PlayStation Employee Designs Custom Controller For Gamer With Cerebral Palsy (9news.com.au)

An anonymous reader writes: A Sony employee created a custom PlayStation controller for a 21-year-old gamer with cerebral palsy. "I honestly got choked up reading the letter..." gamer Peter Byrne told 9News. "Mr Nawabi really cared about my situation and did this on his own time to make my experience better." On his old PlayStation 4 controller, Byrne kept inadvertently pausing the game whenever his left hand hit the touchpad. "It killed me to hear how something you used to enjoy thoroughly was being ruined because of our new controller design," Sony's Alex Nawabi wrote back in a letter, including a new controller with the original touchpad re-rerouted to the back. Nawabi spent 10 hours assembling parts from three different controllers, adding "Since I've torn the controller apart to modify it, the warranty is no longer valid... I'm not sure how long this will last." But Nawabi promised that he's already planning to also build one more replacement controller.

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[alvinrod]

There's another guy who does something similar and has a site where he posts about custom controllers that he's built. It's honestly just interesting from an engineering/design perspective and seeing some of the different solutions that people have come up with to enable all kinds of people to play games.

PC wouldn't have this console "bullshit"

[tepples]

sjw with this PC bullshit.

If it were PC (personal computer), there would be no such "bullshit". Anybody can build a generic USB Human Interface Device and count on the computer to recognize it. The "bullshit" arises from the lockout produced by the requirement of a cryptographic handshake between the console and the controller.

Re:PC wouldn't have this console "bullshit"

[rossz]

Some people must always shit on a good deed for no reason other than than they personally are incapable of performing good deeds. These people are commonly referred to as "assholes".

Re:PC wouldn't have this console "bullshit"

[drinkypoo]

Seriously, what's the point of custom PC gaming devices when +99% of your software strictly expects a 360 controller?

Your software, maybe. My software? Only a very small percentage is gamepad-oriented. Most of it is designed for kb+mouse. Most of the rest is designed for wheel (I only have a Driving Force... still works though) or joystick.

Re:PC wouldn't have this console "bullshit"

[tepples]

If you so desperately want to modify then just buy a PC, you can do whatever you want

And if the particular games you want to play are console-exclusive, tough shit.

Re:PC wouldn't have this console "bullshit"

[dave420]

The bullshit has many faces: You are forgetting when it was possible for anyone to make controllers, the number of fake controllers was quite high, causing people to get ripped off and/or having a poor gaming experience. Both of those negatively impacted the console creators, as people perceived their products to be shoddy (when in fact it was shoddy third party components). It's understandable, but regrettable, that it's come to this.

Fixing the wrong problem

[Anonymous Coward]

The real problem is how the console manufacturers have to keep making new controllers with new protocols every damn time, just so that they can make money from selling new controllers because people can't use their old ones anymore. If I recall correctly, the XBox 360 wireless had protection on it such that you couldn't sell one without Microsoft's approval, and then Microsoft set up things so that they made it exclusive to a small number of companies.

If it was easier to use unapproved 3rd-party controllers, it would be easier to have custom controllers available for the few people who can't use regular controllers.

I have Cerebral Palsy.

[Zombie Ryushu]

I have Cerebral Palsy. Have my entire life. I play Playstation. I sometimes have issues manipulating the controllers in certain ways. So, I'm happy to see this, I have always done better with Genesis style controls, and try and use a Mad Catz Fight Pad whenever possible.

Re: I have Cerebral Palsy.

[140Mandak262Jamuna]

I know slashdot has this policy of never deleting editing said by anyone. But I wonder if it should just delete posts like the parent. Set the threshold like 5 or 10 negative mod points for a post to be deleted entirely and apply it to the parent post by the AC.

Re: I have Cerebral Palsy.

[drinkypoo]

Or you could just ignore it instead of whining. I never would have even seen that comment if I didn't go to check what you were crying about, because moderation mostly works.

Re::Pics

[Slugster]

Yea, like,,,, I don't have a playstation 4, so I'm not familiar with the controls.
But the pictures of the normal controllers look just like the picture in the article and on facebook?...
The article doesn't really explain what got changed very well.

Re:Fire the piece of shit and sue his ass off

[PopeRatzo]

For copyright and patent infringement. I don't fucking care if it's to help some retarded spazz to play games. You're a retarded spazz, leave the games and lick the windows like all retarded spazzes. Mongolovers are so funny when they're not a nuisance to us norms. You love them mongs, you go live in a shit pit in the ground slobbering all over yourselves wailing "wahahahahuhuha" like your braindead pals.

Trump 2016

Since when do 99% of Win32 games need XInput?

[tepples]

Seriously, what's the point of custom PC gaming devices when +99% of your software strictly expects a 360 controller?

True, games in the Windows Store tend to require specifically an XInput controller because Microsoft has deliberately locked down which joystick APIs are available to UWP apps. But for games distributed as Windows desktop apps, such as those distributed through GOG or Steam, where do you get this 99 percent figure?

Re:Since when do 99% of Win32 games need XInput?

[tepples]

He's probably thinking of the surprising number of PC games that have default mappings specifically for the XBox controller.

That and the fact that only Xbox 360 and Xbox One controllers support XInput. If a game uses only XInput, not the classic joystick API, it won't work at all with non-Xbox controllers. Perhaps developers decide to support XInput exclusively even in Windows desktop games because it's quicker and cheaper than trying to include default mappings for all brands of generic HID.

Re:Land down under

[monkeyhybrid]

I'm playing COD, so... You better run, you better take cover.

Counterfeit or just unlicensed?

[tepples]

You are forgetting when it was possible for anyone to make controllers, the number of fake controllers was quite high, causing people to get ripped off and/or having a poor gaming experience.

By "fake" do you mean counterfeit, with falsely applied official logos? Or do you just mean unlicensed controllers with their own brand? I remember the days when unlicensed controllers for the NES, Super NES, Nintendo 64, and Nintendo GameCube were sold. Some sucked; others had build quality very close to that of official controllers. But even the maligned Turbo Touch 360 by Triax is better for gamepad-style games than a virtual gamepad on a phone.

I wonder if your F310 would work on a 360

[tepples]

If a game uses only XInput, not the classic joystick API, it won't work at all with non-Xbox controllers.

BS. I have a Logitech F310 gamepad that has a switch which lets me change between XInput and DirectInput.

If you slide your Logitech F310's mode switch to X and plug it into an Xbox 360 game console, does it work? If not, then the F310 is the only non-Xbox controller I've heard of that works with XInput.