Good people exist in this world.
It’s easy to fall into the mindset that the world constantly works against us and its myriad of inhabitants sometimes join in on making our lives more difficult. Thankfully, stories like these remind me (and hopefully anyone who reads this) that life isn’t always bad and that wonderful human beings still stand up for doing the right thing.
I recently found an article on Gamespot that absolutely floored me. Tamoor Hussain reported that a man named Peter Byrne contacted Sony after he expressed difficulty using the PlayStation 4‘s DualShock 4 controller. Byrne explained that “When I use the PlayStation 4 controller my game constantly pauses because my left hand hits the touchpad which is frustrating for me.” He decided to request aid from Sony and waited for their response. Suffering from cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder that can appear in infancy or early childhood and can severely affect body movement, muscle coordination, and other physical factors (source: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke), Byrne has an understandably difficult time playing his favorite video games. Unfortunately incurable, many people with cerebral palsy live very normal and productive lives.
Sony employee Alex Nawabi answered Byrne and assured him that Sony would accomplish something. While Nawabi wrote that his assurance was a bit of a “white lie,” he eventually explained that Mr. Byrne’s situation “struck a chord within” and he built the gamer a custom controller that disabled the touchpad and replaced it with a button on the back of the controller, thus enabling Alex the ability to play his video games unhindered.
Stating that this is “the first time I’ve ever done something like this,” Nawabi wants to build Peter a second controller in case the first one breaks, but not until he gets some feedback from Peter first. Both Peter and his family are incredibly touched by Mr. Nawabi’s efforts and praise continues to pour in for the PlayStation retail marketing operator. A humble man, he kindly thanked everyone for their support but pointed to Sony’s R&D department and their efforts to design consoles and controllers with the maximum amount of accessibility for all.
If you would like to read the letter Mr. Nawabi sent to Mr. Byrne, click this link. It’s stories like this and passionate people like Alex Nawabi that make me adore the gaming community. Hats off to you Mr. Nawabi and to everyone who helps make someone’s life a little easier.
Happy gaming!
-Valiant