Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony are teaming up to make gaming 'safer'

What console wars?

Three leading console-makers in the videogame industry: Microsoft, Sony Interactive Entertainment and Nintendo have pledged to make gaming safer for everyone.

The trio published an Xbox Wire post outlining their goals for this new initiative, but it’s a little vague.

The Xbox Wire post highlights ‘principles’ to guide this initiative instead of actual steps, stating that three companies, “can accomplish more when we work toward the same goal, and so we will each continue investing in, evolving, and amplifying our approaches to user safety.”

There is a focus on multiplayer gaming here, suggesting that the trio generally want to make online play safer for everyone.

The ‘principles’ are:

• Prevention: Empower players and parents to understand and control gaming experiences.

• Partnership: We commit to partnering with the industry, regulators, law enforcement, and our communities to advance user safety.

• Responsibility: We hold ourselves accountable for making our platforms as safe as possible for all players.

These principles include promises like, “We promptly notify law enforcement if we observe unlawful conduct or where we believe a player is at risk of imminent harm,” and, “We partner with our community to promote safe gaming behavior and encourage the use of reporting tools to call out bad actors.”

What isn’t clear at this point is how these promises will actually be executed, or how the three companies might work together to do so.

Still, it’s nice to see Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony Interactive Entertainment pledge to work together for the players’ benefit - it’s good vibes all around.