Y'all, GameBlast is sooooooo close!! If this is your first GameBlast with us get ready to have one hell of a wacky weekend! We're doing silly things (like wearing our dresses from prom at $500 and either dancing or playing Twister 😱 in them at $1000!)
If you're unfamiliar, GameBlast is a yearly fundraiser for Special Effect, a charity in the UK that works to make games accessible to as many people as possible completely free of charge! They rely on donations to continue doing their incredible work (like helping design and test Microsoft's Adaptive Controller.)
Please tell your friends, your family, your enemies and everyone in between! Let's make this the biggest GameBlast yet! ✨
Microsoft Releases the Extended Version of the Adaptive Controller Superbowl Ad
The Adaptive Controller is getting an ad during the Super Bowl this week and, while that version is most likely going to clock in at the usual thirty seconds, the extended play edition was released today and it’s honestly worth watching.
"The Xbox Adaptive Controller (XAC), slated to launch 'later this year,' looks almost incomplete at first glance. The clean, confusing-looking slab, nearly the length and width of an Xbox One S, has no joysticks. The usual selection of Xbox inputs has been reduced down to a few menu buttons, a D-pad, and two black, hand-sized pads. Don't let the pared-down design fool you. The XAC is one of the most unique and widely useful control tools Microsoft has ever designed, and it seems poised to change the way many players interact with the games they love."
Are there any game controller or controller modifications out there for people with hand issues like arthritis? I've looked around and found some grippy things online, but I don't know if they're the right solution and am not yet sure if I want to spend money trying something I have no peer feedback about. Just looking at them, they didn't seem any better than the controller as it is by itself.
It's been surprisingly difficult for me to find a community of gamers with these kinds of issues, but I know they must exist! Especially as those of us who grew up playing video games continue to age! Someday in the not-too-distant future we're going to have a population of seniors who want to be able to play video games like they used to, and there's gotta be a market for adaptive controllers so people can play with arthritis!
Over the last two-ish years I've gotten to the point where I cant play most games for longer than maybe 20mins because of the pain in my thumbs and wrists. I can pretty much only play low-impact things like Minecraft anymore, and as much as I love Minecraft it makes me sad to be unable to enjoy much of anything else.
Reggie Fils-Aimé says Nintendo was working on an adaptive controller
#ReggieFilsAimé says #Nintendo was working on an #adaptivecontroller - #videogames #elmundotech
Former Nintendo of America CEO Reggie Fils-Aimé told Inverse that Nintendo was working on a adaptive controller that could be used with the latest game consoles.
According to Fils-Aimé, Nintendo was developing this multiplatform controller in 2019 as “part of an industry-wide initiative” after Xbox released its Xbox Adaptive Controller in 2018. For Nintendo, the Xbox Adaptive Controller was seen…
Microsoft Changed The Xbox Series X Controller To Fit Smaller Hands And Be More Inclusive
Microsoft Changed The Xbox Series X Controller To Fit Smaller Hands And Be More Inclusive | #Xbox #XboxSEX #XboxSeriesX
Remember what Google had done with the Stadia controller? Well, Microsoft and the Xbox Team are following suit and want the next-gen controller to fit smaller hands, while being inclusive to all hand sizes, according to Xbox senior designer Ryan Whitaker. (more…)
Plans for the Freedom Wing adapter will be made available for free
Thanks to a new device, users of power wheelchairs can connect the mobility devices they use every day directly to a modern gaming console for the first time. The device is called the Freedom Wing, and is compatible with the Xbox Adaptive Controller. Plans for the Freedom Wing will be made available free online, and early versions are already shipping out to those who need them.
The Freedom Wing is a joint effort by AbleGamers, a charity dedicated to supporting people with disabilities, and A.T. Makers. Founded by Bill Binko, A.T. Makers brings together those who work in the field of assistive technology with modern-day tinkerers and high school technology programs, including robotics teams. According to a video published Friday on AbleGamers’ YouTube channel, which we’ve also embedded above, the device requires a printed circuit board and some basic soldering. The total cost of supplies to make one is between $30 and $35.
The way that power wheelchairs work is by putting controls where users can easily reach them. But those controls don’t natively talk to modern game consoles. Using inputs built into the Xbox Adaptive Controller, AbleGamers and A.T. Makers have been able to allow a power wheelchair’s single, familiar control system to do double duty as a game controller.
“This is really handy because people have already positioned these [controls] on their chairs,” Binko said in the video. “They have the muscle memory and [are] able to use them. Turns out it’s a really great way to get gaming to somebody who uses a power chair.”
Early versions of the Freedom Wing adapter are being hand-assembled by students in Orlando, Florida, on GRA-V Team 5816 Robotics. AbleGamers said on Twitter that adapters are already shipping.
For more information on AbleGamers, or to make a donation, check out their website.
