While online gaming is an everyday part of players lives, it’s still not as safe as it could be. Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, the three gaming console giants, announced today via Xbox Wire that the teams are working together on shared safety standards across gaming. These standards are focused on three principles: prevention, partnership and responsibility.
Prevention is aimed at not only providing safety features but making them easy to use and publicly known, while also investing in new technology that makes playing safely easier. Partnership focuses on having huge swathes of the industry work together, sharing research and encouraging the use of reporting tools. Finally, Responsibility is meant to ensure reporting is easy while making online rules and codes of conduct easy to follow and well understood.
Dave McCarthy, Corporate Vice President of Xbox Operations, writes the following:
“We believe gaming is for all people of all ages, including our youngest and most vulnerable players. 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.”
Microsoft continues to expand the Xbox Family Settings with additional options such as advanced parental controls. With online gaming continuing to grow and more titles supporting cross-play than ever before, it’s good to see these three gaming giants collaborate on providing a safer environment to play.
