Gambling in a retirement home? Yes, please! Microsoft shows successful inclusion with Forza and Flight Simulator

Normally, when I leave the house early in the morning and head to a gaming event, it’s to watch and report on a new game’s presentation. This time, however, the trip took me to Berlin to take part in an Xbox pilot workshop “Gaming in nursing homes”. In my opinion, this is a topical and exciting topic in which I have a great deal of interest for very personal reasons. After all, I also belong to the so-called silver gamers, the demographically growing group of 50 to 69-year-olds who are spending more and more time playing games on smartphones, tablets, PCs or consoles.

Giving up your own household and your usual lifestyle still seems a long way off, but the possibility that future physical or mental disabilities could make it necessary to move to a care facility at some point can unfortunately not be ruled out forever. And then I would wish that, in addition to classic activities such as painting or handicrafts, gaming on the PC or console would also be part of the social offerings in order to master the challenges of a new phase of life.

Positive effects through regular gambling

Around a dozen supervisors of the traditional St. Elisabeth Stift, located in the middle of Berlin’s Prenzlauer Berg district, have come together for an all-day workshop to benefit from Katrin Schäfer’s practical experience. Before her master’s degree in rehabilitation sciences on the subject of inclusive gaming, she worked in Cologne as a supervisor at the St. Maternus Altenzentrum, where she successfully set up a digital program for the residents. Xbox became aware of the expert’s commitment and dedicated an extensive one to her work at the end of 2019 report () and is now continuing this cooperation in the form of a pilot workshop.

Schäfer responds to common problems in care, such as loneliness or the rapid loss of cognitive and physical abilities, with video games. A manageable setup consisting of a TV, Xbox One, Xbox Adaptive Controller, one-hand joystick and a foot pedal was used, which was installed on a trolley for mobile use. The welcome change from the often dreary everyday life was very well received by the seniors and the program was constantly expanded.

According to Ms. Schäfer, the effects achieved are diverse: maintaining or increasing mental fitness, creating social and emotional bonds through to new friendships, improving concentration and coordination, strengthening self-confidence through a sense of achievement or simply the opportunity to relax for a while without worrying to permit. All findings that were confirmed by the specialists present. At the moment, some privately provided tablets or smartphones are being used, a supervisor tells me in an interview. With simple Tetris variants, for example, in which blocks are stacked without time pressure, significant therapeutic success can be achieved. The general tenor was that being provided with a complete video game setup would be a worthwhile purchase.

Xbox Adaptive Controller: Interface for creative control options

A Tupperware box, two buttons and a bit of cable, that’s all it takes to create an individual controller that makes gaming easier for people with severe physical disabilities. The employees of Caritas in Cologne have shown some creativity and turned not only lunch boxes, but also bicycle handles and other everyday objects into control options that can be easily operated with stiff or weak fingers. The Xbox Adaptive Controller, which was specially developed for gamers with limited mobility, serves as an interface for additional self-made controls.

It’s about making the barriers to entry as low as possible. No complex controls or dizzying array of pushers should prevent people from playing video games, maybe even for the very first time in their lives. The co-pilot mode, in which the controls are divided between two people and allows frustration-free gaming, is also helpful. I was able to observe how two older women, each with an extra-large button, moved a game piece together and carried out various actions, quickly overcoming the initially obvious skepticism about the games.

Racing games especially popular

After the theoretical part, in which Katrin Schäfer discussed the positive aspects of gaming with the support staff on an equal footing, I was already looking forward to the practical part of the workshop. Now the residents were allowed to go to the play stations that were set up, which were equipped with Xbox Series S, different controllers, steering wheels with pedals and a selection of games via the Game Pass. Initially skeptical and reserved, it took a while before the first residents dared to pick up the controller themselves and learn how to use it with support. Once the inhibition threshold was overcome and the first successes were visible on the screen, a dynamic of its own developed. Residents played together, gave each other tips and chatted among themselves about what was happening on the screen.

Forza Horizon 5 and Microsoft’s Flight Simulator were particularly popular, which I didn’t expect. But driving a car or controlling an airplane was a lot of fun for most of them, also because for many, at least in racing games, there is a connection to their past living environment. Once again stepping on the gas and operating a steering wheel brings back good memories. This also applies to other realistic simulations, such as farming simulator or fishing games, which are associated with positive feelings from the past. I spoke to a few ladies and gentlemen and asked for their opinion on a possible gaming offer. The response was honestly positive across the board and one would take advantage of such an offer more often, even if a lady over 90 years old explained to me refreshingly openly that she would rather go eat a piece of cake and not do anything with “something like that”. can.

Xbox has long demonstrated a strong commitment to inclusion and the promotion of accessible gaming, for example through the Accessibility Feature Tags within the store, which allow players to filter the range of games by accessible features. How things will continue with other events of this kind after the pilot workshop in the St. Elisabeth-Stift also depends on the feedback from the supervisors and the specific needs of the facilities.

According to Maxi Gräff, Integrated Marketing Lead Xbox DACH, the aim is to continue the promising project. But Xbox is also always open to new ideas for cooperation with individuals or institutions and offers direct contact Contact (LinkedIn) at. If you are interested in the topic and would like to find out more about the event and the consistently positive feedback from the seniors, I recommend the detailed report including video on Xbox Wire.