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Sony details PS5 accessibility features to help disabled players

PS5 gaming is for everybody and Sony is detailing features to help get disabled players into the game.

October 30, 2020 12:20 PM

In an effort to emphasize that gaming is for everybody, Sony has started issuing details about the PlayStation 5's various accessibility features. The team at PlayStation has made sure to pack these features into the console from the start, allowing for disabled players to jump in on day one with minimal inconvenience.

According to the Sony Interactive Entertainment website (via Gamespot), the PS5 will build on the text to speech, color inverting, and custom button assignment features utilized in the PlayStation 4. PS5 owners can use a voice dictation feature for those who can't use a virtual keyboard, a Screen Reader feature for blind or low vision users, an on-screen text reader for deaf users, and color correction for color blind users. This is in addition to the existing PS4 accessibility features that will make their way to the new console.

Aiming for accessibility also extends to the new PS5 DualSense controller. Options will be available to reduce or disable the force on the haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. All of this is part of a joint effort with consultation teams to help branch out PS5 gaming to everyone.

"We not only work with leading expert accessibility consultants such as Brandon Cole, Paul Lane and others, we also launched ABLE@PlayStation for employees earlier this year," reads the SIE post. "It is an accessibility and all abled inclusion-focused employee network that serves all of SIE. The first principle of the group is to provide a community where people can be their whole selves. Its second principle is built on ensuring accessibility and disability inclusion for employees and our community. The employee network also focuses on emotional health awareness, supporting the fight against chronic illnesses, and helps us reach our goal to constantly focus and improve accessibility and disability inclusion in our products and for our employees."

The PlayStation 5 is just weeks away from release. It'll arrive on November 12. Check up on our PS5 pre-order guide to help get you through the big day.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?

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