PlayStation has unveiled Challenge Leonardo, a “extremely customizable accessibility controller package.”
The corporate revealed this throughout its CES 2023 presentation yesterday, stating that the package is “designed to take away obstacles to gaming and assist gamers with disabilities play extra simply, extra comfortably, and for longer intervals on PS5.” It appears to be PlayStation’s reply to Xbox’s Adaptive Controller additionally aimed toward accessibility for players. The corporate says it has labored with accessibility consultants at organizations like AbleGamers, Particular Impact, and Stack Up, in addition to group members and recreation builders to design a controller package like this that works “out of the field.”
“It’s constructed to deal with widespread challenges confronted by many gamers with restricted motor management, together with problem holding a controller for lengthy intervals, precisely urgent small custers of buttons or triggers, or positioning thumbs and fingers optimally on an ordinary controller,” a PlayStation Weblog put up reads.
Here is a run down of the important thing options of Challenge Leonardo:
- {Hardware} Customizations: “It features a sturdy package of swappable elements, together with quite a lot of analog stick caps and buttons in several sizes and styles. Gamers can use these elements to craft a wide selection of management layouts. And the space of the analog stick from the sport pad could be adjusted to go well with the participant’s choice. These elements permit gamers to discover a configuration that works for his or her power, vary of movement, and specific bodily wants.”
- Button Mapping: “The controller’s buttons could be programmed to any supported perform and a number of buttons could be mapped to the identical perform. Conversely, gamers can map two features (like R2 + L2) onto the identical button.”
- Management Profiles: “Gamers can retailer their programmed button settings as management profiles and simply swap between them by urgent the profile button. As much as three management profiles could be saved and accessed by the participant from their PS5 console at any time.”
Challenge Leonardo can be utilized as a standalone controller or paired with extra Challenge Leonardo or DualSense controllers. As much as two Challenge Leonardo controllers and one DualSense can be utilized collectively to create a digital controller, in response to PlayStation.
The controller is additional expandable by 4 3.5mm AUX ports “to assist quite a lot of exterior switches and third-party accessibility equipment.” Moreover, the controller’s cut up, symmetric design permits gamers to reposition the analog sticks as shut collectively or as far aside as they need. And, as a result of the controller lies flat and doesn’t have to be held by a participant, it could actually lay on a desk, wheelchair tray, desk, or one thing else. PlayStation says it may be simply secured to AMPS mounts or tripods, and oriented 360 levels, too.
“Challenge Leonard is a part of the PS5 product household and relies on the identical design idea,” Sony Interactive Leisure designer So Morimoto writes within the weblog put up. “We had been impressed by the thought of all gamers having fun with the world of PlayStation collectively. Our workforce examined over a dozen designs with accessibility consultants, on the lookout for approaches that may assist tackle key challenges to efficient controller use. We lastly settled on a ‘cut up controller’ design that enables close to free-form left/proper thumbstick repositionability, can be utilized without having to be held, and options very versatile button and stick cap swapping.
“As a result of gamers can customise Challenge Leonardo in response to their wants, there isn’t a one ‘proper’ kind issue. We wish to empower them to create their very own configurations. The controller may also flexibly settle for combos of accessibility equipment to create a singular aesthetic. I’m excited that the design will probably be accomplished by way of collaboration with gamers reasonably than presenting them with a single kind issue.”
Challenge Leonardo doesn’t but have a launch date or worth.