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Esports organisation lobbies for disability gaming tournaments

Xbox Adaptive Controller User

The British Esports Association (BEA) is lobbying for gaming tournaments organised specifically for gamers with disabilities.

The organisation is lobbying after the Association of College’ FIFA Cup, which took place in March. The competition involves colleges across the UK competing in FIFA, a football video game produced by EA Sports.

Several disabled gamers competed for the first time this year. Which is why the BEA has called for more accessibility in esports and competitive gaming.

The original report, by the BBC, discussed how disabled gamers like Dan and Christopher were able to compete against other players. Although Dan didn’t win, he said taking part in the competition “meant a lot”.

FIFA 21
FIFA 21. Credit: Stacey Henley / EA Sports

Given the choice, Daniel added that he would prefer to play against other disabled gamers: “Being able to play real opponents is really hard because I play the game in a different way to them. I would like to be able to play against people who use the same technology as me so that it is fairer.”

The organisation is calling on some of the gaming’s biggest names to make disabled esports a reality.

Speaking with the BBC, Tom Dore from the BEA said: “We’re intending to speak to Microsoft about the opportunities to get a group of colleges like National Star involved in a pilot competition like this because the impact that they’ve seen is huge.”

Daniel uses an Xbox Adaptive Controller to play FIFA. The controller was designed for players with limited mobility or disabilities.

Xbox Adaptive Controller Credit: Microsoft

Each switch is customisable and mappable. Players with different disabilities are able to bulld a control set up that works for them.

Elsewhere, new research by the universities of Plymouth and Wolverhampton found that there is a strong link between loot boxes and gambling.

The research concluded that loot boxes are “structurally and psychologically akin to gambling.”

The post Esports organisation lobbies for disability gaming tournaments appeared first on NME.


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