A US Senator Just Wrote To Sony Directly About Their Anti-Competitive Practices

GameRanx: "Senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota has written Sony a letter about their anti-competitive practices, and requesting information about the company.

The great irony of this situation is that Sony drew attention to themselves to make this happen."

[Lifexline]

Good hopefully something gets done Sony is the epitome of Hypocrisy. It's time they get in trouble for their actual anti competitive practices. Third party publishers should be multiplatform and the choice should be for the consumers to choose what platform to play on especially if they can afford to fund it. Unless they acquire the company then exclusivity is not cool especially to pay to keep games off other platforms.

[Jin_Sakai]

It’s not Sony nor Nintendo’s fault for being better gaming company’s and making better games. Blame Microsoft for their poor first party studio management and bad priorities.

[shinoff2183]

Your exactly right. Ms has been known as a studio killer for years.

Also why would some devs want to develop for Xbox when the fan base expects everything to just come to gamepass. Game sales show that

[Lifexline]

That has nothing to do with the practices being outlined here. Yeah they make quality games that is not the issue at hand. No one’s is doubting that.

You are going off topic they are talking about anti competitive practices which Sony is guilty of and shined a light on those practice themselves. Yes Microsoft and Nintendo do it as well and yes it should be looked into as well it should be a standard for the industry if it makes you feel better.

[Jin_Sakai]

“You are going off topic they are talking about anti competitive practices which Sony is guilty of and shined a light on those practice themselves.“

You shouldn’t have to buy the worlds largest 3rd party publisher for $70 billion when they currently have far more studios than Sony and Nintendo.

Then we just get news that Redfall is only 30fps at launch. A complete joke if you ask me. Their first party output is a joke.

[Lifexline]

@jin okay what does that have to do with the topic at hand?

[dcbronco]

Not surprised this happened. I predicted it would. Sony spent a lot of money trying to kill Xbox by buying exclusives over the years. It was wrong for them to complain about Microsoft spending money to compete. No matter how bad you want to claim Microsoft management is, this was the most boneheaded move in gaming history. More than Don Mattrick's 360 comment. Sony should drop the case and never speak of it again.

[Jin_Sakai]

“I predicted it would. Sony spent a lot of money trying to kill Xbox by buying exclusives over the years.“

Microsoft’s vision was to “own” the living room and Xbox was the answer that never worked.

And funny you say that considering Microsoft was the one with exclusive CoD content for the entire 360/PS3 generation.

[Strange99]

Lmao, Nintendo as much as I grew up on them on love them, do not, in any way, make better games.

[Gamer_Dude]

How about we blame Sony for paying to keep games off Xbox.

[Mr_Writer85]

"Yes Microsoft and Nintendo do it as well and yes it should be looked into as well"

But it's not, this guy is focusing purely on Sony.

And until the practice as a whole is looked at then it's not an issue.

Also it's not anti competitive if the others are also doing it which you admit they do.

[-Foxtrot]

I love how the US feel this is an attack on them as a whole when it’s just at MS

If Sony was a country they’d be invaded by now

[shinoff2183]

Third party publishers should be multiplatform. Lol your words

What until ms buys them right.

Buying 3rd party exclusive is not anti competitive when your competitors are doing it to. Nintendo does it microsoft does it to whether you wanna believe it or not ms does it to.

[Chevalier]

"They keep games off of other platforms, even when it's not even their companies"

Are you stupid?! Dies Xbox own the studios for exclusives like Ark 2? Contraband? Warhammer Darktides? Stalker 2? None of which are Xbox studios? Gtfo. The pot calling the kettle black.

[isarai]

People keep shouting hypocrisy, show me when Sony bought a publisher?....I'll wait

[SonyStyled]

When they released their first console, when they had no first party studios, when they were originally starting out with a new cd drive for Nintendo that later became a concept for PlayStation, when xbox didn’t exist, Sony purchased Psygnosis. The IPs you’ll find on PlayStation from Psygnosis the past decade are Wipout and Lemmings.

