PS5: controller adapted for the disabled scheduled for the end of 2023

Good news for our PS5-owning friends with disabilities... For want of being able to play in the best possible conditions with the Dualshock controllers currently on the market, PlayStation unveiled Project Leonardo at CES 2023, held in Las Vegas from January 5 to 8. What's it all about? An ultra-customizable, ready-to-use controller accessibility kit, designed to make games more accessible to people with disabilities, enabling them to play in better conditions, more easily and more comfortably. Here's a sneak preview, unveiled by PlayStation on May 22:

Developed in collaboration with accessibility specialists, but also members of the PlayStation community and game developers, this accessibility kit offers you an ultra-customizable controller, according to your needs, and working"with third-party accessibility accessories" and integrating perfectly with the PS5"to open up new avenues in the world of gaming".

"We wanted to address the challenges faced by many gamers with limited motor skills, in particular the inability to hold a controller for long, press buttons or triggers precisely, or position thumbs and fingers on a conventional controller," explains Hideaki Nishino, Senior Vice President, Platform Experience, on the PlayStation Blog.

Since its announcement, gamers have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of this controller, officially dubbedthe "Access Controller". The countdown is on: the device is due to hit stores on December 6, 2023. The new controller will cost you 89.99 euros. So you already know what to ask Santa for! The controller is sold as a kit, with a number of components that enable you to create a controller tailored entirely to the needs of gamers.

When it comes to customizing the controller, everything is possible: varieties of analog joystick caps, keys of different shapes and sizes, distance between the analog joystick and the gamepad... Everything is adjustable for your comfort! The idea? Find the optimum configuration, adapted to your strength, motor skills and specific physical needs, to make playing games more enjoyable.

Note that you can combine a classic controller with a customized controller, or even two customized controllers, so you can play with able-bodied or disabled people. And to support a multitude of external switches, as well as third-party accessories, the controller can be expanded via four 3.5 mm AUX ports, allowing you to integrate special switches, buttons or joysticks.

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On May 22, 2023, more information on the controller was revealed. The Access controller has been developed in partnership with accessibility specialists. It offers a variety of modular keycaps and joysticks, enabling users to adjust their configuration according to their unique strength, motor skills and physical needs. Each Access controller will feature :

• analog joystick caps (standard, rounded and ball) ;
• keycaps of different shapes and sizes, including :
  • cushion-type keycaps ;
  • flat keycaps ;
  • wide flat keycaps (covering two key positions);
  • cantilevered keycaps (useful for players with small hands, as they are positioned closer to the center) ;
  • curved keycaps (which can be pressed when positioned near the top, or pulled when positioned near the bottom of the controller);
• interchangeable keycap labels, for easy identification of the input assigned to each key.
  
  

What's more, this controller can be used on flat surfaces, positioned in any direction thanks to 360-degree orientation, or attached to an AMPS mount or tripod. Users can also adjust the distance between joystick and joystick.

For the moment, the controller is still under development, but will enable even greater accessibility for the PS5. Pre-orders open this July 21, 2023, on Sony's store. So get ready!

Presentation of Project Leonardo for PS5, at CES 2023 :