FTC judge orders Sony to mostly comply with Microsoft subpoena

FTC's administrative law judge has ordered Sony Interactive Entertainment to mostly comply with Microsoft's subpoena for sensitive business documents.

[XiNatsuDragnel]

Sigh FTC, imo this is scummy.

[lelo2play]

What does Sony have to hide?

[XiNatsuDragnel]

Good question Sony has been pretty honest as we know but hey if Microsoft can claim something now they can.

[darthv72]

...a lot. some would argue they have leveraged their other business in order to get special treatment (exclusivity). I remember that being a sticking point during the HDDVD/Bluray wars. I'm certain MS has done the same.

[S2Killinit]

Nothing. Except if questions about their business procedures were allowed by the judge, that may disclose how Sony run their gaming division so effectively. MS could learn a lot from Sony if those types of questions were allowed in.

But this is how subpoena’s work. You HAVE to provide your responses to other side’s questions. The only time you don't is when they are abusing the process (as MS was doing in their prior attempt).

[The3faces]

What does Sony have to hide? lol
Maybe how they money hat games to keep them off other platforms.,or how they get exclusive content only on playstation. And possibly how they cut deals to keep games out of gamepass just for starters.

[fr0sty]

"Maybe how they money hat games to keep them off other platforms"
"Hi, pot, I'm kettle!"

[Christopher]

I like how all the responses on what do they have to hide are things we already know about.

What they want to hide are the exact details of these agreements. The only way this is fair is if Sony gets Microsoft to do the exact same (such as details on how they get game pass day one deals and how much it costs them). Otherwise it's just one company having its secrets revealed and not both.

[Obscure_Observer]

"What does Sony have to hide?"

Apparently, a lot.

Now we might find out if Sony really has been paying developers and publishers to keep games and content off Xbox consoles.

[bleedsoe9mm]

We had no idea Sony was charging a cross play tax until it came out in court. I wonder if Sony has forced parity clauses the make devs spend extra time on Sony version and neglecting PC and Xbox.

[1Victor]

@ lelo What does Sony have to hide?

Read the article Microsoft was asking asking documentation from PlayStation creator that might contain trade secrets and it got denied 🤦🏿 ,Microsoft was asking for employees performance evaluation and information about deals with 3rd party along all paperwork from the first PlayStation in the 90’s to present 😱.
Just the translation and copy of all that paperwork would cost Sony in the upward of 10 millions compared to the over 2 millions from 2019 to present.
Regardless of Microsoft winning or not now they have access to Sony pass business strategies they can attempt to copy to be “successful” 🤦🏿

[onisama]

paying millions not to add games to ps plus but to block games from coming to GP ...microsoft openly accused Sony and sony never commented or go to court ...so mostly this (which is anasty dirty practice) and also they get to know how much sony pays for 3rd party exclusivity and maybe other stuff they can use

[anubusgold]

@S2Killinit No microsoft wants evidence of sonys shady business practices like making developers not make games look better on xbox because it has more power, making them sign agreements not to appear on gamepass, and all the exclusive content deals to keep content and games off xbox then shove that in the regulators faces that are protecting sony.

[gangsta_red]

@anubusgold
"No microsoft wants evidence of sonys shady business practices like making developers not make games look better on xbox because it has more power"

I personally do not believe this is a practice by any developer. I remember hearing this statement back in the PS3 days, that MS was paying devs to make PS3 versions of their games buggy or not run as well despite PS3 being a more powerful system. If this was something happening in real life this sort of thing would have been exposed.

But for the rest of your points, I agree. MS is trying to show regulators how Sony with all their complaints about this deal how it would hurt them and games and despite being the market leader, is actively keeping multiple games off the Xbox console and Game Pass allegedly.

[anubusgold]

@gangsta_red Developers have come forward saying sony has that in their contract xbox games cant look better.

[TheCaptainKuchiki]

It's not about hiding something. I'm sure every company in the world would be against giving secret documents to their main competitor.

