KEY POINTS

  • The Xbox Mod was specially made by a Rory Steel for his kids 
  • Xbox launched the adaptive controller for disabled gamers in 2019
  • Microsoft and Logitech have got in touch with Steel for version 2.0

The Nintendo Switch is one of the most popular gaming consoles out there. However, the company is yet to put out a version of the Switch that caters to an underserved market: the disabled gamers.

While Xbox bought out the Xbox adaptive controller last year for such users, Nintendo is yet to undertake any such endeavor. This leaves customers to their own devices to help people who are gamers but can’t use regular gaming console.

Digital Jersey Academy head and a dad Rory Steel has created a special Xbox adaptive mod for his kids, which can help disabled people use the gaming console. His kids, Ava, 9, and Corden, 5, both suffer from hereditary spastic paraplegia, which makes it impossible for the kids to use regular gaming controllers.

So, Steel used the Logitech G adaptive gaming kit for the Xbox adaptive controller to create a homemade solution using which the kids were able to play games such as “Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” on the console.

The solution looks like an arcade and Steel was able to make it within a week using wire management and soldering. The solution not only made his kids happy but, in fact, Steel has been approached by both Microsoft and Logitech for created version 2.0 of his controller.

According to Slashgear, Steel, now, wants to create a guide for people to recreate the setup.

While the gaming market is mostly saturated, this category of gamers is something that can offer returns to companies such as Xbox and Nintendo. It will not just earn them brownie points in terms of appeal but also help create further solutions such as special games catering to disabled gamers.

It will be interesting to see if Nintendo actually comes out with a pre-designed console for such gamers.

The Nintendo Switch is a hugely popular console around the world, helped by family-friendly games
The Nintendo Switch is a hugely popular console around the world, helped by family-friendly games AFP / TIMOTHY A. CLARY