Whether you’re trying to no-scope that enemy on COD or score a last-minute slam-dunk on NBA, the touchpad just doesn’t do it.
- How To Play Steam Games On Mac With Xbox 360 Controller For Sale
- How To Play Steam Games On Mac With Xbox 360 Controller Free
MOST UNIQUE - Games Played With Steam Controllers More Than Any Other Type.
So, we thought we’d share the best tips on how to connect an Xbox 360 controller to your Mac, to make them tense gaming moments a little easier.
Before you do: Clean up your Mac
BUT, before we get into all the juicy techy stuff, let’s remind you of how beneficial cleaning up your Mac can be.
Before installing any new hardware, it’s important to have an un-cluttered file space so the new software can run efficiently, and you can keep an eye on what’s where.
With CleanMyMac X, it’s easy. It’s one-click cleaning approach and powerful scanning means you can swiftly dispose of useless documents and apps which may be slowing your Mac down.
So, to get optimal controller connectivity, you should download CleanMyMac and tidy up your digital space – prior to any installations. Now, onto how to use an Xbox 360 controller on a Mac.
How to use the Xbox 360 controller on Mac
Not many of us know it, but there could be a handy use for all those old Xbox 360 or Xbox One controllers lying around. But, before you get set up, you need to have the correct hardware installed on your Mac to enable connectivity.
Here’s how.
First of all, you will need either a wired or wireless Xbox controller. Both work fine, but for all those passionate gamers with a tendency to erupt, a wireless device would be best to save any damages to wires (or opponents). These wireless receivers can be bought for around $20 on Amazon, and can handle up to 4 Xbox 360 controllers.
Free Drivers
Obviously, Macs don’t have an in-built driver for Xbox controllers as Apple are in no way affiliated with Microsoft. Similarly, Microsoft doesn’t supply drivers for Mac users for their hardware, which leaves us wanting users having to find our own way.
So back in 2006, it was music to gamer’s ears to hear that Tattie Bogle had developed their own driver free of charge to users across the gaming globe. However, this driver hasn’t been updated since 2012, and is therefore sticky when it comes to compatibility with MacOS X.
For a more streamlined approach to this conundrum, download GitHub’s free driver – it’s maintained and updated frequently and is free to all Mac users.
1. Install the driver
After opening the GitHub link, double click on the DMG file visible under ‘Assets’. This will start the installing process, where you will have to follow the appropriate instructions.
Remember though, as with any new program installation, it will reboot your Mac, so don’t panic. After the restart, you should be able to find ‘Xbox 360 Controllers’ in the system preferences.
2. Connect the Xbox 360 Controller to your Mac
Now you’ve installed the driver, the next step is to connect the controller, which is simple and only needs to be done once.
Firstly, you need to plug the USB receiver into a free USB port on your Mac. Once plugged in, the USB receiver’s light should start blinking
Press the big Xbox logo button on the controller so it lights up green
Press the button on the USB receiver
Press the connect button on the controller, which can be found at the top - in-between the left and right toggles
The top left quarter of the circle around the Xbox button should now light up, indicating you are the first controller connected
Now the controller and Mac are linked - so in the future if you want to connect again, all you need do is press the big Xbox logo button to get going. Told you it was simple!
3. Test the Controller
As with all things techy, there’s always loopholes. So, it’s important to test the connections to ensure the controller works before we embark upon a mobile-gaming-gallivant.
Go to ‘System Preferences’, ‘Xbox 360 Controllers’ and you’ll see a screen like below.
This is a control pad, which indicates whether all the buttons on the controller are working properly. That’s about all you can do on this, as well as shutting the controller down by clicking ‘power off’.
4. Configuring for multiple games on your Mac
We all have different tastes in games - some of us like sports and some of us like military, there’s no right or wrong (asides from Half-Life, that’s just awesome and it’s not up for debate).
With these different games come different control configurations, which can get tedious when you only have one type of controller.
For full flexibility of use, there are many tools and apps available which allow you to play any game with any Mac compatible joystick or controller – even the ones that are not compatible with joysticks.
5. Use Joystick Mapper
Out of the many apps to choose from, Joystick Mapper is our pick. And at only $4.99 from the App Store, it’s real value for money – especially when considering the amount of effort it takes to develop such a complex tool.
Here’s how it works –
Once you download the Joystick Mapper app, you need to create a pre-set for your game preferences. To do this, open the app and click ‘Add new pre-set’.
Enter a name for future reference such as ‘My Game’, and for each joystick, click ‘Add a new joystick’.