Therefore SoNy DiD iT tOo and because of PlayStations success MS ‘deserves’ the Act/Blizz purchase after Zenimax fair and square, as Sony made the precedent in 1998(?). /s

[MadLad]

They keep games off of other platforms, even when it's not even their companies. Things don't need to be apples to apples in order to be similar.
They are the ones who tried to block a merger; calling into anti-consumer and anti- competitive behavior.
All the while deep into their own greedy self-interests.

The difference is Microsoft never took them to court over it.

[Imalwaysright]

Psygnosis. A publisher whose games in the 90s accounted for 40% of game sales in Europe.

[Redemption-64]

@Imalwaysright

Psygnosis at their hight had about 80 people, not even in the same camp as Activision. Second Psygnosis kept releasing on numerous platforms. They even had exclusive games to some platforms 4-5 after Sony acquired them.

If you are going to list Psygnosis, be sure to include their size and how they still released exclusive games for other platforms years after being acquired by Sony. Am sure we can expect the same from from Microsoft right?

[Imalwaysright]

Redemption-64

I don't give a shit about your goalposts as they are completely irrelevant and last I checked MS 1st party games have been multiplatform for quite some time.

[Redemption-64]

@Imalwaysright

Facts don't care about your feelings Mr. Bot. I get it hurts you and your ilk, but that is reality. Psygnosis was releasing exclusive games on other platforms 4-5 years after being acquired by Sony and even published by other publishers. These are facts you bots can't accept and we all know Microsoft is never going to do what Sony did with Psygnosis. I also noticed you and your ilk don't like talking about the size of Psygnosis and we all know why.

Super NES, Sega Genesis, Sega CD, Sega Saturn, and Nintendo 64 are some platforms that Psygnosis released exclusive games for while still own by Sony. I have not seen Microsoft do this. Imagine Bethesda releasing a Playstation exclusive, published by EA 5 years from now

[Imalwaysright]

Redemption-64

Facts? It is a fact that Psygnosis was a publisher and it is a fact that MS games have been multiplatform for years. You talk about my feelings but you're the one that is emotional about me stating facts and bringing irrelevant stuff about the size of Psygnosis as if that mattered in any way, shape or form and what makes it hilarious is that it shows your ignorance about how much smaller the industry was in the 90s when compared to now. When Kotick acquired Activision in the 90s there were only 150 people working for the company but by all means carry on with your prideful ignorance as I find it rather amusing.

[Redemption-64]

@Imalwaysright

It's also a fact that Psygnosis had between 40-50 people people when Sony acquired them, nothing even remotely similar to what Activision is. At their highest, they had 80 people. Seriously, which publisher has such few people? Activision? You can even call Bungie a publisher and they don't even match the size, the number of IPs, or studios of Bethesda and Activision.

Even while under Sony, Psygnosis was still publishing games for other publishers. Microsoft has not done that. Microsoft is releasing some of their games as multi-platform, but none of their studios is doing what Sony did with Psygnosis. But maybe you can list the Microsoft own studios that are releasing games published by other publishers and releasing exclusive on other platforms? I mean we both know you can't, but I would love to see you try.

Comparing Psygnosis to Activision is just as desperate as Comparing Bungie to Activision/Bethesda.

[thesoftware730]

Here you go.

https://variety.com/1993/bi...

https://www.engadget.com/so...

Both companies were publishers. I think your point was irrelevant anyway, but because, buying 5 devs is the same shit as buying 1 pub with 5 dev under it.

[Imalwaysright]

Redemption-64

You are the one that is desperatly comparing the size of a publisher from the 90s with a publisher from the 2020s as if that changed the fact that the publisher from the 90s was you know, a publisher. All I did was to state the undeniable fact that Sony acquired a publisher.

So you're trying to once again change your completely irrelevant goalposts from MS games being multiplatform to MS not publishing games from other publishers? What does that change? Don't you understand that nothing you say changes the fact that Sony acquired a publisher? You called me a bot but it is you doesn't seem to have an iota of critical thinking.

