Sony has just announced that Project Leonardo is coming soon for gamers on the PlayStation 5. Not to be confused with Spartacus, which turned out to be the PlayStation Stars project, Leonardo aims to deliver more accessibility options for anyone gaming on the PS5. Here is everything you should know about Sony’s latest accessory coming out soon on the PS5. Stay with us!
What is Project Leonardo on the PlayStation 5?
Sony is taking a step forward in making gaming accessible for everyone. With Project Leonardo, they aim to deliver a wonderful gaming experience for differently-abled gamers. This project is designed to help those who struggle to get into gaming because of barriers, like how challenging it can get to hold a DualShock or DualSense controller.
- At The Game Awards 2022, Sony-exclusive titles were nominated for the Innovation in Accessibility award. Both The Last of Us Part 1 and God of War: Ragnarok were nominated, and guess who took home the award? That’s right, God of War: Ragnarok won the award for Innovation in Accessibility.
- This shouldn’t have come as a surprise to everyone since Santa Monica Studio was really hands-on in delivering the best experience to all types of gamers. Right at the start of the game, you are given a chance to customize the entire experience, including accessibility options.
Project Leonardo is a customizable controller for the PlayStation 5. According to Sony’s blog post announcing the accessory, “It is built to address common challenges faced by many players with limited motor control.”
Not your average controller
Hideaki Nishino, Senior Vice President for Platform Experience at SIE, details that Project Leonardo will address the following accessibility concerns:
- Problems with limited motor control typically face the following problems: holding a controller for longer periods, pressing buttons or triggers simultaneously, or finding the optimal position of fingers when holding a standard PlayStation controller.
- Project Leonardo allows players to customize the controller depending on their preferences entirely. Customizations include, but are not limited to, analog stick caps and different sizes for the buttons.
- Moreover, Project Leonardo is also flexible when it comes to button mapping. What this means is if there are games that require you to press two buttons at the same time to perform an action, you can assign just one button to perform that combo.
Paving the way for innovation in gaming
The newest accessibility controller for the PlayStation 5 can save up to 3 user profiles. You can also link another Leonardo or DualSense controller to the one you are using. By doing so, you can play your favorite games with their help.
They also designed the controller, so you won’t need to hold it in both hands. Project Leonardo can be placed on a flat surface, perfect for players who cannot grip a standard controller with both hands. Looking at its entire design, Sony has definitely taken their time in developing a controller that promotes accessibility while maintaining the aesthetics of the PlayStation 5.
Sony also made it a point to highlight that they spoke with accessibility experts for Project Leonardo. According to the blog post, the company met with organizations like AbleGamers, SpecialEffect, and Stack Up. Speaking with these organizations regarding Project Leonardo was a way for them to “open up new ways of gaming.”
You can read about Project Leonardo from Sony’s latest blog post here.
Where to buy
At the moment, Project Leonardo is currently in development. We will update you as soon as the controller is released to the general public. Once it goes public, there is a high chance that Sony will change the name of Project Leonardo.
Props to companies like Sony for coming up with these innovations to make every gamer feel included!
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Are you excited for Sony to release Project Leonardo on the PlayStation 5? What do you think of gaming companies starting to develop these types of innovations? Let us know in the comments below! Until then, stay with us here at Spiel Times for more content.
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