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The Game Industry's Performative Concern For Children (The Jimquisition)
🕑 Added 2020-01-20 15:06:21 +0000 UTCThe game industry hates to take responsibility for its own nonsense, and as regulators around the world hold it accountable for in-game gambling, publishers are scrabbling for a scapegoat.
Introducing "Get Smart About PLAY," a performative initiative that feigns concern for children by shifting the spotlight onto parents. The campaign relies on parental controls, and behaves as if their existence gives publishers a license to do anything in games aimed at children.
What the industry doesn't understand, however, is that parental controls shouldn't really be necessary for games rated as suitable for three-year-olds. In relying on parental controls, publishers are begging to have their content re-rated for adults.
And no, parental locks are NOT the same as bike stabilizers.
Comments
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Zibi Majewski
The episode that made me become a patron. You're doing God's work, Jim. Your views are more of a fact than opinions at this point and gaming industry start taking notes and wake the fuck up! If they hope to treat as like idiots in hope to make the 'loot box debacle' go away; they're in for rude awakening. Keep the pressure, Jim and I'll keep thanking God for you. š
Jason Youngberg
I think all you can do is shine a spotlight on it. If the government were to do something, the game companies are just going to find loopholes and find another edge to skirt. Remember how they said it wasn't TECHNICALLY gambling because you couldn't directly get money for what you won? Don't expect it to change until the market forces them to change. It's crap like this that pushes me away from AAA video games to indie developers. Then came Epic and their business practices and suddenly indie games aren't safe either. Jim, if I ever stop supporting you know it's not because of you or your content. It's because the games industry finally pushed me away so hard that I want nothing more to do with it. As it stands now, I'm more of an observer of a train wreck than a partisipant.
Juliet Davie
Thanks for this. My nephew is 13 and loves his Switch, I'm so fucking grateful that his parents are aware that loot boxes are a scam. He's a smart kid and even he would have fallen prey to FIFA or Fortnite if his mum and dad didn't look out for him so much. Having said that, you are absolutely right that they shouldn't to in the first place, the practice is disgusting. I used to work for GAME and I would spend every weekend selling thousands of pounds worth of FIFA points to little boys, it was fucking depressing.
Perpetual Noob
Wow. Just wow. Somehow I am still surprised by the lows the game industry will sink to when it comes to defending predatory practices all in the name of making all the money.
