Today is a special day as we celebrate the global launch of the PS5 Access Controller, a project filled with passion, inspired by the disability community, motivated by the goal of breaking down barriers in gaming and aiming to offer a future of more accessible experiences.
Five years ago, we started forming this initiative. We worked with experts and organizations such as AbleGamers, Stack-Up and SpecialEffect, as well as PlayStation Studios, to create a unique controller design that would have a noticeable impact on the disabled community. Using your input and SIE’s 28 years of experience developing and testing games with dozens of participants on three continents, we’ve created a customizable accessibility control kit that works out of the box to help gamers with disabilities enjoy gaming. games are more comfortable and longer.
To celebrate today’s release, we invited members of the community who helped us with this project to share their thoughts on how access controller will open up new ways to play:
Highly customizable gaming experience
Every aspect of the Access Controller was designed in close collaboration with accessibility experts, focusing on three common challenges gamers with disabilities often face: difficulty holding a standard controller for long periods of time, precision when pressing buttons or moving triggers, and optimal placement of thumbs and fingers. The Access Controller was designed to address these three challenges with a customizable gaming experience, including a carefully curated set of 19 interchangeable buttons and 3 joysticks of various shapes and designs. Players can adapt these buttons to their individual strength, range of motion and physical needs to create unique control configurations thanks to a host of other software and hardware features:
Every detail, right down to the inclusive packaging that can be opened with one hand, was inspired by our conversations with play testers and accessibility experts. To all community members who contributed to this project, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Control Access would not be possible without your dedication, feedback and invaluable knowledge.
How to start
Here are some resources to help you learn about all the configuration options that Access Control offers:
● Product features page
● Textbook content
If you’re interested in seeing how some of our Accessibility Consultants use Access Control, watch the video below:
The future that awaits us
We’re very grateful for the enthusiasm that’s been shown for Access Control, and we can’t wait to see how users take advantage of each of its customization options. Next month, Logitech G will release the LogitechG Adaptive Gaming Kit for the Access Controller, which offers even more customization options for gamers with special accessibility needs.
Our biggest ambition is for Access Controller to encourage more people with disabilities to experience the joy of gaming and try games they never thought they would enjoy. If you already have ideas on how to customize your controller, please leave a comment!
Thank you for participating in this initiative to create a future where play has no limits.
