{"id":120421,"date":"2020-11-06T11:41:20","date_gmt":"2020-11-06T11:41:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pockettactics.com\/?p=8304"},"modified":"2020-11-06T11:41:20","modified_gmt":"2020-11-06T11:41:20","slug":"hori-flex-controller-improves-accessibility-for-disabled-nintendo-switch-players","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2020\/11\/06\/hori-flex-controller-improves-accessibility-for-disabled-nintendo-switch-players\/","title":{"rendered":"Hori Flex controller improves accessibility for disabled Nintendo Switch players"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Nintendo Switch has come under a lot of fire from disabled gamers for its lack of accessibility options, but Nintendo is slowly adding aids to help more people play its flagship console. This year has seen the release of software updates that allow for button remapping \u2013 which will help many players who can\u2019t push in the joysticks \u2013 and a zoom function to aid partially-sighted gamers.<\/p>\n

While the software updates are certainly an improvement, Nintendo still trails behind Sony and Microsoft in many other accessibility areas. Both rival companies have screen reading software to aid partially sighted and blind gamers, and Microsoft released the Xbox Adaptive Controller \u2013 compatible with any console or PC, its interface aims to make gaming accessible for all.<\/p>\n

This interview with a visually-impaired Pok\u00e9mon player on Eurogamer<\/a> highlights a lot of the issues he faces while playing, but Nintendo is continuing to improve, slowly but surely. The officially licensed Hori Flex controller is designed to help players with all manner of disabilities play on the Switch and PC. According to a translation of the Hori<\/a> website, the Flex controller is \u201cspecially developed and sold for those who cannot use a controller with a standard shape.\u201d<\/p>\n

As such, it is suggested that you don\u2019t buy one other than for its standard use i.e. if you can\u2019t use a regular controller. As you can see, the Hori Flex has an array of large buttons and links to your Switch or PC via USB. You can also connect your current joysticks and other buttons if they are more comfortable. The Flex controller is currently only available in Japan and costs around $230 USD (\u00a3180), however we expect it to release internationally in the future.<\/p>\n

All the buttons can be remapped with software, and the whole controller can be mounted on a stand by \u00bc inch screw \u2013 the standard size for most tripods etc. In a statement to Motherboard<\/a>, Nintendo explained that their \u201csoftware and hardware developers continue to evaluate different technologies to expand this accessibility,\u201d committing to further accessibility improvements.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

For the Flex, Hori worked with \u201crehabilitation professionals\u201d to create the controller, which also supports \u201ceye-gaze\u201d eye tracking technology, although you\u2019ll need a Windows PC, eye tracker, and video capture unit to utilise this.<\/p>\n

This is an important step forward in Nintendo Switch accessibility, but there is always more to be done. However, it seems like many players will be able to dive into the best Switch RPGs<\/a> or one of the many Switch multiplayer games <\/a>where they couldn\u2019t before \u2013 which is definitely something to celebrate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Nintendo Switch has come under a lot of fire from disabled gamers for its lack of accessibility options, but Nintendo is slowly adding aids to help more people play its flagship console. This year has seen the release of software updates that allow for button remapping \u2013 which will help many players who can\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":120422,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-120421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mobile-game-releases"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120421"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120421\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}