At the ongoing CES 2023, Sony introduced Project Leonardo, a customisable controller designed to help people with disabilities play games more easily.
Sony says the circular PlayStation 5 controller "is built to address common challenges faced by many players with limited motor control, including difficulty holding a controller for long periods, accurately pressing small clusters of buttons or triggers, or positioning thumbs and fingers optimally on a standard controller."
The controller has been designed in collaboration with organisations dedicated to improving accessibility in the gaming space like AbleGamers, SpecialEffect, and Stack Up.
Highlighting some of the features, Sony said that the controller comes with swappable components and a variety of analog caps and buttons in different shapes and sizes. These can all be mixed and matched to create a custom layout; players will also be able to adjust the distance of the analog stick from the gamepad.
The controller also lays flat and does not need to be held, making it easy to lay them on a table or a wheelchair tray. Further, it can be secured to mounts and tripods and can be oriented 360 degrees.
On the software side of things, the controller supports full button remapping on a PlayStation 5. All of the controller's buttons can be programmed to any function, including multiple functions on a single button.
Players can also make customised profiles for their layouts and switch between them with a single press of the profile button. The controller supports up to three profiles that can be switched on the fly.
It can also be paired with up to two more Project Leonardo controllers or standard PlayStation 5 DualSense wireless controllers. Users may also combine them and use them as one big virtual controller.
"For example, players can augment their DualSense controller with a Project Leonardo controller or use two Project Leonardo controllers on their own," Sony wrote in a blog post.
"A friend or family member can also assist by helping to control the player’s game character with a DualSense controller or a second Project Leonardo controller. The controllers can be dynamically turned on or off and used in any combination."
The controller can support a variety of third-party switches and accessibility accessories through four 3.5mm AUX ports.
Sony says the controller is currently being developed and it will continue to gather valuable feedback from the community during the process.
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