The controller was developed with collaboration from accessibility professionals and organizations like as AbleGamers, SpecialEffect, and Stack Up. It was announced at CES.
The controller has a lot of customization options, and it consists of a circular with a bunch of different sized buttons and a control stick.
Players who have limited motor control or who have difficulty pressing small buttons, triggers, or situating their thumbs and fingers on a normal controller have been put into consideration during the design process for Project Leonardo.
A player’s strength, range of motion, and other physical needs may all be handled by the controller thanks to its numerous varied layouts and options, which can be customized to meet their specific requirements and improve their level of comfort while playing. Players not only have the ability to participate in button mapping to create their ideal control template, but they can also save numerous layouts to their PSN profile, which enables them to ensure that every game is tailored to their preferences and requirements.
Players are free to use Project Leonardo on their own if they so choose. In addition to that, it has the capability of being combined with a second Project Leonardo or DualSense controller.
Through its four 3.5mm AUX ports, the controller kit was also made to be compatible with devices that are not included with the kit but are purchased separately.
There are a number of interchangeable components that can be used with Project Leonardo. These components include a selection of analog stick caps and buttons in a variety of forms and sizes.
A set of circular gamepads that are lined with buttons and directional input methods can also be seen in the very first images in the above tweet from PlayStation.
Because it can be mounted on a tripod or laid out flat on a table, the controller does not need to be handled by the user.
The development of Project Leonardo is still ongoing, and Sony is currently collecting feedback from a limited number of organizations in order to ensure that any flaws will be ironed out before the final controller is made available for purchase. The layout is one that can’t help but grab your attention.
According to Sony designer So Morimoto, their team tested over a dozen designs with accessibility experts in search of approaches that would help them address key challenges to effective controller use. They have been looking for ways that would help them address key challenges to effective controller use.
As of the time this article was written, there is no release date set for Project Leonardo.