The Game Industry's Performative Concern For Children (The Jimquisition)

The 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.