We've documented 17 accessibility features for Kinect Sports, including Fully Voiced (Or No Speech), Large Subtitles, Large Text, Select Difficulty and Play Without Hearing. Its accessibility is strongest in Reading and Visual but it also has features in Getting Started, Difficulty, Controls and Audio to reduce unintended barriers.
This report is created with input from accessibility experts and the player community to help people find games that have the accessibility features they require. Once you have found potential games on the database, there are excellent specialist accessibility sites that offer in-depth reviews to guide your purchasing decisions.
Our accessibility examiner, Andy Robertson, first checked Kinect Sports (Series) accessibility 3 years ago. It was re-examined by Ben Kendall and updated 3 years ago.
Accessibility Notes
Because it uses the motion camera, you need to stand up and move all your limbs, make hand movements, and sometimes subtle gestures. In some games, such as waterskiing, you move very quickly so need to be able to quickly react to changes in the environment.
There are 4 difficulty levels in each sport, and in each, the opponent becomes more adept at the sport. Each sport also has a practice area where you learn the basics and can practice how to play.
All the dialogue is voiced, some of it by Hollywood star David Tennant, and all the subtitles, along with other text in the game is large and of high contrast. The game in general is bright and each element is easy to distinguish.
Game Details
Release Date: 03/11/2010, updated in 2014
Out Now: Xbox One
Players: 1-4 (4 online)
Genres: Action, Physically Active (Race and Sports)
Accessibility: 17 features
Components: 3D Third-Person
Developer: Rare Ltd (@RareLtd)
Costs: Purchase cost, In-Game Purchases and In-Game Pass
Controls
We've documented 1 accessibility feature for Controls in Kinect Sports which deals with how you control the game, different options for alternative inputs and whether you can remap these settings to suit your needs.
Motion
Games that can be played with different sorts of motion controllers.
Motion Camera: Can use a camera controller like Xbox Kinect or PlayStation Camera. This can offer game control via hand gestures or body movement and position.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Controls
If you want to play Kinect Sports, but it doesn't offer the Controls accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Controls accessibility:
- Golf With Your Friends (5 Controls Features)
- Climber: Sky is the Limit (4 Controls Features)
- Active Arcade (4 Controls Features)
- Everybody's Golf (4 Controls Features)
Difficulty
We've documented 2 accessibility features for Difficulty in Kinect Sports which deal with how you can adjust the challenge of play, and whether this is locked once chosen or can be adjusted as you play.
Difficulty Options
Select Difficulty: Select the level of difficulty from a range of presets. This not only offers a way to adjust the challenge of a game but enables you to do so without dealing with individual criteria.
Adjust After Setting
Adjustable Between Levels: You can adjust the difficulty between levels/rounds. Although you have to restart your checkpoint or level, this enables you to adjust the difficulty after selecting it at the beginning of the game.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Difficulty
If you want to play Kinect Sports, but it doesn't offer the Difficulty accessibility features you require, this similar game extends the Difficulty accessibility:
- Everybody's Golf (3 Difficulty Features)
Getting Started
We've documented 3 accessibility features for Getting Started in Kinect Sports which deal with what support is offered to get started with the game. This includes customising the experience when you first open the game via any onboarding processes it provides as well as tutorials and other assistance when you first start playing.
Assistance Getting Starting
These features aid your play of the game in terms of cognitive load on learning controls, dealing with pressure and coping with the environment and challenges.
Tutorials: There are helpful tutorials and instructions on how to play. Information is provided in a timely manner, with appropriate level of detail.
Practice Area: You can practice freely without opponents or time pressures. This can be a specific practice option, or the ability to play levels with the easiest opponents to improve understanding and skill.
No Jump Scares: No sudden loud noises or popping-up scary visuals that unexpectedly appear without warning, or the option to disable them.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Getting Started
If you want to play Kinect Sports, but it doesn't offer the Getting Started accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Getting Started accessibility:
- Mario Tennis Aces (5 Getting Started Features)
- Turbo Golf Racing (4 Getting Started Features)
- Everybody's Golf (4 Getting Started Features)
- Lonely Mountains Downhill (4 Getting Started Features)
Reading
We've documented 6 accessibility features for Reading in Kinect Sports which deal with how much reading or listening comprehension is required, how well the game provides visual and audible access to the text and whether subtitles and captions are a good fit for purpose.
