Strength in Numbersīuilt from the ground up through partnerships with charity organizations like AbleGamers, The Cerebral Palsy Foundation, and SpecialEffect, Microsoft's controller was more than just a gimmick-it was also a way to solidify the company's dedication to building a better environment for the community. A new, inclusive way to play had finally arrived, backed by one of the biggest names in tech and gaming. Buttons, thumbsticks, and trigger inputs are controlled with assistive devices connected through 3.5mm jacks and USB ports. The Xbox Adaptive ControllerĪcting as a hub, the Xbox Adaptive Controller lets you attach external devices such as switches, buttons, mounts, and joysticks to create a custom controller experience. Impressed with his work, Microsoft enlisted Bartlet and his team to collaborate with them on what would become the Xbox Adaptive Controller, a device designed to meet the needs of gamers with limited mobility. "We created this idea of a controller built around switches, because the disability community runs on switches."Įventually, the controller caught the eye of Microsoft. "The largest problem with working with consoles is getting past the encrypted controller, so sitting at the bottom of the Adroit Switchblade is actually an Xbox 360 controller board, because we needed the chip on it that authenticated it so it could talk to the Xbox." Our friends over at Evil Controllers worked with us to make the Adroit Switchblade for the Xbox 360," Barlet said in an interview with TechRadar. "We created this idea of a controller built around switches, because the disability community runs on switches. The Microsoft Xbox Adaptive Controller and Adroit Switchblade Mark Barlet, the founder of the AbleGamers charity, was inspired by the popularity of console gaming, which had skyrocketed in acceptance but lacked the diversity of peripherals offered for the PC. Perhaps the biggest milestone came in 2011 with the creation of the Adroit Switchblade. This led to innovation after innovation in hardware and software but also an increase in visibility. Still, this act signified an opportunity for change, and charities including AbleGamers began to lobby for accessibility directly to the game industry. What had lain dormant for decades suddenly sprang to the forefront of game design. But once again, video games were left by the wayside. The act updated accessibility laws to include 21st-century technologies, including new digital, broadband, and mobile innovations. Then in 2010, President Obama passed the Video Communications Act, which updated federal communications law to increase access for persons with disabilities to modern communications. Edward Markey, D-Mass., Steve Wonder, Rep. President Obama signs the Video Communications Act. The controller was sold exclusively through Nintendo’s customer service number-but it sold for years.Īlthough other forms of media began to become more inclusive, expanding accessible offerings with features such as closed captioning and audio descriptions, accessibility in video games remained stagnant. You wore it like a vest and used your mouth to control the A and B buttons. The first notable piece of mainstream accessible technology was Nintendo’s hands-free controller for the Nintendo Entertainment System. In the early days of the video game industry, accessible tech was hard to find. But despite its 50 years of existence, the billion-dollar video game industry has only just started to make accessible tech accessible to those who need it. That’s about 26% of all gamers in the United States. Jean is just one of 46 million disabled gamers, according to Steven Spohn of AbleGamers, one of the most well known nonprofit organizations for the disabled gaming community.
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