SOE sued by visually impaired gamer
polycounter lvl 18
http://www.gamespot.com/news/6239339.html
"Beyond the denial of entertainment, the suit also contends that Sony's actions have caused visually impaired gamers a financial loss. Because Sony runs an official auction site where gamers can sell their in-game items for real money, the suit says Stern's inability to participate in that marketplace is costing him money."
Oh wow, really? Nice.
"Beyond the denial of entertainment, the suit also contends that Sony's actions have caused visually impaired gamers a financial loss. Because Sony runs an official auction site where gamers can sell their in-game items for real money, the suit says Stern's inability to participate in that marketplace is costing him money."
Oh wow, really? Nice.
Replies
One of these as a screen?
this is ridiculous... hopefully nonsense like this will get dismissed in court.
you don't see me running around and filing suit against dreamworks and the rest for making 3D movies I can't watch in full 3D since i'm visually imparied.. i don't even have one of those handicap tags (even though i could easily obtain one)... people like this should get there testicles removed by a vise because they don't deserve to wear them... *sigh* another drain on the economy and the public image of the good old american culture... i think i'll write him a thank you letter.
I dont tend to agree that sueing everyone for everything works or should be common practice but in this case if they have just ignored him then i can understand how frustrating it must be not to be taken seriously.
No doubt some people will strongly disagree but i dont think its as clear cut as some people are making out.
I really hope more companies make products usable by disabled people, but insisting that EVERY product must work well for EVERY human being is nonsense.
Seriously though, how does a blind person play an MMO? Do they just constantly run into walls?
Strongly disagree.
Spending a hundred thousand dollars of production costs on a feature that will be used by less than 5 people sounds like a tremendous waste of money.
I'm not a business man, nor am I a programmer that can properly scope the development time needed to implement such a feature. But I'm pretty sure it's neither cheap nor free to do.
Personally I think designers need to think about color blindness as it effects more people who would actually play. I think some do or at least the on the ball QA departments flag certain things based on common color blind colors.
I see this leading to a mandatory physical ability and coordination chart being added to boxes. A lot like the "caution hot coffee" label on "hot coffee".
In a twist of irony they won't mandate the font size...
Watch out Nintendo, I hear the sound of motorized wheel chairs rolling your way.
I should clarify, im not suggesting games companies should be forced to create games with disabled people in mind as ultimately it could prevent smaller companies from competing. However, it would be nice to see how the industry would handle such a genre.
Slightly off topic because its more ethics related but we shouldn't just cast people aside because it costs too much to incorporate them with the "mainstream".
I know quite a few people that are at SOE or have worked there that I have nothing but respect for and are good friends of mine, but there's a lot of BS at that company too. This is karma.
haha.
yes...
Anyways, this is complete garbage. Why doesn't he just go play WoW if it has a feature that caters to him? 'Shit, I know there's a ramp right over there and I'm in a wheelchair, but I'm going to go up these stairs, god damn it!' Seems a bit much.
I know this makes me sound like a total asshole, but man, I think you 'should' cast aside some people because it would cost too much to include them. It really REALLY sucks that this guy can't see or has bad sight...but if you spend money to make a feature just for that minority, then you should have to pay to have the technology to have ALL voice activated commands for people with no arms, Deaf people would need an on screen indicator to let them know when someone is sneaking up on them in CoD...I have bad knees, so the Wii balance board should come with braces...
someone enlighten, please
Write these ethics in your business plan.
Bring it forth to a publisher (with the valid numbers from a reputable source) of target audience, and man hours spent on developing that feature, and what that financial gains will be due to the enlarged target base.
Lets see if our bottom line driven industry, has an ethical softspot for these frivolous types of expenditures.
I mean, really?
I know it's a different game :P.. but case in point
and for the sake of balance:
http://www.physics.uc.edu/~pinskie/SoH/EQ2_000441.jpg
awww snap!
Serious though, this should be something that the industry looks at down the road. Valve has all ready accommodated for their deft audience and that's fantastic.
But making video games assessable to the blind? that to me seems like a whole different venture in itself.
badum-CHING
ummm? what? everquest, ever quest 2, galaxies.vangaurd is still going. DC universe.
just cause they dont have all the advertising that blizzard has, and the same number of subscribers doesnt make them a one hit wonder.
but yes, visually impaired doesnt mean they cant see at all. most people that are classified as visually impaired still have some ability to see. just, darker, or blurred shapes, that sorda thing.
This is kind of asshole'ish sir.
Give credit where credit is due, John Smedley and Brad McQuaid created the modern MMO industry, period.
WoW would not exist without them.
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My opinion on the visual impairment and its connection to games, is spend money on perfecting eye transplants, not only for those who become blind midlife, but those born blind.
Don't waste money on games, entertainment and media that only benefit someone with a disability.