My 'PS360' controller

[L33]

I couldn't bear the PS3 dualshock / sixaxis controller any longer, so decided to fit a PS3 dualshock into an Xbox 360 wireless controller. A similar pad has been made before by Ben Heck using a non-rumble PS3 sixaxis controller, but with no disrespect to his fine work I wasn't keen on the method he used. His 'ps360' pad was made by removing the 360 controllers PCB and replacing it with a modified PS3 one, gluing tact switches into place underneath buttons etc, and attaching the thumbsticks with perfboard hot-glued in place. I didn't think this would be very strong or durable and I also didnt want to cut away thumbstick guides etc as I didnt think it'd end up 'feeling' anything like a 360 pad.
So I set about dismantling the two pads, to see how else this can be done. After some measuring and guestimating I was fairly sure I could leave the existing 360 board in place with some modifications, and get a cut-down PS3 board in there too - that way I can use all of the existing 360 buttons, sticks, triggers etc and everything will 'feel' like it does out of the factory.

The two 'test' controllers

The two controller boards: (those with a keen eye will notice this is a sixaxis board and not a dualshock one. As this was just a testing stage I was playing around with a dead 360 and sixaxis board, as I didn't want to damage the 'real' boards I would be using later!)

Removing non-essential bits from the 360 board:

Trimming the 360's LT/RT trigger support frames, and test-fitting the PS3 board:

About two thirds of the wiring complete:

All wiring complete, the more powerful 360 rumble motors attached to the dualshock board:

All wiring complete, fitted into the front of the 360 controller shell (notice PS3 board has been cut down to size!):

Shaving the inside rear 360 controller casing for a good fit:

Plugging in the PS3 battery:

The completed controller:

The pad works exactly as expected, including all tilt/movement controls, the ring-of-light to indicate controller/player number, analogue triggers and charging etc. Charging is done through the Xbox play and charge port on top of the pad (I didn't want PS3 pads mini-usb poking through somewhere looking out of place!).

A quick clip of the controller playing Killzone 2 (rather badly, trying to play through the video recording means a second or so delay ) For some reason though youtube keeps rotating the video

 

[L33]

Do want. Will actually consider PS3 with this.

How long did it take you, was it overly complicated?

If I send you controllers + an incentive, would you do me one?

It took quite a fair while, I didnt really keep track as I was just doing a few hours in the evenings. I'd say about 15 hours at a guess, the majority was all the pre-work, tracing tracks to 'map out' the boards, and cutting tracks on the 360 board to isolate buttons, and those head-scratching 'hmmm how will I get around this' type times
Biggest headache was the fact that sony now use new types of 4-pin potentiometer, 2 per analogue stick and the 360 board has 3-pin pots, yet the PS3 stick mechanisms to which they attach cant be used as they dont physically fit the 360 board.
If the 'incentive' is a jackpot winning lottery ticket then yes

 

[L33]

Thanks for all the kind comments I'm just glad to be able to play without getting hand cramp after 15 minutes

Good work, looks top banana... was there no way for you to alter the buttons to the PS ones?

Replacing the buttons with the PS3 ones is actually very easy to do compared to the rest, and something I may look at doing.

I've posted this on a couple of other forums and lots of people have asked if I would make them one, all I can say is as I said above - it is a ton of work but if anyone is seriously interested then feel free to drop me a mail - mods if this is against the forum rules I apologise please delete this part of the post

 

[L33]

Something just occurred to me, what happens when you want to re-sync the controller to the PS3?

The play and charge has been modified so it carries standard USB signals through to the connector, so it is just a case of plugging it in like the standard PS3 mini usb cable.

 

[L33]

$750, thats insane!! I mean its a lot of work, but not that much work
As I said before, the PS buttons (triangle square etc) are easy to do, but the 360 buttons are 'shaped' to the curve of the controller whereas the PS3 buttons are just flat so they wont look or feel as good. As for the D-pad, as I barely ever use it I wasn't that bothered although I may have a go at fitting it with some old spare controller shells I have just for the sake of it.

 

[L33]

I've had quite a few mails asking how difficult the mod is and quite a few asking how small the solder points are(?). I've already said in the thread roughly what is involved but if anyone is doing the mod for themself I'll try to answer any questions.
As for the solder points, most are ok but there are a few that are insanely small. As the PS3 board has to be trimmed, part of it that is cut away is the analogue stick mounting points and hence they have to be linked elsewhere. Below is a photo of 4 of those points (highlighted by the red arrow) compared to a 1p piece. There are 8 points per analogue stick, so 16 in total but only some of them will be cut away depending on the model of dualshock / sixaxis board you use. For an idea of how small they are, get a 1p piece and look at the dots just around the inside of the edge as they're roughly the size of the vias:

Also arent the X360 rumble motors more powerful than the DS3?

The 360 motors and the PS3 motors are more or less identical, but the 360 motors have heavier weights on them. The 360 controller vibration is a lot stronger as there is more power supplied to the motors than on the PS3 pad.

I wouldn't have thought this was possible due to the proprietary nature of console controllers.

Are both circuit boards live at the same time? Is it possible to control both the 360 and PS3 in the same game at the same time?

Edit: Also the PS3 controller board would be tuned for PS3 components, so doesn't driving it off 360 bits throw the tolerances out? e.g. pressing down on the trigger encounters the dead-zone earlier or later.

Its 'just' a PS3 controller, obviously it will no longer work with a 360 It just utilises the inputs from a 360 board and 'passes' them to the PS3 board to handle so things like deadzones etc are not a problem.

 

[L33]

how about you save $750 and buy two controllers instead.

what a stupid idea and waste of money if anyone buys this..

it has a 100% more better chance to break than the official single ones..

No offence mate but you've clearly not thought your post through.
Firstly nobody recommended anybody goes out and blows $750 on one, infact I think we posted futher up that was an insane price. Even though I never did this with the aim of making them for sale, lots of people from the 3 forums where I posted this have requested that I make one up for them and the price I've given is nowhere near $750.
Stupid idea? Made perfect sense to me... I like playing on the PS3 but can't stand the controller, yet like the 360 controller so it didn't seem like a stupid idea to me.
"100% more better chance to break" firstly this is terrible grammar, and secondly based on what facts?

Nice idea and all but for me the only thing wrong with the ps3 pad is the lack of a concave dimple in the analogue sticks for your thumbs to lock into. I have seen mods elsewhere which transplant the sticks from an old style xbox pad to the ps3 pad

The PS3 and 360 stick shafts/caps are a direct swap so this would be very easy if you wanted to do it The Xbox 1 Controller-S sticks have a larger dome on the bottom of them so would require some sanding down to prevent them fouling on the PS3 stick mechs / PCB when tilted.

 

[L33]

... As for the D-pad, as I barely ever use it I wasn't that bothered although I may have a go at fitting it with some old spare controller shells I have just for the sake of it.

I can now confirm this is possible if not a little tricky An employee of Sony computer entertainment (which I found quite ironic!) has commissioned me to build him 2 of these controllers and requested that the PS3 Dpad and button faces also be fitted into the 360 shell.
Will post up pics of the finished Dpad when done which will now be once I return from holiday. I'll also try and get some more detailed photos with the next controllers I build incase anyone wants to do the mod for themselves

 

[L33]

No chance, the 360 controller is ergonomically superior in every way.
I was quite serious when I posted that! I so badly want one of those

I have to agree with you 100%, but each to their own
As for the 2nd part of your post, I'm away for a week from tomorrow but if, say, you were to email my trust account I'd be able to reply when I am back