[Christopher]

What I love best about this whole conversation is the people who say "buying out publishers to withhold games from a platform is just business" don't think the same when it's "Sony stops games from going to an optional subscription service but not a platform."

Why can't we just admit these two are competing at the same level and we shouldn't be trying to cheerlead for one to gain more info over the other? Honestly, some people seem to want one of these companies to just disappear when we get what we get because they continue to compete against one another.

[JackBNimble]

Neither company are in this for the best interest of gamers. They are in this for themselves and the shareholders and to think otherwise is naive at best.

[Godmars290]

@darthv72:
"I remember that being a sticking point during the HDDVD/Bluray wars. I'm certain MS has done the same."

Like funding the HD-DVD side of thing to prevent BR from becoming the new standard of the time, thus allowing streaming to start sooner?

Fat lot of good that did them with TV-TV-TV...

[Rude-ro]

You obviously do not own a business nor have a clue how to protect one if you had it if you think it is about “hiding” something.
There is a very long list of shady practices from Microsoft when it comes to competitors…
So I would say what does a business have to protect vs what one has to hide.

[OptimusDK]

@1Victor - SONY are trying to block a 69 billion USD deal by arguing that the biggest player will be hurt extremely even though they have been offered a 10 year deal to keep COD which in itself is unpresedented in the gaming industry. NOW they have to show how this would hurt their business.

We all know that SONY has become big by money hatting games and ending up taking over these developers - it happend from 1990 and forward. Now they are so big that they can leverage their marketshare which they do to push games off other platforms, buy first access, demand parity etc,

They lay as they have made their bed...

[zekk]

@anubus. Without a clause like that in a contract outside parties (ms, Nintendo etc) can pay developers can purposefully downgrade the PlayStation version with no repercussions. While yes it could be seen as underhanded from your point of view from Sony's it would be to ensure the quality of what is put out on their product.

[Lifexline]

Scummy? it’s a legal battle and it’s allowed. This is a good thing for Xbox it can show how Sony pays for third party exclusivity, content and how it pay developers to keep games off game pass that’s anti competitive.

Paying developers to keep games off competing platforms is anti competitive and it should really be looked into whether it’s Sony or Microsoft doing it. They should get fined if the giver enemy really wants to make things good for consumers that’s what they should be looking into. That’s scummy right there.

[LOGICWINS]

And none of this information would've been brought to light if Sony simply kept their mouths shut and allowed this acquisition to go through.

Sony played with fire and now they're getting burnt. I love it!

[darkrider]

Dude, microsoft did the same. It's business.

[Aloymetal]

@LOGICWINS
''Sony played with fire and now they're getting burnt. I love it!''
You can keep loving it all you want but nothing will change or do you really believe that if this deal goes thru MS will suddenly become the market leader and the platform with most hardware and software sales.
MS needs way, way, way more than activision/Bethesda for that dream of yours to become a reality. Keep hoping and loving it tho;)

[Lifexline]

@darkrider do you know how to read?

I stated both Sony and Microsoft paying to keep games off each others platform or any other, get exclusive content, or keep games off game pass or such should be deemed anti competitive and be fined. It’s not just business it’s anti competitive. By your same logic no one should have a problem with the activision purchase but there is a problem. All I’m saying is the e same scrutiny should be applied to actual issues that are actually anti competitive. Those practices harm consumers big time.

If the government really wants to protect consumers this should be priority number one. Hopefully the subpoena opens up scrutiny to this issue. Sony can’t cry that without call of duty they can’t fund their first party games yet still have money to pay for exclusivity or to make sure games stay off competing platforms. That practice needs to be scrutinized by the government no matter who does it.

