For now, lets stick to single-action buttons. (Well map controls to the thumbsticks and triggers next.) Key mapping in Gamepad Companion is simple.

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If youre a Mac gamer whos tired of trying to game on your mouse and keyboard, you should get an Xbox 360 controller.

By connecting an Xbox 360 Controller to your Mac and mapping its buttons to keystrokes (or mouse actions), you can bring the console experience to your Mac without breaking the bank -- or a sweat.

Difficulty Level Medium What You Need A Mac running Snow Leopard.

Microsoft Wireless Controller Receiver (or Wired Controller) Controller Driver ( free ) Gamepad Companion ( 8.99 ) 1.

Pick the right tools for the job.

Xbox 360 Reader Driver For Xbox

The OS X driver for Xbox 360 controllers is free, but its only compatible with 1st-party peripherals.

We like the Xbox 360 Wireless controller for windows, which comes with a wireless receiver.

Youll need this, because unfortunately 360 controllers dont use Bluetooth.) For what its worth though, you can also use the controller with a regular Xbox 360.

Like an actual Xbox, the included receiver can connect with up to 4 wireless controllers at once.

And at less than 50 on Amazon, the package still costs less than a fancy gaming mouse.

Just dont count on connecting your wireless controller via the USB play charge kit: these carry charge only, no data.

Controllers or wireless receivers (like this one) that dont bear Microsofts shiny sticker of authenticity are made by a 3rd-party, so even if they look legit and have the Xbox 360 logo printed on them they wont work for this project.

Xbox 360 Reader Drivers Most Recent

Follow this link and download the drivers most recent disk-image.

Open the.dmg file when its finished, and (from the Finder window that pops up) run the installer package.

Scroll through the drivers messy download page till you see this, and click the link for the disk image.

Connect your controller If youre using a wired controller, this is as easy as plugging it into your Macs USB port.

For wireless, plug in the USB receiver, turn on your controller, and hold the Connect buttons on both devices until a connection is established.

If you want to monitor the driver, open the System Preferences pane and click on Xbox 360 controllers in the bottom row.

Select your controller in the Device drop-down menu and press a few buttons on it.

The diagram on the screen should light up accordingly.

Find out if Youll Even Need Gamepad Companion A few Mac games are accommodating enough that theyll recognize your connected controller, and might even let you pick your own control scheme.

If this works, you can forget Gamepad Companion (because you wont need it) and skip right down to our very last step.

Halo should have no trouble with your controller once the drivers installed.

And while we havent tested this, Feral Interactive has hinted at support for the driver in Bioshock.

Install Gamepad Companion.

Unfortunately, lots of Mac games force their default control schemes on us, and we hardly expected a shareware driver to be immediately compatible with every game.

Mac users simplest option here is Gamepad Companion, (a bargain at 7.99 in the Mac App Store ) and installing it is as easy as authorizing the purchase.

Before you buy, be advised that the apps debut build is having mouse-compatibility issues.

But its still the best simple key-mapper, and plenty of great games hardly rely on the mouse anyway.

Map Keystrokes to your Controllers Basic Buttons Fire up Gamepad Companion and click the Stop button on the right to select your controller in the left-most panel.

For now, lets stick to single-action buttons.

Well map controls to the thumbsticks and triggers next.) Key mapping in Gamepad Companion is simple.

Xbox 360 Reader For Mac