a very small bit of joining the dots. Perhaps that’s what we’ll see with the Switch 2... the accessibility landscape in Japan is changing very quickly.
Laura Dale: In terms of making amends with Switch 2, I think the most
Nintendo often takes steps in the right direction, but you have to “Wonder” (sorry), when it will make a leap. With the Switch’s successor, we hope
important things they could do, that I think they might realistically act upon, are meeting some of the basic system level standards Xbox and PlayStation have established this past generation. Make sure the Switch 2 supports an accessibility controller on launch day, be that the Hori Flex or something new. Make on their digital game store going forward. Look at the accessible packaging progress made by Xbox and PlayStation and learn from them. its Switch 2 equivalent into their accessibility controller setup. If nothing else, catch up with these basics which are, Nintendo notwithstanding, standardised across the rest of the industry.
“Make sure the Switch 2 supports an accessibility controller on launch day, be that the Hori Flex or something new”
Obviously we could aim bigger. I’d love to controller grip made available for the console. perfect, would be a great step to overcome
common issues. Sending out accessibility information ahead of a game’s release, making review copies widely available to disabled critics, and ensuring disabled critics have access to review hardware would all be meaningful signs of change. I don’t think most of those are likely, but it would be a positive surprise to see.
SightlessKombat: Switch 2 could add a screen reader and various other accessibility elements for gamers across the spectrum of sight loss and other disabilities, but even if it did, what needs to also improve is the accessibility of the games themselves. If Zelda had a navigation assist and menu narration, if Mario had audio cues to follow to indicate how to progress, for instance, so many more games could open up and give people a reason to invest in the ecosystem without the constant need for sighted assistance. After all, much like any other platform, it’s not just the devices you need to be accessible, but the content on them too.
Laura Dale: I honestly suspect most of the innovation we will see in accessibility from Nintendo franchises will come in the form of third party projects. Ubisoft, for example, this past generation were able to make games using both Mario and Star Fox characters, and their track record on accessibility is a lot more ambitious. If Nintendo continues to allow external studios access to their properties, we might see accessibility sneak in that way, and hopefully that might get Nintendo to catch up a little with the times. A Nintendo game developed by Ubisoft hypothetically getting praise at awards season might be the push they need.
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