Do you mean have both the G25 and G27 plugged in at once? I don't think the Logitech drivers would work like that. Haven't tried it, though.

That said, I wouldn't ever advocate buying a second, $300 wheel just for that reason. I would advocate a specialty G25 shifter that's sold separately for the G27 (just as the Fanatec wheels offer two separate shifter units - an 'H' and a sequential). But I don't see that happening.

Hi ^^

First of all a big thanks to you Chunx for a great and well-written review!


Myself I can't afford a Xbox360, at least not after buying a G27 and a PS3
but I think it's bad that the G25/G27 isn't compatible with the Xbox

I am NOT in anyway certain if this is true:

anyway, I heard that the reason to why the G25/G27 can't be used with the Xbox is Microsoft's fault
If this is true, they're supposed to deliberately limit the high-end (if not the entire) market of wheels to Fanatech
The limited market of wheels from other manufacturers would then boost Microsofts own market of wheels

If this is just anti-Microsoft propaganda, then I really apologize

But what else could it be that prevents Logitech from making it compatible with the Xbox360?

I've heard that as well. Given MS's track record it would seem plausible. But according to some, it's way more complicated than that. Here's what Logitech's Chris Pate said over at their website when answering the same question:


It would seem that in this case, the production of cross-platform wheels is being throttled by Corporate Lawyers and IP Licensing Fees. I'd be surprised if a big company like Logitech hasn't investigated cross-platform wheel functionality, but that's just speculation on my part.

I think the situation is clearly driven by legal and corporate wrangling because I've never gotten the vibe that it's too much of a technological challenge, and the existance of the Fanatec products seem to bare that out. There's no way Logitech would overlook the potential profits at stake when making a wheel that's compatible with the dominant console gaming platform.

It does seem odd that a boutique wheel manufacturer with limited production resources would be the only company capable of licensing and making a cross-platform wheel, doesn't it? I'll be there's an interesting story of corporate intrigue here, and perhaps someday we'll know "the rest of the story".

Yes, that's what I meant. I don't see why the drivers wouldn't support that; you can connect multiple Logitech devices of other sorts (e.g. Strike Force 3D joystick + MOMO) and select between them in a dropdown menu found in the Logitech Gaming Software.

Hello everyone !

Good review, thanks for the pics and comparison with G25.

I have 2 regrets though :

- almost nothing about PS3
- and too much complains about xbox 360 compatibility.

Official response from Logitech (about G25, but the same goes with G27) :

First, at this point in time, Logitech is not licensed by Microsoft to develop a force feedback steering wheel for Xbox 360 - only corded controllers. The DriveFX wheel is, effectively, an Xbox 360 controller that is shaped like a steering wheel and has a force feedback motor in place of the standard vibration motors.

Second, even if Logitech were licensed to make a force feedback wheel for Xbox 360, there are significant technical limitations which prevent these wheels from functioning on on Xbox 360. The Xbox 360 features controller and force feedback architectures (XID, device-based force feedback playback) that are significantly different from the way our wheels work on PC, PS2, or PS3 (HID, host-based force feedback playback). It is not possible to enable Xbox 360 functionality with a software or firmware update.

Logitech understands that our customers wish to use our steering wheels on multiple gaming platforms. We have made significant efforts to ensure that our PC wheel drivers support our PS2 wheels, and our PS2 force feedback SDK supports our PC wheels. PS3 games that support Logitech force feedback also support the same list of wheels. At this point in time, these are the only three platforms with which it is possible to have a single force feedback wheel be compatible. Were it possible to effect a firmware or software change to enable Xbox 360 compatibility with our existing wheels, we would do so. Unfortunately, however, until Logitech is licensed by Microsoft to design and manufacture force feedback wheels, no Logitech force feedback wheels will function on Xbox 360.

Source

I guess that Microsoft prefer selling their own device...

wesker,

I only had one short opportunity (2 hours) to drive the G27 with the PS3, and the only title available to me was GT5 Prologue. And the person with that game hadn't unlocked any other cars yet. Due to my lack of exposure to the PS3 and lack of options available to me in that pay-ware demo, I was unable to get a well-rounded look at it, using only the lower level cars. By the time I left I was able to unlock a Mitsu Lancer Evo X, and that's about it. My apologies for that.

From what I saw with those lower tier cars, the wheel felt fine, plugged right into the PS3 and was easy to configure, and worked as-advertised. FFB effects were a bit on the light side - which was expected given the lower performance of the entry level cars in GT5. But overall the wheel felt pretty good, provided FFB cues and made the car track accuratley and respond predictably. Due to space limitations in the article and lack of testing options with the PS3, the info presented was a little sparse.

I guess if you're a PS3 owner, you probably don't care much about Xbox 360 compatibility. But there are a lot of Xbox 360 owners who were hoping for another option when it comes to shopping for a wheel controller for that system (especially with Forza 3 coming soon), and they were all a bit disappointed when the G27 didn't come with compaibility for that platform. Since the PS3 functionality was as-expected and matched up with PC performance, it received less reporting than other aspects.

And yes, I was aware that Xbox 360 uses a different FFB achitechture than PC or PS3. While that's the reason a G27 won't function on an Xbox, it's not the reason the G27 was made without compatibility for both achitechtures. Ultimately that lack of function is to the reason I quoted above.

Thank you very much for your detailed answer about GT5P Chunx

Now i only have to wait for the G27 to be available in France, have contacted Logitech and they'll email me when it's the case.

To join in w/the praise, your review was really very well done. Good enough that a) I joined and b) am hoping that you can answer my question, which is PS3/GT5 driven.

Does Logitech's Driving Force GT wheel use the helical gears also? I'm interested b/c given what I've read here about them and what I know of mech-e, it seems the better way to go. It's also an econmic/comparison question. I'm not averse to spending more on the G27. However, it's enough more than the Driving Force GT that it seems knowing what mechanism the Driving Force GT wheel is a near requirement for proper comparision.

To my knowledge, the G27 was the first Logitech wheel to use helical-cut gears. They require tighter tolerances to manufacture, so it was a big deal for Logitech to do so. I'd suspect that like the G25, the DFGT wheel uses straight cut gears. No matter though - they're all good products that can provide years of reliable use, if they're treated with care.

I am glad you enjoyed the article, and that you've joined the membership of SimHQ! Stay tuned, we have a few more racing wheel article/reviews coming up soon.

Thanks for the article Chunx, good to have a library to refer to.