The PlayStation Access Controller is now available for pre-order at Amazon in preparation for its launch on December 6.
The Access Controller will provide an alternative way to play PS5's library of games for folks who require more accessibility options than a typical gamepad allows. It's a highly customizable controller kit for which you can create up to 30 different profiles.
The Access controller has a suggested retail price of $89.99 / £79.99 and can be used from any 360-degree orientation.
Since July 21, pre-orders have been available in the US, UK, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Austria, and Portugal. You can order the latest PS5 controller from PlayStation itself through the direct store, or you can find it on Amazon and other participating retailers.
In a PlayStation Blog post announcing the release date, price, and pre-order date, Isabelle Tomatis, the Vice President of Brand, Hardware, and peripherals at Sony Interactive Entertainment, said "Thank you to the wonderful organizations, accessibility experts and PlayStation Studios teams who’ve been on this journey with us.
"We’re especially grateful to all the players who continually share their passion for the games and products we make. We truly believe gaming should be accessible to everyone, and the Access Controller is our latest step toward living up to that promise."
The PS5 Access Controller, previously called Project Leonardo, was originally announced back at CES 2023 at the beginning of the year, and it follows on from Microsoft's Xbox Adaptive Controller aimed at the same purpose.
Interestingly, the Access controller costs $20 / £20 more than the stock PS5 Controller, the DualSense, but not nearly as much as the DualSense Edge which was released earlier this year, and costs $199.99 / £199.99.
Like more of the best PC controllers today, the Access Controller will connect via USB-C to USB-C cable, although there hasn't been any confirmation that the Access Controller will work with other devices like the best gaming PCs. Given that both iterations of the DualSense do, and more PS5 games are coming to PC these days, it's not out of the realms of possibility.
Project Leonardo will weigh approximately 322g, with W x H x D dimensions of 141 x 39 x 191 mm. Furthermore, it will have 4x 3.5mm AUX ports for players to connect additional buttons, specialty trigger switches, and other compatible accessories.
In truth, this seems to be a great PS5 accessory for accessibility in the gaming space overall. A few months ago, I wrote a feature about how I hope this new access controller erodes the often toxic stigmas around using a mouse and keyboard versus a controller.
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