Have you ever wanted to use your gamepad or controller to play your favorite classic console games in linux? I know I have, and I purchased a cheap Gravis GamePad Pro (USB) just so that I could play all my classics on my computer… Of course, to my demise, I had trouble installing the usb controller and I could not find much information over the internet. Most of the information had been scattered about so I decided to combine it all and write a quick installation and usage guide.You should begin by entering the following command into terminal:
sudo apt-get update
Followed by:
sudo apt-get install joystick
Make sure to set joystick to load at boot time. Now I left my controller plugged in 24/7 and it works without setting joystick to load at boot but I still recommend doing so.This last section is easy so if you are lazy, you can simply copy and paste the next set of commands. First we must install jscalibrator:
sudo apt-get install jscalibrator
Once that is completed, plug in your USB-based gamepad and wait a few moments. We must set up gamepad one by entering the following code into terminal:
sudo chmod 666 /dev/input/js0
If you have any other gamepads, just repeat this last step but incrementing the variable [js] by intervals of one, ie:
sudo chmod 666 /dev/input/js1
And you are now done, try out your controller with an emulator of a classic console or use it on one of your favourite linux-based games! And be sure to leave comments and suggestions, if something could be fixed or it does not work, leave a comment and I will respond as soon as I get it. 
(Disclaimer: This information was compiled from multiple sources and from various comments on multiple blogs and message boards.)
February 8, 2008 at 10:54 pm
Thanks! This seems to have worked.
February 17, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Thanks. Worked fine here under Kubuntu 7.10
All I had to do was install ‘joystick’ and after replugging my gamepad, kcontrol module for joystick calibration detected it without doing anything special.
February 29, 2008 at 11:41 pm
thanks alot man….this realy helped me out, i just cant belive it was so easy to do…lol…again thank you
March 10, 2008 at 8:50 pm
thanks m8 works like a charm
April 4, 2008 at 8:52 pm
Thanks for this! I was skeptical but it actually worked on my Gutsy install. (I was skeptical because I’d been trying without success for so long,) But this worked! Now if I can oly get zsnes to stop insisting all my roms are bad….
June 6, 2008 at 2:02 am
I am having problems with the Joysticks on my Logitech Dual Action (cheapo) USB controller. Ive used the jscalibrator and it calibrates the joysticks… but the emulators and games im using arent picking them up. what do you recommend?
June 20, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Thanks for your efforts. I have a question, do you know why x-mame may not recognize the digital directional pad? The buttons work perfectly. Thanks again!
June 22, 2008 at 10:09 pm
Thanks, works fine with Ubuntu 8.04
July 17, 2008 at 3:45 am
Thanks! works fine with my Ubuntu 8.04 too. It was so easy to do and just works.
July 17, 2008 at 8:12 pm
Yeah Im a bit amazed it was that easy too. Appreciate the time you put into this comprehensive walkthrough. I hope to eventually understand why I did what i just did to make it work but at least it works for now.
July 22, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Thanks! New to linux, and this was easy, thanks to your instructions. Working on Fluxbuntu.
August 16, 2008 at 9:52 pm
Thanks a lot man. I had just purchased a new gamepad without thinking about if it would be supported in linux or not, but this works great…
August 21, 2008 at 10:58 pm
I have search and tried hundreds, at least it seems that way, and cannot get my usb gamepad to work. Including yours didnot work. I am assuming it is recognize because in the games i can use some of the buttons but i can not use analog or when they do work left looks up, right looks down, down looks right, and so on. If you could help I would appreciate it so much.