Well I am coming in late on this thread but I agree with Tom here, I applaude this guy for trying to do this, the only way that major companies like Sony are going to pay attention to us at all is if they fear that we will hit them in their pocketbooks. Face it people, the bottom line is all they care about period, they are not developing games out of the goodness of their hearts they are doing it to make money, that is all. We are not a big enough market for them to take us seriously or fear whatever we do or don't do in the least, so unfortunately, and I do mean that when I say it, a lawsuit is almost certainly the only way to get any amount of their attention.
Having said all this, I also agree with Tom that you should pick your fights carefully and be sure you can finish what you start, I am not sure this guy is doing that. Frankly I am surprised he found a lawyer who was willing to take it on unless the lawyer figures that Sony will offer up a nice juicy settlement to shut the guy up. That is the only reason I can think of. IF this thing gets to a jury trial which I doubt I am afraid they are going to be in trouble. Nonetheless I wish them the best of luck because as Tom said very well before, this is probbaly the only way to get these guys to the table in any sort of a serious manner to discuss these issues. The playstation 3 is fairly useable even as it is if you want to do some memorization and work at it, even if we got any concessions at all such as voiced menus and prompts when on the main screens that would be a major victory in my opinion. Tom -----Original Message----- From: gamers-boun...@audyssey.org [mailto:gamers-boun...@audyssey.org] On Behalf Of Thomas Ward Sent: Saturday, November 07, 2009 7:51 AM To: Gamers Discussion list Subject: Re: [Audyssey] Visually impaired gamer sues Sony Online. Hi Yohandy, This is definitely an interesting development. Although, I think it is probably going to be in vain. Too much rides on the fact the case is based on a week legal standpoint to begin with, and to top that off the general public is totally clueless about game accessibility as well. Based on the comments I've read about this article on the site this case is extremely unpopular among the general readership on Gamespot.com. Most of the comments of the readership are way off the mark, and only proves my point they are completely ignorant of game accessibility issues. For one thing one of the comments came out and said, "how can a blind guy play a video game?" The comment went on to state that that is impossible, we can't because we are blind, and ended with the conclusion there is no way Sony could ever make their video games accessible to a blind gamer. The authors entire premise was completely false, based on a lack of credible evidence otherwise, and most of the comments that follows are more of the same sort of misinformed logic. If we assume the general public holds this sort of attitude it is no wonder we have this kind of problem gaining access to games and other forms of multimedia software. One thing that did come from this article is what people really think about us when they don't think we are paying attention to what they say. I found several comments very insulting, misinformed, and out and out lacking concern for our needs or desires. The comments about "we should get a job instead of trying to play video games" was extremely insulting and unsympathetic. It seams the person who said that forgets plenty of sighted gamers are able to happily work a regular nine to five job and come home and play his/her favorite games too. Anyway, getting back to the point, I don't see this case really going anywhere. Sony is a very major player in the video games industry, and I've personally spoken to them on a few ocations about accessibility for the Play Station II and Play Station III. I got the typical "we can't discuss our future plans answer" and of course half the time I got a reply that "we don't take end user suggestions for new game titles." It was as though they didn't even read my e-mails to them, and they just sent out some canned answer they had drafted as an all purpose response. It was very clear to me Sony doesn't care about accessibility in the least, and try to give anyone the brush off if and when they can. I certainly applaud this persons tenacity in taking on Sony in court, but he has very little hope of really winning this one. First, he has to prove that what he seeks is possible, and that may require a programmer's point of view on what can and can't be done. Which most programmers aren't taught any kind of accessibility in college, and most are pretty misinformed on various ways they can improve the accessibility of their software products. Second, he is using the ADA in a way that really doesn't apply to video games. This alone is a major strike against his case. Third, the general public doesn't really care about blind accessibility issues so he is unlikely to get mainstream support for his cause. Let us face it most people are less concerned about accessibility when it is a non-essential issue like video games, something they can take for granted, than if all public buildings are accessible so Grandma Jones can get up to the third floor in her wheelchair or with her walker. Those sorts of issues matter to lots of people, particularly the elderly, where they could care less if a blind person can play a video game. It is pretty harsh, but that is reality. Unless you are blind or know someone who is blind video game accessibility doesn't apply to most people. Even if they did care they would fall back on the "it can't be done anyway" type of uninformed response. --- Gamers mailing list __ Gamers@audyssey.org If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to gamers-unsubscr...@audyssey.org. You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. All messages are archived and can be searched and read at http://www.mail-archive.com/gam...@audyssey.org. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, please send E-mail to gamers-ow...@audyssey.org. --- Gamers mailing list __ Gamers@audyssey.org If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to gamers-unsubscr...@audyssey.org. You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. All messages are archived and can be searched and read at http://www.mail-archive.com/gam...@audyssey.org. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, please send E-mail to gamers-ow...@audyssey.org.