[shinoff2183]

Ms pays for 3rd party exclusives to lifexline. Why do you guys just say Sony does and act like their the only one. Ms is just as guilty if you wanna say that. They paid to keep tales of vespiria of ps3 in the west. That's why it released on ps3 in Japan and nowhere else except 360. Sounds kinda along the same lines your crying about if Sony really even pays to keep games off gamepass. If so why would you want your competition giving a game a game away for free your trying to sell. Makes sense. Buy some games cheapskates

[porkChop]

@shinoff

He literally said both. Paying a dev just to keep a game you don't own off another platform or service is absolutely anti competitive. That goes for both Sony and Microsoft. It's one thing to do it with indie games where the devs need funding, tools, resources, etc. But to do it with AAA games is scummy.

[Lifexline]

@shinoff do you little kids not know how to read??? I name both Sony and Microsoft as doing those practices being anti competitive and shouldn’t be allowed.

Also I can tell youre a little kid because any adult knows that it’s always good to get a good value and knows the value of money. If I can save by subscribing to game pass why not more money in my pocket. Everyone who is smart and an adult tries to save money. Do you really think billionaires who try to evade taxes do it just for fun. No they want more money in their pocket. Any adult wants that which is why I call you a kid you think like one. Cheapskate no it’s called being an adult and knowing the value of money and not worrying about billion dollar companies having more money as oppose to yourself.

[FlintGREY]

Are you seriously acting like MS with over $1trillon in the bank couldn't easily outbid Sony on EVERYTHING they supposedly paid for? 🤔

[zekk]

We'll I mean if this is being allowed it should go both ways if I'm not mistaken. So that'll mean ms would also have to share every contract from the being onward as well. That would mean we may find out if the rumored contracts with Bethesda to downgrade their games on ps are real for example

[silkylove]

Sony claimed the acquisition would do great harm to them. All the judge did was tell them that they have to provide documentation to back up that claim. How is that scummy?

[S2Killinit]

Admittedly I did not feel like reading this article. But I’ll say this, the fact that the title says Sony must “mostly” comply is basically read the opposite way by anyone who knows about subpoenas. Its actually rare that a judge tells someone to comply MOSTLY. You HAVE to comply with subpoenas fully unless there is reason to believe the requests are reaching and unreasonable. Which the judge ruled recently was the case with MS’s demands.

People on these threads are reading “mostly” as a good thing for MS. Its the opposite.

[SeTTriP]

The FTC is doing its do diligence as a governing body.if sony doesn't want sensitive info getting out they should pull theyre complaints.

Sony has so much in the pipeline that I wish they just let it happen, the quality of COD will go down and the mtx and gamepass price will go up and all the Xbox fans who thought this was a good deal will see for themselves and I'll be right their saying I told you so and so many others.

[porkChop]

It's not scummy. Sony is the main opposition to the acquisition and they've made a lot of claims regarding the deal. You can't just make claims in court. You have to provide documents and such to prove what you're saying. If Sony has been honest then they'll have nothing to hide.

[frostypants]

Wrong. The main opponent to the acquisition is the FTC. Sony is just their biggest competitor at the moment and thus a key player for both sides of the trial (the US government and MS). This trial is about the entire industry. Making it about MS vs. Sony is the worst kind of fanboy stupidity.

[porkChop]

The FTC isn't an "opponent". It's a governing body that is literally there to investigate and ensure any acquisition doesn't harm consumer choice or competition. They govern solely for one country in the world so no they are not the "main opponent".

Sony is formally opposing the deal and is the main voice against it. They have been from the start. They've formally opposed the deal in every major region and have made many claims about the damage the deal would cause. They are indeed the main opposition. That's not fanboy talk it's literally just a fact. That's exactly why the whole thing focuses on how important COD is to Sony.

"Sony is just their biggest competitor at the moment and thus a key player for both sides of the trial (the US government and MS)"

They're not on trial. They're currently figuring out if it still needs to go to trial in August or if the FTC will let the deal go through instead with concessions. The whole point of Sony handing over documents and proving their claims is so the FTC and MS can understand what actual effect the deal would really have on Sony's business.

"This trial is about the entire industry. Making it about MS vs. Sony is the worst kind of fanboy stupidity."

