[HN Gopher] Sony debuts first PS5 controller for disabled gamers
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Sony debuts first PS5 controller for disabled gamers
Author : thunderbong
Score : 71 points
Date : 2023-12-07 07:16 UTC (2 days ago)
(HTM) web link (www.bbc.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.bbc.com)
| uxp8u61q wrote:
| Five years after Xbox.
| askonomm wrote:
| So? What does this comparison add to the table? Is it somehow
| bad to create the same thing for a different platform? Did you
| also write on Google Chrome thread when it launched "4 years
| after Firefox"? It just sounds demeaning. I for one don't care
| what Xbox has or doesn't have, I like my PS, and I'm happy that
| people with disabilities can also game on PS now if they'd want
| to do so.
| blitz_skull wrote:
| 5 years late and only one joy stick. How can you
| simultaneously be late to the innovation table AND deliver an
| inferior product?
| zlg_codes wrote:
| It's merely a reminder that they didn't think of it first and
| aren't trailblazing anything.
|
| There have been many community controllers but I believe MS
| was the first to try to make a real consumer product that
| serves disabilities without DIY stuff. Kind of an odd stunt
| and a tiny market, but it appears to have made some splashes.
|
| Sure we can 'just be happy', but we can also acknowledge that
| Sony didn't care about it until Microsoft did something about
| it. Same as they didn't care about motion controls until
| Nintendo busted out the Wii. Both MS and Sony scrambled to
| put out motion shit the next few years.
| askonomm wrote:
| Fair enough. I guess I'm just conditioned to see that
| almost nobody cares about accessibility and so I'm just
| happy to see a win no matter how small.
| lopis wrote:
| Didn't the Xbox just ban 3rd party controllers?
| redundantly wrote:
| And Microsoft did it nearly 30 years after Nintendo released
| their Hands Free Controller.
|
| There's no need to attempt to diminish what Sony is doing.
| Anything that improves the quality of life for people that have
| been previously excluded should be applauded. Even if they took
| longer than others.
| prettygood wrote:
| I agree that saying "Microsoft did it already" is a silly
| response to something that is just a positive to gaming. But
| your example of Nintendo doesn't really mean anything when
| Nintendo didn't put a lot of effort in supporting disabled
| people the last generations.
|
| I applaud Nintendo for doing this for the NES, but where are
| they today?
| tiahura wrote:
| Kind of shameful it took this long.
|
| The Microsoft Superbowl commercial was powerful.
|
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kW46iX_2tFo
| chrisweekly wrote:
| wow, that ad was really moving
| passwordoops wrote:
| Better late than never, I guess
| FirmwareBurner wrote:
| Designing UX stuff for disabled people is surprisingly hard.
| There's a huge array of disabilities and non-disabled designers
| can't fathom the challenges by themselves so I can imagine it's
| a very lengthy iterative process.
|
| It was also probably never a huge priority for Sony until the
| X-box released their own and showed there's a market for them.
| passwordoops wrote:
| (original response was to a pithy "it's hard". Convenient
| added context so I am adding context to mine):
|
| No it isn't. Unless the company doing the designing isn't
| serious about it. Exactly of companies who are serious about
| inclusive design are Apple, and if you want gaming Microsoft.
| How are they serious?
|
| - hire people with disabilities across the board so input
| happens at all phases of product development
|
| - include people with disabilities during product and focus
| group testing
|
| - bake inclusive design as part of their process
|
| - hire people with disabilities in QA/QC
|
| So, yes it's difficult if you have one person saying "make
| this thing inclusive otherwise we might get sued". It's not
| difficult if the organization is serious about inclusive
| design
| noitpmeder wrote:
| What are some existing examples of good hardware design
| that has good UX for disabled people?
| prettygood wrote:
| Everything Microsoft did with Xbox long before Sony?
|
| If we focus purely on the console gaming market,
| Microsoft did a lot for disabled people. Multiple
| different controllers and systems were released this
| generation.
| FirmwareBurner wrote:
| It's important to remember that Microsoft has been making
| PC input devices and gaming peripherals (and decent ones
| at that) all the way back since the '90s.
|
| Maybe some of that heritage rubbed off to the X-box as
| well.
| Dalewyn wrote:
| I'm kind of astonished at the (initial?) negativity in this
| thread. Sony releases a controller for handicapped users.
| Assuming it doesn't have basic design flaws, what is there to be
| negative about?
| rjh29 wrote:
| First time reading Hacker News?
| zoklet-enjoyer wrote:
| The console has been out for w couple of years. Why not design
| it during design of the console? Isn't there already an
| accessible PS4 controller? Is that not compatible with PS5? (No
| idea, honest question) and if it's not compatible, then why?
| boomboomsubban wrote:
| I believe this is Sony's first controller for people with
| disabilities ever.
| addicted wrote:
| I'm guessing a big part of this is that MS had this in 2018
| despite having a less successful product and being a younger
| participant in the industry.
| SpaceManNabs wrote:
| The PS5 and its games have great accessibility settings. No more
| fears of developing carpal tunnel for me.
| jader201 wrote:
| > No more fears of developing carpal tunnel for me.
|
| Unfortunately, I developed major RSI in my right hand from
| playing Horizon Forbidden West, to the point that I had to stop
| playing console games for several months. And I don't typically
| have that problem on any other console, including previous PS
| consoles.
|
| There's something about the shape of the controller in
| combination with the controls for that game, which requires
| frequent usage of both R triggers, sometimes in combination
| with other buttons. Also could be related to the force feedback
| of the triggers that's new on PS5 (though it doesn't seem
| frequent/strong enough to matter).
|
| I never had this same problem with Horizon Zero Dawn on the
| PS4, even though the controls are mostly the same.
|
| I'm not sure I'll be able to finish Forbidden West.
| autoexec wrote:
| Not all games have them, but I do appreciate those that do.
| bluedevil2k wrote:
| I'm still waiting for the first ps5 controller that doesn't break
| from controller drag after 10-14 months. Seriously, there needs
| to be a class action at this point.
| ok_dad wrote:
| It's criminal that they haven't redesigned the sticks
| autoexec wrote:
| I wouldn't mind it so much if the controllers were a third of
| the price they currently charge, although getting a new
| controller all the time still means a lot of unnecessary
| trash and more of my time spent cracking open each
| replacement to pull out the microphones.
| everdrive wrote:
| Curious why this is a problem. Switch has the same issue, but
| none of the more old fashioned controllers I've ever owned have
| had this problem.
| 542458 wrote:
| I can't speak for controllers, but for wireless mice I've
| read that many issues are due to the very low voltages that
| they run at to extend battery life - the low voltage means
| that buttons + etc become much more susceptible to dirt and
| oxidization.
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