Gaming News ‘Sony Pays To Prevent Japanese Games From Arriving On Xbox’ US Congress condemns PlayStation’s practices
Does the sprinkler become a sprinkler? After Microsoft was accused of developing unfair competition with its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which is still being validated, Sony is targeted by the US Congress for practices considered anti-competitive in Japan.
“Discriminatory Business Practices”
In March, American politicians voiced their concerns about the Biden administration. Target? Sony and its business practices in his native Japan, which would prevent American companies from being competitive in the Land of the Rising Sun. Accordingly, PlayStation would violate clauses of the 2019 digital trade agreement between the United States and Japan. This agreement stipulates that the two countries will have a “non-discriminatory treatment of digital products“.
As mentioned axiosTen members of the House of Representatives sent two letters to Trade Representative Katherine Tai, and Gina Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce. “Today we are writing to draw your attention to the imbalance in the Japanese video game market, which we fear is the result of discriminatory trade practices that may violate the spirit of the trade agreement between the United States and Japan“we can read on the letters.”PlayStation signs deals to ban hit Japanese games from Microsoft’s Xbox, potentially in violation of Japan’s antitrust laws‘ the letter continues.
Of course, exclusive deals are nothing new in the world of video games and Microsoft signs them too. What is shown here is based on more insidious practices that the Japanese group would have employedsuch as Examples include temporary exclusives for Japan (Destiny, Batman Arkhan Knight), localized versions in Japanese for Sony devices (Monster Hunter World), or even full exclusion agreements to ensure a game doesn’t get released on Xbox or in Game Pass.
PlayStation in viewfinder
Microsoft, for its part, applauds. “Sony’s anti-competitive tactics are worth discussing and we support further investigation to ensure a level playing field in the gaming industry.Microsoft spokesman David Cuddy said Axios. His wish was granted: Katherine Tai has promised to look into the matter.
This case comes at a time when relations between Microsoft and Sony are strained. It’s been a year since we witnessed a real showdown between the two companies over their proposed acquisition of Activision. The Japanese group is asking the authorities to cancel the deal, while the American giant believes that this merger must be approved precisely because of more competition.
This confrontation has led to comic situations, such as when Jim Ryan accused Phil Spencer of washing dirty laundry in public, or when Bobby Kotick gave a lecture to the UK Prime Minister. Recently, Activision showed its desperation while Sony said it was harassed by requests for documents from Spencer’s teams. Despite these tensions between the two rivals, Japan agreed to Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard at the end of March..
