Last month you may recall we had a special Mother’s Day PSN Community Spotlight. In the chaos that was E3 and the week that followed, I completely forgot to make a shoutout for all those gamer Dads out there for Father’s Day! So this week, check out this story from PSN member JoeTheBeast16. Read on to see how PlayStation plays a big part in his family’s life.

PlayStation, A Valued Member of My Family

I’ve been a gamer ever since the first time I picked up a controller but in the past few years, gaming has become a valuable part of my family life.

To start, I’ll give a little bit of background. I’m 20 years old, and a stay at home dad. In October of 2008, I met a wonderful girl, and fell in love rather quickly. She didn’t like videogames at all when she met me, but when I convinced her to play some multiplayer in Haze with me, she fell in love with it, playing everything from Far Cry 2 to Army of Two, as well as Call Of Duty (what can I say, she loves shooting stuff).

With the help of PlayStation, we bonded and grew together over the first year of our relationship, and then in December of 2009 we welcomed our daughter into the world. From helping her pass the time while she was recovering from giving birth, to giving us something we could do quietly while our daughter was napping, PlayStation served as an important comfort for us while we adapted to our new lives. I started working when our daughter was 3 months old, and for over a year she stayed at home, taking care of our daughter and taking care of the house while I was working, not to mention playing MAG, COD, and Battlefield, when she had time. We’d play a few matches together when I got home from work, and then we’d go to bed. This continued until she grew a little stir-crazy, so we decided to switch things up a bit; she got a job and I quit mine. Now she works during the day, and games with me at night. So I became a stay at home dad, and I’ve loved every moment with my beautiful daughter. I’ve even used my PlayStation Eye to capture home movies.

Our daughters first steps captured with PlayStation Eye. I’ll admit she took a few steps before I had the idea to start the video.

My daughter is now 2 and a half, and she’s loving PlayStation as much as we are, from Eye Pet to Little Big Planet and Learning With the PooYoo’s, she loves to game. We now have 2 PS3s, so we can either play online matches on different screens, or play splitscreen on one, while our daughter watches Netflix or Hulu Plus on the other.

PlayStation is more than just gaming for us, it’s entertainment as a whole for our family. It enables us to do more than just game together. We watch 3D movies together on our PlayStation 3D Display, we exercise together with our PlayStation Move, heck, I even use my PS Vita and my laptop as a baby monitor using the Skype app to keep an eye on my daughter if I have to duck out for a minute. I could go on and on, reminiscing about all of the wonderful memories that our family has shared with the PlayStation brand, but that would do little to convey just how much we love it.

Let me put it this way, when E3 had arrived, we all sat down with popcorn in hand, ready to enjoy the PlayStation press conference – like a family sitting down to watch a loved one in a school play or a sports game, it’s always nice to see a family member shine. As much as I’d like to keep typing, I have some chores to do and then I have to go work on my PS Vita Pure Chess strategy since my wife gets home later tonight, and we’ve got a tournament planned.

Congrats to JoeTheBeast16, who is now the recipient of a $50 voucher redeemable in the PlayStation Store! Send in your stories here, and feel free to read JoeTheBeast16′s original submission right here.

This week’s spotlight is from PSN member echogridlock. Anyone with siblings can tell you that growing up with them is often riddled with fights. Echogridlock looks back on how gaming replaced fighting and led to a reconnection with his brother thanks to PlayStation.

Reconnecting with My Little Big Brother

When I was growing up, my little brother and I would get into the worst fights. It was the stuff of mother’s nightmares. To paint a better picture, I once ran a sewing machine needle through his right index finger and the needle tip broke off into his finger. As a trade, he broke my nose which healed crooked and to this day I have one large nostril and one tiny one that I can’t breathe out of.

It gets better I promise…

One Christmas when I was 12 (my brother was 10) my parents bought us a video game system and the violence stopped. The time spent knocking each other’s teeth out was replaced with game time and talking smack about each other’s video game skills. We were hooked; we worked together to buy all the games and systems we could get our hands on. Between the two of us we had close to 400 hundred games and over 13 different systems across the years. We started doing everything together like, going to the library and the park after school, we even went over to each other’s friend’s houses to do what else but play video games. We were inseparable.