Sony is literally the only one in the industry at this point that is opposed to the deal. The main point of contention is about how this acquisition would affect Sony's business, not anyone else's. It's not fanboy talk, it's literally what is going on. If you don't understand what's actually happening then why are you even commenting?

[neutralgamer1992]

Just approve this or deny and move on. This deal either way will have big domino affects. Those celebrating this deal today don't seem to understand the ramifications long term

Before this generation is over Ubisoft, square enix, Capcom and Sega won't be 3rd party. They will be bought out and in case of square and Capcom both will be acquired soon after Activision deal is through. Square already doesn't release many games elsewhere but Capcom under Sony means Xbox gamers won't get any of their games. So once again try to understand that we as gamers will have less options not more. The only reason acquisitions talk has cooled down is because everyone is waiting on Activision acquisition outcome. Don't be surprised if within days of Activision deal doing through we get multiple announcements of other major acquisitions

[shadowT]

"Sony must also provide information about its exclusivity agreements that were made with third-party publishers." So Xbox will get in the end Activision Blizzard, ZeniMax / Bethesda and all Playstaton business secrets. Sounds like a good deal for Xbox.

[sparky77]

Yep added bonus for all of Sony's bitching.

Hopefully those documents become public it will be like an early E3.

[__SteakDeck__]

You”re an idiot, fighting an imaginary console war.

[dumahim]

And apparently, Sony has to do the translating of the documents. It isn't enough to just find and turn them over.

[blackblades]

It'll cost Sony 2mil just to gather all the stuff. Also Nintendo, valve, Google and take two got subpoenaed. Should mention that in the title but anyway MS gonna know everybody business.

[hadowajp]

I assume (pure speculation) that with the ten year agreements between MS and valve/Nintendo the request for discovery was/will be withdrawn.

[Workshyskiver]

Importantly only if this goes to court. If the FTC decide to drop the case then I don't think Sony has to provide the documents.

[darthv72]

FTC wont just drop the issue unless Sony withdraws their complaint. That is what got them into this mess in the first place. The FTC would still have investigated the deal regardless because it is standard practice when you have mergers and acquisitions. Yet when you have a formal complaint to the matter... it then becomes more involved.

Sony has been so vocal about how this would hurt them, that it is taken as a formal complaint. If they want to keep their secrets, they'd need to withdraw.

[Wikkid666]

Not necessarily... FTC basically said let's see what the EU does. If MS makes concessions to appease the EU then that most likely will be good enough for them as well.

The CMA will be the biggest hurdle with this.

[darkrider]

Won't hurt them.... They will just show all the documents about activision... This show that the deal is far from being approved. That's the reality. Otherwise they wouldn't ask this. The genius here didn't understand that... They see Sony much show documents....

This deal is making too much waves... That's why the words of car salesmen about Xbox being alive even without this deal..

[__SteakDeck__]

Not surprised at all by this. MS has these judges and Washington in their back pocket.

[Asplundh]

You don't believe that they should answer to and back up the claims that they have made? I don't see this as unfair.

[darkrider]

This won't change nothing. Sony knows that it would need to show what activision represent. Only the blind followers here don't understand that. By doing this, it will drag for more time all this deal.

You can't say that activision represent billions for Sony and hide the documents showing that. Courts want proofs that.

I think some here don't understand that Sony also got lawyers.... What this shows is that the ftc is really analyzing the deal.

[The3faces]

Well Sony needs to find better lawyers because MS is wiping the floor with them. It's now being reported the EU won't require concessions from MS for the deal to pass. Either way the deal goes through.

[gangsta_red]

Sure, if that were even remotely true this whole ordeal would never have gone the distance.

[Petebloodyonion]

Well, at least we will all learn an answer to the important debate about why main Final Fantasy games are not on Xbox.
And does Sony really pay companies to prevent games from appearing on Gamepass.

[darkrider]

Why? Sony will show documents about this deal. About activision....