[RedDevils]

Imalwaysright got called out by his own game, fucking clown.

[Imalwaysright]

RedDevils

Called out by whom? No amount of spinning, sophisms, changing of goalposts or gaslighting you'll change the fact that Sony acquired Psygnosis in 1993. You PS fanboys are certainly getting emotional today and I want all of you to know that I'm sitting here laughing at you.

[OptimusDK]

Are you for real maybe you should look into the Sony history a bit. You sound like you are 10 years old

[sparky77]

Agreed hopefully they can make timed exclusivity deals illegal.

Either you buy and fund a company or everyone should have access.

[SoulWarrior]

"Either you buy and fund a company or everyone should have access."

So timed exclusive is somehow worse than longstanding multiplatform IPs going exlclusive forever, interesting.

[derek]

@sparky they'll do no such thing. There is thing called privity of contract, they will never stop two private corporations from entering into deals with each other it will not happen. This is all grandstanding to assist Microsoft in pushing their purchase through in the US.

[Chevalier]

Why would it be illegal to make deals for properties your own company owns?!

Last I checked Stalker 2, Warhammer Darktides, Contraband, Ark 2 are all timed exclusives by Xbox?! How come you guys don't go into those threads and call out Xbox then?! Doesn't fit your agenda?!

[Abracadabra]

European and American commissions have been ignoring Sony's monopolistic anti-competitive practices for ages.
Pity all this noise will go nowhere. Sony will continue with their scummy deals...

[SoulWarrior]

How exactly are Sony monopolistic when they aren't the ones spending 80 billion to swoop up mountains of content and IPs forever? Most of their success has come from studios they've held longstanding relations with mostly working on Sony owned IP before being acquired.

They've made one large purchase in recent years and it's a single studio, whom are allowed to develop for whatever platforms they want, unlike what MS have done with Bethesda, cancelling PS versions of already in development games (redfall).

Why are Sony's timed exclusive deals somehow a crime against humanity but MS doing the same with Stalker 2, Valheim and countless indie games this gen already are not?

[tay8701]

Absolutely nothing will come of this. The senator has zero authority and his "demands" are pretty hysterical. Sony doesn't have to respond to this idiot and they won't. Not sonys fault MS is incompetent and can't compete. Not sonys fault MS doesn't make games japanese players care about. Not sonys fault xbox gamers won't buy jrpgs. MSlikes to play the role.of the weak underdog. Oh no 2 trillion dollar company can't compete with the companies who actually make good games.

[thesoftware730]

You really sound mad bro. Why is he an idiot? for stating actual facts about things? like it or not nothing e said is a lie.

MS are buying A/B and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it lol.

[tay8701]

@thesoftware. Did I say the ABK aquisition wasn't going to go through?
Yes he is an idiot, because he has zero authority and expects them to send him thousands of pages of documents within the span of just a couple weeks. This is all just for show. Guarantee sony laughed their asses off at his ridiculous demands. They don't have to and won't respond to this guy. Again he has zero authority and these "facts" he listed aren't facts at all. The senators and or MS would get laughed out of court if this were ever to go to trial. You can't try to paint sony as a monopoly in Japan and conveniently forget that nintendo dominates japan. You can't thrown out all of pc/steam sales. Sony doesn't have 98% of sales in Japan. MS knows that, these senators know that, the world in general knows that. MS are just trying to stop sony from retaliating once the ABK aquisition goes through. They know sony will be buying up some Japanese publishers/studios where MS's war chest means almost nothing.

[Redemption-64]

Seriously, you bots live in some made up bubble where only Sony pays for exclusive games, calling them anti competitive practices, while ignoring Microsoft who not only has a history of doing the same things, some of their upcoming titles are from 3rd party companies that they paid to keep off Playstation, but you know, MS and bots would rather cry to politicians. Microsoft has been doing this for years. I recall when they paid for exclusive Fifa legends players for 2-3, don't recall a single bot ever crying or calling them out for it, Sony pays for an exclusive skin and the crying starts.

