More and more, gamers and game creators are recognizing the importance of accessibility. Many who enjoy video games have to deal with disabilities or other cognitive differences that make playing games with standard controllers and settings difficult. Big strides have been made in improving accessibility for gaming, one of the most notable being the Xbox Adaptive Controller, and according to former Nintendo of America chief Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo was at one point trying to follow suit with a device of its own.
When it comes to gaming hardware, Nintendo has been at the forefront of many innovations. The Nintendo DS offered new ways to play through the introduction of a touchscreen, the Wii expanded on that idea by putting motion controls front and center, and the Nintendo Switch made it possible to swap seamlessly between TV and portable play. Even the Wii U, a low-point for the company, saw Nintendo trying to innovate by reimagining the DS’ two-screen setup for a home console.
For all these innovations, however, accessibility for gamers with disabilities is one place where the company has been lagging, especially in comparison to the strides made by competitors like PlayStation and Xbox. But that’s not for lack of trying, according to Fils-Aime. Speaking with Inverse, he revealed that, prior to his departure from the company in 2019, Nintendo was involved in an industry-wide push to develop devices similar to the Xbox Adaptive Controller, though he’s not sure if the project is still in development.
Fils-Aime didn’t go into too much detail regarding this device, but stated that the goal was to create a “platform-agnostic” controller that could be used for not just the latest Nintendo platform but also Xbox and PlayStation as well. This is interesting, because there isn’t really any controller from a major console maker inherently designed to work with competing consoles. Even the Xbox Adaptive Controller requires extra work from users to get it working outside the Xbox ecosystem, like with the dad who modded the Adaptive Controller so his daughter could play The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Although it's unknown if Nintendo is still working on this project, Fils-Aime stressed that he hopes it is and will be able to share it with consumers “as quickly as possible.” It’s an understandable hope, as a truly platform-agnostic take on the Xbox Adaptive Controller would certainly be a welcome innovation in the field of gaming accessibility, and the kind that Nintendo has proven itself capable of producing. Whether it will be part of Nintendo's future, though, remains to be seen.
Source: Inverse