PSN Community Spotlight: How Friendship and PlayStation Helped Me

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PSN Community Spotlight: How Friendship and PlayStation Helped Me

If you’re reading this, then the world has not ended. Hooray! You can celebrate by reading the PSN Community Spotlight. For the unfamiliar, this is where PlayStation gamers tell their unique stories/experiences/thoughts, as submitted to this section in the PlayStation Community Forums. Those that make it all the way to the PlayStation Blog will receive a $50 PlayStation Store voucher via private message on the forums.

PlayStation Community Spotlight:

Last week we asked for your PlayStation stories, and gamer Locke_VI wrote in to tell us about how his friend & PlayStation games helped him through a rough time.

How Friendship and PlayStation Helped Me

This is a story gamers should be familiar with: the light of friendship fighting back against overwhelming darkness.

Back in ’97 I had a very important decision to make – buy a new console from Sony or from their competitor. I had battled depression for most of my life, and video games have always been a great help. I had been playing games on that other company’s consoles since I was a little kid, but I had a good feeling about Sony. Turned out to be a good decision, since PlayStation would soon surpass its competitors and would have so many of the greatest franchises and games on their consoles! I was also saving up to move into my first apartment around this time. I was a poor student, and I didn’t make much money, but eventually I was able to save enough for both goals: I got my PlayStation and moved into my first place!

It felt great being out on my own, responsible for myself and making my own decisions. Sure, the apartment was tiny, and the neighborhood was once featured on an episode of “Cops” but I didn’t care. I was young and naive enough to believe that I was invincible. I still had problems, but being able to play in Crash Bandicoot’s crazy world, or gliding around as Spyro on my PlayStation at the end of a long day made it all worth it. Time flew by. I studied and worked hard, and life was, for the most part, good. I would soon learn that moving into that place would turn out to be one of the biggest mistakes of my life.

They broke in in the middle of the night, while I was asleep. I remember hearing a noise that woke me, and that’s it. I was told later that I was probably awake for some of the beating the robbers gave me, but I don’t remember it. Some of my neighbors were home, but they claimed they didn’t see anything. An unlikely claim, since the thieves had cleaned out my entire apartment. Everything was gone: My clothes, TV, music collection, games… EVERYTHING! A friend found me the morning after the break-in and called 911, but I wasn’t awake for that either. When I woke in the hospital a day later and was told what happened, I was devastated. I had worked my butt off for everything I owned, and now it was all gone.

That event drove me over the edge, and honestly, I was scared. Probably lucky to be alive. But I didn’t feel lucky. I fell into a deep depression. Everything I had worked so hard for was gone, and I didn’t see the point of rebuilding if it could all be taken away so quickly. Along with all of my worldly possessions, the robbers had taken my sense of security and at least some of my sanity that night.

I spent two weeks in the hospital. When I got out, a good friend took me in, away from that place that had cost me everything. She helped me without a second thought, even though I was so depressed I wasn’t interested in helping myself anymore. When I asked her why she was going through so much trouble to help me, she would say “Because it’s what Tifa would do for Cloud!” I didn’t understand this comment, and thought a vague video game joke was a little irritating considering I had lost my treasured PlayStation along with everything else. But maybe it wasn’t a joke; she’s a big Final Fantasy fan.

I kept working and going to school, so that I could get back on my feet and move out of my friend’s place, even though she made it clear that there was no rush. But my heart wasn’t in it. I was just going through the motions so I wouldn’t disappoint her. She was pretty much the only thing I cared about. I wasn’t even playing games anymore, when they were the one thing that used to always cheer me up.

But her friendship was more than enough. She saw through my act, and refused to give up on me. She even convinced me to start gaming again by introducing me to Final Fantasy VII. Experiencing the wondrous and tragic adventures of Cloud, Tifa and company made me realize that I could pick myself up and fight back against the darkness, even when all seems hopeless.

I realized that Cloud and Tifa were fighting for their friends in the same way that my friend was fighting for me, and finally understood her comment about Tifa helping Cloud. When you have a good friend at your side, like I do, there is always hope. That lesson changed my life. The depression that had plagued me for my entire life, and especially at that point, was gone, and it never returned. I’ll always be grateful to my friend for that (And her PlayStation).

I now volunteer in that same neighborhood that I was robbed in. I am no longer afraid of that place. Armed with the knowledge that there are many people who will never give up on each other, I see nothing but a bright future for that neighborhood and for myself.

Thanks for writing in Locke_VI! We want to hear more general stories about the PlayStation brand. Click here to submit your story.

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27 Comments

  • Very deep. Brought tears to my eyes. Great story.

  • Oh wow, those feels.

    Thanks for sharing. It is a saving throw to have such good friends.

  • Great story.

  • Very cool story, probably the most well written one I’ve read so far.

    Getting everything I’ve worked for stolen is one of my biggest fears, and I also struggle with depression. Very inspiring story. :)

  • I greatly appreciate your sharing your struggles with depression and how video gaming has helped a bit, Locke_VI.