Sony will more than likely just ignore these politicians and we all know why some of these politicians are crying, right after talking to Microsoft.

[Kekewei]

Why acquisition can justify a exclusivity I really don't understand. At least part of the reason for a third-party exclusive comes from the support of generations of specific platform fanbase. But acquisition exclusivity is pure company's act. MS is trying to change the competition rule to "money talk" only.

[MADGameR]

You are completely ignorant and out of your mind. Microsoft can't get their stuff together with their 1st party studios. They are an absolute mess. It is MS's fault and not SONY's. SONY is in a great position and should stay as the dominant power in the gaming industry. Because they pump out the best games and they are AAA exclusives. To rag SONY because they don't want to put their games on your preferred platform is a you problem. Considering what happened with TLOU Part 1 Remake on PC, its best if SONY should keep PS5 games FIRST exclusive on PS5.

[Hereandthere]

If games don't sell on xbox it's not sonys fault they make their games exclusive to PlayStation and Nintendo.Phil killed Xbox game sales with game pass, sonys version of plus is way better than game pass and its also better for developers.

[mkis007]

So as long as you have the power and money to make them first party by buying them its ok then??? Doesnt seem very competitive.

[outsider1624]

"Third party publishers should be multiplatform."

Well tell that to Microsoft. They couldn't keep up with Sony and Nintendo so they just buy. If this doesn't work..they'll buy EA, Take2.

They might as well buy The VGAs while at it too.

[thesoftware730]

They are going off-topic as usual because it's hard to argue with bonified facts!

Sony bought Bungie and plan to use their online tech and knowledge. They pretend and portray the image that all of Bungie's future games are multi-platform, but we know that won't be the case. Then they act like a company with no morals and use the most childish ways to block an acquisition, "MS will make our games buggy" wtf? they serious with that elementary ass reason? I didn't hear MS saying....No, they will make our Destiny 2 Updates buggy. Then they moved on to GP.

Funny enough, Sony was first between the two companies with a gaming sub-service, PSNow, it just wasn't that good, poorly done, but the fact remains they were trying to do what MS is now trying to do, be the Netflix of gaming, the problem is MS came along and did it better, made it more attractive to gamers, and didn't half-step like Sony did, charge you for the service and then you still had to buy new 1st party games at $60, trying to have its cake and eat it too.

Then they put out a complaint about Gampass to the FTC, all while bolstering. and Revamping PS+, their own sub-service and actually making it a great value and doing the same exact deals MS are doing to get games on the service, paying devs, and even having day 1 releases(stray and that Zelda type game) ... the only difference is, they are still refusing to put day one 1st party games, half stepping, so tell me wtf are they complaining about? All while blocking games off GP while they are doing the same exact thing practices.

They pay to keep games off of Game Pass, not even to secure exclusives, just off of GP, which is playing dirty and stifling a service that MS needs to compete. All the while throwing stones at MS, it was bound to come back, and even if MS did behind the scenes dirt, they never once openly tried to stop one of Sony's dirty dealings or reveal it, until Sony opened the can of worms.

[derek]

@thesoftware, what are you even talking about? So when this abk deal is pushed through and Microsoft continues to fail with 1 million studios under their control, what will be your excuse then? Face it, the public has found xbox/Microsoft brand unappealing and has largely rejected them. It will be interesting to watch them try and force the public into buying into their crummy "ecosystem ". Lol

[thesoftware730]

Derek,

Umm im talking about Sony doing the same shit as MS but getting some sort of pass.

To sum it up.

Sony has a Sub service just like MS, with day one 3rd party releases, but yet they complained about GP to the FTC.

Sony pays to keep games directly off of gamepass...not off Xbox all the time, but GP...anti-competitive for sure.

They Aquire companies large and small, then complain about MS acquisition.

They cried about " MS possibly making games for PS buggy"...childish argument at best. Ms never said bungie games on Xbox would be buggy.

