Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony Announce Shared Commitment to Safer Gaming - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 03 January 2021 / 1,899 Views
Corporate vice president at Xbox operations Dave McCarthy in a new Xbox Wire post have announced Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony have a shared commitment to safer gaming.
"We believe gaming is for all people of all ages, including our youngest and most vulnerable players," said McCarthy. "Technology makes compelling entertainment experiences possible, and we want to ensure that those experiences – especially when they involve interaction with others – are positive and respectful. All players deserve to have fantastic social gaming experiences in settings where respect and safety are mutual.
"At Xbox, we are aligned with both Nintendo, on behalf of the community of Nintendo Switch players, and PlayStation in our belief that protecting players online requires a multidisciplinary approach – one that combines the benefits of advanced technology, a supportive community, and skilled human oversight.
"We can accomplish more when we work toward the same goal, and so we will each continue investing in, evolving, and amplifying our approaches to user safety. As we continue this work, we will prioritize protecting the safety of our players, especially those most vulnerable."
McCarthy added that protecting players is challenging in a digital world as connections are made instantaneously. The partnership between the three gaming giants shows their commitment to work together to make it as safe as possible for all players.
"Protecting players can be challenging in a digitally and often instantaneously connected world. This partnership signifies our commitment to work together to improve player safety and ensure gaming remains truly for everyone. While the video game industry has a long history of taking steps to protect gamers, especially children, we recognize that no one company or industry will solve these challenges alone.
"We welcome others to make and share similar commitments to players everywhere."
Here are the key principles that guide Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony:
Prevention: Empower players and parents to understand and control gaming experiences.
- We provide controls that let players customize their gaming experience. We support parents with the tools and information necessary to create appropriate gaming experiences for their children.
- We recognize that for safety features to be useful, they must be easy to use. We will promote the availability of our safety tools through our platforms, support channels, services, on our websites and in retail stores to reach more players and parents.
- We continually inform our parents and players through our codes of conduct, terms of use, and our enforcement practices.
- We invest in technology to help thwart improper conduct and content before a player is subject to harm.
Partnership: We commit to partnering with the industry, regulators, law enforcement, and our communities to advance user safety.
- The industry’s commitment to safety is central. We believe that we have an opportunity to collaborate for the benefit of the video game industry and all players to offer a safer gaming experience.
- We work with industry trade organizations, industry members, regulators, law enforcement, and experts to develop and advance online safety initiatives.
- We commit to conducting shared research for the benefit of the industry.
- We believe that hate and harassment or exploitation of younger players in any way have no place in gaming. We partner with our community to promote safe gaming behavior and encourage the use of reporting tools to call out bad actors.
- We partner with ratings agencies such as the ESRB and PEGI to ensure that our games are rated for the appropriate audience.
Responsibility: We hold ourselves accountable for making our platforms as safe as possible for all players.
- We make it easy for players to report violations of our code of conduct and, in addition to removing content, we take appropriate enforcement actions for violations, including restricting players from using our services for misconduct.
- We comply with all local laws and will respond to all lawful requests from law enforcement. We promptly notify law enforcement if we observe unlawful conduct or where we believe a player is at risk of imminent harm.
- We publish our rules and requirements and we ensure that players who have been reported understand the requirements for continued engagement with our platforms.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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Ok that's nice and all seeing the 3 great powers work in tandem with each other on this issue. I still need Sony in particular to move PS headquarters out of California. Protect the kiddies sure but stop the BS censorship. Out of all the places in America to place their headquarters, Sony of Japan choose softiefornia. Ugh.
Code of conduct and terms of use are useless tools in this fight and at least the tou is more like cover your ass. But not her wise a nice sentiment
A good portion of it is good thing, but there is gigantic possibility of abuse in the intent of "protecting the players".
This is awesome news