I have to chuckle every time I hear or read a story from the news saying that video game violence causes children to be violent. In our case, it may have very well saved one of our lives; no joke, it was that bad.

When I left home for college my brother not only grew taller than me, we grew apart. When I came home from school he was often nowhere to be found. Then he started college and I didn’t see him for a few years. He sold off all his video games then he dropped out of school and went walking across the country. In that time, I moved out, married and had two children, and sold my games because I didn’t really have anyone to play them with; however I kept the PS2 and later bought two PS3s. My brother eventually got bored, moved back to my parent’s house and decided to continue his college career at a school just outside my neighborhood.

This last weekend, my brother needed some time away from my parents and wanted to spend the weekend with my family. At first, he just played with my son (age 2) and daughter (age 3) for a few hours. After awhile, my kids got bored and we fired up the PS3. He quickly became so addicted to Burnout Paradise, I couldn’t get him to put the controller down. My son walked in and sat on the floor listening to the music. He started to get tired and climbed into my brother’s arms and fell asleep. His sister soon fell asleep as well. After we put them to bed for a nap, we went back into the living room and I told him “You have to try this game Uncharted 3”. He asked “Does it have multiplayer? I mean can we both play together?” I said “Yes and we can play together online.” He went “Oooo.” It was as if we picked up where we left off 8 years ago. He started talking smack how skilled he was and how old age is making me slower. Every time our grouped wiped out in a match, I told him it was his fault. Which it was.

The PS3 provided me with some time well spent with my brother doing something we used to both love, playing games together. For one weekend we were young brothers again. After this spring semester, he will be moving south to Tennessee. Who knows when I will see him again? But maybe I’ll buy him a PS3 this Christmas so we can play online.

Congrats to echogridlock, who is now the recipient of a $50 voucher redeemable in the PlayStation Store! Send in your stories here, and feel free to read echogridlock’s original submission right here.

We’ve been seeing amazing stories, but a few reminders. Remember, you can submit multiple stories to be considered. It’s not a one shot thing so if your story may not be getting any traction, feel free to PM me in the forums for advice (mochuuu in the forums), or submit another one. And secondly, try to write about something more than just loving PlayStation, or your PlayStation timeline. Whether it’s an amazing PlayStation related story, or commentary on PlayStation today, we want to ensure these posts are diverse week to week; and that can only come from your own tales and commentary on gaming. Remember to read the posting best practices for more info, or have a look at past week’s winners to get a feel of the types of diverse stories that make it to the blog.

This week’s spotlight is from PSN member Imputed7-14. He found a way to combine his passion for gaming and teaching, but not before he had to change a few perspectives on what gaming could be.

Sackboy Goes To School

I am an elementary teacher and I have always looked for ways to encourage my students using every avenue possible. In my classroom we have used toilet paper to experience what it is like to be caterpillars, mimicked Mary Shelly in an annual scary story contest, and created a seven foot model of the sun placing it over a hundred and fifty feet away from our two inch models of the earth just so my students could understand the size and distances we were talking about in class. So when I got LittleBigPlanet 2 last September my mind exploded with ideas to work the PlayStation 3 into my classroom.

I began work late last September in making a mini game that my students could enjoy based around sorting synonyms and antonyms. In January I asked my principal if I could share the project with her. We set up a meeting and I started to get cold feet that she would think it was lame or be disapproving because of the negative stigma around games. My wife encouraged me to be who I am as a gamer and be confident since I had done something original. The day of our meeting my principal sat, listened and watched as I played through the game. She asked what my goal was with doing this. I told her that I had several ideas for skill based levels in math and reading and that I would also like to start a club where the kids could design their own levels using LBP and other games like Modnation on the PS3 and games like LBP and Sound Shapes on the Vita. She told me that she needed to check on something before she gave me the okay to pursue any of those ideas, but that she was pretty impressed with what I had done.

