Adroit Switchblade

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Published on Saturday, 27 August 2011 17:14

Written by Steve Spohn

The highly anticipated accessible gaming controller from Evil Controllers and the AbleGamers Foundation was finally unveiled at the 2011 PAX Prime panel Gamers Doing Good. The biannual panel is put on by the AbleGamers Foundation, but features multiple gaming charities doing real work out in the trenches by real gamers who want to make a difference.

The Adroit Switchblade is the most accommodating controller on the market today. With 19 ports (11 reprogramable and 2 sets of 4 for the thumb sticks), your own personal gaming set up is only limited by your imagination. Plug-in any of your favorite switches from light touch to muscle twitch to gumball in any configuration your heart desires. Any switch in the 11 reprogrammable slots can be any button on the Xbox controller.

Each Switchblade comes with 2 easy to use, lightweight, separate and extremely small thumb sticks for directional controls complete with one of the most popular Evil Controllers’ modifications: rumble pack.

Can’t use joysticks? No problem!

Each Adroit Switchblade comes with ports specifically designed for the directional movements. Now you can make your own thumb stick using four switches in any configuration humanly possible. One example is to mount four light touch switches around a centerpiece you can move to push the switches with both hands. Another tester liked the ability to put two directions on each hand. The possibilities are endless.

But wait, there's more. If you are a switch user you know that there are only so many places you can put a switch. Only a certain amount of your fingers have the ability to push buttons or you just don't want to spend the money on umpteen amounts of switches. And that's why we included the Switchblade exclusive Profile Option.

The profile option allows you to set the same switch to do multiple functions on 3 different profiles. Let's say for example Johnny can only use 2 switches after the directional controls. We set switch number one to be the profile changer and suddenly Johnny has access to 6 controller functions. Profile one could be set to your main action buttons and profile two has the shoulder buttons and profile three can contain the remaining secondary action buttons. Simply press the profile changer to cycle through the profiles and use whatever button is necessary for the current task.

The Switchblade comes ready for the Xbox, but with a simple adapter you can use this controller on your PlayStation or PC. No more buying multiple assistive technologies when one device with a simple adapter can fit all of your gaming needs.

As you can see the Adroit Switchblade is a dream come true for many disabled gamers with some of the greatest versatility on the market today. Evil Controllers and the AbleGamers Foundation worked tirelessly to put together a controller that will make gaming easier for those with disabilities.

Not only is this only the first in a new line of accessible controllers, but also the beginning of more affordable assistive technology. Far too often the equipment that can help the disabled community the most is priced way out of reach for people on fixed incomes. That’s why all controllers in the Adroit line will be set at a price people can afford. The Adroit Switchblade will be $399, not over $1500 like some places charge for life changing devices.

One final note about this controller. The Adroit Switchblade is a labor of love from both organizations but in particular from Adam Coe and Jonah Coe, Mark Barlet and Steve Spohn. The Coe brothers have a real passion for the disabled community and continue to work with us every day on improving the lives of disabled gamers everywhere. Adam, Jonah, Mark and Steve have used their combined knowledge of expert controller design and expert accessibility knowledge to create a controller that gamers have been asking for since we began working together only a few years ago.

Here's to accessibility and the continued quest of improving accessibility at low cost and high quality.

About the Author

Author: Steve Spohn

Steve Spohn is the Editor-in-Chief of AbleGamers & Outreach Chair for the Foundation. He is an expert in gaming with disabilities and assistive technologies and can be seen on MSNBC, CNN, G4 and more.