The Nexus 7 is an incredible gaming device, but sometimes you feel that a few games would be better if only the controls were a bit better, or even wish they supported a Game Controller. Not all games support a gamepad, but some games certainly do.
There are many gamepads available which would work with the Nexus 7, I am going to show you a method which could work with a few. I am using an Enter E GPV Gamepad with my Tablet.
Things you will need:
- A rooted Nexus 7
- A USB OTG Cable
- A Gamepad with USB support
- Any android game which supports gamepad
Download the zip file from this webpage which contains the layout and module files which you need to make the gamepad work with the Nexus 7.
For the Enter E GPV Gamepad:
Use any file manager which supports root access and just copy the 2 keylayout files (Vendor_046d_Product_c219.kl and Vendor_0079_Product_0006.kl) to /system/usr/keylayout/
Long-press on each of the two files and select properties and change permissions to 644 (RW-R-R). Reboot the device after setting permissions.
For other gamepads, you may need to copy the *.ko files to e.g. /sytem/lib/modules
and the *.kl files to /system/usr/keylayout/
Run any game which supports Gamepad controls, for eg: Dead Trigger or GTA III and go to the game’s options and change the settings accordingly. In Gta III, all I needed to select was Analog control and it worked flawlessy, but for Dead Trigger I had to setup the controller layout manually.
Tip: If the gamepad doesn’t work with your game, press the analog button on your gamepad and retry. It should work.
Thanks to chaitanyapramod and PoweRoy from xda for the useful information.
You can get the Enter E GPV Gamepad from Flipkart for just 249Rs (plus 30Rs for delivery charges). If you order the gamepad along with something else which costs more than 300Rs, you could get the gamepad without paying the extra delivery charge.
Update: This article was originally intended for the Nexus 7, but it works on other devices too.