Play Games
1 year ago
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Sony has released new information and photos of its accessibility controller, which has now been officially named the Access controller.
Previously unveiled in January under the codename Project Leonardo, the new peripheral is intended to help players with disabilities to play games more easily and comfortably.
According to the new info on the PlayStation Blog, the Access controller is a highly customisable controller kit with “a wide array of swappable button and stick caps” which lets players “freely create different layouts that work for their unique strength, range of motion, and physical needs”.
The controller can be used on a flat surface, oriented 360 degrees, or secured to an AMPS mount or tripod.
PlayStation accessibility
Sony says each Access controller will include:
- Analog stick caps (standard, dome and ball stick cap)
- Button caps in different shapes and sizes, including:
- Pillow button caps
- Flat button caps
- Wide flat button cap (which covers two button sockets)
- Overhang button caps (which benefit players with smaller hands as they are positioned closer to the center)
- Curve button caps (which can be pushed if placed along the top or pulled if placed along the bottom of the controller)
- Swappable button cap tags for players to easily mark which inputs they map to each button
The controller will also include four 3.5mm AUX ports, which will let players add their own speciality switches, buttons or analogue sticks.
It will have a full customisation UI on the PS5 hardware too, enabling button mapping and control profiles.
Up to two Access controllers and one DualSense controller can be paired together to act like a single virtual controller, allowing players to mix devices for their comfort, or play single-player games with other people operating certain functions.
It will also include a ‘toggle mode’, which will let players permanently keep a button pressed down by pressing it, similar to a Caps Lock button. This will be useful for players who find it physically challenging to hold a button down for a long time, such as for acceleration in a racing game.
A release date has yet to be confirmed for the Access controller, but Sony has set up a new page where players can register for updates on pre-order information when it’s available.