Reading Level
How much reading is required to play the game's main path or story and how complex the language is. The presence of voiced characters doesn't reduce this requirement, as it's recorded as a separate datapoint.
Simple Minimal Reading: Minimal reading is required. The quantity and complexity of reading are at a level that a primary/elementary student (9-year-old) could understand.
Text Visibility
Large Clear Text: All essential text is large and clear or can be adjusted to be. The general text used throughout the game in menus, instructions and other key information (excluding subtitles that are assessed separately) is at least 1/20 (46 pixels on 1080 screen) the height on landscape screens and at least 1/40 height on portrait screens. We base this on the full line-height, including the space above and below the letters.
High Contrast Text: Text colour contrasts to the background or can be adjusted to be. The text in menus, instructions and other information is presented in high contrast with a solid background.
Subtitles
Large Clear Subtitles: Subtitles are large, clear and of good contrast. They are at least 1/20 (46 pixels on 1080 screen) the height of a landscape screen and at least 1/40 height on portrait screens, or can be adjusted to be. We base this on the full line-height, including the space above and below the letters. Considered separately from the general text of the game, the subtitles are large, clear and of good contrast.
All Speech Subtitled (Or No Speech In Game): All spoken content has subtitles, or there is no speech in the game. This means there is no requirement to hear spoken dialogue or narrative to play the game.
Voice Acted
All Dialogue is Voice Acted (Or No Speech In Game): All of the game dialogue and narrative can be voiced, or there is no speech in the game. This means there is no requirement to read the dialogue and narrative text to play the game.
Navigation
We haven’t documented any accessibility features for Navigation in Kinect Sports which deal with how the game provides guidance and assistance to navigate its worlds. These are only for games that have traversal and exploration in 2D and 3D spaces. The following games are similar to Kinect Sports, and offer accessibility features for Navigation:
- Climber: Sky is the Limit (4 Navigation Features)
- Everybody's Golf (4 Navigation Features)
- Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (2 Navigation Features)
- Active Arcade (1 Navigation Feature)
Visual
We've documented 4 accessibility features for Visual in Kinect Sports which deal with how you can adjust the visuals to suit your needs, and offer additional information if you can't hear the game.
Contrast
Medium Contrast: Game uses generally well contrasting and bright visuals, or has a slider to make this the case.
Interactive Elements
Large Game Elements: Game characters and other elements are large and distinguishable. Enemies and player characters are at least 1/6 of the height of the screen. Or there is a zoom feature to make them larger.
Audio Cues for Visual Events
Audio Cues for Visual Events: Audio is provided to indicate visual events. Game events or progress highlighted by visual icons, effects or animations are also accompanied by audio to signify that progress. This is useful for blind players.
Colour Options
Colour Blind Friendly: Game doesn’t rely on colour or can switch to colour blind friendly mode with double coding or similar way to avoid colour dependance.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Visual
If you want to play Kinect Sports, but it doesn't offer the Visual accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Visual accessibility:
- Active Arcade (6 Visual Features)
- Fruit Ninja (6 Visual Features)
- Lonely Mountains Downhill (5 Visual Features)
Audio
We've documented 1 accessibility feature for Audio in Kinect Sports which deals with how you can adjust the audio of the game and whether audio cues compensate for aspects of the game that are hard to see.
Play Without Hearing
Play Without Hearing: No audio cues are necessary to play the game well.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Audio
If you want to play Kinect Sports, but it doesn't offer the Audio accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Audio accessibility:
- Golf With Your Friends (2 Audio Features)
- Everybody's Golf (2 Audio Features)
- Lonely Mountains Downhill (2 Audio Features)
- Fruit Ninja (2 Audio Features)
Communication
We haven’t documented any accessibility features for Communication in Kinect Sports which deal with how you can communicate with other players in the game and what options are available to customise and control this interaction. The following games are similar to Kinect Sports, and offer accessibility features for Communication:
- Mario Tennis Aces (1 Communication Feature)
System Accessibility Settings
In addition to the accessibility features provided in the game, you can also use system-wide accessibility settings:
Xbox One
Xbox One has a system features, the excellent co-pilot share controls mode and adaptive controller support for all games.
Read more about system accessibility settings.
Accessibility Report supported by VSC Rating Board, PlayabilityInitiative and accessibility contributors Andy Robertson and Ben Kendall