Video Game Accessibility: A Legal Approach

Authors

  • George Powers TIRR Memorial Hermann
  • Vinh Nguyen Southwest ADA Center at ILRU TIRR Memorial Hermann
  • Lex Frieden ILRU at TIRR Memorial Hermann

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18061/dsq.v35i1.4513

Keywords:

Accessibility standards, video games, technology, Americans with Disabilities Act.

Abstract

Video game accessibility may not seem of significance to some, and it may sound trivial to anyone who does not play video games. This assumption is false. With the digitalization of our culture, video games are an ever increasing part of our life. They contribute to peer to peer interactions, education, music and the arts. A video game can be created by hundreds of musicians and artists, and they can have production budgets that exceed modern blockbuster films. Inaccessible video games are analogous to movie theaters without closed captioning or accessible facilities. The movement to have accessible video games is small, unorganized and misdirected. Just like the other battles to make society accessible were accomplished through legislation and law, the battle for video game accessibility must be focused toward the law and not the market.

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Published

2015-02-12

How to Cite

Powers, G., Nguyen, V., & Frieden, L. (2015). Video Game Accessibility: A Legal Approach. Disability Studies Quarterly, 35(1). https://doi.org/10.18061/dsq.v35i1.4513