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While accessibility is an important topic year-round, May is always special as we celebrate Global Accessibility Awareness Day and recognize the strides made by the accessibility community and the games industry to make gaming more inclusive. At Sony Interactive Entertainment, we are committed to furthering that mission, so today we’re excited to share new details and images of the Access controller for the PS5 console.
New details and product images
First revealed at CES this year as “Project Leonardo,” the Access controller for PS5 is an all-new, highly-customizable accessibility controller kit designed to help many players with disabilities play games more easily, more comfortably, and for longer periods.
Developed in collaboration with accessibility experts, the Access controller will include a wide array of swappable button and stick caps so players can freely create different layouts that work for their unique strength, range of motion, and physical needs. 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
In addition, players can use the Access controller on flat surfaces, orient it 360 degrees, or easily secure the controller to an AMPS mount* or tripod. They can also adjust the distance of the analog stick from the controller.
Through the Access controller’s four 3.5mm AUX ports, players can integrate their own specialty switches, buttons or analog sticks.
You can read more about the Access controller’s hardware features in our original blog post. You can also visit our new web page here where you can sign up for email updates and be informed when preorders launch, so you can secure your controller at the earliest opportunity.
First look at the Access controller UI
Beyond the wide range of hardware customization options, the Access controller features a myriad of ways for players to create personalized UI settings and configurations that unlock new ways to play.
Button mapping & control profiles. On the PS5 console, players can select their preferred orientation for the Access controller, map different inputs to the various buttons, toggle buttons on or off, or even map two different inputs onto the same button. They can also create and store their favorite control profiles for different games or genres (such as “combat” or “driving”).
Controller pairing and analog stick adjustments. Up to two Access controllers and one DualSense (or DualSense Edge) wireless controller can be used together as a single virtual controller, allowing players to mix and match devices or play collaboratively with others. Similar to the DualSense Edge wireless controller, players can also fine-tune the starting position and sensitivity of input. The ability to adjust deadzones (the distance your analog stick moves before it’s recognized in a game) and stick sensitivity is particularly helpful for players to improve their fine motor control during gameplay.
Toggle mode. The Access controller also features a toggle mode, which allows players to adjust the behavior of any button to work like a caps lock key on a keyboard. For example, if you enable toggle mode for the acceleration input in a racing game, the Access controller will accelerate the car without you needing to hold the button down.
Players can enable toggle mode for any programmable input. As an example, if a game only allows you to sprint by holding down “L3” (the left analog stick), which can be physically challenging, you can change that input to behave like “click L3 to toggle sprint” by enabling toggle mode for the button you’ve assigned to L3.
Our journey of accessibility on PS5
Alongside new details on the Access controller, we’re excited to share a video today that highlights ongoing efforts across our product development and PlayStation Studios teams to make gaming accessible for more players on PS5. Hear from team members around the world about the work they’re doing to expand gaming accessibility on PS5 through our upcoming Access controller, console UI, and games:
We’ll have more to share about the Access controller for PS5, including more product and release details, in the months ahead. Thanks to all the players who’ve shared valuable feedback and inspire us every day to bring the joy of gaming to more people through innovation and collaboration with you – our community.
*AMPS is an industry-standard mounting screw pattern for attaching devices to equipment, including accessibility equipment.
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