Xbox officially revealed its newest addition to its existing range of controllers which pushes the envelope on inclusive design and technology by celebrating and drawing inspiration from people often overlooked in the design process.
The Xbox Adaptive Controller aims to make gaming accessible to gamers with a broad range of disabilities. Launching yesterday was Microsoft’s Story Labs feature which details the latest hardware arriving to Xbox One and Windows 10 PC’s, the Adaptive Controller. Xbox approached the controller’s design in consideration of gamers who couldn’t reach the buttons, bumper controls and analog sticks like on the standard Xbox One controller, nevertheless hold the controller for long periods of time, the Adaptive Controller provides a way for gamers to enjoy their favourite games without any limitations or restrictions.
Xbox teamed up with third-party manufacturers to support the various external inputs which can be fitted into the controller like PDP’s One-Handed Joystick for the Xbox Adaptive Controller, Logitech’s Extreme 3D Pro Joystick, and Quadstick’s Game Controller.
According to Phil Spencer, Xbox head in a blog post on Xbox Wire, he writes how gamers with limited mobility have struggled to find the right gaming equipment that meets their individual needs.
“For gamers with limited mobility, finding controller solutions to fit their individual needs has been challenging. The solutions that exist today are often expensive, hard to find, or require significant technical skill to create. A number of individuals and organizations are creating custom solutions, but it has been often difficult for them to scale when most rigs need to be so personalized.“
A number of organisations have came out in support of the latest addition to Xbox’s family of controllers with organisations such as The AbleGamers Charity, The Cerebral Palsy Foundation, Craig Hospital, SpecialEffect, and Warfighter Engaged.
As of now, we have yet to kboe if the controller will be made available in South Africa as the Xbox Adaptive Cobtroller will launch later this year. Xbox will be sharing more about the controller at E3 next month which will include pre-order details.
