Ask me my favorite demo of E3 2018 and I’ve got a lot of answers, even after two days. Cyberpunk 2077 was incredible. Metro Exodus made me want to play for 30 more hours, at least. Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey has a lot of potential. But I’d also be tempted to say the Xbox Adaptive Controller. Announced a few weeks back, it’s Microsoft’s attempt at a controller for people with disabilities—an official controller, one that works seamlessly with the existing Xbox One and Windows 10 environments.
That’s exciting. The gamepad has been a standard for 30 years now. It’s iconic—almost synonymous with gaming (much to my chagrin as a mouse-and-keyboard fanatic). But the gamepad doesn’t work for everyone, and video games are meant for everyone. Interface issues shouldn’t be the barrier between people and this fantastic form of entertainment.
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The Xbox Adaptive Controller thus tries to make games more accessible for people with disabilities. It has two large, easy-to-hit buttons. It’s sloped, so you can rest it on a lap or use it on the floor. It has a built-in battery, so no need to pry open a hatch and insert AAs. And most important: It has a row of 3.5mm jacks on the back of the device, the universal standard for third-party controls geared towards accessibility. Those who’ve already invested in an expensive setup or custom-built their own don’t need to change anything except the central hub.
The Xbox Adaptive Controller’s features.
The Xbox Adaptive Controller’s features.
The Xbox Adaptive Controller’s features.
It’s a fantastic move on Microsoft’s part, and after hearing about it for a few weeks now I was excited to see it in person. We played a bit of Minecraft behind closed doors, one-handed. Microsoft demonstrated how to remap controls, and you can even set one button as a dedicated “Switch” function. Like the Steam controller, it allows a single button or analog stick to act like a second with the use of a modifier key.
Really neat stuff, and a really attractive and sleek peripheral to boot. Check it out, as we go hands-on (or at least get our hands-on) the Xbox Adaptive Controller above, plus check out the suite of third-party peripherals Microsoft brought along as a demo. You can preorder it now for $100 on the Xbox website, ahead of a September launch.