This Incredible Dad Modified an Xbox Adaptive Controller for His Daughter

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is one of the best-rated video games of all time, and its scope is unparalleled in the franchise. It has been out for nearly three years now, but there are still many people who haven’t got the chance to play it yet because they have disabilities that make it difficult for them to use one of the controllers available for the Nintendo Switch. Breath of the Wild is a Nintendo exclusive, which means it isn’t available for other consoles. Fortunately, Rory Steel was able to modify an Xbox Adaptive Controller to work with the Switch so his daughter Ava could get in on the fun.

The Xbox Adaptive Controller has been available for a couple of years now, and it has likely been the biggest effort that a video game console manufacturer has put into making gaming accessible. The controller has a directional pad and a few buttons for gameplay, but its most important feature is expandability. It has a number of ports that can be used to attach custom buttons, which gives players the freedom to utilize whatever input controls work best for their owmn personal mobility.

Unfortunately for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 owners, the Xbox Adaptive Controller only works with Xbox consoles and Windows PCs. That’s not Microsoft’s fault, but a simple consequence of differing ecosystems. Until Nintendo and Sony release their own accessible controllers, Rory was able to find a workaround that anyone can take advantage of. There are third party adapters for sale that let you connect Xbox One controllers to the Nintendo Switch, and those work with the Xbox Adaptive Controller as well.

In addition to that adapter — a Mayflash Magic-NS model — and the Xbox Adaptive Controller itself, Rory also ordered two large arcade joysticks and a bunch of LED-lit arcade buttons. There is one arcade button for every button on the Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons in order to ensure that Ava would be able to access all of the features of Breath of the Wild. For now, Rory is using a repurposed parts storage container as an enclosure, but he plans to come up with a more permanent solution soon. It also appears that Rory will be making a similar controller for his son, who is now itching to play Zelda after seeing his sister experience it.