Console Accessibility Solutions for Vision

Xbox

These accessibility options are available for Xbox consoles including Xbox One and all recent series.

Narrator:

Reads texts, buttons, and other elements aloud on your screen while on the Xbox interface. Click here for more.

Magnifier:

Zooms in on your screen to assist in seeing text and images clearly on your console. The user can set a shortcut on their controller, be alerted when turning on the magnifier, and have a large on-screen keyboard. Click here for more.

Captioning

The user is able to change the color, transparency, size, style, and effects of the caption font to best suit their needs. Click here for more.

High Contrast

A feature that allows the user to distinguish between visual elements (such as items and texts) and the background. Click here for more.

Night Mode

This display feature emits warmer colors at night to reduce eye strain rather than emitting blue light. The user is able to customize the display brightness, controller brightness, and power button brightness to meet their needs. Click here for more.

Controller

The user can enable the “controller assist” settings for assistance while playing games by having another individual help with gameplay. Click here for more.

Game and Chat Transcription

The user is able to use text-to-speech and/or speech-to-text, depending on the user’s needs. These settings are available to use in-game. Click here for more.

Audio

This feature enables gamers to mute or unmute the types of sounds that are heard, such as navigation, notification, and startup sounds. Click here for more.

Color Filters

This setting is only available on the Xbox Series X|S for gamers that are color blind or have color visual deficits. Click here for more.

Playstation

For all the information provided below, click PS4 or PS5 to learn more about each accessibility feature.

Text to Speech

This feature converts visual game information into audible feedback to provide independence by reading text, buttons, and other elements.

Zoom

This feature magnifies on-screen elements, such as text, menus, or gameplay elements, to make them more visible and accessible.

Enlarge Text

This refers to increasing the size of on-screen text to better understand in-game information, instructions, and dialogues.

Color Correction

This feature is only available on the PS5, which enables the gamer to adjust colors according to their color blindness.

Reduce Motion

This accessibility option reduces the movement of the screen and its effects, only available on the PS5.

Closed Captioning

This feature is a text-based subtitle or description displayed on the screen during gameplay that provides auditory information, including spoken dialogues, sound effects, and environmental cues. The user is able to customize the font type, size, text color, background color, and more.

Button Re-mapping

This will allow the gamer to customize the controller buttons.

Chat Transcription

Reads aloud texts in the party chat for better communication.

Add to Quick Menu

This feature allows the gamer to quickly access the accessibility settings.

Other Low Vision Solutions for Gaming

Home Assistant Devices

Alexa, Google Assistant, and other assistive devices use voice commands to interact with the game interface and within the game. The user is about to turn on the console, start up a game, and use other capabilities. The most popular game that these devices are fully compatible with is Dead Island 2, which is only available on the Xbox. To learn more, click here.

For Xbox consoles, click on Alexa or Google Assistant Devices for more information about setup. Unfortunately, PlayStation consoles require a Harmony Hub to interact with assistive devices because they are not directly compatible with each other. Logitech has been a recommended brand to use for this connection among those who utilize this technology.

To understand more about setting up Alexa for Xbox and PlayStation consoles, click here.

Other Environmental Factors

For any gamer, setting up their gaming system is an essential part of the gaming experience, but those who have visual impairments may experience more impact from the environment. The following are some suggestions to look for:

  • Position the television or monitor closer to the video game player.

  • Adjustable lighting in the room to decrease light reflections.

  • Closing the window blinds to reduce the glare produced by the outside lights.

  • Reducing the number of sensory inputs from a busy environment increases the ability to focus on auditory input.