About a month later she called me to the office to let me know that I could use whatever I created in my room and if I could find the funding that I would be permitted start an after school club. What more is she encouraged me to come up with a way to work it into a camp my school is doing over the summer.

At this point my kids have played LBP as a reading station twice and I will likely bring it in for them to enjoy before the summer. They are excited about all things Little Big Planet. In my free time, which is not much, I am crafting some things for them. I am also seeking different local businesses and organizations to see if I can get help funding the club. Nothing has happened yet, but I am hoping that in the near future that my school will learn through Playing, Creating and Sharing. Long live play, y’all.

How have you used gaming in your professional / academic life? Congrats to Imputed7-14, who is now the recipient of a $50 voucher redeemable in the PlayStation Store! Send in your stories here, and feel free to read Imputed7-14′s original post here.

Remember to read the posting best practices for more info.

This week’s spotlight is from PSN member renewman1. Stealing is lame, but read on to find out how this military man found a great way to rebuild his collection.

Thievery and Optimism: A Story!
Hi there PlayStation fanboys, fangirls, and fanpets (I know you’re out there!). My name is Renewman1. I am 22 years old, a veteran of the United States Air Force, a Computer Science college student, and a PlayStation fanatic. Akilleez Might (winner of The Tester Season 3) doesn’t have nothing on me! I wanted to start writing these entries as kind of a connection to my world and how I see all things Sony. However, like all good stories and police reports, we have to start at the very beginning.

My story begins back on June 6th, 2010. I was a fresh faced Air Force member on my way from Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta, Georgia going to Kunsan Air Base in Gunsan, South Korea. I was excited to be going to another country and like a good PlayStation fan, I packed my PS3 and my rather large collection of games in my checked in luggage and flew from Virginia (where I currently live now) to Seattle. Upon arrival I rechecked my luggage (never can be too careful) and resubmitted it to the baggage claim and went on my merry way. The next leg of the trip required us to fly to Anchorage, Alaska before finally making our way to South Korea.

As we were flying away from Anchorage, disaster struck. The left engine of our plane began to smoke! Fortunately, the pilot turned the plane around and we landed safely back in Anchorage. Since it was a malfunction of the turbine and needed a new part, we were grounded for the night in Alaska. Also unfortunately, we were not allowed to gather our luggage from the plane. After a restless night (I mean could you sleep with the sun beaming in your eyes at 12 midnight?), we jumped back on the plane and finished our journey to South Korea.

When I finally got to my base and settled in, I unpacked my luggage to assess my things. To my horror and amazement, a large gap of where my games and Blu-Ray movies were was missing. I thought that they had maybe shifted during flight but to no avail. Someone had come on board the airplane in Alaska and stole from my luggage. After doing some tallying of all the games and movies missing, I had hit the grand total of $1,300 worth of games and movies gone. Of course I was depressed. The culprit had managed to steal a whole bunch of brand new games and movies I had bought. Not only that, when the thief saw they could no longer fit any more boxes on them, they began to take games from cases and left the cases in my suitcase.

So as I sat there with my nearly empty collection of games I thought: “Well I don’t have any physical games, what can I play on PSN?” Apparently a whole lot! I started grabbing games I had never played before: Flower, fl0w, Everyday Shooter, just to name a few. My digital collection grew and I didn’t care anymore that my games got stolen. I never lost faith in Sony to be able deliver great content anywhere in the world online. Of course I went back and replaced all of my games and my PS3 game collection is now over 75+ games strong and that’s not including the slew of games I have on my PS3 from PSN. It definitely helped that this was right around the time PlayStation Plus was first being rolled out so I jumped on board and got even greater deals and games then I did before! When Sony says the PS3 “only does everything”, they really mean it.

Do you have more games on your HDD then actual physical games? How are the increasing options in the digital space impacting your decisions to buy games? Congrats to renewman1, who is now the recipient of a $50 voucher redeemable in the PlayStation Store! Send in your stories here, and feel free to read renewman1′s original post here.

Remember to read the posting best practices for more info.

