Can You Plug A Playstation 3 Controller Into A Pc

How to use a PS3 controller on PC

PlayStation DualShock 3 Controller — (Image credit: PlayStation)

The Playstation 3'southward controller, the Dualshock 3, isn't the easiest pad to get working on the PC. So why bother when information technology's so much easier to use something newer? Well, in some ways, the PlayStation 3 controller is still special. The Dualshock 3 has something the best PC controllers don't have: Pressure-sensitive analog confront buttons. That makes the Dualshock 3 the best selection for playing emulated PS2 games in the PCSX2 emulator. Metal Gear Solid 3, for example, only doesn't play right without those analog buttons.

And if y'all simply prefer the feel of Sony's older controllers over the redesigned Dualshock 4, this is the perfect controller for playing those classic Final Fantasy games on Steam. Hither's the best way to go your PS3 controller working on PC, using an open up source tool called ScpToolkit.

Note: Steam actually has native back up for the DualShock iii, significant you lot tin simply plug the controller in and set information technology up through the Large Flick style Controller settings menu. However, Steam does non support the DualShock 3's gyro controls or (more importantly!) its analog confront buttons, which are what nosotros're really later. Follow this guide to get the PS3 controller working on PC with those buttons working, likewise.

Setup

What yous need

Hardware

Dualshock 3 and mini-USB cablevision
Optional: Bluetooth dongle

Software

Microsoft .Internet Framework iv.5
Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable Parcel
Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 runtime
Microsoft DirectX runtime
Xbox 360 controller driver (only needs to be installed on Windows 7)
ScpToolkit

Software installation

1. Download the software linked above, and start by installing the four Microsoft packages. If you're on a Windows vii PC, you'll as well need to install the Xbox 360 controller driver. On Windows 8 and x, it'southward already congenital in!

ii. Important stride: plug your Dualshock 3 into your PC with a mini-USB cable. Now we can start making it work.

Bluetooth installation note: if y'all as well want to be able to use the controller wirelessly, make sure you have a Bluetooth dongle plugged in or your motherboard's Bluetooth enabled. ScpToolkit notes yous need a Bluetooth ii.0 or higher dongle that supports Enhanced Data Rate (EDR).

3. Download ScpToolkit and run the installer. After accepting the terms and choosing your install location, you lot'll get a menu of all the options to install, as in the screenshot above. I recommend leaving this to the default. Click Install to begin the installation.

Bluetooth installation note: Make sure the ScpToolkit Bluetooth Pair Utility option is ticked.

four. After about thirty seconds, ScpToolkit will be installed, and yous'll see this screen, with a big dark-green button that says Run Commuter Installer. Since this is a fresh install, that'south what we desire to do. Click the push button.

5. This screen may look intimidating, but it's still pretty elementary! Check the boxes for the drivers y'all desire to install. In this case, we desire to make sure Install Dualshock iii driver is checked (information technology should be by default). Now click the pointer next to "Choose Dualshock three controllers to install" to see a dropdown listing of USB devices attached to your computer. Find the PlayStation 3 controller in the list and bank check it.

Bluetooth installation note: Make sure the "Install Bluetooth driver" box is checked. Like you did with the Dualshock 3, click the arrow side by side to "Choose Bluetooth dongles to install" and find your Bluetooth device in the list. Check it.

Notation: If you're on Windows Vista, check the box for "Force Driver Installation." Otherwise, leave information technology unchecked. Click Install.

half-dozen. Sentry the SCP Toolkit run through its installation process. You'll see lots of popular-ups on the side of your screen equally it detects your hardware. Scroll to the bottom of the log and you should hopefully see "Dualshock 3 USB Driver installed" (and "Bluetooth Driver installed" if you chose to), signifying a successful installation. If all went well, click Leave.

vii. Now that it's installed, you'll run into ScpToolkit equally an icon in your system tray. Await in your Beginning Carte du jour for ScpToolkit Settings Manager. Here you lot tin change some settings like disabling rumble, adjusting analog stick deadzones, and more than. Most of these settings you should be able to leave alone.

ScpToolkit starts up with Windows by default, and besides plays some sound effects that y'all might find obnoxious. To disable them, click the Sound settings tab and uncheck "Enable notification sounds."

PCSX2 emulator notation: The PCSX2 settings tab allows you to patch the emulator'south LilyPad controller plugin to back up the force per unit area sensitive buttons. If y'all plan to use your PS3 controller with the emulator, click Scan to navigate to your PCSX2 installation binder, then click Enable to install the patch. Voila!

Using information technology

Using your Playstation iii controller on PC

Now that information technology's installed, the Dualshock 3 should carry like an Xbox 360 controller. Any game with native XInput support—pretty much any modern PC game that supports gamepads—should recognize it without a hitch. Unfortunately, this ways that it won't annals equally a PlayStation controller to the few games that accept native DualShock 4 back up, so you won't get the correct Square/Cross/Triangle/Circumvolve button icons by default. Some games let you manually choose your button icons, though. Look for that in game settings!

Enter the Gungeon lets y'all manually set button icons.

If you ran into issues installing ScpToolkit or using the controller, you tin attempt posting in the official thread at the PCSX2 forums, merely you may not get an answer.

Bluetooth

How to connect your PS3 controller via Bluetooth

If you're not about that wired business, and followed all the Bluetooth installation steps above, you should be able to simply unplug the controller, and afterwards a couple seconds it volition sync via Bluetooth. You lot'll go a notification in the system tray when information technology does. Absurd!

This works after a reboot, too. If you allow ScpToolkit to start with Windows, you should just be able to plug in your PS3 controller again and it'll instantly be recognized. Once the LED is on, unplug the controller, and it'll once once more be synced via Bluetooth.

If you have problems with Bluetooth, information technology could exist that your dongle isn't supported. You may as well find help in ScpToolkit'due south Github discussions. Bluetooth can be choosy, and whatever problem you run into could be due to hardware, or your particular version of Windows, or drivers… in other words, good luck.

Non a controller person? Here's a round-upwardly of the all-time gaming keyboards , and best gaming mouse .

Wes has been covering games and hardware for more than 10 years, first at tech sites similar The Wirecutter and Tested before joining the PC Gamer team in 2014. Wes plays a lilliputian flake of everything, but he'll e'er jump at the chance to embrace emulation and Japanese games.

When he'southward not obsessively optimizing and re-optimizing a tangle of conveyor belts in Satisfactory (information technology's really condign a problem), he'south probably playing a 20-twelvemonth-old Concluding Fantasy or some opaque ASCII roguelike. With a focus on writing and editing features, he seeks out personal stories and in-depth histories from the corners of PC gaming and its niche communities. 50% pizza by book (deep dish, to be specific).