Microsoft after remaining silent for years in terms of accessibility features for its Xbox gaming console finally came out with a Braille display. With the new adaptive controller for the Xbox Microsoft for the first time took some positive steps for the disabled game players. An Xbox adaptive controller with an inbuilt Braille display is the latest answer to the accessibility needs that have been raised by gamers with visual impairment.
You can argue in this regard that some games are really hard to play by the people with a visibility impairment. We can’t help but agree to such difficulties that can’t be avoided entirely. For example, any normal player with difficulty to see can at once get familiar with the on-screen game display, text, game items, directions and dialogue. A gamer with lower visual ability needs to struggle through all these game elements.
Now, to solve the problems for the disabled gamers, there has been using if audio to read out the text aloud during game-play. But for many gamers, it is actually distracting and as an option is far less appealing to them. This us where Braille display can come to their aid. Obviously, while taking on the environment with your ammunition and armour any gamer will not like to hear the computers voicing details about their armour.
Let us also figure out whether this idea of addressing visually impaired gamers is something new or not. To be precise, already we have a number of Braille accessories for game display and you can use them while playing a game with Xbox. But unfortunately, as of now, there has been no support yet from Microsoft, the company behind the Xbox console. In that regard, this is a laudable effect from Microsoft to allow gamers to play games using Braille display.
Microsoft filed a patent for the value addition only last year and now at the time of writing this post, it has already been made public. Whether the aforementioned patent really matches the product in question, we cannot be sure. But the new adaptive Braille display is definitely going to make great value addition.
The new Braille Controller as far as to look and feel are concerned, does not offer a completely different countenance. At first look, it offers a similar look like the Xbox One gamepad. But in the backside of the display, we can find something like a robotic insect-like a thing. This is the Braille display added to the regular display. It offers a dot matrix produces bumps as the players run their fingers over it. Along with this the players a set of paddles that can be swapped for input and output while playing the game.
As the E3 event is going to be held in June this year, we will be able to inquire more about the design of the controller and several other enhancements that Microsoft can incorporate for this Braille supported display anytime soon.