Now that you’ve identified the joystick, you need to ‘bind’ joystick inputs to keyboard or mouse movements - which is easier than it sounds.
Click on ‘Add new bind’, and then ‘Scan’, and press the button of your game controller that you’d like to use. Next select a mouse or keyboard action, and that will ‘bind’ the chosen inputs.
Simply repeat this process until you’ve bound all the buttons you’d like to use.
If by chance you’re using a controller other than an Xbox 360 or Xbox One, you can replicate these actions and apply them to different controllers. To do this, simply click the ‘Clone’ icon in the top right corner. To put the pre-set into action, set a checkmark before the preferred pre-set/profile you’ve created for the game you’re about to play. Now, you’re good to go!
BUT – don’t close the Joystick Mapper app before starting the game, it needs to keep running to work. Simply select ‘cmd + H’ to hide the window.
Declutter your Mac to make more room for games
Remember, all of these processes won’t work as effectively if you have a messy Mac.
On average, there is a whopping 62GB of junk found on Macs, with jam-packed caches and folders full of useless documents cluttering the hard drive.
This considerably slows down the performance of your Mac, preventing quick and easy installations, and can even hinder the controller connectivity.
CleanMyMac X is an app dedicated to cleaning your Mac head-to-toe. It scans everything on the computer - even old folders that have been evading your wrath for years - identifying what needs to be removed.
The Mac is inspected rigorously, and with its smart one-click clean-up, CleanMyMac sweeps away the unwanted rubbish to organize folders and speed up performance.
How To Play Steam Games On Mac With Xbox 360 Controller For Sale
Furthermore, CleanMyMac X is free to download. So, what are you waiting for? Download it for free here.
These might also interest you:
Xbox One is one of the most sold consoles from Microsoft and it being a next gen controller allows the gamers to have much better experience while playing games on it. Microsoft also launched the updated version of Xbox One i.e. Xbox One S with better specifications and also support for 4K and HDR.
The best part about these consoles are the controllers and how they easily allow you to play video games. Did you know that you can actually use a Xbox One controller to play games on your Windows PC?
How To Play Steam Games On Mac With Xbox 360 Controller Free
The whole process of Xbox One setup and to sync Xbox one controller on PC to play games on Steam is very easy. In fact, you can use it for any game that supports a gamepad. Recently, Steam updated the client to officially support controllers. You can now officially use Xbox One or even a Sony PlayStation controller on Steam games. Of course, the support was available already but it wasn’t supported by Steam on the core. These controllers interacted directly with the game and it totally depended on the game whether they support a controller or not. This means, syncing Xbox one controller is now very easy. With this new update, the controller has now become compatible with all games you have on Steam.
Things You Need
- Xbox One controller
- USB cable for wired controller gaming
- Xbox One Controller Wireless Adapter for wireless gaming
- The latest version of Steam
- Xbox One Driver – 32-bit
- Xbox One Driver – 64-bit
How to Setup Xbox One Controller on PC (Windows)
- Make sure you have the latest version of Steam installed on your PC. Keep the Steam client updated and move on to the next steps.
- Connect your Xbox One controller to your PC and you will notice that the PC will start looking for drivers.
- If you have problems with installing the drivers automatically or if the Xbox controller won’t connect to PC, then just use the download links provided above and you will be able to install them manually.
- Install the 32-bit drivers if you have a 32-bit system and 64-bit if you have a 64-bit system.
- Start up Steam and you will have a proper working controller that will work with all the games now.
Steps to use Xbox One Controller on Steam on Linux
Believe it or not but Linux has been growing up to be a very feasible platform for gaming. Valve, the parent company of Steam has been testing things out with SteamOS which is a Linux based OS specially for Steam games.
Linux also has a native support for Xbox Controller which makes it quite unique because this is something that is only found in Windows OS. Just plug in your Xbox One controller on a Linux system and you’re all set to game.
Steps to use Xbox One Controller on Steam on Mac
Mac is where things get a little bit tricky as there is no plug and play support for the Xbox One controller. You need to download a driver compiled by FranticRain. You can find the latest drivers at this link.
After the install, the Xbox One controller will be detected by Steam inside the games. If you’re facing some sort of issue, just Enjoyable which is a freeware and it lets you map keys of your controller easily.
You can use these gamepads in games that require much better control that a keyboard and a mouse can provide. Racing games are one such genre where you can use a controller to properly control things like acceleration, brakes and more.
Xbox One controllers are known for being easy to use and the fact that they’re manufactured by the same company that develops Windows is the reason why the Xbox Controller is readily supported on Windows and hence Steam.