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Microsoft announced it is partnering with Nintendo and Sony to commit to responsible, social gaming on the Xbox One and Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5. Microsoft revealed the initiative on its news blog on December 14, 2020. The statement outlines three key pillars to ensure everyone will be safe: prevention, partnership, and responsibility.
Dave McCarthy, Corporate Vice President of Xbox Operations, elaborated on the immense challenges companies face in maintaining a safe gaming environment for vulnerable players. He also stated that a sole company cannot solve these challenges alone. As a result, he noted Microsoft is happy to partner with both Nintendo and Sony online to foster safe and social gaming.
Here are summarized versions of the three principles:
- Prevention: The companies state they will “empower players and parents to understand and control gaming experiences.” They will do this by providing options to let players adjust their online experience. This means including easy-to-use parental controls.
- Partnership: The companies “commit to partnering with the industry, regulators, law enforcement, and our communities to advance user safety.” This means working with appropriate parties to develop online safety initiatives and perform shared research. The companies also have a zero-tolerance policy on hate, harassment, or exploitation of young players.
- Responsibility: The companies will “hold ourselves accountable for making our platforms as safe as possible for all players.” This includes making it easy for players to report bad behavior and responding with appropriate enforcement actions on violators. This includes complying with all local laws in a necessary event.
In recent years, we’ve seen Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony work with each other a bit more on gameplay features like cross-play and cross-saves.
