‘Gaming industry vets’ form ‘crisis’ coalition to fight lockboxes and ‘unscrupulous’ studios [Update]

A group of “industry leaders and experts” have apparently formed what they’re calling National Committee for Games Policy (NCGP) – a “coalition to fight the lootcrate gambling crisis.”

“We made this decision in response to the current crisis regarding the expansion of loot crate economies and concerns about unregulated online gambling, but also as an acceptance of a long in coming decision that we knew would eventually become necessary,” the press release says. “Games are not represented or understood in the modern political and judicial world, and that needs to change.”

Setting itself apart from developer-oriented groups, NCGP says it intends to form a think tank and provide guidance to policy makers “where video games, politics, and law intersect.” It also declares its intent to form “the video game industry’s first, and de facto, self regulatory organization” that seems to have its sights set on defending devs from their employers.

“As an SRO, our purpose is to protect consumers from unscrupulous video game companies by investigating and bringing legal action against those companies that have damaged the public consciousness in some way, whether mental or physical. To do this we’ve enlisted the aid of game developer’s employees as well. By establishing the first video game industry whistleblower center, we’re able to help the video game industry fight things such as overtime pay. As part of our work as an SRO, we will release a quarterly list of companies who we have cited and the reason for citation.”

The group’s website is barebones at the moment; it lists eight men on the steering committee, representing gaming companies including Incuvation Games, Paralux Interactive, ESL, Black Shell Media, and MultiverseGames.