[Petebloodyonion]

Sony will need to show all exclusives deal from 2019 to now, not just stuff related to Activision

[VersusDMC]

We already know they have exclusive marketing contracts that prevent gamepass releases. That was the case for RE village that was revealed during the Google vs apple case.

But that doesn't mean it would have released day 1 or at all on gamepass if they didn't take the deal. For example DMCV was announced at Xbox conference so it didn't have a Sony marketing block but it wasn't on gamepass day one.

And final fantasy is not on xbox for the same reason scorn, high on life,etc aren't on playstation.

What awnsers are we looking for?

[Petebloodyonion]

There's no proof of Sony's blocking fees, how much, and how many took that deal.
MS said that they are pretty sure but it has never been confirmed.

Related to Final Fantasy, one of the arguments I hear all the time here is that it's not on Xbox because games don't sell on Xbox, well, we're about to find out if common sense (exclusive deal) will win versus N4G Fanboyism (Xbox game don't sell).

[shinoff2183]

Don't forget stalker 2,

Ninja Gaiden back in the day , bioshock, dead rising, tales of vespiria on ps3 in the west, last remnant, blue dragon(would've sold better to) , infinite undiscovery, lost planet,

Fact is they both do deals like this, ms advertised cod so hard back in the day you would've thought it was a 360 exclusive. it's a game played by both sides, people.

Also Peteblood

They don't, you alot of this info is searchable

[glennhkboy]

@shinoff2183 It is Sony that claimed that CoD exclusivity will hurt them, while Sony is doing the exact same thing.

[anubusgold]

@shinoff2183 Alot of games were exclusive during the xbox 360 days because the ps3 was a pain in the ass to program for. The cell processor is a pain to this day thats why some games from the ps3 cant be emulated to this day without a lot of work that console has a graphics module that doesnt match AMD or Nvidia designs and developers was confused.

[shinoff2183]

What they have though

All ff13 games released on xbox. Ff15 was. They sold poorly. Sold really bad on xbox. I seen yesterday in the uk ff15 sold 80perce t on ps and 20 percent on xbox. Yall wonder why square took sonys offer or he'll maybe square went to Sony with the deal. YOU GUYS AINT BUYING THEM

[Asplundh]

That 20% on Xbox is 2 million, I wouldn't say that's "really bad".

[Petebloodyonion]

@Shinof
It's logical the game would sell more on PlayStation since it's always been on Playstation and there are twice more Playstation users versus Xbox users.
Add these 2 factors and it's pretty representative of what you see here.

Also if the game is not selling well on Xbox why release spinoffs and obscure titles like Crisis Core or Final Fantasy type 0 but not the main games that are more popular?

[Chevalier]

"It's logical the game would sell more on PlayStation since it's always been on Playstation and there are twice more Playstation users versus Xbox users.
Add these 2 factors and it's pretty representative of what you see here"

Absolutely 💯 idiotic. Maybe you should look up sales and see why. Its not just the number of consoles. Xbox 360 the most popular Xbox system by a huge margin was neck and neck with PS3. Did sales split evenly?! NOPE. Even though the systems were a tie for consoles sold essentially and Playstation FF sales STILL doubled Xbox 360.

https://www.google.com/amp/...

https://www.pcworld.com/art...

Yeah thats in North America where Xbox 360 had more consoles available too. So there goes your dumb theory it's because it's because more consoles sold for Playstation. Because even when Xbox was dominant in the biggest market in the U.S. they still couldn't even come close to more than 1/3 sales.

"Some industry watchers expect the title to increase PS3 sales by 500,000 units. That will be important for Sony, which has languished in THIRD PLACE for sales of the PS3 since it was released – after significant delays and high production costs"

Here's a quote to further prove how wrong you are. See PS3 was THIRD for market share behind both the Wii AND 360. Yet Playstation FF sales took 2/3 of the sales with the LEAST consoles sold in the U.S.

