The video game industry is expected to generate over 200 billion USD in 2023. While this includes the sale of home consoles and physical video games, the largest growth is in mobile gaming. There are an estimated 2.7 billion gamers worldwide, of which 2.6 billion are playing on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.[1] Mobile gaming platforms allow individuals to play without a gaming console or personal computer. They are the most popular for…
In this episode, Harry Valetk, is joined by Carlos Dávila-Peniche, based in Mexico City and Daniel Villanueva, based in Guadalajara, to discuss consumer protection in video games with a special focus on age ratings. Join us to hear more about how to meet challenges around age ratings, global classifications, localization expectations, how to comply with age ratings in app stores or console purchases, and much more. https://open.spotify.com/episode/62sFvzANIkICWBFKuwjjwf
In this episode of TMT Talk, Harry Valetk, is joined by Carlos Vela, a technology partner located in Mexico City, and Flavia Rebello, an IP partner at Trench Rossi Watanabe* in Brazil, to discuss what’s going on in the LatAm region with respect to the video game industry, its size and the legal and market trends. In addition, our partners will talk about the key trends in the region, including around investment, regulation and localization, and much more.…
In this episode of TMT Talk, Harry Valetk is joined by Renata Amaral, Head of the Environment, Climate Change and Sustainability Practice Group at Trench Rossi Watanabe in Brazil, to discuss consumer protection in the video gaming industry with a special focus on advertising. Learn what makes video game consumers a special category of consumers, who acts as providers according to the law and court decisions, how the law considers children video game consumers and much more. https://open.spotify.com/episode/5UbATK7NbZaXvoB1i8ZImR
This article was originally published in the Asia Video Industry Report 2022 by the Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA). To read the full report on their website, please click here. Legal Views: Online Gaming Privacy Regulation in Asia Pacific Covid-19 has accelerated growth in the video game industry, with online games specifically (which include massive multiplayer online games (MMOGs) as well as casual and social games that can be either played directly in an internet…
In this episode of TMT Talk, Harry Valetk, is joined by Tiago Zapater, a litigation partner at Trench Rossi Watanabe in Brazil, to discuss the monetization challenges in video games. Listen in to learn how video games sell and make money, loot boxes and their significance in the region, recent decisions and class actions in Brazil and much more. https://open.spotify.com/episode/1gQHSoWdjUlwNrvYgpXbCt
General purpose After several attempts to classify the content of video games in Mexico, the Ministry of Interior (SEGOB) on November 27, 2020, published the General Guidelines of the Mexican System of Classification Equivalencies for Video Game Content. It is more likely than not that the Mexican government borrowed a page from the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) classification system applied in United States. Moreover, the guidelines set the content specifications for classification purposes, specifying…
A judge from the Small Claims Court in the State of São Paulo has ruled that a console operator cannot permanently lock the console in case of a user’s violation of the Terms and Conditions. According to the court’s ruling, under the Consumer Defense Code, blocking the user’s ID, even if established in the Terms and Conditions, may be considered as an abusive penalty since the user has no opportunity of defense nor the opportunity…
On 8 June 2020 the UK Government published its response to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (“DCMS”) Select Committee’s report on Immersive and Addictive Technologies (“Report”). The response sets out the Government’s next steps regarding issues identified in the Report, which will be relevant for companies in the video games sector as well as those involved with immersive technologies. This could result in increased regulation in certain areas. For example, the outcome…
The German consumer association North Rhine-Westphalia (Verbraucherzentrale NRW) announced that it considers numerous terms of service of a leading console marketplace to be in breach with the German law on standard business terms. For this reason, the Verbraucherzentrale NRW sent a cease and desist letter to Sony Europe to stop using the allegedly violating clauses. As an example, the Verbraucherzentrale NRW names clauses which require the user to use his/her pre-paid credit within 24 months to avoid expiration. The Verbraucherzentrale…