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Microsoft invented packaging that gamers with disabilities can open with their teeth

Published Jul 25th, 2018 11:34PM EDT
Xbox Adaptive Controller
Image: Microsoft

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If you’re a gamer with disabilities looking to purchase any kind of gaming device that would let you play console games, the chances are that someone will help you set it up, and that includes removing it from the retail box.

But Microsoft has devised a special packaging for its Xbox Adaptive Controller, the kind that can be opened with just your teeth.

The controller, first unveiled in May, has two large programmable buttons and 19 jacks that can be connected to a bunch of accessories. That way, Xbox and PC games would be more accessible to people with disabilities. 
The following animation shows you how easy it is to open the packaging using nothing but the teeth.

We have a bunch of ribbons and levers that make accessing the contents of the retail package a breeze. Even the box the accessory ships in is meant to be opened using just one’s teeth.

“A lot of these limited mobility gamers are actually used to opening packages with their teeth,” Microsoft packaging designer Mark Weiser told The Verge.

Microsoft is aware that gamers with disabilities would have someone to rely on for these kinds of chores, but it wanted to make the entire thing more rewarding for the actual buyers. Being able to open a brand new device is, in fact, a rewarding experience, one that many people, myself included, take for granted.

“We wanted to deliver an empowering unboxing experience,” the exec said.

Hopefully, using the $99.99 Xbox Adaptive Controller when it ships in September to play games will be even more rewarding than unboxing it.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.