[Aloymetal]

This whole legal drama about ''show me this and show me that '' thing is kinda fun because at this rate, it won't be long before they ask/force MS to reveal their hardware sales figures from this gen and probably last one and that will certainly shock their fanbase. That'll be fun to watch.

[Petebloodyonion]

They already provided that info in several instances since they claim to be in 3rd place.
You won't have a number because the info is redacted.

[autobotdan]

Yeah that hardware sales numbers would actually help Microsoft win out the court cases and complete the activition Blizzard sake. It would benefit Microsoft

[onisama]

you think they didnt show sales numbers already to the commissioners lol, it will be more fun seeing the money gven to Sequare enix also the money paid to capcom and other dev to block games from GP, it will be intresting

[Aloymetal]

Yes, very interesting indeed, what do you think is going to happen after all this legal stuff and MS/Activision deals goes thru? Do you think XBOX will become the market leader and also the most popular platform with the highest hardware/software sales? I'm curious because I'm collecting comments like yours to review again by the end of this gen...

[shinoff2183]

Onisama

It won't change the fact that ms takes part in that game to. I'd love to play stalker 2 on my ps when it releases.

[onisama]

@aloymetal
I dont care for most selled console its not my company and i dont think even microsoft cares they care about subs numbers but i do care of having all AB on gamepass and play them on my pc/console also some exclsuives from them will be great

Actually its funny ps fanboys still try to make fun of xbox saying it doesn't have exclsuives when this gen xbox and ps is pair to pair and xbox has lot of games in dev and more serious to invest in gaming

[onisama]

@shinoff

Funny that you think i dont know that? This comments its for all those fanboys that act like sony is a saint and seviors but if clear your head and analyse PS actions this gen (ps5) you will see that they are being anti consumer they are no saint and they are using their slaves to reach the gain insane profits!!!

When PS give me a better deal than xbox i will swipe not looking back an inch

[bleedsoe9mm]

Sony doesn't want this dirty laundry out there

[gold_drake]

so from 2019 until now.

what is there, ff7 remake/integrate, ff 16.

im not sure if im missing something.

[onisama]

silent hill remake
forspoken
stellar blade
hagwards legacy exlusive contents
COD exclusive contents
also all future exclusivity (that already on the work)

[shinoff2183]

Dude

Ms has exclusive shit to. Even when they had marketing for cod they had exclusive stuff. They've had 3rd party exclusives since they stepped into gaming. Nintendo Sony and ms play that game why are you so upset over Sony man.

[shinoff2183]

Exactly

Xbox has had most of squares offerings besides forspoken and 2 final fantasy. Pretty sure the old ones were on or are still on gamepass to. Maybe I'm missing a couple but damn yall

[glennhkboy]

Most of the SE games are not on Gamepass now (except Outrider & FF15).

[Gamer_Dude]

Looks like the EU is set to approve the Microsoft, Activision/Blizzard deal according to PC Gamer. Sony should just drop the complaints and sign the 10-year deal before all their dirty laundry gets aired.

[darkrider]

That news doesn't have any new information.... Is talking about Nintendo and Nvidia again. That never talk about Cod... I really hope it ends at 25 April.... But it won't... Because Microsoft will try to buy another publisher...

[Gamer_Dude]

Looks new to me. https://www.pcgamer.com/mic...

[Andrew336]

Some of you need to seek help from a professional or something.

[onisama]

i hope the details get to public..i know that all companies got dirty secrets but this is a good chance to at least let those fans that act like sony is some kind of god know whats in the inside, but i dont think they will stop blindly supporting them despite sony already known practices (no crossplatform, charging extra fro dev that include crossplat, blocking games from GP, buying lot of 3rd party games exclusivity annualy, pay to get exclusive contents, make indie dev pay to put their games up in the store....)this all next to anti consumer practices such (being the leader to raise prices of games to 70$ soft remasters and remakes at 70$ raising 2 yo console prices by 50$ next gen scam upgrade 10$ no crossgen, you cant play some crossgen games on ps5 even if you own them and you have to buy them again.

