Questions

How to use a PS2 controller on a Mac

Through a PS2 to USB adapter. A DualShock 2 ends in a PlayStation plug, not USB, and it has no Bluetooth, so an adapter is the only way in. The adapter makes it a plain USB gamepad. macOS does not treat that as a game controller, and InputConfig, the free Mac app I make, reads plain USB gamepads directly and maps their buttons and sticks to keys and mouse.

What InputConfig reads comes from the app's own code and the controller list it bundles. I have not tested a PS2 adapter myself, so this page tells you how to check yours.

On this page: 9 sections
  1. Steps
  2. Connect it through an adapter
  3. Know what InputConfig already knows
  4. Turn Analog on
  5. Map it to keys and mouse
  6. Know what does not come through
  7. If the Mac does not see it
  8. The short version
  9. Questions

Steps

  1. Plug the controller into a PS2 to USB adapter, and the adapter into the Mac.
  2. Press the Analog button on the controller so its light is on.
  3. Open a gamepad tester in a browser, or InputConfig's Devices menu, and press a button.
  4. In InputConfig, press Scan on a row, press a button, and choose what it sends.

Connect it through an adapter

  • You: Plug the controller into the adapter and the adapter into the Mac. Press the Analog button on the controller so its red light comes on.
  • macOS: Sees a USB gamepad, under whatever name the adapter gives itself.
  • Check: Open the gamepad tester and press a button. It draws what the Mac receives.

The adapter is the device the Mac sees, so the adapter decides whether this works.

Download InputConfig on the Mac App StoreInputConfig is completely free on the Mac App Store. You don't have to make an account, there are no subscriptions, and nothing is locked. Optimized for Apple silicon.

Know what InputConfig already knows

The controller list InputConfig bundles, which comes from a community database, has Mac entries for adapters that name themselves Twin USB Joystick and PlayStation Adapter, two common ones, and for Sony's PlayStation Classic controller, which is USB already. With an entry, the buttons are named and placed correctly. Without one, the adapter is read as an unnamed gamepad, and Scan binds whatever each button sends. An adapter with no entry still works, because Scan does not need to know its name. The controller ID lookup searches the list.

Turn Analog on

A DualShock 2 has an Analog button between the sticks, with a red light. With the light off, the sticks are switched off and only the D-pad and buttons report. Press it once after plugging in. Dead sticks on a PS2 pad usually mean the Analog light is off. Some adapters reset it when the Mac sleeps, so check the light again after waking.

Map it to keys and mouse

Because macOS does not list the adapter as a game controller, games with controller support of their own may ignore it. Mapping gets around that. In InputConfig, press Scan on a row, press a button, and choose a key, a click or a macro. Sticks become WASD and mouse look. Mapped to keys and mouse, a PS2 pad plays any game on the Mac. Your first preset has the steps, and emulators and retro games on a Mac has layouts for emulators.

Know what does not come through

  • Rumble. InputConfig does not drive vibration on a pad read this way.
  • Pressure on the buttons. A DualShock 2's face buttons can sense how hard they are pressed. Expect them to arrive as plain on and off buttons.
  • A game controller for games. InputConfig sends keyboard and mouse events, not a virtual controller.

Expect buttons and sticks, which is what nearly every game needs.

If the Mac does not see it

  1. Check System Information. Hold Option, open the Apple menu, choose System Information, and look under USB. If the adapter is not there, it is the cable, the port or the adapter.
  2. Plug in directly. Skip the hub.
  3. Open the Devices menu. In InputConfig, Devices, a pad the Mac can read is listed to tick, and one it cannot is grayed out with the reason.
  4. Try the adapter's other port or mode. Two-port adapters and adapters with a mode switch can behave differently in each.

If the Mac lists the adapter under USB, the rest is mapping. Generic USB gamepads on a Mac goes further, and the PS3 controller on a Mac covers the next PlayStation pad along.

The short version

  • Connect. A PS2 to USB adapter.
  • Analog. Light on, or the sticks are dead.
  • Use. Scan each button in InputConfig and give it a key.

An old pad and a small adapter make a perfectly good Mac controller once the buttons are mapped.

Questions

Can you use a PS2 controller on a Mac?

Yes, through a PS2 to USB adapter. The adapter makes it a plain USB gamepad, which a mapper such as InputConfig reads and turns into keys and mouse.

Do I need a driver for a PS2 controller adapter on a Mac?

No driver is needed to read a plain USB gamepad. macOS will not list it as a game controller, so use a mapper, or an emulator that reads USB gamepads directly.

Why do the sticks not work on my PS2 controller?

The Analog light is probably off. Press the Analog button between the sticks so the red light comes on.

Which PS2 to USB adapter works on a Mac?

I have not tested adapters, so I cannot rank them. InputConfig's list has Mac entries for adapters that appear as Twin USB Joystick and PlayStation Adapter, and it reads others as unnamed gamepads.

Can I use a PS2 controller with an emulator on a Mac?

Yes. Emulators that read USB gamepads can use it directly, and for one that wants the keyboard a mapper sends a key from each button.

Download InputConfig on the Mac App StoreCompletely free. You don't have to make an account, there are no subscriptions, and nothing is locked. Optimized for Apple silicon. Open source on GitHub.

Updated