Even the heaviest video game fans are taking notice! What is the unexpected use of the "Xbox Adaptive Controller," a device for the physically challenged? Part 4

I received quite a bit of feedback from medical professionals (occupational therapists) who read my last column, and I have been approached by a number of them asking me to tell them about the Xbox. It is truly Kinect's fault, isn't it? I would be very happy as an Xbox user if some highly motivated people in Japan who want to work on rehabilitation using Kinect would consider introducing it in the future.

I am also eagerly waiting for the introduction of Kinect in the future, because I myself am still experiencing numbness and pain in the right side of my body due to the aftereffects of a traffic accident, and I was also hospitalized for several months at a rehabilitation facility because my right leg was amputated. I wanted to support people who were willing to take on new challenges, even if it was only a small amount. However, unless the Japan Association of Occupational Therapists has a flexible mindset, it will be difficult to introduce Kinect into the Japanese medical field.
In fact, in Japan, only a few digital games are used for rehabilitation in occupational therapy; iPads are used, but most of them are table games such as mahjong for brain and finger rehabilitation, or orthodox and existing games such as table tennis for physical exercise. The main focus is on orthodox and existing training such as ping-pong.
It would be somewhat troublesome if the government is involved, since occupational therapists originally require national certification, but if Microsoft were to develop an assortment of game-like software using Kinect for the medical field, it would be easier to persuade them to make an overture. ....... I hear that Microsoft has no intention to take the lead in developing Kinect at present or in the future, so it seems difficult.

Is Nintendo also concerned about Kinect?

In my last column, I mentioned how Sony and Microsoft's motion technologies have been evolving day by day, but I almost didn't mention Nintendo, which led some people to ask, "Are you ignoring Nintendo?" I received a few comments that said something like, "Are you ignoring Nintendo? I'm not afraid to ignore it (since this column is about Xbox), but since I myself am a columnist and journalist, I'll write about various topics to convince those who are complicated game fanatics.

After Microsoft announced Kinect at the E3 press conference in June 2009 (Project Natal was the name of the development at that time), Nintendo announced "Wii Vitality Sensor "Wii Vitality Sensor" at a press conference held shortly after Microsoft. Nintendo had already taken a big lead over other companies in motion technology using controllers with the Wii, and they made the announcement in order not to let Project Natal (later Kinect), which "enables users to play games as well as operate the interface from the menu screen without using a controller," take over the conversation. We were surprised and at the same time excited by the announcement of a peripheral with an additional function to read biometric data such as pulse rate by inserting an index finger (this is my personal speculation), in order to avoid being distracted by Project Natal (later to become Kinect), which "allows users to play games as well as control the interface from the menu screen without using a controller. However, when we asked a Microsoft representative about Nintendo's strategy, he said, "The Vitality Sensor is a new product that Microsoft has been working on for some time,
However, when we asked a Microsoft representative about Nintendo's strategy, he replied, "The Vitality Sensor is an idea that Microsoft doesn't have, but the market for the SD-quality Wii is expected to shrink in the future (although it was later replaced by the Wii U), and the time frame for market development has not yet been decided, so I don't think it will become a competitor.
He seemed to have a rather dry view of the situation.

He added, "Project Natal was developed with a lot of influence from the method expressed in the movie 'Minority Report,' so we are working on it with Steven Spielberg, the director whose contract with Electronic Arts has expired, in mind, and with a view to developing dedicated game software. Although he said ......, the Wii Vitality Sensor won't be released (at the general shareholders meeting, then-President Satoru Iwata officially stated that it was pending because it was not finished enough to be accepted as a product), (At the shareholders' meeting, then President Satoru Iwata officially stated that the game was pending because it was not finished enough to be accepted as a product), and Director Spielberg did not make a Kinect game (he proposed a military FPS project, but was rejected because he wondered if it would be a game that needed to be made with Kinect).

Well, Nintendo had also released a flop peripheral for the Nintendo 64, the "Biosensor," which could be attached to the earlobe and linked to the heart rate (Seta's "Tetris 64" was the only software that was compatible!) ). As a result, even if it had been released, it would probably have been used only in the medical field.

The "Tokimeki Sensor," which was set in the control panel of the arcade game "Tokimeki Memorial: Oshiete YourHeart," released by Konami, was a system in which a finger was inserted into a pink mouse-shaped device to measure perspiration and heart rate, thereby changing the development of the game (see ). I think it was the system ...... that changed. I remember there was a game that was ahead of its time. I only played it once in a game center because I got embarrassed in the middle of the game, but I remember that there were really few stores that had it, thanks to the many problems with the crush sensor.

Letting the Physically Challenged Enjoy the Game

I digress for a moment, but the subject of this article is the "Xbox Adaptive Controller," a peripheral device that is not well-known in Japan.

The word "adaptive" is not so common in Japan, but in the English-speaking world, it has recently replaced the word "disabled" and is now widely used to refer to people with disabilities. Adaptive means "to adapt," disable means "not to function," and handicap means "a disadvantage (to level the playing field)," but handicap in particular is sometimes treated as slang in English-speaking countries, and is sometimes used by people with disabilities when describing themselves. It is no problem for a person with a disability to use the term when describing himself, but it is considered discriminatory for a third party to use it like "he is a handicap".
In addition, some human rights groups suggested that it would be inappropriate to use the term for people with disabilities, since it could be taken as an expression of the socially vulnerable, such as a homeless person begging for money with his hat on the back side, so it is no longer used.