My Mother, PlayStation, and Her First Journey
Last weekend, my mother had her first video game experience. My mother, aged 57, never really understood gaming. She saw gaming just as the mainstream media wanted her to. To her, and my father for that matter, games were only about brutally killing and stealing cars. With her slamming gaming for the majority of my life, I decided to finally counter back, and I began my research.

I tried to think of what game could show her that my passion wasn’t all about brutality and space marines. I wanted to let her play Portal 2, but the concepts were probably too complex for a first time gamer. After many thoughts and failed ideas, I finally realized the perfect game: thatgamecompany’s Journey.

Starting at 9:00AM on a beautiful Sunday morning, I pulled my mother aside and handed her a controller. I told her that I would not be helping her, and that she was free to do whatever she wanted in the game. The results were astounding. Even for a first time player, Journey’s narrative pulled her along, and she knew exactly what her goal was from the get-go. Though let it be known that the process of jumping was hard for her.

After the game finished and the credits rolled, she saw the list of players she met along the way. She didn’t realize that the other characters in the world of Journey were real people online, and she was stunned. She couldn’t believe that another player would help her through a world, come back for her when she fell, and hold her hand through some of the toughest areas. I snapped a picture of their names on my phone, so that I could send them a thank you message later.

Hours later, after my Mom had left, I typed a message to them on my Vita, which I then posted to the website Reddit. You can see the post here.

At the end of the day, it had 250,000 views, 3000 upvotes, and even a retweet from Jenova Chen and the official Twitter account of thatgamecompany!

My Mom’s first game experience not only was awesome for her, but also inspired many to buy Journey and play it for themselves. What an awesome Sunday.

So what are your thoughts on HarrisFoster’s story? Is your Mom cool with gaming, or is it something that she may never get into? Congrats to HarrisFoster, who is now the recipient of a $50 voucher redeemable in the PlayStation Store! Send in your stories here, and feel free to read HarrisFoster’s original post here, and lest we forget, Happy Mother’s Day!

Remember to read the posting best practices for more info.

This week’s spotlight is from PSN member IMA_BEAST_AT_IT, who tells the story of finding love from being a PlayStation gamer. Check out his story below, and share your thoughts in the comments!

Long Live Play.. and Love?

It was about 3 years ago when I got my PS3. The first game I played on it was Heavenly Sword, and boy was that game amazing. (Still hoping for a sequel). But I have to say that the game I spent the most time on was Call of Duty 4. Countless, countless hours went into that game. But I had never thought of how gaming on PlayStation could lead to one of the coolest moments of my life.

I was in the 11th grade at the time and one day after school I was in the library. I was on the computer just browsing different gaming sites. Then this girl sat at the computer next to me and when I glanced at her… she was the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen! I wanted to talk to her so bad, but I was so nervous. I sat there for at least 15 minutes trying to gain enough confidence just so she could realize I existed. As luck would have it, her phone rang, and I heard her speak. She said something like, “No, I already ate. When I’m done, I’m just gonna head home and play LittleBigPlanet“. It was now or never.

I asked her how much she was into games and it turned out, this girl was just as much a gamer as me! We spent nearly an hour talking about games and she invited me to her house for the weekend. We talked about games almost everytime we were together. She wasn’t really into action games, but I got her hooked on God of War.

As we started hanging out more we became close friends; but I knew we were meant to be more than that. I wanted to ask her out, but well, there went my nerves again. It wasn’t until about a month of hanging out when the idea hit me that would give me the courage to ask her out.

I borrowed LittleBigPlanet and spent about an hour creating my own level. I invited her over the next day and told her to play a “super awesome level” I created. All sackboy had to do was walk from one end of the screen to the other. But it’s what was on the background that stood out. I put in big bold letters “Would you like to go out with me?” She couldn’t stop smiling and she finally said yes. According to her, it was the cutest thing she had ever seen.

Our first date went perfect. We actually found out we had a lot in common. We went to a park, then a restaurant, then played some good old-fashioned games on the PlayStation 3. We went out a few more times after that before officially becoming a couple.

