5 ms·

Maybe if it’s just two countries right now, but if this ban would become EU wide gaming companies would have to care.

Aerroon 4y ago
Why would they have to care? They could just block the EU region and publish to other countries instead. Plenty of games, especially from Asia, already block all EU countries from playing. Usually they're looking to sell a license or don't know how to enter the market. Nevertheless, they are absolutely willing to block the EU region. I see so many Europeans repeating the line that if Europe regulates X together, then companies will have to care, because they can't ignore the European market. This might be true in other industries, but it's not true in gaming. I would even say that it's more common for the European market to be treated as second class than not when it comes to online games.
- synu 4y ago
  Isn’t that mission accomplished from the EU perspective, though? Whether they don’t care very much and left, or whether they care a lot and left, as long as the level of caring was sufficient that they were forced to take the gambling for kids stuff with them that seems like a win. The alternative is to not care at all and keep selling in the EU anyway even if it’s made illegal, which seems unlikely at the level of scale it’s happening today.
  - Aerroon 4y ago
    Because I like playing some of these games. I don't want to be stuck with the 5 games that are officially EU approved. Asking for this kind of regulation is basically asking for legally mandated region-locks for online games. It's back to being a second class player in another region, where technically you're not allowed to play via VPN and you might get randomly banned. Also, it's not about the children. Children don't make their own money - they only have money that parents give them. Even if these games banned children from playing them, a lot of the people complaining about it still wouldn't stop. The problem for them is that they can't make their friends stop playing these games, so they want the government to stop them instead. I don't like when games monetize stuff like Diablo Immortal does. I hate it. But I'm certain that when legislation does arrive it'll be broad enough that other stuff gets caught up in it and the people advocating for it will just shrug their shoulders and go "lol i didn't care about games anyway".
    - synu 4y ago
      If it went like how nicotine and cigarettes stopped being marketed to kids, I’d be ok with that. Adults did complain that their right to smoke candy flavored cigarettes was being taken away, or that kids don’t have money for cigarettes anyway, but I think it was a net benefit. I do understand the point you’re making though and bad regulation certainly exists.
      - eurasiantiger 4y ago
        Did it really stop, or did it just take another form?

Why would they have to care? They could just block the EU region and publish to other countries instead. Plenty of games, especially from Asia, already block all EU countries from playing. Usually they're looking to sell a license or don't know how to enter the market. Nevertheless, they are absolutely willing to block the EU region. I see so many Europeans repeating the line that if Europe regulates X together, then companies will have to care, because they can't ignore the European market. This might be true in other industries, but it's not true in gaming. I would even say that it's more common for the European market to be treated as second class than not when it comes to online games.

synu 4y ago
Isn’t that mission accomplished from the EU perspective, though? Whether they don’t care very much and left, or whether they care a lot and left, as long as the level of caring was sufficient that they were forced to take the gambling for kids stuff with them that seems like a win. The alternative is to not care at all and keep selling in the EU anyway even if it’s made illegal, which seems unlikely at the level of scale it’s happening today.
- Aerroon 4y ago
  Because I like playing some of these games. I don't want to be stuck with the 5 games that are officially EU approved. Asking for this kind of regulation is basically asking for legally mandated region-locks for online games. It's back to being a second class player in another region, where technically you're not allowed to play via VPN and you might get randomly banned. Also, it's not about the children. Children don't make their own money - they only have money that parents give them. Even if these games banned children from playing them, a lot of the people complaining about it still wouldn't stop. The problem for them is that they can't make their friends stop playing these games, so they want the government to stop them instead. I don't like when games monetize stuff like Diablo Immortal does. I hate it. But I'm certain that when legislation does arrive it'll be broad enough that other stuff gets caught up in it and the people advocating for it will just shrug their shoulders and go "lol i didn't care about games anyway".
  - synu 4y ago
    If it went like how nicotine and cigarettes stopped being marketed to kids, I’d be ok with that. Adults did complain that their right to smoke candy flavored cigarettes was being taken away, or that kids don’t have money for cigarettes anyway, but I think it was a net benefit. I do understand the point you’re making though and bad regulation certainly exists.
    - eurasiantiger 4y ago
      Did it really stop, or did it just take another form?