So point being is, Sony gets a pass for dirty shit.

[derek]

@thesoftware, you guys have paid way too much attention to the arguments made in these legal documents. These lawyers are paid 1000$ plus per hour to make every single argument against this acquisition no matter how petty and silly you may find them leave no stone unturned.They are not made for public consumption but everything surrounding this acquisition has been unconventional.

[derek]

@Lifexline, you sound ridiculous name one anticompetitive practice Sony is doing that Microsoft themselves aren't currently engaged in, just 1. Are xbox fans this desperate for a "win" that they would cheer on "the senator from North Dakota "?!Lol who has suddenly taken an interest in videogames and exclusivity deals. Lol. Newsflash, xbox sucks as a platform because they are owned by soulless bloated trillion dollar corporation who doesn't have a shread of creativity and when losing seeks to spend their way to success. No amount of buying publishers or politicians is going to change that. They will get their abk and quickly run it into the ground like they're already doing with Bethesda. Lol.

[Flawlessmic]

🤡🤡 its clown show in this thread lolllll where my popcorn

[1Victor]

Nothing to see here just another Republican Party member looking up for their party affiliated big corporations and more than likely going to introduce a bill to lower their taxes 🤦🏿

[1Victor]

@ life’s: “Good hopefully something gets done Sony is the epitome of Hypocrisy. It's time they get in trouble for their actual anti competitive practices. Third party publishers should be multiplatform and the choice should be for the consumers to choose what platform to play on especially if they can afford to fund it. Unless they acquire the company then exclusivity is not cool especially to pay to keep games off other platforms”

Good hopefully something gets done MICROSOFT is the epitome of Hypocrisy. It's time they get in trouble for their actual anti competitive practices. Third party publishers should be multiplatform and the choice should be for the consumers to choose what platform to play on especially if they can afford to fund it.

THERE I FIX IT for yo to reflect reality.
you’re WELCOME

[ocelot07]

Keep games of other platforms? Their was this other company that has done the same thing for many years. I just can't for the life I me remember this company.

They kept games like Dead Rising 3, Gears of War (before buying the IP) for example off other platforms.

Kept massive DLC off other platforms for the likes of GTA4, Fallout, Skyrim, FIFA Legends (before they became icons). The list goes on. I wonder what company did this and a lot more.

Let's cut the crap. Microsoft did that and was happy to do so. All companies do it. I don't agree with it. But they all do it.

[ChasterMies]

“Third party publishers should be multiplatform”

So you are ok with Microsoft spending $80B to buy up third party publishers and Sony spending up to $18B in response? Because with enough consolidation, we won’t have third party publishers.

[Flakegriffin]

Shut up.

[-Foxtrot]

Gotta love the spin

MS gets called out about it’s anti competitive practices and the general response is

“Nuh uh…you are”

[hiroyukisanada]

@Lifexline.You trolls crack me up 😂 Sony, MS and Nintendo all sign deals for second and third party exclusives. Every year, every generation. Don't get upset because these developers CHOOSE to work with Sony. They aren't forced to😂 Quit trying to "white knight" your way for MS and lie to these folks. Shit ain't gonna fly.
Know what happens when MS buys out all the publishers???... You guessed it..... No CHOICE on who they work with. They have to do what MS says.

[frostypants]

You think third parties should be REQUIRED to make multiplatform titles? That is straight up stupid. Just stop. They make the product they want to make. They owe you nothing.

And while I don't like paid exclusivity, MS are the ones who perfected that nonsense.

As for this senator, he is no doubt getting campaign support from MS for doing this.

[S2Killinit]

This senator is a paid employee of MS. Literally.

[neutralgamer1992]

Lifexline

Oh the irony. 3rd party should be multiplatform but it's ok for MS to buy Activision and zenimax right? I guess this US senator is getting kickbacks because that's how you have a long career in politics

[MaximusPrime_]

An American politician getting involved... the irony

[Abracadabra]

Since this is related to America, what did you expect?... would you prefer a Russian politician getting involved in American deals?

