Does Xbox 360 USB controller work out-of-the-box on Windows/Linux/Mac

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I'm planning buying a wired USB Xbox 360 controller, but I would like to know a bit more about it before actually buying.

Most (all?) USB controllers identify themselves as USB HID (Human Interface Device), which allows them to be auto-configured and work right away, without installing any drivers. It also has the advantage that USB HID devices will (or should) work on any operating system.

But how about the Xbox 360 controller?

  • Does it identify itself as USB HID?
  • Does it work on Windows without the need of special drivers? (or did Microsoft "cheat" a little by shipping the driver together with Windows?)
  • Does it work out-of-the-box on Linux and Mac OS X?

EDIT: Okay, I've bought the controller. Some additional info:

  • The controller uses a vendor-specific (0xff) device-class, which means it requires drivers in order to work.
  • It works out-of-the-box on Windows 7 and Linux. It requires drivers on Mac OS X and Windows XP. See the answer below for more information.

Best Answer

In Windows it works out of the box, but if you install this software the Xbox 360 will display a battery indicator on the screen.

In Ubuntu, the Xbox 360 controller works flawlessly with xpad. (I've tried this successfully with a wireless controller)

In Mac, I've found a driver here, but I haven't tried it because I don't own a Mac myself.

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