So my old wireless Xbox 360 controller is kind of on its last legs, bad stick drift, thumbstick rubber starting to rub off, and I'm looking for a replacement. Would gladly just buy another 360 controller but they haven't made them in years.

Got an 8bitdo Ultimate earlier this year and it has not lasted. Out of the box, the thumbsticks started losing sensitivity in one or two directions after a few hours of play, but I could get around this by messing with the deadzones in the software. Not an ideal solution, since it lowered the resolution, but it worked.

But now it's got new and exciting problems that I can't work around. Sometimes the B button won't register at all. Sometimes the A button will press on its own. And my favorite, sometimes the entire controller just freezes and won't accept any input for seconds at a time.

I had a coworker recommend a GuliKit but the face buttons are backward and that's enough to put me off it.

Any advice?

  • PorkrollPosadist [he/him, they/them]
    ·
    23 hours ago

    I've been using a DualShock 4 (Playstation 4) controller for the past three or four years. It works wirelessly by bluetooth or plugged in via USB. Works with modern Windows (tested on 10) as well as Linux. On Linux, even the motion controls worked when I was doing Switch emulation. I use it mostly for playing Celeste. I find that it is a fraction more responsive / reliable when plugged in vs. wireless, but wireless is fine for anything not ultra-sweaty.

    On Linux I have had intermittent bluetooth connectivity problems in the past. These were ultimately resolved by building a kernel with the new hid_playstation driver (replacing the old hid_sony driver). This was a couple years ago though. This transition should be complete in any modern distro. The driver should be compatible with DS5 controllers too, but I have never tried one.

    It may not be the best option out there, but it covers a lot of bases and has good compatibility all around, as well as programs to proxy it as an Xbox controller on Windows if necessary for older games with less robust plumbing for input. I guess these things are out of production now too though.