Yesterday (18 May) marked Global Accessibility Awareness Day, and to honour the occasion, Sony released the first proper look at the company’s brand-new accessible controller, previously known as Project Leonardo.
Project Leonardo was first unveiled back at the start of this year as a “highly customisable” PS5 controller, complete with interchangeable buttons and stick caps which can be set up to suit each individual’s needs. It’s been developed with the help of accessibility experts with the goal of helping gamers with disabilities play games more easily, and for longer.
Take a look at what accessibility experts had to say about Sony’s new accessible hardware back when it was first revealed below.
Now though, we finally know the official name of the controller, and have been given greater insight into how it’ll work. First up, it’s called the Access controller, and as was revealed back in January, players will be able to pair up to two of them - plus a DualSense or DualSense Edge - together, to be used as one controller.
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Sony has released a number of screenshots on the PlayStation Blog showing the Access controller's UI, and it’s clear just how many options gamers will have to fine-tune the hardware to their liking. As well as button mapping for each of the controller’s buttons, users can adjust deadzones and input sensitivity. A ‘toggle mode’ is also available, which removes the need to hold down buttons for certain actions (such as to run or accelerate in a game).
Thanks to its flat circular shape, the Access controller can be rotated and used in any orientation to suit the user, and what’s more, it includes four AUX ports, so that players can attach their existing third-party accessibility accessories (such as speciality switches) to improve their gaming experience further.
Unfortunately, we still don’t know when the Access controller is going to release, but Sony has promised more details “in the months ahead”.
Featured Image Credit: SonyTopics: PlayStation 5, PlayStation, Sony