During the summer of 2017 my best friend had to get surgery on her thumb, temporarily disabling her. At the time we loved playing Blizzard’s Overwatch on the Playstation. She wanted to be able to keep playing with me and our online friends, but her casted thumb was making the standard controller almost impossible to use.
In December of 2023, Sony launched an accessible controller for gamers – the company’s answer to accessible and inclusive hardware: the Access Controller. The Access Controller is a highly customizable playstation controller kit designed to make the gaming experience a more inclusive and accessible one.
Customization
A large component of what makes this product widely successful is the customization aspects. Every single button cap is able to be swapped to best fit the user’s needs. The kit comes with wide flat buttons, curved caps, overhanging buttons, and more. The joystick comes with three different options for the grip allowing multiple tactile feels for what fits the user the best. Even the orientation of the entire controller can be assigned.
In addition to the hardware, the software is also able to be customized. Every single button can be assigned as a traditional action on the standard playstation controller. For example, I can assign button 1 to behave as if I am holding down R1 on the standard playstation controller. The physical buttons are also able to be customized with labels so the user won’t forget what they have assigned each button to be.
The controller also features four 3.5mm input ports so users can add up to four external tools to best fit their unique needs. It is also possible to link two of the controllers together so they function as one controller or link a standard controller.
Profiles
There is a button on the controller labeled “Profile”. This button allows the user to swap between up to three distinct profiles each with their own custom button assignments and toggles. This is great for creating unique button mappings for different demands games might require. For example, a slower paced turn-based RPG vs a button combo heavy game such as Spiderman 2 might be easier to play with different control settings. This allows the user to quickly reconfigure the controller to meet the demands of those games.
Some people have critiqued the profile button as being too difficult to press. Some users find the button in a difficult to reach location and very small, making it difficult to swap between profiles.
Packaging
Sony even considered the experience of unpacking this product. The box is configured to allow everything to be unpacked with the use of only one hand. Conveniently shaped loops that allow the user to pull either from left to right or right to left as well as an internal loop that allows everything inside to slide out with ease.
All the pieces are laid out flat with nothing overlapping or hidden away.
Disability Model
This product is a great example of the social model in the models of disability. The social model emphasizes the environment is what creates handicap barriers, not the disability the person has. The Access Controller provides a new environment that eliminates many barriers that the standard controller introduces.
This product also falls into the functional solution model as this product seeks to overcome physical limitations with a technology that provides a solution. Rather than a person with a disability’s abilities not being able to meet the needs of the product, the products should be built to meet their needs.
Conclusion
Each time my friend wanted to play a game, she had to go in and adjust each of her controls for each game’s settings. Search a game’s options menu, find the setting that enables toggles for actions like sprinting, aiming, or crouching and re-configure her controller accordingly. If this product had been available during her surgery, many of those challenges she encountered with the standard controller would have been easier to maneuver.
While there will never be a single solution for the disabled experience, it is very inspiring to see large companies strive to include as many people as possible. Between the customization and unboxing experience, the Access Controller does a great job at encompassing as many people with disabilities as possible.