    Depression has affected members of my family and I’m happy to read a positive story about this subject.

  • Good story. Nice trophy list!

  • Nice story, it makes me remembered a quote about games that I head a few months ago….

    “I have learn so many things from people that never exist”

    Long live play

    Happy new year to all of you guys

  • Very moving, I almost got teary. Think a lot of us identify with it.

  • Whaaaat Cops is real!!! and sick story man. ;)

  • Thanks for sharing your inspiring story.

  • I’ve had my apartment robbed before. I didn’t get beat up, but I did have a knife held on my throat. Even though my adrenaline was flowing, I was also still half-asleep, so there wasn’t much I could do. I can relate to the anger. The one good thing about it all though is, like you said, “I am no longer afraid of that place.” Once I got robbed, I never worried about it anymore. It’s kinda like losing your virginity, heh. You see everything in a different way after that. It’s no longer an unknown. The fear is gone. You’re just ready to throw down after that. Robbers are just people with their hearts in the wrong place, and I fear no one. I dare anybody to try to violate me like that ever again… they won’t make it.

    Nice story.

  • Wow, nice story, thanks for sharing ! Great read.

  • Robbery at full house? – Stealing Clothes? – No insurance? – No Clarification? – Video Games vs. Depression?

    My sympathies, but this seems to be a parallel world or really just “Cops”! ;)

  • Thanks for the comments and kind words! Happy new year everyone!

  • @ #11 PrimeroIncognito
    I probably did fight back rather than let them take everything I owned, and I nearly died. So you were probably smarter than I was. It was just stuff. Maybe if I had valued people over objects back then, I would’ve been out with a friend and not home.

    @ #13 X-Live-X-AT
    It was a small apartment with just me living there, not a “full house”. I didn’t have renters insurance, it didn’t come with the apartment, and I didn’t think I needed it and probably couldn’t have afforded it anyway. Video games can and do help with depression. They took everything but furniture, food and dishes. And yes, the neighborhood really was on a episode of Cops. I’m sorry you don’t believe me, but I’m not sure how else to clarify.

  • So that’s why you have Cloud as your avatar but you also named your account “Locke”, the treasure hunter.
    You did the right thing, started hunting all your treasure back again. not from those robbers but rebuilding your life and find your new treasures!

  • When is the drop for this week???

  • That is a nice puzzle you have the there. I don’t see anything like this on the PS Blog.

    I think that the robbers made a mistake and thought you were someone else and they wanted to steal your things to make up for something else.

    Why would someone beat a guy up so that he ends up in the hospital ? And steal their stuff ? Most burglars just want to steal your stuff without alot of hassle. Beating up people takes time and they don’t have much of that if they are trying to get away from the police. They also could have just knocked you out beforehand and then stole everything. They might have also just beat you up and stole a couple of your shiny objects ( aka electronics/money ). The robbers tried to do it all beat you up and steal everything you own. That is very time consuming task.

    The fact that your neighbors did not see anything also adds quite a bit of mystery. There is no way they don’t know what was happening.

    I feel that you were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

    And of course this is just a theory. I could be that I watch too many episodes of Monk and House.

  • Cool story… Now can we get a SOCOM HD Collection? With multi-player? Thanks in advance -SOCOMnation

  • Very inspiring story.

    I’m sure Sony with Playstation make our life better.

  • yeah what i wanted know is when they are going to put the update for the week on the ps network but so far i have seen nothing but bs and nothing about the updates for this week

  • Its my first time reading one of these stories and im glad I read it. This story made me cry a little i mean i know how it feels but my story has a different twist …..i dont mean to steal the the spotlight. Ever since i was 18 ive been struggling to get my life together im turning 23 in February and my life seems to be getting better but at the same time it hasn’t. I have been living with depression for 5 years now and let me tell you like some of you know its not fun you have your good days and you have your bad. Reading this story makes me feel that if he can fight through the depression why can’t I. I want to be happy again not just for a couple of hours of the day but all the time. Ive been building my life up little by little and having my PS3 helps me along the way because it seems no matter how depressed i am im also happy when im on my PS3. I wasn’t always depressed i got this way because i was an escape goat for a crime i didn’t do and was put on probation for 3 yrs but Sony u were there to help

  • So thank you Sony for helping me through my good times and bad!

  • [Troll mode on[]Last sale preview is today?[Troll mode off]

    Happy holidays!

  • Man, rough story. Argh, didn’t want to get choked up over it but who here was actually able to stop that from happening anywayz.?!? Thanks for sharing. Gives a lot of hope for humanity to know that people helping people/friends are out there being golden. ^_^

  • You didn’t marry that chick? geez… sounds like a good ingredient for a soul mate. Glad you made it being beaten up for your stuff is a rough blow I’m familiar with it (got beat up and a broken nose at a bus stop for no other reason than gang initiation and for whatever was in my pockets, psp, phone.) Glad you made it through the bull.

  • Such a great story

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