PS is no saint

[shinoff2183]

Ms has done all these things as well onisama. Along with all their lawsuits since they've pretty much been around. Ms wants to become a monopoly in everything it has it's hands in and has been sued countless times by governments.

[SeTTriP]

They're the gods of gaming innovation and pushing the medium forward and I don't want it for cheap, I know my hobbies and how much out of pocket it cost to keep up with my hobbies and as long as the quality doesn't diminish I'm good with paying.

This will just give Xbox another reason to do nothing, which is what they are for gaming a big nothing a copy and paste machine with lots of capital.

[onisama]

When you corner a fanboy: those are my hobbies and they dont come for cheap

Well its the hobby of million next to you lot of them cant throw money left and right! when a company is making dominating and start uaing their fanbase we should push back !!

And what about those shady practices aren't you the same people crying on all xbox related article and praising sony even they are the worst of the 3 in their business and consumer practices this gen?

God of gaming? Nintendo the maker and the survivor of 7 gens is crying in their bed

[Hereandthere]

Its all sonys fault that xbox does not have any exclusives narrative is so weak and pathetic. Ex microsoft out right turned down making spiderman, they laughed and turned down yakuza till recently.

[shinoff2183]

Hereandthere

They certainly did. Then cried about it when it blew up

[CrimsonWing69]

Well, fair is fair. Can't wait to take a look at these.

[gangsta_red]

Things are heating up even more. It'll be interesting to see what all comes out because of this.
But I have a feeling it won't be anything shocking that we didn't already know or where aware of between these two companies and how they conduct business with third party developers.

[Battlestar23]

I hope the FTC force Sony go multi-platform because of this as i want all their games on Xbox and Xbox to be the only console other then Switch.

[gangsta_red]

Ha! I can honestly say that will never happen, the FTC can't force a company do anything of the sort.

I do hope that this shines a light on just how inane Sony's complaints were about this deal, considering that CoD was their only concern and that it was always on the table for them to have.

[P_Bomb]

“…i want all their games on Xbox and Xbox to be the only console other then Switch.”

God help us all

[Hypertension140]

@P_Bomb

Finally someone said it, this has been the mentally of all xbox fanboys when Microsoft started their buying spree. I knew it all along.

[Battlestar23]

Well seems Sony is going to have egg on it's face now regarding how they say MS are money-hatting Exclusives when it's Sony that is doing the majority of it especially with their anti-gampass clauses.

I wonder if Sony will be legally reprimanded for playing the victim and wasting the FTC's and other groups time with their refusal to let MS buy Activision in order to help themselves combat Sony's monopoly in the gaming industry.

[AmUnRa]

All the armchair lawers on many forums are acting they know the law and all in and outs about this merger...wakeup call, you all dont know sh*t.
Let the profesionals do the talking and let the CMA and EU and the FTC do they'r work.
Al that jibberjabber and consolewars on the forums is useless.
When the 3 instances give theyr verdict i hope it will be the end of it, what the outcome will be but...i believe it will be even worse...

[Einhander1971]

Microsoft don't give a shit when they are trying to buy up every developer going. Sony is still winning anyway.

[Thundercat77]

The cancer of the gaming industry trying to feed and learn from Sony's business strategies. It is not enough for them to take games from the competition but they also want to steal competitors strategies.

[giovonni]

Interesting… can you explain how they are taking games from the competition please?

[Gamer_Dude]

Please tell me your comment is satire.

[YourMommySpoils]

Basically Microsft's plan all along was just to take Sony to court to steal their successful business model. MS being typical MS, a dodgy corrupt company. A new low bar.

