The main thing for the weekend (January 28-29)
The State Duma deputy criticized the proposal to create lists with video games approved and banned in Russia, Mundfish said that it does not transfer user data to Russian government agencies, and Microsoft’s communications director accused Sony of lying to the European Commission — we tell you what happened in the gaming industry this weekend.
Deputy Head of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy Anton Gorelkin did not support the idea of creating lists with approved and banned video games in Russia. In his opinion, such lists will not change anything. Gamers will download banned games from torrents, and children, for the sake of whose protection everything is being started, are unlikely to rely on the list of allowed projects when choosing games. Gorelkin suggested developing a “transparent and accessible” rating system instead of lists. Within the framework of it, games will be marked not only by age categories, but also by the level of cruelty and the mechanics used.
Last week, the media noticed that there is a clause in the privacy policy on the Mundfish website, according to which user data can be transferred to a number of Russian government agencies. For example, the Federal Tax Service and the pension Fund. After discussions broke out in the foreign press, the authors of Atomic Heart decided to comment on the situation. In a statement to GamesRadar, the studio said that an “outdated and incorrect” document was posted on the site, which it should have deleted “several years ago.” Now the disputed document has been removed from access.
Phil Spencer gave a big interview to IGN portal, in which, among other things, he touched on the topic of the purchase of Activision Blizzard. The head of Microsoft’s gaming division said that he now believes in a successful outcome of the deal even more than he believed a year ago. He added that Microsoft continues to actively work with regulators around the world, sharing information about the gaming industry with them.
Microsoft Communications Director Frank Shaw said that Sony is misleading the European Commission by talking about the future of the Call of Duty series. According to him, Sony claims that Microsoft does not want to leave the franchise on PlayStation consoles. But, as Shaw pointed out, Microsoft actually offered the company a contract for a period of 10 years, which should ensure parity in terms of terms, content, features, quality, playability and any other aspects of Call of Duty.
