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Toward the end of last week I received a pair of PS5 Access Controllers for work, which will be getting their own dedicated review video early next week. While I can’t talk about them in any depth right now, I can acknowledge the unboxing process for the device.
The PlayStation Access Controller is an accessibility focused controller, and as such Sony has clearly taken efforts to ensure that the packaging for the controller is itself accessible in several ways. The outer box contains two large loops used to unseal the outer box sticker, the interior of the box contains no cable ties or tape, and there are further cardboard loops provided for any components in the box which need lifting to access.
The same sorts of design principles can be seen in the packaging for the Xbox Adaptive Controller, which similarly used large loops to make stickers easier to open, a lack of twist ties and stickers on interior packaging, and cardboard loops on any components in the box which would need lifting to access.
In both of these cases, PlayStation and Xbox have made an effort to make their accessibility controller packaging accessible to disabled gamers, which is something worthy of praise. It is important that devices designed for disabled gamers are accessible with minimal assistance, reducing reliance on needing someone else to help open up or set up the device. These kinds of accessible packaging principles are super important, and something worthy of praise.
While the video game industry today is getting pretty good at incorporating these kinds of design principles into accessibility focused products, such as the packaging for the Logitech Adaptive Gaming Kit for Xbox being fastened shut with velcro rather than tape which would require fine motor control to grip and remove, one area where the video game industry could definitely stand to improve is in how these principles are currently being applied near exclusively to accessibility specific products.
Disabled gamers don’t use accessibility controllers in a vacuum. In most cases, a Hori Flex accessibility controller user is also buying a Nintendo Switch to play with it. An Xbox Adaptive Controller user might be buying an additional Xbox controller for co-pilot mode. A PlayStation Access Controller user might be buying an officially licensed wireless headset to help them better hear game audio. Disabled gamers also purchase consoles and accessories, not just accessibility controllers, and all too often the design principles seen in accessibility controller packaging are not present across a company’s broader catalogue of products.
Take, for example, the recently released PlayStation Portal. The device allows remote play streaming of PS5 games over the internet to a large screen surrounded by two halves of a DualSense controller. It’s a device I ‘ve seen a lot of interest in from disabled gamers, who at times need flexibility about where and how they access their video games, rather than necessarily always playing them sat up, in front of a TV. I’ve been ill on bed rest for the past week, and I can attest to the usefulness of that kind of flexibility. The box for the PlayStation Portal was, however, sealed shut with stickers that lacked any tools to help people with poor fine motor control to remove them. The stickers also ripped really easily if you did manage to start peeling them, they were made of a sort of papery material, making the process of removing them more difficult. I personally had some trouble getting the box for the PlayStation Portal open. It took me a bit of time.
The PlayStation Portal is a recent example on my mind, just due to how recently I unboxed one, but this is much more generally a trend present in the industry, not at all specific to a single company or product. Generally speaking, accessible packaging principles are followed a lot more strictly when a device is labelled as being for disabled gamers, and are a lot less likely to be followed when a product is designed “for everyone”.
There are definitely exceptions to this trend, examples of non-accessibility focused products starting to take steps in the right direction. I remember, for example, unboxing the Xbox Series X a few years ago, and the outer box stickers featuring unsealed edges along one side to make them easier to grip onto. It wasn’t quite as extensive as offering easy to grip loops, but it was a step in the right kind of direction.
I’m not here today looking to be too critical of any of the companies that I’ve mentioned. I love that Xbox, PlayStation, Logitech, and more are taking the time to learn how to make their packaging more accessible, and applying those principles when packaging their accessibility focused devices. That’s wonderful, and it’s super worthy of praise.
I just want to ask these companies to remember that disabled people also buy products that are not aimed explicitly at disabled gamers, and it would be wonderful if, some day, every product that these companies released put the same sort of thought into ensuring their unboxing experiences were as smooth of a process for people like myself who struggle to remove stickers sealing boxes shut sometimes.
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