Can I use Playstation Controller for all Emulators(PSX,PS2, SNES; NES, Game Boy,etc)?

Hi guys.

I used a snes emulator for years now. And I figured that it is time to move on to other emulators. I want my collection on PC of all my favourite games.
I personally think the Playstation 1/2 controller is the best controller of all time. And I have an adapter to play my snes roms with my PSX controller.
Now I got a couple of new emulators. 1 for: N64 (project64_1.6), Dreamcast (ChankastAlpha025), Playstation 1 (ePSXe),
Playstation 2 (pcsx2-0.9.8-r4600), Game Boy + Color + Advance (all in one: VisualBoyAdvance-1.7.2), NES (fceux-2.1.4a), SNES (snes9x-1.52) & Game Cube (dolphin-3.0)

Except for the SNES emulator, I havnt used nor installed any of the others. However I read, those are the best. (if there are better ones for s specific gaming system, please let me know.)

I'd like to play every emulator with a playstation controller, if possible. The N64 (has the Z-button) + Dreamcast controllers are different, so I guess I will have to use my old controllers and get a usb adapter for it. Which one is best here? Or is it possible to play N64 + Dreamcast games properly with a Playstation controller?

For the other emulators, can I use my playstation 2 controller for all of them? If not, what do I need, what is best, what are you using? I am not a big fan of switching tons of controllers every time. The dreamcast controller doesn't have a Z button, but a LCD display in it. Otherwise it should be working like a Playstation controller I hope (no other buttons, like the N64 controller). That would mean only the N64 is an exception here. And with 1 indifferent controller + Playstation controller for the rest, I could live.
Or should I just go with a Playstation 3 controller cause it has already USB? Then again the main question remains if I can use it on all of those named emulators.

I'd appriciate any sort of help.


Looking forward to hearing from you soon. And thank you very much in advance.
J.

Well the best solution for this very thing is Bliss-box ( see sig ). Especial the fact that you can change out the controller without the needs to switch the usb adapter.
However it's not necessarily affordable for all, that said. I found a ps2 and n64 controller fit for most all needs. There is an adapter that does both for dirt cheep.

Thanks alot! I guess I will stick to a N64 and a Playstation 2 controller then. So it is definately possible without any probloems to play dreamcast games with a PS2 controller yes? What adapter you are talking about iny our last sentence. The one which fits N64 + PS2?
And a PS3 controller isnt more practical over a PS2 controller thanks to its own usb cable already?
Thanks alot.

No adapter, or game for that matter, will use the sp3 advantages. Personally I would use the n64 for dream cast as its layout is a better match. Yes the stick is in the center of the n64 but works out well IMO. Here is an example of the adapter.

analogs to analog
+ controls to + controls
L and R to L and R
start to start
a,b,x,y to the yellow buttons

notes"
n64,a,b trigger have no use.
the L and R would be digital
and + and analog are swapped




I hear the ps3 can be plugged and and used if a drive is installed. I also here its a pain in the butt.

Hi there. Thanks alot for all the help.

Three more questions approached, though.

1: When I stick to my PS2 and N64 controller, what about the game cube? PS2 controllers are working as a game cube pad as well, or is it as special as the N64 controller, which shouldn't be changed for emulators?
2: Regarding the bliss box, this seems like a big chunk. Do you lay it onto the table or what? And what does "1,2,3....12...all Ports" mean? What if I take 5 ports?
And can I plug in multiple of the same controllers to it? Lets say I want to play Mario kart with 2 or 4 people. Does this thing has multiple controller entries for the same pad?
3: Is there an adapter, which has multiple controller entries? Like int he old days for Secret of mana. SO you use one SNES controller entry, to put in an adapter which has 2 or 3 more entries for controllers? Is there something like that for N64 and Playstation 2 controllers? I did some google search and didn't find anything. This would help me alot, since I then just need ONE usb slot, and from there being able to stick in multiple controllers.

Thanks alot for your help man. Much appriciated.

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1: When I stick to my PS2 and N64 controller, what about the game cube? PS2 controllers are working as a game cube pad as well, or is it as special as the N64 controller, which shouldn't be changed for emulators?

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Game cube is a hard one. I have used the n64 for it before. You just need to make the buttons act as full analogs. The ps2 controller will give you the complete control but the layout is a mess.

Quote:

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2: Regarding the bliss box, this seems like a big chunk. Do you lay it onto the table or what? And what does "1,2,3....12...all Ports" mean? What if I take 5 ports?
And can I plug in multiple of the same controllers to it? Lets say I want to play Mario kart with 2 or 4 people. Does this thing has multiple controller entries for the same pad?

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The bliss box is actually quite small. The full version is about 2 wide 1.5 tall, and 4 long ( in inches ) , the singles are very small and the 3-6/7 ( depending on the ports you pick ) is about 1x1x2. The ports are simple. You can go with one port, or 10 ports, or the full version. This was done to help people out that scrap for cash. This way you get only what you want to pay for. This box does not do multi players.

Quote:

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3: Is there an adapter, which has multiple controller entries? Like int he old days for Secret of mana. SO you use one SNES controller entry, to put in an adapter which has 2 or 3 more entries for controllers? Is there something like that for N64 and Playstation 2 controllers? I did some google search and didn't find anything. This would help me alot, since I then just need ONE usb slot, and from there being able to stick in multiple controllers.

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I think you are asking for a multi tap of sorts? Yes, Bliss-Box will do that upon request. Unfortunately its costs more. For example you could get a 4 player n64 box ( 4 ports on the front, and 4 players at once ) but you would pay for 4 Bliss-box inside one box.

Just to add something.

If you aren't looking for multi-player support (more than 1 player at the same time) and just want to save USB ports by using a single adapter with multiple gamepad support, then a standard bliss-box will do that for you just fine. You may have to custom order it depending on what you want, but he can for example, build you a single box that lets you plug in a real console controller, for every console system you play. You just can't use more than one port at the same time, I think is the only limitation.

But you would essentially have a box that lets you plug in:

An NES controller, OR
An SNES controller, OR
An N64 Controller, OR
A Saturn Controller, OR
A PlayStation 1/2 Controller, OR
A Dreamcast Controller, etc...

If that's all you want... Single player, multi-gamepad support. Blissbox is what you want to buy, custom ordered for the gamepad ports you want on it.

Correct, and to do muti-player you would need one of each. Or for a multi-player in the same box, a hub can be installed as a custom order.

2 players should be able to play i think. bit bying 2 bliss boxes is unfortunately out of my range. I will probaly just using an N64 + PSX controller (2 of each) which should fit all purposes, as suggestet above. Only Game Cube and Dreamcast are a bit probhlematic, but since u guys said it works with N64 ?r PSX controllers, I am fine with this. though really really like the bliss box. Once I have the usb adapters, I just need maximum 2 usb slots at a time, when playing a game. This is ok. I have a couple free usb slots.

Thanks alot for your nice help. Much appriciated.

I also would like to know how good the current techologial progress for PS2 emulators is. Are they working as intended already, or are they still not nearly as good as the real PS2?

I had the same question in mind as the questioner. From my experience I can say that I play every console game with my PS2 controller. Only on N64 I think that I need a dedicated controller. Some day, I will buy an arcade board and some other type of inputs too...