Fast forward to present day, and we are still together, and yes we both still love PlayStation games. We both were so excited when they announced God of War: Ascension! I am in love with this girl, and she is in love with me. All this is thanks to PlayStation. Without that, I can honestly say I would have never met my soulmate. Maybe in 3 years, I plan on editing that level I created on LBP, but instead it will have to say, “Will you marry me?”

Thank you PlayStation. For everything.

So what are your thoughts on IMA_BEAST_AT_IT ‘s story? Ever found true love through your own love of gaming? Share your thoughts in the comments on this story, and please keep comments central to this post. Congrats to IMA_BEAST_AT_IT, who is now the recipient of a $50 voucher redeemable in the PlayStation Store! Send in your stories here, and feel free to read IMA_BEAST_AT_IT ‘s original post here.

Remember to read the posting best practices for more info.

This week’s spotlight is from PSN member xLe3Fx, who shares how playing online games expanded his real-life friend list. Check out his story below, and share your thoughts in the comments!

Friends on PSN
Fat Princess was my vice for the better portion of a year, it was literally all I played and all I thought about. At the time, I was in highschool and going through a pretty rough and highly stressful patch. I felt like I had almost no friends, and girls weren’t particularly interested in me either. This lead to a lot of depression on my end, which in turn made it really hard to focus on anything. But a few weeks into my FP obsession I decided to get a headset so that I could better cooperate with my teammates at any given time in hopes of maybe winning a bit more often, but as it turns out, people thought that I was actually a pretty funny guy and enjoyed my company so they began adding me to their PSN friends lists.

To be honest I thought nothing of it at first, but then one night I was up playing at around 2am and hoping to come across a decent match. I chose the quick match preset and got tossed into a capture the princess game that was almost full. That’s when I met a guy who would later end up being one of my closet friends. We’ve played pretty much everything together ever since.

That experience reminded me that there were people in the world outside of highschool and that things won’t always stay bad, thusly helping me out of my depression. Even better still, last year, while playing a few games of BlazBlue: Continuum Shift, I met a group of 3 guys who were so much like me we’ve basically become best friends! We hangout for hours on end every day, watch movies together, and even help one another out with the daily struggles of life. They’re honestly some of my best friends and I would’ve never met them without my PlayStation 3.

Experiences like these constantly cause me to question whether or not there really is a legitimate separation between the connections we make with people via the Internet and the ones we make in real life. I’d go as far as to argue that the bonds I’ve formed with these individuals are just as real and valid as any I’ve formed with people in a workplace, or a school. For me, distance has nothing to do with friendship. What’s more important is the connection you share with those you consider friends (even if that connection is aided with PSN). They’ve been there for me through thick and thin, and I know that I can pretty much always count on them, and that’s not something I can say about most people I know.

Playing a PS3 and interacting with others through PSN has vastly enriched my life, and broadened my horizons past what many associate with the conventions of modern gaming. Even today, my PS3 serves as a way for me to not only stay entertained, but connected on a broader spectrum; whether that be through playing a game with my girlfriend, or chatting with best friends. This console has become a very large part of my life, and I hope that PlayStation will continue to remain a large part of my life for as long as possible.

So what are your thoughts on xLe3Fx ‘s story? Have you found new comraderie and friendships through playing online? Share your thoughts in the comments on this story, and please keep comments central to this post. Congrats to xLe3Fx, who is now the recipient of a $50 voucher redeemable in the PlayStation Store! Send in your stories here, and feel free to read xLe3Fx ‘s original post right here.

This week’s spotlight is from PSN member Zookey. Check out his story on how PlayStation framed a big life decision for him and his brother, as well as shaped how he later impacts his own community through the power of game design. It goes to show how much of an inspiration PlayStation gaming can be to what we hope to accomplish in our own lives, as long as you put your mind to it.

Gaming Against The Odds

I have been fascinated by video games since Kindergarten and especially by middle school when I saw the PS one’s U R NOT E commercials. The PlayStation was just about to launch stateside mere weeks before my birthday so I begged my parents for one.

