/x-arcade-playstation2-xbox-360-adapter.shtml

Remember, you heard it here first.

Noobsaibot21

Hi all,

Not an awful lot of point creating a new topic for such a similar method but i've managed to get both my Xbox 'S' Controller and my Xbox Logitech wheel working on the 360. Using the same blazepro PS2 to 360 device i've mentioned above, I connected an XP Joybox which I got from play-asia:

http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-4ej2-71-eh-49-en-15-xp+joy+box-84-j-70-p3e.html

Admitedly the reviews on play-asia didn't look too convincing but, at €12 delivered, I figured it's probably worth a punt and i'm well chuffed I got it. MW2, Outrun and Splinter Cell will be far more enjoyable for me now as i've always preferred the original XB pad to the 360 one. Plus, that joybox has a PS2 'analogue' button which acts as the guide button. The only downside is that you wont be able to use the headset to chat unless you get a pair of those awesome (but hideously expensive) Turtle Beach 7.1 surround sound headphones.

And of course, you still need a WIRED 360 pad (Even a cheapo, rubbish gamestop branded one would do)

animaX

Noobsaibot21 wrote: »

The only downside is that you wont be able to use the headset to chat unless you get a pair of those awesome (but hideously expensive) Turtle Beach 7.1 surround sound headphones.

And of course, you still need a WIRED 360 pad (Even a cheapo, rubbish gamestop branded one would do)

I think you could also use the standard wireless headsets since they sync with the machine rather than the pad.

So you're using a ps2 to 360 converter is that right? I have one also. The good thing is, I managed to find a broken 360 pad which still works to verify the converter and then I can plug it out! Saved me from having to buy a wired pad

Noobsaibot21

animaX wrote: »

I think you could also use the standard wireless headsets since they sync with the machine rather than the pad.

Excellent. Will pick that up if I really feel the need to shout at americans.

animaX wrote: »

So you're using a ps2 to 360 converter is that right?

Yes

animaX wrote: »

I have one also.

Is it the same one?

animaX wrote: »

The good thing is, I managed to find a broken 360 pad which still works to verify the converter and then I can plug it out! Saved me from having to buy a wired pad

Do you not need to have the 360 wired pad in the converter while playing? I have a broken 360 pad too (They're not especially robust are they?) and mine has to be in the converter at all times otherwise it will think i've disconnected. So, is your converter the same?

animaX

Noobsaibot21 wrote: »

Do you not need to have the 360 wired pad in the converter while playing? I have a broken 360 pad too (They're not especially robust are they?) and mine has to be in the converter at all times otherwise it will think i've disconnected. So, is your converter the same?

No, for my converter it only needs to verify the security chip once, then I can plug it out. I have the XConverter360 which according to this thread is the best on the market. That is a fighting game forum and they are VERY picky about their converters! Some lag worse than others.

Although my setup is slightly different to yours, I have a ps2 arcade stick and I'm using a ps2-360 converter.

Noobsaibot21

Great site. They haven't mentioned the Xbox to PS2 method (Making all those PS2 fps' bearable now) but looks excellent for everything else. Mentions the Blaze pro device too and, price wise, looks like I lucked out. I'm liking the ideas for USB saturn pads too...