Controller drivers

main menu of the EmulationStation interface. Now, to set up the controller for gaming, head to the RetroPie menu in

EmulationStation and select the ‘Configure RetroArch Keyboard/Joystick’ option. Use the keyboard and select the first option, labelled ‘Configure Joystick/Controller’. Then follow the on-screen prompts to set up your controller. If your controller doesn’t have the buttons you’re being asked for, just wait for a few seconds and the setup will move on to the next button. If you use an Xbox 360 or a PS3 controller, you first have to install their drivers before RetroPie can pick them up. In earlier versions, this involved some hacking on the command line. However, in the latest version of the distro, it’s a very simple and straightforward affair. Head to the RetroPie-Setup option in the RetroPie menu inside EmulationStation. This brings you to the Ncurses menu of the RetroPie-Setup script we were in earlier. Use the keyboard to select the third option to configure the distro. Scroll through the list and select the relevant option to install the driver for your controller – ‘318’ to install the PS3 driver and number ‘332’ to install the driver for the Xbox 360.

The Xbox360 script downloads the xboxdrv driver and edits the /etc/rc.local file to start the driver on boot. The script adds entries for wired 360 controllers. If you are using wireless controllers, open the /etc/rc.local file in a text editor, hunt for the lines that begin with xboxdrv and replace the --id option with --wid .

If you are using PS3 controllers, once you’ve installed the drivers using the script as described earlier, you’re prompted to plug in the Bluetooth adaptor for the controllers. Even after you do so, RetroPie will fail to detect your controllers. This is to be expected, according to the developers. Exit the script and out of EmulationStation. Once you’re back on the command line, switch to the /opt/retropie/