Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft Both have jointly released a set of common principles that will guide a safer gaming environment on each company’s platform.
Each company has published a post on its website titled “Our Common Commitment to Safe Gaming”, which outlines the goal of making the online space of each platform holder safe for gamers of all ages Site plan.
The statement is divided into a series of areas and outlines how the three companies intend to deal with toxicity and hatred in all areas of online gaming. Every company bluntly stated that they believe that hatred, harassment and exploitation of young players “have nowhere to sit in the game.”
The first is prevention. It details a set of measures designed to educate and inform players and parents to prevent harassment and bullying in the online space.
Some preventive measures outlined include providing education to parents and players about parental safety controls, keeping guardians informed of terms of use, codes of conduct, and law enforcement tools, and planning to invest in technologies that help prevent unacceptable behavior before it occurs. Microsoft’s obscene filter is a good example of this technique.
The second part of the plan focuses on partnerships – whether it is working with players, law enforcement agencies, industry regulators or other gaming communities to strengthen player safety. The continuous efforts of PEGI and ERSB well demonstrate this forward-looking cooperation.
Finally, these positions outline “responsibility.” Here, the three major companies have promised to provide players with more powerful tools to report harassment and oaths, in response to all “legal requests” of law enforcement agencies, and take players’ reports seriously.
Although this is just a vague idea for now, it will definitely make gamers think that platform owners can manage their products with greater peace of mind.
This is a step in the right direction, and it seems promising to improve the experience for all gamers in the online space. It’s great to see Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo work together to say that they will not tolerate hatred and harassment.
