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Visually impaired gamer sues Sony Online

By Brendan Sinclair, GameSpotPosted Nov 6, 2009 3:48 pm PT

Refusal to implement or facilitate changes to make online games more accessible violates Americans with Disabilities Act, suit claims.

It's not uncommon for blind gamers to feel invisible in addition to visually impaired. For instance, when gamer Brandon Cole wrote THQ a letter suggesting changes to make its Smackdown series of WWE wrestling games more accessible to the blind, he received a form letter back thanking him for his appreciation of the game's graphics.

It doesn't help the visually impaired that some of EverQuest II's characters are actually invisible.

But now, one visually impaired gamer has gone beyond simply requesting accessibility features and is demanding them by way of a lawsuit. 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. 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.

The Americans with Disabilities Act states that, "No individual shall be discriminated against on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of any place of public accommodation by any person who owns, leases (or leases to), or operates a place of public accommodation."

According to the suit, Sony ignored repeated requests through postal mail and e-mail to come up with reasonable modifications to its games to make them more accessible. The suit, which doesn't mention SOE games by name but appears to focus on massively multiplayer online titles, requests the addition of visual cues to point gamers to their destinations for gamers with "disability impaired visual processing."

The suit also specifies the ways in which other companies have made their games accessible. For instance, Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft allows the use of third-party mods in its game, which has led to the creation of several programs to include accessibility aids in the game. The suit also mentions Pin Interactive's action adventure PC game Terraformers, saying high-contrast 3D graphics modes, an audio compass, and voice-over detailing items collected in the game all serve to make the game more accessible.

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.

"Sony has constructed the products in a way that is inaccessible to plaintiff; maintains the products in this inaccessible form; and has failed to take any action whatsoever to correct these barriers even after being repeatedly notified of the discrimination that such barriers cause," according to the suit.

Representatives with Sony and Sony Online Entertainment said they don't comment on pending litigation.

1247 Comments

  • Smugz

    Posted Nov 28, 2009 2:35 am PT

    Hey Fery106, just so you know, they DO cater to deaf people. You ever heard of subtitles?

  • Smugz

    Posted Nov 28, 2009 2:26 am PT

    Alright, I've read some of your comments and you've mae a good point. This is somewhat ridiculous... at the same time though.. some of you guy's comments were a bit rude. I'm legally blind and have friends who are fully blind and we all play video games such as Soul Calibur, Tekken, GTA, and a few others. I know sometimes it's hard to do things like voice overs and I know everything can't be done, but seriously... would it KILL a company to have an option for slightly larger font? And for voice overs, for the audio game, real people rarely do it, it's just a text to speach thing doing it. We don't need the voice to sound super good, we just need it to say stuff... oh and also... you may not know this, but blind people can understand EXTREMELY fast talking.. I'm talking about nearly 300 words per minute. So a phrase "turn left" takes a fraction of a second to say.

    Maybe we can't play EVERY game, but SOME of them would be nice if they at leat had slightly larger font or something. It's really nice how they have 3D sound and reverb in the games now. There are even some games where you can tell where walls are because of how the sound echos of them (portal is one). So it's not as far fetched as you think... so please, before you come and make your wise cracking joke about how it's a VIDEO game or how physically impared people can get over it, keep in mind that fully ablebodied people are not the only ones taht visit this site.

  • Reyveign

    Posted Nov 24, 2009 4:27 am PT

    It sounds like he made an "oopsie" in-game and found something to blame it on. Is his lawyer a family member or some junk? Probably gave him the idea. And really, if there's other games that HAVE accessibility options, he should play THOSE instead. Rather than trying to make people look bad by pointing fingers.

    Big whoop... get over it, jeeze.

  • divinelegend

    Posted Nov 23, 2009 7:51 pm PT

    God this country is a lawsuit happy place... i mean i live here too but for the love that is gaming this crap rly needs to stop... heck i should sue a few companies for making crappy games and/or hardware but i dont... no point to it.

  • hivboy

    Posted Nov 21, 2009 6:48 pm PT

    i'm sorry, but i don't understand how the f*ck a blind person can play a video game without seeing it...

