Russian Game Developers Against Excessive Regulation - RVI Responds to Idea of Rental Certificates for Games
Attention continues to be paid to the gaming industry in the Russian Federation, but often proposals are not discussed directly with the regulated industry's participants.
Recently, another initiative to regulate the gaming industry was put forward in Russia. A proposal was made to introduce "an analogue of rental certificates for video games."
Yana Lantratova, Chair of the State Duma Committee on the Development of Civil Society, Public and Religious Associations, noted:
We need to start with small steps, I spoke about elementary things - rental certificates by analogy with films, which exist, at least for computer games. In my proposals for supporting our Russian video games, a lot of attention is paid to this and to the topic of traditional values, supporting those structures that make games with traditional values, this is very important, this is very necessary, we need to work on this.
RVI (Organization for the Development of the Video Game Industry) drew attention to this and reminded that it is also important to consider that the market is largely capable of self-regulation. Valve's platform is cited as an example:
Large platforms, including Steam, generally comply with regulatory requirements; at the request of Roskomnadzor, sensitive or prohibited content for the Russian audience is restricted or removed in Russia [...] This demonstrates that a well-established working dialogue with the industry often proves to be a more flexible and effective tool than strict prohibitive measures.
RVI sees a risk that excessive and unbalanced regulation will primarily hit Russian developers and may strengthen relocation sentiments:
Today, the industry largely depends on international platforms and external markets, where a significant part of Russian studios' revenue is generated. Any additional, unclear, and unworked-out barriers with industry representatives, be it rental certificates, financial restrictions, or blocking, reduce the competitiveness of domestic developers.
RVI believes that regulatory decisions should be developed in close conjunction with the professional community and take into account real market practices. And this specific initiative with rental certificates was not worked out or discussed with the industry.
Currently, RVI is preparing a "Industry Development Strategy." This document, which "should set clear and balanced rules of the game." According to representatives of the organization, it has already been sent to key market participants, experts, and relevant government agencies, and RVI is now "at the feedback stage."
Комментарии