I got a launch unit for my birthday and became even more fanatical for games. Through PlayStation I got to play a wide range of titles and experience games from all sorts of angles! My brother (Trevor, 6 years younger) got into it as well—sneaking friends into my room to play Crash Bandicoot when I wasn’t looking! The more we played, the more Trevor and I didn’t just enjoy games more – the more we fell in love with it as an art form and a way to connect with people.

In 2002, I had just graduated High School (Trevor was entering 7th grade) and our lives got turned upside down. Trevor tried out for football and, after failing 3 physicals, he was rushed into emergency surgery. It was found out he had a very serious kidney problem.

Over the last 10 years, Trevor has had many surgeries. To make it easier, we’d always bring his PS2 (and, eventually, PS3) to the hospital and make an entertainment center around him. No matter the apocalypse going on in our lives, we could turn to our beloved art form for comfort and escape! Trevor’s now in roughly 2 years of dialysis leading up to the transplant, and always brings his PS Vita to pass the time!

After 2.5 years of working a dead end job to help make ends meet, I had a conversation with my Mom in the waiting room during one of Trevor’s surgeries. I told her normal wasn’t working for us – we had to try crazy. Crazy meant taking our passion of game design and using it to take our lives back and dominate. Now was the time to open up a video game studio. Team KAIZEN was born!

We started development on Shattered Soul, a 3D fighting game meant to bring back the insanity of 90’s fighters like Bloody Roar and Toshinden. We’re also working on a game called Burst!; meant to be the indie rhythm game for independent musicians.

Team KAIZEN was also awarded a grant from HASTAC and The MacArthur Foundation to develop a LittleBigPlanet 2 level pack that teaches STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) through rides and coasters. This was our first paid gig and anybody can queue up the first level right here.

We now are also working with Great Falls Public Schools on LittleBigPlanet Clubs. Currently in a test phase, LBP Clubs are where kids learn their normal curriculum most of the week. However, on 2 days of the week, they’re pulled out to learn game design from Trevor and I and they are working to build LBP levels to educate their peers on STEM and History. The levels will be debuted at this year’s STEM Expo here in Great Falls, Montana!

There’s much more we’re working on, and all of it inspired by PlayStation. Whether it’s comforting my family during chaos, keeping Trevor company during dialysis, or educating kids in LBP Club, or helping define our career aspirations; we’ve seen the power of PlayStation! It’s been a lifelong pleasure to live life on PlayStation. Consider us lifelong fans!

Has gaming on PlayStation helped shape some of your life decisions? Let us know your thoughts in the comments on this story. Congrats to zookey, who is now the recipient of a $50 voucher redeemable in the PlayStation Store! Send in your stories here, and feel free to read zookey’s original post right here.

This week’s spotlight has PSN member JillyDad taking a look at how stories are told in game. Long time gamers know that games can be as emotionally powerful as any book or movie if they get their storytelling right. JillyDad wonders if games can pave the way for more developers to utilize the vocabulary that only a game could offer.

A New Form Of Media

PlayStation gaming is becoming as much a part of the entertainment industry as movies, but what will it take to be the primary source of entertainment? In terms of storytelling, games are beginning to mature. What I would love to happen is to see how PlayStation pushes games to to evolve into a truly new form of media.

I like to think about PlayStation games that I’ve played that really speak to that idea. Think about games like the Half-Life series. There are no cut-scenes, but there is still the convention of a narrative. Team ICO is able to tell their story with minimal dialogue, and a strong emotional conveyance of seclusion, dread and friendship. ICO told a powerful love story by simply having the characters hold hands as a mechanic. Shadow of the Colossus made you feel a sense of remorse for destroying these majestic creatures, and yet you are driven forward to save a girl that you are never told what your relationship to her is. Games like Flower are getting closer. The story is told through gameplay. Not a word is spoken. Not a face is shown. It is simply petals flying through a landscape. Yet, somehow, I had an emotional response, and perceived a story. All of this was through gameplay.

