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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parts from three different controllers, adding "Since I've torn the controller apart to modify it, the warranty is no longer valid...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.
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.
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.
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. 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.