Challenge Leonardo, the PS5’s newest accessibility controller package, has been introduced at Sony’s Shopper Electronics Present (CES) 2023 presentation. The corporate shared on the occasion that it was engaged on a brand new controller, designed to assist gamers with disabilities play “simply, extra comfortably, and for longer intervals.” On the presentation, PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan promised an out-of-the-box expertise, offering a sturdy package of customizable components and a variety of software program choices on the PS5. It’s being developed with contributions from accessibility specialists and organizations akin to AbleGamers, SpecialEffect and Stack Up. At present, there isn’t any launch window or pricing particulars for PS5’s codename Challenge Leonardo.
As per PlayStation’s official weblog submit, Challenge Leonardo is constructed to handle frequent challenges confronted by gamers with “restricted motor management,” which incorporates difficulties in holding a controller for lengthy intervals, finger positioning, and being unable to precisely press small-sized buttons. This new package places all these buttons onto two round pads which lie flat — one representing every half of a normal PS5 DualSense controller, with an expanded space of strain factors. Sony describes the controller package as a “canvas for players” because it’s absolutely customizable to private preferences, with the package deal together with quite a lot of analogue stick caps (one with grippy texture as properly) and buttons of various sizes and styles. Moreover, one may additionally alter the gap of the stick from the gamepad.
Just like the PS5’s upcoming DualSense Edge controllers, Challenge Leonardo comes with a button mapping function, together with the flexibility to map a number of buttons to the identical perform. “Conversely, gamers can map two capabilities (like ‘R2’ + ‘L2’) onto the identical button,” it provides. Gamers can retailer their programmed button settings as profiles—as much as three will be saved—for straightforward choice when switching between sport varieties. For example, a first-person shooter would possibly require a decrease digicam sensitivity for accuracy, not like a third-person motion sport. So now, you possibly can merely press the profile button and swap on the go as an alternative of heading into settings.
Challenge Leonardo can be utilized in pairs (as acknowledged earlier than), standalone, or linked to a PS5 DualSense controller to increase your canvas and match explicit gaming wants. Its 4 3.5mm AUX ports assist increase the performance, permitting gamers to combine exterior switches or third-party analogue sticks — all of which will be dynamically linked/ disconnected and button mapped. “As a result of gamers can customise Challenge Leonardo in keeping with their wants, there isn’t any one ‘proper’ type issue. We wish to empower them to create their very own configurations,” So Morimoto, Designer, Sony Interactive Leisure, mentioned within the weblog submit.
Sony’s first-party video games already dominate the online game accessibility house, by providing a sturdy suite of choices to assist these affected by motor and visible challenges. Each The Final of Us Half II and God of Struggle Ragnarök have been awarded within the ‘Innovation in Accessibility’ class at The Sport Awards 2020 and 2022, respectively.
Challenge Leonardo is at the moment in improvement, with no phrase on a launch window or pricing.
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