And then there’s Journey. With absolutely zero text, save for the opening game start screen, the story is completely engaging, yet unbelievably subtle. The multiplayer aspect of it even helps you frame your own story of the ‘journey’ and is unlike anything I’ve experienced. I have never felt so connected to another player online as you feel like you are truly sharing an epic struggle, while basking in the triumphs together. This type of narrative could only be accomplished within a game’s natural gameplay environment, and I’d love to see more experiences like this.

This is the future. Using the GAME to tell the story. I’m looking forward to what developers like That Game Company, Naughty Dog, Valve, Team ICO (and who knows who else?), may have up their sleeves.

What are your thoughts on storytelling in gaming? Any examples you can cite about breakthrough ways that a PlayStation game told a story in a way that only a game could? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. Congrats to JillyDad, who is now the recipient of a $50 voucher redeemable in the PlayStation Store! Send in your stories here, and feel free to read JillyDad’s original post here.

the_mdt recalls a story that many of us are familiar with, yet is all his own. PlayStation today is a household name, but to those who have been able to be gaming with PlayStation since the first console, it’s more than a name. For long time fans, PlayStation weaves itself into the events in our real life and can frame how we look back on those times. Check out his story.

(Real) Life with PlayStation
I don’t recall the exact year it happened – I’d like to think it was 1998 or 1999. One Christmas morning, I remember seeing a box under the tree addressed to me and my older brother, with three small flat gifts next to it tagged to each of us specifically. We never really received anything great during the holidays past – my mom was floating between jobs after divorcing my dad, and at the time even he had fallen out of luck with his work and ended up unemployed, unable to support us. When we opened the package and found our own PlayStation, the feeling was unreal.

2003. Times were rough – My job changed owners and the new bosses didn’t want to schedule me the hours I had previously been pulling down, my girlfriend’s job closed down forcing her to find a new job, and at one point I worked two jobs day and night just to barely pay for rent and utilities. We seemed to not see each other all that much aside from the car rides to and from our jobs. The only thing that kept me going at this point was being able to come home and unwind with the second Ratchet & Clank game, Going Commando, and the title stays as one of my favorite games for the system for being both outrageously fun and at points nail-bitingly hard. (That glider level! Oh, that glider level!)

2010. The PlayStation 3 had been out for some time again. It was my mother who came in again to save the day on Christmas. After the presents with my family had all been handled, it was clear that more attention had been given to my older brother who had not only just purchased a house but was about to have a baby with his wife. I was clearly left out in comparison. After he had left, my mom asked me to wait and then handed me a large amount of money. “We know you wanted a PS3, and we didn’t want to tell your brother we were getting you one in case he got jealous. Use this to buy yourself one.”

2012. I picked up the PS Vita. It was the first ever game system, let alone portable game system, that I’ve ever owned on its launch date let alone its launch month. I drove home, set up my 3G account, and continued to run around my house taking pictures for the “Hello Face” cube in Welcome Park. I played the demo for Uncharted: Golden Abyss, pleased with the way the touch screen played instead of using the jumps and analog controls, and was incredibly amused at how the sniper rifle scope moved with a turn of the console. Being my first dabbling in Augmented Reality, I was endlessly entertained with the three free games, most importantly Cliff Diver. I watched as I laid a card on my desk as the tabletop sank in, filled with water, and a plank sprouted up from nothing to which a man on a helicopter flew gracefully onto. The graphics, the screen – it just signals a new era of gaming. The whole experience was by far the coolest thing I had ever seen a portable game device do, and I’m excited for the promise of new things to come.

It seems like a long trip – from being at my parents house playing Ape Escape to living on my own with my girlfriend and our cat, playing Portal 2 together through the link with the Steam network. Just knowing about upcoming titles for the systems gets me anxious. Wherever I end up, I know that around the next corner will be a new surprise from PlayStation, and it keeps me playing to the next level. Long Live Play.

You can check out the_mdt’s original post here. LLP PSN Community Spotlight is an ongoing series which means you’ll continually have the chance to post a great PlayStation story throughout the upcoming months. If your post gets featured on the blog, you’ll be awarded a $50 PlayStation Store voucher. So get writing!