The Xbox Adaptive Controller is a device that allows the user to customize the control surfaces as they wish, as the term "adaptive controller for people with disabilities" implies. According to documents published by Microsoft, in 2014, they started developing a device that uses Kinect and Xbox wireless controller technology and improves on the technology that combines these two as a co-pilot function (meaning to co-pilot the device). To briefly explain the co-pilot function, it is easy to understand if you think of it as a function to separate the form of operation that Nintendo had already implemented on the Wii, such as moving with the left-hand controller and shooting with the right-hand controller.
Microsoft engineers have been working on the functionality and design of the Xbox Adaptive Controller based on feedback provided by disabled people from social service organizations and veterans with physical disabilities, in order to make the Xbox One more enjoyable for people with physical disabilities. The development was started primarily for people who cannot use their hands.

Although the development of this product started primarily for people who cannot use their hands, it is wonderful that the project was carried out based on Microsoft's concept of "making the Xbox One enjoyable for people with various physical conditions. The approach is different from the technology developed for Kinect because it requires a physical controller, but it is possible to create an input environment that meets the needs of people with disabilities who are unable to enjoy entertainment and are in despair through video games and gives them hope ...... The system can be customized to meet the needs of the user. Even those who cannot use both arms can operate the game by blowing on it with their breath, or by using only their feet. There is no doubt that this peripheral device will change the despair of many people with physical disabilities into hope.

Easily Customizable Xbox Adaptive Controller

Input devices for the disabled have been around for a long time, and there are companies that make controllers that can be customized to fit the needs of the disabled. However, they could not be customized as easily as the Xbox Adaptive Controller, and because they had to be one-of-a-kind, they were also very expensive.
However, unlike Japan, there are many veterans in the U.S. who have some kind of physical problem, and they also want entertainment, as some of them belong to disabled gamers support groups in addition to war wounded support groups. They go to war zones in the Middle East for their country, get wounded, and return home disabled. There are also a tremendous number of veterans who suffer from PTSD, cannot find jobs, and commit suicide. This is a huge social darkness that the U.S. has been dealing with since the Vietnam War era, and because Microsoft has a cooperative relationship with the U.S. military, I feel a strong sympathy for the company's attempt to wipe out the darkness in the hearts of these veterans through video games.

I have a friend in Texas whom I met through an online multiplayer game of the "Halo" series on Xbox. He is a 25-year-old veteran who lives in a wheelchair and with prosthetic legs because he lost his left leg below the knee and his right arm below the elbow due to a bomb dropped in the Middle East. There are more than 20 veterans' homes across the U.S. where he works, and all of them have received dozens of Xbox One and Xbox adaptive controllers free of charge from Microsoft. He is also a gaming enthusiast who enjoys playing games at the facility, and we met while playing online multiplayer there.
The facility was full of 20-somethings in wheelchairs with missing body parts, and he himself thought he was dead when he was blown up by a bomb. The next time he woke up, he had already returned to the U.S. and was in a military hospital. He had been suffering from PTSD for about two years, losing one arm and one leg and despairing of the rest of his life. At the same time, he was offered a job at a veteran's home, and at the same time he received a notice from Microsoft that they were offering an Xbox One and a new controller to veterans with physical disabilities to be monitored at the home. This led to him being able to play games that he had been away from since he lost his arms and legs, as he remembered his able-bodied days.

When we asked the veteran how he plays "Halo," he told us that since his left arm is still intact, he can hold the Xbox Wireless Controller with his left hand and use the left analog stick to move around. At the same time, he has no problem controlling the digital pad with his left thumb. It is possible to press the upper trigger button with the left index and middle fingers. The right arm is only up to the elbow, so the large analog stick is operated with the elbow tip via the Xbox adaptive controller to aim the rifle.
His left leg is missing, but his right leg is still intact, so he customizes his shots by stepping on the huge button on the Xbox Adaptive Controller with the sole of his right foot.
The Xbox Adaptive Controller, which can be customized to meet the needs of differently-abled individuals, is attracting a lot of attention from the medical and welfare industries in the United States.

Why the Xbox Adaptive Controller is a worldwide hit

The Xbox Adaptive Controller was released in Japan in January 2020 in limited quantities from the Microsoft Japan website, but the sales were instantaneous. I was not able to buy one either. ...... The product has been in short supply overseas as well, and appears to be difficult to obtain worldwide at present.
It is said that there are about 1 billion disabled people in the world, and in Japan there are about 1% - that is, almost 10 million disabled people. Not all of these people are gamers, and it is likely that they are not mass-producing the device because it is not a device that sells that well. However, the Xbox Adaptive Controller is actually exploding in popularity beyond the disabled. The reason for this is that it can also be used on Windows, which means it can be used for PC games as well as Xbox One games. But how did that happen?

The Xbox Adaptive Controller is not a stand-alone product, but requires a variety of peripherals (not only from Microsoft, but also from Logitech and others) to connect to it. In other words, the Xbox Adaptive Controller is a hub that connects games and devices. The Xbox Adaptive Controller allows for a wide range of customization, including the ability to control the game with your feet. Thanks to this, PC gamers have been able to create their own tricks to take advantage of the game, and by purchasing and installing the "TITAN ONE" USB converter, they can use the Xbox Adaptive Controller on Xbox 360, PS3, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and more. I have also bought and installed a USB converter called "TITAN ONE" so that I can use Xbox adaptive controllers on Xbox 360, PS3, PS4, Nintendo Switch, etc.

Microsoft did not expect this kind of usage, but once word got out about how to use it on other consoles besides the Xbox One, it has been in short supply for a long time.
Especially among international shooters, the combination of the TITAN ONE and Xbox adaptive controller is said to be the most powerful, and has become quite popular since the TITAN ONE can be used to control a mouse on a home console.
It is the nature of gamers to want to have a TITAN ONE even if they are not handicapped. As a peripheral enthusiast, I really want an Xbox Adaptive Controller, but does the limited quantity mean that it will no longer be sold in Japan?　Microsoft Japan!　Please re-release it!

(Text by Junk Hunter Yoshida)