[DnBSkillZ]

What makes me laugh the most are the xbots that think/want playstation gone play let me tell you something if Sony have to sell PS division they will and let me tell you if Apple comes into play it will be game over for MS, PS is simly to big of a brand to just disappear

[UltimateRacer]

This has no benefit for MS as most exclusive deals Sony make are JRPG titles which only sell well on PlayStation anyways and the developers know this hence they make these type of deals. Let’s be honest here MS have/are doing the exact same thing maybe not to the same extent but look at High On Life, MS keeping that off PlayStation aswell as other ip from Bethesda that have been on PlayStation since PS3 like the next Elder Scrolls, Outer Worlds 2 won’t be on PlayStation. It’s the pot calling the kettle black.

[SPEAKxTHExTRUTH]

Sony has made several accusations against MS so now they need to prove them. This is how ANY court should work. It doesn’t matter if it’s Sony VS MS this is a matter of providing proof of your accusations. You’d want the same if you was the one being accused of whatever…

[Crows90]

Except sony doesnt have the proof. MS is monopolizing the industry. No Sony document is going to prove that..it's simply evident. They said they have more acquisitions planned after ActiBlizzard. Like wtf?

[SPEAKxTHExTRUTH]

Well fortunately the court’s disagree with you and told Sony to show proof.

[richardmmorales]

Funny seeing some ask if Xbox fans think this deal will make Xbox surpass Sony.
I haven't seen any Xbox fan say or even show they think that. But you know who I have seen who thinks that, Sony.
Sony in their complains act as if this deal is gonna make Xbox surpass Sony. Which I haven't seen anyone else think this would happen if the deal goes through.

[ActualEngineer]

Sometimes like these I do believe rhe comment section is made out of different bots that converse with eachother.

Like seriously?! You think the biggest software company in the world needs Sony's key to success acquired via legal actions ?! 🤣 They just want to be able to show to court that Sony would pay hefty amounts to make the game a timed exclusive - just to have similar effect to an actual exclusive in the end, when it comes to public perception...

Like which one of you didn't think that Deathloop was a Sony console exclusive in the end, without reading articles online?! It took TOO LONG to hit XBOX and almost who ever wanted to play it, had bought it already ...

[Crows90]

Thats easy. Its made by arkane. They do multiplatform games. If you are actually into gaming you tend to know these things. Only xbox fans fall for fake exclusives.

[Moonwalker00]

Sony reminds me of the bitter wife who goes out of their way to mess up the person they are divorcing but it all backfires. This is a lesson in hypocrisy

[DarXyde]

"Sony must also provide information about its exclusivity agreements that were made with third-party publishers. This has been significantly controversial among gamers and it is highly unlikely that the public will get access to this information, but Microsoft will undoubtedly use Sony's lucrative PlayStation exclusivity contracts against the Japanese company in its defense."

That seems fair to me. We won't know much of the details, but given that Sony has a chance to redact the most sensitive business elements, I say why not? I don't think this is an unreasonable ask at all, frankly. If this data is restricted to exclusivity deals with publishers, I don't see what they would be trying to hide. Worst case, it confirms some upcoming announcements that Sony doesn't want to release too soon. Otherwise, Sony should really comply with this. No real trade secrets should come out since they have the ability to redact some things (e.g, costs, maybe even specific names of upcoming titles). I suspect the only reason they would be so against this is if there's something extensively damning in there. I don't think it's going to confirm the theories Xbox fanboys have about Sony paying to gimp the Xbox versions of games, but perhaps something else? I really have no idea.

Either way, if Sony doesn't want this deal to go through, they should have been prepared to show they aren't being hypocrites. If they're worried... Well...I suppose we'll know soon, won't we?

[WelkinCole]

Lol ms

1. They say they are no longer in competition with sony. They are going a diffetent path and not focuisng on the console war.
2. Not focus on hardware but on services on multiple hardware with their centerpiece gamepass

So what now? Gamepass not getting them an edge over sony in the console war?

After buying nt, plsyground, obsidian not enought
? How about bethseda? No?

No they have to buy the biggest 3rd party publusher because they just suck monkey balls they cant still top Sony lol!

Pathetic

[lonewolf10]

This could be eye opening

[TheEnigma313]

MS is just plain bad for the game industry.