Q: What is XIM?
A: In its simplest form, XIM is a device with the main purpose of interfacing an Xbox 360′s controller port with a computer. XIM works with any PC connected peripheral in theory but it is most commonly used as a keyboard and mouse adapter for the Xbox 360.

Q: The 360? What about the PS3?
A: The first generation XIM used the XFPS’s PS2 port to interface with the 360. The XFPS does a horrible job at keyboard and mouse translation but has a decent Playstation 2 adapter port. This inadvertently allows the XIM to interface with some PS2->PS3 adapters. As fate would have it, the first generation XIM works better for the PS3 than the 360. This is due to the 35ms of lag and low polling rate of the questionable XFPS.

Q: So if the XIM uses the PS2 port of the XFPS then it works like a PS2 controller right? Won’t it work with a PS2 then as well?
A: No, the XIM will not work directly with the Playstation 2. We use a protocol that the XFPS understands as a PS2 controller, its not the full PS2 controller protocol.

Q: OK, I get how the GEN 1 XIM works, how does the new XIM 2 work?
A: It’s a lot simpler. Let’s take a look at a picture to help us out.