PlayStation is introducing brand new accessibility tags to PlayStation Store listings this week.
As announced yesterday on April 3 on the PlayStation Blog, the PSN Store is having a bit of a revamp with an eye to accessibility. At some point later this week, we'll see over 50 brand new tags introduced for both PS5 and PS4 games on the storefront to better describe a title's accessibility options.
For example, there'll be a new 'Visual' tag, where developers can note things like "clear text, large text, color alternatives, audio cues and directional audio indicators" for their game. Another category like 'Audio' will feature "volume controls, mono audio, screen reader and visual cue alternatives" tags.
There's also a 'Control' tag, which denotes "button remapping, thumbstick sensitivity, and ability to play without button holds, rapid button presses or motion control." A tag like 'Online' will reveal any "text or voice chat transcription and ping communication" options within the games themselves.
This is just a tiny sampling of more than 50 tags that'll be available for developers to utilize and better communicate features to potential customers with. The new accessibility tags might work for both PS5 and PS4 games, but they'll only be available on PS5 consoles.
At launch this week, the games using these tags in the storefront include Death Stranding Director's Cut, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Returnal, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, God of War Ragnarok, and Gran Turismo 7. PlayStation notes that more developers will pick up the tags "in the coming weeks and months."
This is a big gain for accessibility on PlayStation, as it allows potential customers to properly look into a game's accessibility features before they put down their hard-earned money for it. While it's a shame that the accessibility tags won't be available for the millions of PS4 players out there, it's still a win for PS5 players.
Check out our upcoming PS5 games guide for a look at what lies ahead for the new-gen console.
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