I don't generally like controllers, but for games like Ori and Rayman I got myself an Xbox 360 one and it seems to be doing well.

I would recommend getting a controller that supports both XInput and DirectInput. Xbox 360 controllers only support XInput, which means they aren't fully compatible with older games. Some Logitech gamepads have a switch that allow you to select the mode, such as the F310 and F710.

Xbox 360 is my choice, just comfortable to hold. I owned the logitech that was mentioned, and I hated it. Its got a funky design, not comfortable at all. In my opinion.

For games that don't have controller support, just run xpadder (free software) to map your mouse and keys over.

The 360 is a good controller but can lose its connection often. If you have bluetooth available on your PC I suggest a Wii U pro controller. Bluetooth is a better connection, the battery life is amazing and the design is excellent.

I know a lot of people still prefer the 360 controller but i actually like the Xbox One controller a lot more. Also i only ever had a Wii U pro controller for a short time so i don't remember it all that well, but if you're gonna consider something like that, the Nintendo Switch Pro controller is really comfortable imo. I believe it can be used to play games on PC but you might want to verify that by looking around online first.

Edit:

There's also a new Xbox One Wireless Adapter for W10 that is coming out in a few months. Should allow you to connect up to 8 Xbox One controllers to it if that's something you would be interested in.

A little while ago i sold my old XB1 controller and got one of the new ones with Bluetooth capabilities. I also bought an internal Bluetooth card so i could connect other controllers and devices to my PC instead of an XB1 wireless dongle/adapter that would only allow me to connect other XB1 controllers. I was able to play local coop with 2 XB1 controllers connected via Bluetooth. I searched online for a while before i tried this for confirmation of it working for other people but didn't ever find much. Microsoft's site also says it's possible but they don't guarantee more then 1 XB1 controller working at the same time via Bluetooth so maybe it's a YMMV situation.

Edit 2: If you get an XB1 controller and plan to use it via Bluetooth, make sure to download the Xbox Accessories app from the Windows Store to update the firmware on the controller. You will need to connect it via a cable while you do this.

do you already have a 360 controller or are you thinking on buying? because there're already x360 controllers + wireless sensor for PC. My controller came with a slighty problem with the D pad The arrows are less sensitiva at right and down. That pissed me off a bit (what a poor quality for Microsoft product!) but I get used to it. Extra ball: I sill having my old side winder gamepad from 1997 and still works. Perhaps now have a slightiy deadzone but back then (when it was brand new and follow years) it works amazing... the box the "own driver" (similar to nowdays xpadder but for win95 and an official gamepad) was nice. The user was very well treated.

In your place (if the price is right) I would like to ask for XBO controller opinions.

In a way I agree (and F310 is cheaper too than XBox360 gamepad, and I am quite happy with my F310), but I also think that maybe the DirectInput compatibility isn't THAT important in reality, because the older Windows games that have DirectInput gamepad support were usually designed primarily for mouse+keyboard controls. So I am not sure if there really are any games where a DirectInput-compatible gamepad is really needed, as long as one is ready to play with mouse+keyboard instead.

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time is close to that I guess, but I think it can be played quite well also with mouse + keyboard.

It is these newer XInput-era games where a gamepad may be pretty much required, or at least expected as the default controller. So in that sense I guess one wouldn't lose much even if buying a XInput-only gamepad, like the XBox360 gamepad.


One thing that currently confuses me though: since the console world has already a long time ago moved on to Xbox One (and PS4), is the XBox360 gamepad still the de-facto standard for PC gamepads? Are new PC games expecting a XBox360 gamepad, or a XBox One gamepad, or do they support both just as well? Is Microsoft even marketing XBox One gamepads for PCs at this point, or are they still marketing only the XBox360 gamepads for PCs?

I used to think that it is handy for cross-platform game developers when the console (XBox360) and PC version can be expected to use a similar controller, but is that really true now anymore, if the console version is designed for a XBox One gamepad instead?

I think for the most part they're interchangeable? They both have the same buttons i believe. The start and back buttons have a different look so the in-game button prompts might look different. I believe some games now even natively support the PS4 controller out of the box and have the correct button prompts displayed for them in game. Of the top of my head i believe Far Cry 4 is one of those games. Though i think the amount of games with PS4 controller support like this are still rare. Still if you prefer a PS4 controller you can download a program to trick games into seeing it as an Xbox controller.

Edit: A lot of people still recommend 360 controller, because the prefer the size/feel over the Xbox One's i guess. Like i said though, i personally prefer the feel of the Xbox One controllers. Especially the new ones with Bluetooth, there were some very subtle & small design updates like the triggers & the material on the grips i believe. They feel pretty good imo. The newer Xbox One controllers also have triggers that can vibrate/rumble, though that has to be programmed into a game and i think only games on the Windows Store use that feature? I might be wrong about that. That feature used to not work wirelessly at least via Bluetooth but i believe it does now.

I don't know if it's a price thing either because i got the XB1 controller with Bluetooth for $40, i don't know how much cheaper a 360 controller is but i don't think it's too much cheaper.

The reason I mentioned it is because I remember some years ago being disappointed that I couldn't use my Xbox 360 controller with Vice City or San Andreas. That's actually what prompted me to buy an F310.

But to each their own. Personally, I don't care much for the Xbox 360 controller because of the lopsided analogue sticks, the mushy triggers, the face buttons that tend to stick, the terrible d-pad and of course the aforementioned compatibility issue. That said, there are other non-Logitech gamepads which are also switchable between XInput and DirectInput, I just happen to be a long time fan (since the 1980s) of Logitech peripherals and their build quality.

I don't know what all of the differences between the Microsoft gamepads are, but I have heard that the Xbone controller has a much better d-pad. If someone is dead set on buying a Microsoft gamepad, that should be reason enough to recommend the Xbone controller over the 360 controller.

Ah yes, that's one. I don't recall if it was in both games (the remote helicopter in Vice City, and the remote bi-plane in San Andreas) where I kept hearing they are near impossible to control on PC.

I recall it was indeed very hard with mouse + keyboard, but after I set up F310 (in DirectInput mode), at least the San Andreas bi-plane became very easy to control. So yeah, those two games benefit from a DirectInput gamepad, at least those flying parts.

However, haven't those two games been "modernized" now on Steam? I am unsure if they added XInput support at the same time, I mainly heard bad things about the new versions (like that they removed some music tracks due to licensing problems, and there are less graphical options now, apparently the new PC versions are somehow based on the Android ports of the games...?).

Whoa, I didn't know about all of those information and that the Xbox One's controller. I probably didn't explain it well or I omitted some details, but I found that some of the games on my wishlist doesn't cooperate with keyboard/mouse or worst, act as if keyboard/mouse doesn't exist, i.e. Attack on Titan. I do want to play some of the "later" games.

Not the wired one - which I would recommend.

For me they had worse problems with the 360 controller. IIRC, both triggers would only function as a single digital button and the right analogue stick didn't work at all. My copies are disc versions, with all of the original music.

It wouldn't be surprising if the Android versions were re-ported back to PC. That's what happened with Imperium Galactica II.

I have the opposite experience, the Xbox360 just isn't comfortable to hold for me. Also I hate the triggers. It's really a subjective thing.