  • thedemon44

    Posted Nov 18, 2009 11:14 am PT

    Erm... good luck? I think?

  • Muteki_X

    Posted Nov 17, 2009 5:53 am PT

    @Crabs4sale

    LOL. Awesome point. I completely agree with you on that one!

    Battletoads rocks!

  • Crabs4sale

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 7:04 pm PT

    @muteki_X
    I LIEK CHOCOLATE MILK

  • Jynxy425

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 12:18 pm PT

    Find a new hobby, try listening to music.

  • playstation_dad

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 11:12 am PT

    what abouts if i have no hands in 2 years, they best start thinking of games that channel into my thoughts and no what i want to do.
    Im all for equal rights but this is clearly just to make money. Does he want a voice telling him everything in the game, Imagine being online in cod..... "STEP FORWARD, OOPS YOU HAVE BEEN SHOT, YOU HAVE RESPAWNED, OOPS YOU HAVE BEEN SHOT, YOU HAVE RESPAWNED........." Im all for making it fair but sometimes it cant be done...

  • fozzyfozborne

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 10:47 am PT

    Waah I can't participate on eBay and it's costing me money!!! WAAH let's sue eBay for my impairment..

  • necronaux

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 10:02 am PT

    And what about the people that are too stupid to play? Make games that play themselves or they'll sue?

  • iBuSHiDo

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 9:41 am PT

    Actually, I'm in the middle of putting together a lawsuit against Tom Savini for his work on the original Dawn of the Dead. I really love movies that involve zombies and shopping malls, but all that gore makes me throw up cuz I don't have a strong stomach. All that acid from the vomit burns my throat and is ruining my chances of starting a singing career which could potentially earn me millions. I think they're discriminating against people with weak stomachs and I'm going to demand that they remake the entire movie, but maybe instead of impaling and dismembering zombies they could just make fun of their bad skin and messy hair and shame them into leaving the mall.

  • iBuSHiDo

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 9:28 am PT

    They are called VIDEO games. Without the video part, what exactly are you doing? Would you consider it some kind of interactive audio adventure? Then maybe instead of suing Sony, you could just get a lot of other people in your situation to try to get some type of company to make interactive audio adventures.

    It's one thing for a blind person to complain that they couldn't find the bathroom at the mall because there was no sign with braille in front of it. I'm pretty sure blind people have bladders. It's another thing for a blind person to demand that something blind people CAN'T do be changed so they can pretend they're doing it too.

  • bibbo

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 9:23 am PT

    I'm sorry the guy's blind, but you can't be everything to everybody

  • brendanhunt1

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 7:59 am PT

    only in america

  • MajorGamer531

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 7:42 am PT

    His complaints are about wwe smackdown, and he is suing Sony and Sony Online entertainment. PURE GREED case. "Pretend to be upset about this game and instead of talking to the game company, lets attack Sony!" This case is pure greed. It is ludicrous as pointed out by many. The kid and his family should pay damages for wasting the court's, Sony's, and concerned gamers' time.

  • phillipdudeman

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 7:40 am PT

    maybe he should sue the car companies because they didnt accommodate him

  • Xaviersx

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 3:38 am PT

    There is a business opportunity to tailor games to accommodate an audience that has a level of visual impairment - e.g. larger text, audio cues, high contrast modes depending on the game (but does that mean the same game tweaked-edition sold to that audience with the costs of development solely on them or spread out to the whole consumer base?) A hard sell to those not impaired.

    As for other industries, were approaching the age where some of the visual tasks of per say driving can be taken over by the car, planes already auto pilot most of the trip and some the take off/landings, so maybe one day a visually impaired/blind person could 'drive' to locations minus a chauffeur and be behind the wheel because of addressing a need/want in the design process - even if not intended for that purpose.

    Lawsuits can be inane and purely a money grab. There are countries where if you file a suit and lose, you pay the court/defendant costs. It's to discourage frivolous suits, and I'd add on that the lawyers should pay too to discourage ambulance chasers. Of course, we'd have to speak up and do something to get the laws balanced, and since we keep electing businessmen to political offices, the law doesn't change much.

  • Briareos43

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 1:27 am PT

    America we are getting Sue crazy.

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