Electronic Arts has announced a patent pledge that offers its competitors totally free access to its current technology and accessibility-related innovations without the threat of legal action. That’s good!
The publisher hopes that the promise, which according to her is the first of its kind in the field of video games, will encourage innovation in technology related to the accessibility of other companies that are now free to achieve some of the foundations that EA has already established.
Chris Bruzzo, EA’s Vice President of Positive Games, Sales and Marketing, said in the press release that the long-term goal here is to make games accessible to all players, a goal that can only be achieved if the industry work together to drive significant change. :
“We hope that developers make the most of these patents and encourage those who have the resources, innovation and creativity to do what we have by making their own commitments that put accessibility first. We welcome collaboration with other people to move forward together in the industry. “
The pledge currently incorporates five existing patents that include some of EEA’s most innovative technologies, one of which is Apex Legends ’excellent ping system. The superb Respawn shooter has received a lot of praise since the launch of this innovative system, which facilitates and facilitates communication and teamwork without the need for headphones or microphones, which gives players with cognitive disabilities the opportunity to become fully involved by providing them with alternative means to interact with teammates.
The ping system has also been praised for its positive effects on game toxicity, reducing the need for players to communicate verbally, thus eliminating a means for troubled players to be abusive.
Three other patents involved in the promise relate to the technology widely used in the FIFA and Madden NFL franchises, innovations that automatically detect and modify colors and contrast in order to improve the visibility of visually impaired players.
With EA, in addition, the open source code for technology that addresses color blindness, brightness, and contrast issues, in addition to including one more patent involving custom sound technology for gamers with hearing problems, the step seems a really positive step forward for the industry with regard to accessibility in the future. Chris Bruzzo added that:
“We are always listening to our players so that we can understand where there are unmet needs that we have to meet. For us it is important that everyone feels welcome in our games and that this level of inclusion has to be rooted in the comments of These technologies exist to help more people around the world experience fantastic games, and we are very proud of the role our community plays in driving innovations that can make a difference. “
What games do you think could benefit from the Ping system? Let us know below.