That Xbox 360 Controller Mod: Vape Controller, NES Turned Xbox, Exercise Bike Controller


Xbox One is proving to be the console to beat, what with the various features and innovations it’s introducing to the gaming world. The Xbox One’s backward compatibility has become so successful at such a short time, it could be completely offsetting the Xbox 360 in a few more months when the Xbox One backward compatibility list grows steadily.

So what to do with your Xbox 360 consoles and controllers lying around? If you’re bored and have a couple of Xbox 360 controllers to play around with, here are some of the most innovative and craziest Xbox 360 controller modifications we saw that you can reproduce in your free time.

Vape controller

Bored with your Xbox 360 controller, or are you just trying to smuggle a vape into the house without mom or dad noticing? Electronic cigarette customizer guy Tropical Vapes is known for creating innovative and crazy vaporizers, like his coconut hookah modified vaporizer—and this Xbox 360 controller-turned-vape is his craziest yet.

Xbox 360-turned-Vape (via Tropical Vapes)
Xbox 360-turned-Vape (via Tropical Vapes)

His video, demonstrating his Xbox 360 controller vape, is already at a couple of million views on Facebook, with thousands of comments raving and hating on his innovation. Tropical Vapes explains that the Xbox 360 controller he modified is already a non-functional Xbox 360 controller.

“So much hate for my mod.. haha it’s amazing. Well the controller was trashed. I paid a guy to not throw it away and deliver it to me. I simple gave it new life again in a unique way. I love electronics and couldn’t stand to see it go to waste.”

Exercise Bike

If you’ve had enough of your stomach fat spending hours in front of your shiny new Xbox One, then maybe it’s time to fire up your ol’ trusty Xbox 360 with an exercise bike machine. Created by ProjectExciteBike, this bike exercise machine-turned Xbox 360 controller puts the race in any racing game. While it looks pretty DIY, the makers really put a lot of thought into the machine.

The controller takes pedal input from the cranks of the exercise bike. The sensing is handled by a ring of five hall effect sensors that detect a passing magnet attached to the crank. The sensor data is collected and processed by an Arduino, which connects to a wireless Xbox 360 controller for output… [This Xbox 360 controller] uses a row of LEDs to represent the speed of the pedals and has a slider to adjust how much of an effect this has on the game.

Maybe a good two hours on Need for Speed or Forza using this modified Bike will burn up all the pancakes and bacon you ate for breakfast.

Exercise Bike controller for Xbox 360 (via ProjectExciteBike)
Exercise Bike controller for Xbox 360 [Image via ProjectExciteBike]
NES Advantage-turned-Xbox 360

Slash Gear also put to light a rather vintage modification, turning an NES Advantage arcade controller into a usable Xbox 360 controller. As seen in the video below by YouTuber Hifeno Drake, he switched the Select and Start buttons on the NES joystick to the Xbox 360’s Back and Start buttons. The turbo dials have no functions assigned to them, so only two buttons are mappable to the A/X/Y/B buttons of the Xbox 360. The shoulder triggers of the Xbox 360 also weren’t mapped.

While this could be picky with games you can actually play on the Xbox 360 (since you’re missing almost seven functions), it’s a nice Xbox 360 mod for the geeks and the gamers.

One-hand Xbox 360 controller

Benjamin Heckendorn, or more commonly known as Ben Heck, is known for a lot of innovations—but his one-handed modified Xbox 360 controllers are at the top of the list he is commissioned to do. While Ben Heck can transform any regular Xbox 360 controller into a one-hand controller for all those gamers who have been unfortunate to lose mobility on one hand, he did a retro right-hand controller for the Xbox 360, and even incorporated a PlayStation D-pad just for fun.

One-handed controller by Ben Heck (via Ben Heck)
One-handed controller by Ben Heck [Image via Ben Heck]
If you visit Ben Heck’s website, he is currently accepting orders for modified Xbox One controllers for one-hand gaming. He, however, already dropped the last-gen Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 controllers. He also notes that he has yet to crack the DualShock 4, so no one-hand gaming on the PlayStation 4 — yet.

[Images via Evan-Amos/Wikimedia Commons, Tropical Vapes, and Ben Heck]

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