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PlayStation Employee Proves Customer Service is Not Dead.

Gordon-Turner 20 Comments

Sony Employee Shows Excellence in Customer Service.

A heart warming story about present day customer service happens about as often as a snowball surviving a supernova; so this should make you smile.

I found this story over at Gamespot .

A PlayStation fan, Peter Byrne, who suffers from Cerebral Palsy wrote to Sony to complain about the Dual Shock 4 controler design. He explained that gameplay was being ruined because every time his left hand brushed the touchpad on the controller, it paused their game.  You can read the story in this gamer's own words in this Facebook post .

Well, that message seomehow arrived with Alex Nawabi who works in PlayStation Retail Marketing.   Alex decided that he needed to do something, so he replied to Peter and told him he was working on a solution for him.  Then he personally broke down several DS4 controllers to constuct a custom controller for Peter.  This custom controller disables the touchpad and replaces it with a button on the back of the controller.  This was the first time he'd attempted any project of this sort, but he went ahead, and sent the modified DS4 controler to Peter.

Alex attached a message indicating that he wasn't sure how long the controller would last since it was custom rebuilt, and obviously out of warranty.  He also said that he was working on a second one, just in case the first one broke.  Alex says in his message;

"The Email you sent definitely struck a chord within… It killed me to hear how something you used to enjoy thoroughly was being ruined because of our new controller design."

Peter says, "I honestly got choked up reading the letter as I did not expect anything like this to happen,".

PS4 has many accessibility settings now, including the ability to remak buttons.  Gamers with special needs can disable, or remap certain functions to make things work better for them.

This story ought to be reprinted and pinned to the cube wall of every Sony customer relations agent.

Thank you Mr Alex Nawabi, you went far above and beyond to help a gamer in need, and showed what excellent customer service is.  Need is most certainly the mother of invention.

Related Game(s): PlayStation 4

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Is The DualShock 4 The Greatest Game Controller Ever?

Ben-Dutka 48 Comments

For me, the original PlayStation controller had the distinction of being the first gamepad since the SNES and Genesis days that I didn't absolutely hate.

It just seemed like a logical progression from the great older controllers; it was a little bigger, it had more buttons, and it was streamlined and light. Now, the addition of the rumble in the PS2 era did nothing for me and I didn't like the retooling of the triggers in the PS3 generation, but the controller has remained fundamentally the same.

The point is, can we look at the current iteration, the DualShock 4, and say it's the greatest gamepad ever? It's longer and I think it's more comfortable than any of the previous controllers, and the button layout and triggers is just about perfect, as it has almost always been. I thought I'd really despise the touchscreen because it's a wildly unreliable tech fad that is about 1/100th as precise as pressing a button. But most developers don't try to abuse it and don't force you to do stupid things with it. In many cases, you either just swipe across or it's used as another button.

I have liked the Xbox controllers after they went away from the massive pad the original Xbox launched with, but PlayStation is still the easy winner for me. But is the PS4's controller really the best in history…?

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Release Dates For Dual Shock 4s With Attractive Colors

Ben-Dutka 18 Comments

When will you be able to upgrade from your boring black PlayStation 4 controller?

Amazon has just updated the release dates for three new Dual Shock 4 colors, as reported by Game Idealist . Pick your favorite!

If you really want to spruce up your entertainment center, pre-order your chosen color at Amazon now: The Wave Blue gamepad is set to launch in just a few weeks time on August 19, Glacier White is coming on September 9 (to coincide with the launch of the Glacier White PlayStation 4 system that ships with Destiny ), and the super cool Urban Camouflage will be ready to go on September 30. That might go well with the new military shooter, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare .

Now all we need is for Sony to release more colors for the PS4 console. I'm thinking a deep forest green or a royal blue…

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Dual Shock 4 Now Works With The PS3, Sans The Cable

Ben-Dutka 10 Comments

Wireless is the way to go.

When the PlayStation 4 launched late last year, Sony made the new Dual Shock 4 controller compatible with the PS3 if it was plugged in via USB cable. However, that meant players were limited to the very short charge cable.

Now, thanks to recent firmware update 4.60, the PS4 controller can be used wirelessly with the PS3. If you want to know how it works, check out the detailed information at Reddit . Basically, you just pair the PS4 controller with the PS3 by using the system's Bluetooth capabilities, which is relatively simple. The only downside is that many of the Dual Shock 4's features, including the PlayStation button, vibration and Sixaxis tilt controls don't work.

At the very least, though, you can turn on the PS3 using the Dual Shock 4's PS button, which you couldn't do before. So, plan on using the newer controller to play older games?

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Future PS4 Update Will Let Us Dim The Controller’s Light Bar

Ben-Dutka 26 Comments

Looks like we'll be able to make the Dual Shock 4 last a little longer.

Back in January, a fan asked Sony boss Shuhei Yoshida if we'd eventually be able to turn off the light bar on the PS4 controller, thereby elongating the battery life. At the time, Yoshida simply replied, "No."

But he must've thought about it a bit more, because he confirmed to Geoff Keighley at the Game Developers Conference that in fact, a future firmware update will let you dim the light bar. Keighley first reported that you'd be able to turn it off entirely, but followed up with a correction on his Twitter page . For the record, PS4 firmware update 1.70, which features an HDCP Off option for gameplay capture and a new video editing tool, is coming out soon. But we don't know if that update will let us dim the light bar.

Either way, it's good news. That light bar must drain at least some battery power, and it's ridiculous to have it on all the time.

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Modder Creates Single-Handed Dual Shock 4 For Disabled Gamers

Ben-Dutka 8 Comments

Now this is the kind of modification we can all get behind.

Well-known modder Ben Heck created a single-handed Xbox One controller for disabled gamers; now he's done it for the PlayStation 4 controller.

Heck tore down the standard Dual Shock 4 and reassembled all the controller's left buttons on the right side, so those with a disability can still play with only one hand. If you're wondering how he did it, he'll explain during this week's installment of The Ben Heck Show (teaser below). The single-handed Xbox One controller was donated to the Able Gamers Foundation, which was a darn good idea. However, the modded Dual Shock 4 will be given to an element14 community viewer.

For more on Heck's creations, check out his website .