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The International Game Developers Association sent out a notice reminding readers that the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act just went into effect for the gaming industry. The CVAA "requires any communications functionality and any UI used to navigate to or operate it to be accessible to people with a wide range of conditions, from no sight to no color vision, no speech to limited strength," and those considerations must be made early on in development. The CVAA is actually an old law that's aimed at the telecommunications industry, but the FCC has repeatedly given the gaming industry waivers, giving them time to "catch up." That last waiver expired on December 31, 2018, and the restrictions now apply to any game scheduled for release or "substantial updates" after that date. While there are allegedly "accommodations for low budgets," Bioware recently implied that the CVAA may be behind their decision to cut text chat out of Anthem. If EA can't afford to fully deal with the regulations in a high budget title, one has to wonder how smaller multiplayer developers will fare. Thanks to gamesindustry.biz for the tip.
Compliance includes accommodations for low budgets; the list of criteria specifies that devs must meet the criteria as far as is is achievable, with "achievable" meaning within reasonable cost and effort. Failure to comply can result in customer complaints to the FCC, which the FCC will then mediate, taking into account what efforts have been made and how feasible the issue is to fix. The customer has the right to extend the initial mediation period if they choose. If a satisfactory outcome is not reached, fines may be issued at the FCC's discretion.
Compliance includes accommodations for low budgets; the list of criteria specifies that devs must meet the criteria as far as is is achievable, with "achievable" meaning within reasonable cost and effort. Failure to comply can result in customer complaints to the FCC, which the FCC will then mediate, taking into account what efforts have been made and how feasible the issue is to fix. The customer has the right to extend the initial mediation period if they choose. If a satisfactory outcome is not reached, fines may be issued at the FCC's discretion.