PlayStation needs no introduction; it is a company that has made its way to becoming one of the best video game brands. They have many notable titles and consoles. However, for a brand as big as that, constant updates and quality of life changes enhance their relationship with the consumers.
Now we are familiar with many things they have done over time, but did you know about the purpose of Mono Audio? A lot of us don’t know that option exists, and that’s because we enjoy our 3D Audio experience. However, the Mono Audio accessibility offers a better experience to partially-deaf people.
It’s simple if you think about it, you get the audio cues from both left and right sides, but since partially-deaf people only hear it from one side, they can enjoy the game. Usually, that same person would have to stand at weird angles in the game to get cues from another direction.
You don’t want to stand by a certain wall to hear some footsteps while an enemy is approaching right? That makes the gameplay hard since you don’t know when to do such a thing unless you have died many times in the given scenario. So how exactly has Mono Audio helped people?
Mono Audio as an Accessibility Option
The mono audio feature was added four months ago, and as it did not receive many highlights, and not many people know it exists. Moreover, it wasn’t advertised as an “accessibility” for a particular group of people. The feature is mainly seen as an unnecessary option because, let’s face it, 3D Audio brings a better gameplay experience.
However, 3D Audio fails for some gamers. Imagine yourself as partially deaf and playing an RPG or FPS game; you get attacked from your left side, but your left ear is deaf, so you don’t know you are in danger until someone damages you.
Even for people with perfectly fine ears, you sometimes want to have awareness both in-game and in real life. Would you lower the voice or take off one side of the headphones? Either way, both options would impact your gameplay. But with Mono Audio, you can have minor setbacks but still enjoy the game.
Is Mono Audio Necessary?
That question is best asked by people who use this feature. Surprisingly, many people have complained in the past about having these setbacks and asking for an option similar to Mono Audio.
Mono Sound from PS5
Back then, the feature only existed as an idea, but now, such people can make good use of this feature.
It also argues that if PlayStation is aware of such issues, are they ignoring some other desired features the community is asking for? It is also possible that Mono Audio was a fluke because it was not advertised as a prominent accessibility feature.
As we dig deeper, the more complicated it becomes. PlayStation has received great reception for the console, so it is only a matter of time before other such options are added to the console. Don’t forget it took them a long time to make PlayStation 5 support 1440p.
How to Turn on Mono Audio
Mono Audio allows you to play with the same sound from both the headphones’ left and right sides. If you want to turn on the feature, do as follows:
Open -> Settings > Sound > Audio Output.
Select -> Headphones > Mono Audio for Headphones.
Alas! Now you can enjoy the game with this feature, and if this feature has been beneficial to you or someone you know, you can let other similar accessibility options get recognized so they can be added as well.
That’s all for today. If you have any questions or suggestions on what PlayStation can do to improve some aspects of their consoles, let us know below, and we will get back to you.
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