Customer Reviews

Microsoft Sidewinder Gamepad Pro

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've owned my Sidewinder Gamepad Pro for about 6 - 7 months. My first impressions where good. I bought it planning to play my more console type games (Bubble Bobble, Grand Theft Auto 1 & 2, etc.). The controller feels relativly comfortable in your hands, and the software is easy and very configurable. Aside from a minor stupidities in the software the inital impression was very good.

After the first month or so of use, i began to be irritated by the small bevels of plastic on the under side below the triggers and on the d-pad. After an hour or so of play, the raised bevel begans to create a small indentation in your fingers - not cool. I finally broke down one day and whipped out my pocket knife and carved them off. I polished it down a bit to a smooth finish and the controller was better than ever.

After four or five months of use however, i began to notice a very un-cool feature. At times the d-pad will randomly stick or not response. There is nothing more frustrating that fighting your way all the way to level 6 only to find that mario gets stuck on the left part of the screen because the d-pad is being stupid again. Wondering if mine was defective, i began to check around my friends. I wasn't the only one. At this point, 6 or 7 months later, my Gamepad sits with the cord wrapped around it on the shelf. It annoys me too much. It usually works, but those times that it doesn't you want to slam it into the floor. My recommendation is to look for a different, non-microsoft controller. Just my pref.

First off, if you have Windows XP, the software that comes with the controller won't work, so you can't really use the shift button the way it's meant to be used. It works fine other than that, but my only major problem with it is for some reason my laptop often doesn't recognize it's plugged in. It's pretty annoying, but still usable. I got it just because I wanted the cheapest functioning gamepad I could find, and I wouldn't recomment it for any purpose other than that.

I loved this gamepad, untill It started randomly sticking, same problem that the other reviewer had. I'm debating should I buy another or not, I got about 8 months out of this before it started malfunctioning. My old gameport version ms gamepad still works after 7 years, so I dont think I got my monies worth from the gamepad pro. Too bad

I'm thinking about ordering this pad since the price is under $10. For those who have defective pads, did you try contacting microsoft for a replacement? Microsoft is usually good about replacing defective hardware. I've had good success with their keyboard, and mice. Not sure about game pads, but it's worth a try since most that experience problems are under 1 year period.

The purchase went well overall. I like this game pad from microsoft. I have been using one for 8 years with no problems. I needed another one and I found it here. The only thing that is bad about it is that I think it needs one more button, because some games require this.

Now, I'll start by saying that how I came across this control was complete luck. The national guard was having some sort of charity sale not far from where I lived and I happened to be driving by. I found this control, used, for $2.00. Now, it works great. I use it for emulators and it's perfect for the Genesis and near-perfect for the Nintendo 64 (i had to export my start button to the keyboard). Without any fancy software, this controller WILL plug-and-play with windows XP. Don't be fooled by anyone who says it won't. It's a pretty comfortable controller and it's durable. I've banged it around a bit (accidentally of course) and it still works perfectly.

ive went through 4 or 5 of these. why? because there has yet to be a bettter analog dpad. the only problem with this gamepad is the way its made internally. the switches on the dpad wear out too fast..the soft rubber pads inside get beat up by the hard plastic dpad...ive taken many apart. but its awesome while its working, if you like to control your car with a dpad like me.
soooo..i just keep buying :)

It SUCKS!!! This controller doesn't work with Windows XP. Buy it at your own risk!!!

This gamepad is the best. It a good combination of size and functionality. This is a good price for a good product.