In 2023, Sony is betting on accessibility. During a conference held this night for CES 2023, the Japanese firm announced excellent news. Indeed, Sony is currently working hard on Project Leonardo, a customizable PS5 pad for people with motor disabilities. Thanks to this new adaptive controller, everyone will be able to enjoy video games and it’s heartwarming.
A PS5 controller for everyone
A more accessible world… This is PlayStation’s dream in 2023. Sony is already offering accessibility features for some of its games, such as God of War Ragnarok or The Last of Us Part Ias well as in the user interface of its PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. In this line, the firm took advantage of CES 2023 to present its Leonardo Project for PlayStation 5.
This customizable pad allows people with reduced mobility to play more easily, comfortably and for long periods of time. In view of its design, this is a reference to the famous tank imagined by Leonardo da Vinci. It is possible to add third-party accessories thanks to the presence of four 3.5 mm ports.
Conventional video game controllers are far from suitable and playing is rarely a cakewalk for people with motor disabilities. Some users have trouble pressing buttons and triggers, positioning their fingers correctly and comfortably, or holding the controller for a long time. It was therefore necessary to imagine a more accessible controller.
Thus, PS5 users do not need to hold this new adaptive controller. It is a circular “ready to use” kit that everyone can customize according to their needs. The buttons are customizable and it is possible to adjust the distance between the analog stick and the pad.
But you can go even further. With Project Leonardo, players can also assign the keys to any function and save up to three profiles to easily switch between users. The pad can be used alone or with a second pad or even a wireless DualSense controller.
For this project, Sony worked hand in hand with accessibility experts and associations such as AbleGamers, Special Effect and Stack Up to create the perfect accessible controller. For the moment, the brand has not announced any price or release date for its Leonardo Project. However, we can expect to see this product arrive later this year.
However, note that Sony has taken its time to release a more inclusive controller. For its part, Microsoft unveiled its adaptive controller for Xbox in 2018. If the announcement of Project Leonardo is excellent news, it was time for Sony to decide to work on a controller more suitable for people with reduced mobility.
