This is very nice!

My disabled uncle used to play video games, too. He owned a Sega Mega Drive with lots of excellent games and since we all lived in the same house it was easy to just come together and play on "the Sega", as he used too call it. He got Parkinson when he turned three years old so his hands were always shaking heavily, mixed with a mental issue that made him stay on the level of a 9 year old kid even after becoming fully adult. It was so funny how he played Super Hang-On and leaned left and right with his entire body in every turn because he insisted that this was the proper way to play this. And how upset he was when he watched me and my brothers lose a life in Sonic, like he was really feeling sorry for us. Or how he cheerfully celebrated when we managed to finish a stage. I miss him.

I want to congratulate Microsoft for allowing the disabled to have some fun, too. Very good job.

You pretty much answered yourself. :P Likely not enough profit in the old environment to make it feasible.

At the end of the day though, it's better to be late than never.
Kinect was okay for some people with disabilities.

I probably should give to charity more often. - But they are usually religiously motivated, which kills my motivation to support them.

I think at the end of the day though, Microsoft should be praised for kickstarting things... Because the other gaming peripheral manufacturers haven't exactly been supporting those with disabilities.

If it helps their image, then kudos to them... The real winners in all of this isn't Microsoft... Isn't even us. It's those with disabilities.

I come from a disability/aged carer background, so this isn't new ground for me... Companies do it all the time.
But you take it for what it is and take any benefits you can get.

I had a client once that was addicted to my SNES, he could only use his left hand... Consequently, there was a game on the SNES that was perfectly suited to him, Lufia 2. - You could play the entire game with just your left hand. Was fantastic.

Hopefully there is more to come in Microsoft/Sony/Nintendo catering for those with disabilities, because at the end of the day, it's a good thing, PR move or not.

In response to part of your post pretty much what I was saying. However unlike you I'll not hold it against them the fact they didn't give this push years ago. To me that's just looking for a reason to be negative on them. MS are one of the industry leaders in helping disabled gamers in a market that likely isn't very profitable if at all so why the hell do they not get full credit with no strings attached? 

We could take that thought process about any company in the world, pick something they didn't use 10 years ago and they hold it against them I strongly disagree. 

Why does it kill your motivation?. Going by your later logic, surely it wouldn't matter and be a good thing right?. I'm not a fan of religion myself, but a few of my friends are religious and I support them for their choices either way (just as long as they don't try to convert me).

Kickstarting, I dunno, I'm sure throughout history has at least designed a controller for the slightly disabled.

Edit: after some checking, it seems there have been gamepads and mods made for the disabled over the years: https://www.ranker.com/list/video-game-controllers-for-people-with-disabilities/nathan-gibson So this isn't exactly a first ever thing to be done before. Likely the first ever Superbowl ad for something like this, but we shouldn't put the ad above the act itself, an act already done before by others out there.

Of course it'll help their image, I wasn't expecting it to backfire or damage their image.

I to come from a similar background (two residential homes, owned in the past by my folks). I'm aware it's nothing new, but that doesn't mean it's alright for any company to make prime use of the disabled, like an upcoming president campaigner does when using someone's baby for PR.

End of the day it's great that the disabled get more going for them. I just wish these companies displayed this level of caring a decade or two ago, because to me it doesn't feel genuine, it feels like using them, and no one likes the disabled being taken advantage of PR or not. 

Knowing you kero, you'd take any chance you can take  

Really there wasn't much to add to the post, other than wanting to take a shot. 

I strongly disagree with your logic either way at the end of the day. People can and have been proven to abusing PR gains, like it or not. 

⚠️ WARNED: (Flaming/Trolling... here and here) ~ CGI

I also cringe when it looks like someone or a group are being used, but in this case, I have to look at it from a genuine perspective at present. When your a company like XB within MS, spoiled and safe, and you've had nothing but success and growth, sometimes it takes a hard kick in the nuts from the market/competition to start to understand what it's like to be on the short end of the stick. That negative event will hopefully open your eyes to the bigger picture. PS themselves got a taste of this during the PS3 era, and it led to them making console gaming great again overall, but they didn't seem to take the same kind of hit that XB1 has, which is why we see the many positive changes going on within the XB ecosystem.

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/playstation-4-accessibility-update_n_6842544?ec_carp=3347347424851652991

When articles like the one above start to show up, it's the perfect time for a brand who's in need of a wake up call, like XB was, to take notice and up their game. If they do, and they follow through, then you have to give them props for 'seeing the light' and taking action. The other thing to take into account, is that when a brand is on fire, stories about programs like this tend to get overshadowed quite easily, even if they are going on behind the scenes and are trying to get coverage. People tend to be less inclined to focus on charity when things are going way to good. Luckily the world typically does a good job of knocking people or groups down a peg to keep them honest and giving, even the 'evil' mega corporations.

That's a great ad, and (positively) surprising that that's their ad for the super bowl. Nice.

edit: anybody trying to spin this to a negative, shame on you. 

Not going to work here.

I feel that people aren't questioning the device or it's role in helping people but are pointing out that MS putting this on Superbowl isn't based on just altruism alone, it also gives MS good PR, now while people pointing this out are most likely doing so to try to show that Companies aren't altruistic Saints , it is something that once mentioned doesn't need to  be pushed any further, since the greatest benefit is likely to be found in increasing awareness for people with disabilities to a global audience. and that trumps them all.

Honestly it is a great advertisement, also makes me take for granted how easy I have it and had it.