One year later, XBOX's Adaptive Joystick has changed our accessible gaming life for the better — as Microsoft's efforts slow down

Ben Wilson of Windows Central holds a white Xbox Adaptive Joystick close to the camera, featuring a black thumbstick and four round buttons.

A year ago, I spent $30 on the XBOX Adaptive Joystick for my fiancée (who has since become my wife) to help her enjoy PC exclusives that are otherwise too uncomfortable with a traditional keyboard or lacking precision with only a controller. A connective tissue disorder causes hypermobility and pain in her joints, which means 'WASD' controls quickly feel awkward and difficult.

It started with a desire to join her friends in Blizzard's gigantic World of Warcraft MMORPG, and led to frustration with the limitations of its native controller support. Yes, with a standard XBOX controller (or any equivalent), you can run around the digital world of Azeroth and interact with the majority of its functions, but you'll eventually discover its limits.