PC as controller for xbox/ps3

**Pyriel** · Joined: 24 Mar 2008 Posts: 41 Location: Central Time Zone

I looked around today and saw a lot of threads about using the equipment on a pc but I do not want that.

I wanted to know if anyone has found a way to plug your pc through a usb cable into the ps3/xbox and use the keyboard/mouse as controllers.

The idea is to buy a cheap electronic drumkit and a midi to usb adapter. Just plug the actual drums into the pc and the pc to my ps3. This would completely eliminate the need for the pos rockband drums. If someone figures this out then all the drummers could just buy a cheap electronic drumset and only the game disc for gh4/RR since you wouldn't need the stock drums for those games at all.

I want to buy something like this http://www.guitarcenter.com/Alesis-Performance-Pad-491527-i1397301.gc or an actual drumkit and not have to solder/need the fake drum circuit board. This would save a lot of money/hassle/space in the long run.
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**craventrio** · Joined: 18 May 2008 Posts: 1227 Location: uk

You can't just plug your PC in as if it was a USB controller and have it work in any games.

In theory I THINK they could make software for the console that connects to your PC over USB (if MS/Sony would let them release it!) since you can connect two computers USB to USB, but that's not what you're wanting to do at all. The game wouldn't be expecting a computer to be plugged in, it would be expecting xbox controllers or whatever.

You can plug a USB keyboard or mouse straight in to the console and have them work... where they're supported. Keyboard is often supported for typing, but not usually for playing games that were designed for the controllers!

People have connected generic electronic drumkit to RB. They have done this by taking the electronic guts from the RB drums and interfacing them to the new drums. There are threads in hardware, here's one: http://rockband.scorehero.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7000

Oh and any solution custom made for RB like this probably won't work directly in activision games. You can only use guitar hero guitars (or custom guitars made out of the guitar hero guitar's electronics!) in guitar hero games! Dunno about RR.

(edit: sorry, you seem to know about this sort of drumkit stuff already.. either I missed it the first time or you added it while I was writing my reply!)

It would be interesting if there WAS a USB device (think it would need to be hardware, not just a simple cable between console and PC) that could be reprogrammed to mimic any other device and forward input from the PC. Don't suppose such a thing exists except for expensive FPGAs and things? :D

**Pyriel** · Joined: 24 Mar 2008 Posts: 41 Location: Central Time Zone

Well if people are making programs to accept the equipment in windows like the little drum machine progs using the rockband drums, then I think it would be completely possible for them to use something else as the input(actual set) and output in the ps3/xbox format through a usb cable so the system picks it up as the actual controller.

Without any hardware/circuit boards.
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**TNTX** · Joined: 26 Oct 2006 Posts: 1069 Location: Grand Island, NE

Yes, it's actually easily possible if you can name a game that supports keyboard input. Steal the iopkb.irx from it, stick it into the game.dtb and IOP folder, and voíla, developer mode. Also works with GH2, and presumably GH1.
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**craventrio** · Joined: 18 May 2008 Posts: 1227 Location: uk

Wait are you guys saying you can emulate any USB device (or just a keyboard, TNTX) from your PC with no hardware except a USB cable?

Because I can't find how to do that but I've found hardware like this http://www.centrillium-it.com/Products/UsbDE/ and I don't see why someone wouldn't just write software if that was possible?

**TNTX** · Joined: 26 Oct 2006 Posts: 1069 Location: Grand Island, NE

**craventrio** · Joined: 18 May 2008 Posts: 1227 Location: uk

Well that explains how to hack a console game to make it accept keyboard input (is that 360 you're talking about specifically there TNTX? I've never made customs or anything for consoles), but not how to hack a PC to pretend to be a USB keyboard.

And if you can make a PC pretend to be a keyboard, you could about as easily make it pretend to be a 360 controller or microphone or anything else you please... but I don't know how to do this step. Unless you have special hardware like I linked or could be built.

**ajanata** · Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 10:44 pm Post subject:

You can't use a PC as a device, plain and simple. They only have host controllers, not device controllers. PC-PC USB cables have hardware in them that allows two hosts to communicate, and you cannot change what that would show up as to a console.
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**TNTX** · Joined: 26 Oct 2006 Posts: 1069 Location: Grand Island, NE

**kdb424** · Joined: 20 Aug 2007 Posts: 595

I am all for this topic because I would love to do this, but someone may have t lock it because people could easily FC any song by using a MIDI program to press keys. If I am wrong, please leave this open. I love the idea though. Rock on!

**craventrio** · Joined: 18 May 2008 Posts: 1227 Location: uk