FTC Sues Microsoft over Activision Merger

Started by Mmm_fish_tacos, Dec 08, 2022, 08:58 PM

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darkknightkryta

The issue isn't Microsoft making those games exclusive, the issue is what Microsoft apparently told the EU regulators before the acquisition.  They outright lied.  So Microsoft can say they made a 10 year deal with Nintendo but that won't mean anything after.

nnodley

The issue isn't Microsoft making those games exclusive, the issue is what Microsoft apparently told the EU regulators before the acquisition.  They outright lied.  So Microsoft can say they made a 10 year deal with Nintendo but that won't mean anything after.
yeah thats the biggest red flag i've ever seen to not let this deal go through.

kitler53

Like:



i hear this argument but i saw a post that makes a lot of sense to me,...  in summary:

of course these games were not publicly announced for playstation.  but it is quite likely that sony was able to provide some form of documentation showing that bethesda (prior to the acquisition) was working with sony with these games showing that a multiplat release was expected.  it still shows that the only reason the games aren't coming to playstation is because of MS's acquisition and that the actions directly conflict with MS's statements to the regulators.


Featured Artist: Vanessa Hudgens

the-pi-guy

Quote
Microsoft didn't mislead EU over ZeniMax deal, watchdog says in response to US concerns

Microsoft didn't make any "commitments" to EU regulators not to release Xbox-exclusive content following its takeover of ZeniMax Media, the European Commission has said.

US enforcers yesterday suggested that the US tech giant had misled the regulator in 2021 and cited that as a reason to challenge its proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

"The commission cleared the Microsoft/ZeniMax transaction unconditionally as it concluded that the transaction would not raise competition concerns," the EU watchdog said in an emailed statement.

The absence of competition concerns "did not rely on any statements made by Microsoft about the future distribution strategy concerning ZeniMax's games," said the commission, which itself has opened an in-depth probe into the Activision Blizzard deal and appears keen to clarify what happened in the previous acquisition.

The EU agency found that even if Microsoft were to restrict access to ZeniMax titles, it wouldn't have a significant impact on competition because rivals wouldn't be denied access to an "essential input," and other consoles would still have a "large array" of attractive content.
Era thread

the-pi-guy

porting this over from the era thread.   seems relavant:


Straight from the brief they submitted:
https://ec.europa.eu/competition/mergers/cases1/202124/m10001_438_3.pdf



Someone mentioned that the context for these snippets was that it doesn't make sense to remove already released games from the platform. It didn't make sense to remove Skyrim/Fallout from PS4.
It doesn't say anything about releasing TES VI or Starfield.


I thought there was an instance where someone made some stronger promises to keep Bethesda games on PlayStation, but I am having a hard time finding that instance.
But generally, they were talking about it being a case by case basis. And they weren't making any assurances on the level that MS is currently making with CoD. There weren't any formal agreements with Zenimax, while there is at least one with Activision.

the-pi-guy

Phil Spencer on Sony - They protect their dominance by making Xbox smaller - XboxEra

Quote
When asked about the importance of Call of Duty in the regulatory discussions, Spencer said "There's really only been one major opposer to the deal and that's Sony. Sony is trying to protect their dominance on console. The way they grow is by making Xbox smaller. They have a very different view of the industry than we do. They don't ship their games day and date on PC. They don't put their games in the subscription when they launch their games."

Spencer adds more thoughts, including promising Call of Duty on Playstation, why it doesn't make sense to remove Call of Duty from other platforms, and his confusion on why regulators are worrying so much about how this will impact Sony.
The bottom part of the article is hilarious:
Quote
These comments by Spencer are very honest from his perspective and coincides with a Microsoft that is pulling all the stops to get this deal done. We will have to wait and see how regulators respond and if they buy Microsoft's point of view.

nnodley

man what PR spin.  I never cared much for Spencer before, but i can't stand him even more now.  Everything they spew about this Acti deal just reeks of desperation.

Legend

man what PR spin.  I never cared much for Spencer before, but i can't stand him even more now.  Everything they spew about this Acti deal just reeks of desperation.
You can tell it's the biggest thing to happen in gaming in decades. I can't recal the last time Xbox and PlayStation had any public beef like this.

kitler53

someone should remind spencer that playstation didn't get dominate simply by "making xbox smaller"

xbox earned it's last place finish last gen when it tried to pull one of the most anti-consumer move ever in gaming by forcing an always-online requirement to use their console.


Featured Artist: Vanessa Hudgens

nnodley

not to mention Nintendo is just as dominant as sony. More so sort of handheld/console hybrid but still nintendo and sony are huge.  MS really is just hurt that they haven't been able to replicate Nintendo and Sony's success.

kitler53

not to mention Nintendo is just as dominant as sony. More so sort of handheld/console hybrid but still nintendo and sony are huge.  MS really is just hurt that they haven't been able to replicate Nintendo and Sony's success.
they haven't been able to replicate the success because they haven't been able to cultivate quality 1st party developers.  hence their new focus to just deprive the industry of as many as they can to claim their own.

...and for the record,.. i have almost 0 faith that MS can take these studio and keep them running successfully.   MS being MS will put $$ before content like they always do and kill of CoD just like they killed off Halo.   it will take some time but i'm confident they can do it and once it's dead they'll be back out shopping for more successful franchises they can take over.


Featured Artist: Vanessa Hudgens

the-pi-guy

> The way they grow is by making Xbox smaller. They have a very different view of the industry than we do. They don't ship their games day and date on PC. They don't put their games in the subscription when they launch their games."

Bruh, you've been in the industry for 22 years now, and both of these things you started doing like 5 or 6 years ago. Which both is and isn't that long (some of their studios haven't put out a single game in 4+ years)

I can almost guarantee that people like Jim Ryan have a pretty long memory of Xbox behaving exactly how Phil is claiming that Sony is.

What exactly has Sony done to keep Xbox smaller?

And how does that compare to you know, acquiring two publishers?

kitler53

> The way they grow is by making Xbox smaller. They have a very different view of the industry than we do. They don't ship their games day and date on PC. They don't put their games in the subscription when they launch their games."

Bruh, you've been in the industry for 22 years now, and both of these things you started doing like 5 or 6 years ago. Which both is and isn't that long (some of their studios haven't put out a single game in 4+ years)

I can almost guarantee that people like Jim Ryan have a pretty long memory of Xbox behaving exactly how Phil is claiming that Sony is.

What exactly has Sony done to keep Xbox smaller?

And how does that compare to you know, acquiring two publishers?
...and would you care to comment on the list of competitors MS has put out of business via monopolistic tactics?


Featured Artist: Vanessa Hudgens

the-pi-guy


kitler53

lol

a free 6 months no doubt..


Featured Artist: Vanessa Hudgens

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