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Visually Impaired Gamer Sues SOE - SaintVel - 13-12-2009
Last month, disabled gamer Alexander Stern filed suit against Sony, Sony Online Entertainment, and Sony Computer Entertainment America in the United States District Court for the Central District of California requesting accessibility features in game. The suit alleges that Sony is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to implement features to make its games accessible to visually impaired gamers.
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RE: Visually Impaired Gamer Sues SOE - Vesuveus - 14-12-2009
Kind of like Al Capone being convicted of tax evasion. Spitefully, I hope he wins.
RE: Visually Impaired Gamer Sues SOE - Neoteny - 14-12-2009
By his logic he could hypothetically sue lasik for not being able to modify their services to correct his vision.
Granted if they didn't hire him and he was a qualified individual who could work with reasonable accommodations and modifications it'd be a case for a suit, but I don't think he has much of a case for trying to make Sony make their software more accessible to the visually impaired.
Sure, it'd be a nice thing for the visually impaired, but you've got to consider the president that would set, and the potential it could have to bankrupt the video game industry. Just think about all the extra effort, time, and perhaps more importantly, personnel they'd have to use to make sure that their games were accessible to absolutely everyone.
Now, if an independent firm wants to market such accommodations and modifications, maybe there's something there for them.
RE: Visually Impaired Gamer Sues SOE - MajTom - 15-12-2009
Many web sites in the US violate this all a time. There is a law that all pictures should have a text description of what it is so the blind can read it. We see this as a pop up alternative text description. So saying "by his logic" is incorrect it's already a law. You are comparing a medical treatment (which turns down other for lasik based on heath reason) to a web design. Accessibility is taken for granted by those that have it, like when you got to a bathroom at a store or restaurant they have a very large stall with bars for those that need it. It's the LAW! So when games are online I can see why Visually Impaired gamers are mad and for good reason.
More Visually Impaired need to speak up..
RE: Visually Impaired Gamer Sues SOE - Xtank - 15-12-2009
I am going to be very happy if he wins...I say all the MxO people come out in front of SOE and start dancing the happy dance and steal the code structure for the matrix from them
RE: Visually Impaired Gamer Sues SOE - HD_Morpheus - 15-12-2009
(14-12-2009, 06:31 AM)Neoteny Wrote: Sure, it'd be a nice thing for the visually impaired, but you've got to consider the president that would set, and the potential it could have to bankrupt the video game industry. Just think about all the extra effort, time, and perhaps more importantly, personnel they'd have to use to make sure that their games were accessible to absolutely everyone.Î THIS Î
It will be rejected or 90% rejected because if it worked that way, anybody could backtrack till games before msdos and say that it cant be played correctly because it wasnt prepared for visually impaired gamers.
And for the above, i am sure that the law mentioned just applies to the public (refering to goverment->people, official public services,...) sites and not to all the US websites xD. On the other hand, the W3C states that every image must have it. But not anyone obeys what the great W3C asks for.
Just to note, there is no law (that i heard about) that implies to make games with some adaptation for impaired people, so SOE and all the others companies could do their job as always. Really, if normally i dont have the games translated (audio) to my own language, i wont expect the extra job from developpers to make em "ok" for impaired people.
Note that in this point i am neutral, but as this case just appeared few time after the won lawsuit against Sony for banning a guy (cause he couldnt exit his home....).... i am bit suspicious.
RE: Visually Impaired Gamer Sues SOE - Neoteny - 15-12-2009
Exactly. If this were used by the government, or educational software used in the classroom which impeded learning, action would be justified.
But there's no law stating that private industry, releasing software, must make said software accessible to everyone. If this were the case, every program would need to support every language, ever and cater to the needs of every disability in existence, which is exceedingly hard.
RE: Visually Impaired Gamer Sues SOE - MajTom - 15-12-2009
um Malls are private industries as well as restaurants and theme parks..
When I worked at WDW and were remolded parts of Pirates Of The Caribbean
we HAD to tear out the floor in the enter area and adjust the slop for wheel chairs. AD act applies to private industries.
Google is doing stuff already with Youtube...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/techchron/detail?&entry_id=52017
also other Games are starting to do this
Batman: Arkham Asylum
http://www.joystiq.com/2009/11/23/ablegamers-launches-reviews-with-accessibility-in-mind/
this site reviews games for accessibility
http://www.ablegamers.com/reviews
RE: Visually Impaired Gamer Sues SOE - HD_Morpheus - 15-12-2009
That's because you count on the impaired people as clients MajTom, which mostly is not the case for the gaming industry (by any reason).
RE: Visually Impaired Gamer Sues SOE - MajTom - 15-12-2009
WoW and Aion are both accessible in some way
and if you look at MxO with the use of marcos it can be very accessible, but SOE doesnt have that game online anymore.
(15-12-2009, 09:38 PM)Morpheus Wrote: That's because you count on the impaired people as clients MajTom, which mostly is not the case for the gaming industry (by any reason).
No it was a law for construction of new or remolded areas..
Disney does not count on the impaired as clients they just treat them like any other client.
Which is what they want, trust me I have seen my share of people you wish you could do something for but cant...
What would be interesting is if SOE told them "no"