Microsoft : Making of the Xbox Adaptive Controller

We can build and switch as they're playing and not have to ask them to be patient, when they're in a whole world of having to be patient, Scroggs said. They'll say, 'I used to be a gamer,' and we'll say, 'No, no, you are a gamer and we're going to figure this out.' I think that's one of the biggest things it's done for us.
And the controller's $99.99 price puts it within reach of gamers who might not be able to afford other typically pricey adaptive technologies, Muston-Firsch said.
Price point was a big deal when Microsoft was talking to us about this controller. Having something affordable is huge, she said.
On a Thursday evening last spring, half a dozen patients at Craig Hospital gathered in the hospital's therapy gym for its weekly gaming night. As his mom, Wendy, looked on, 22-year-old Hamilton Coke played 'Madden NFL 16.' A gamer since getting his first Xbox at age 6, Coke played regularly until February, when he injured his spine in a ski accident.
When I got hurt, I was literally laying in the snow thinking about all the things that I wouldn't be able to do, he said. At one point in ICU I was thinking, I probably won't be able to ski or surf again, but I really hope I can get my fingers back so I can still play video games.
Coke has been playing with the Xbox Adaptive Controller and appreciates how easy it is to hit the buttons. It's very helpful, he said. It's pretty cool.
Nearby, Snead was taking down enemies in Call of Duty, with Muston-Firsch providing scoping assistance using Copilot, while her family members cheered her on.
We just got done saving the president! she announced, chuckling.
One of Snead's brothers, Exzavier Harris, who frequently plays with her at home, was impressed by the new Xbox controller. He liked its lightness and shape. He liked how it sat easily on a lap. Most of all, he liked what he saw it doing for the gamers.
With that controller, they're having fun, he said, watching the patients play. I see how it's making my sister happy, and I like that.

Originally published on May 16, 2018. Updated on September 4, 2018. Original photography by Andrew Kist, Brian Smale, Daniel Victor & Swanson Studio.