[SonyStyled]

“I’m from the government and I’m here to help” - a joke made by some old guy 45 years ago

[Dirtnapstor]

What are you talking about? He may not be an American, ergo, he cannot state "our politicians..."

[343_Guilty_Spark]

I’m sure he would.

[Dirtnapstor]

Lol, exactly what I inferred as well.

[PapaBop]

I wonder how much he charges Microsoft per letter?

[darkrider]

Lol, the excuses are ridiculous.... Buying bungie where destiny is available on Xbox consoles.... Fighting Microsoft... Not accepting the deal offered by Microsoft.... Tryng to get exclusives games...

Of course that Sony should bend the knee to Microsoft. A company that wasn't able to manage 16 studios and now will hsve 40 studios, more then Sony and Nintendo combined and is taking not only Cod but tons of titles from 200 million console players...

How much did this senator got to say this...

[Majin-vegeta]

M$ has donated $5k to him

[lodossrage]

I told people there was probably more than just Senator Cantwell in Microsoft's pockets.

Always look at a congressman or Senator's donor list to see how they vote and make laws. Cantwell has Microsoft as a donor. This other senator might get money from them too.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

@Lodossrage,

In Australia, we have a website called "They vote for you" which shows all the major policies and standings of any given politician, really eye opening when you see how corrupt politicians can be.

[lodossrage]

@FinalFantasyFanatic

In America, Bernie Sanders and Ro Khanna both tried to push a similar thing to show how leaders voted. Of course, almost everyone voted against it since it would have exposed almost everyone's corruption.

[ModsDoBetter]

Is available on Xbox, for now*

[SonyStyled]

I hope they keep producing an ‘Xbox’

[ModsDoBetter]

@Sony, I’m referring to @darkrider here:

“Buying bungie where destiny is available on Xbox consoles”

Should’ve made that clearer.

[XiNatsuDragnel]

Oh senator claim this stuff Microsoft when they clearly don't know how to cater gaming in general.

[Christopher]

***paying publishers not to distribute games on rival platforms***

The thing everyone does.

***lobbying the FTC and regulators abroad to block the Microsoft – Activision deal***

As opposed to Microsoft lobbying the FTC and regulators abroad to approve the deal?

***Sony acquiring Bungie in spite of blocking Microsoft’s deal***

Yeah, those are the same level. Bungie isn't even at Bethesda levels. Activision w/CoD is not on the same level as Microsoft or Sony on their own, let alone compared to past purchases.

***Sony refusing to sign Microsoft’s ten year deal***

What was the deal, Senator? What were the details and requirements Sony would have to agree to? Was it fair or do you just think what Microsoft said was fair because they said it was fair? You trust Microsoft, but not Sony?

---

Look, I'm all fine about having an opinion, but at least have an opinion that isn't hypocritical or ignorant of the specifics.

[darkrider]

Totally agree!!!!

[lodossrage]

What really gets me about this whole thing is that these senators and congressmen say what they do WHILE evidence of why this deal shouldn't happen is literally happening right now with Bethesda.

And I love how they bring up Bungie. Bungie is a SINGLE studio. And if I remember correctly, the FTC DID examine that deal. I don't remember them doing the same for that Bethesda deal. Take that for what you will

[RauLeCreuset]

"As opposed to Microsoft lobbying the FTC and regulators abroad to approve the deal?"

And politicians locally apparently.

[Imalwaysright]

Everyone does that? Does MS pay 3rd party publishers to not put their games on ps plus like Sony allegedly pays third party devs/publishers to not release their games on gamepass? Funding a 3rd party game and have it exclusive to your console/online service is not the same as paying 3rd devs/publishers so that they don't release the games they themselves funded from being released on other platforms.

Did MS ever use their leverage or resources to attempt to block a deal Sony was trying to make? Did MS try to block Sony from acquiring Bungie while they were trying to acquire Activision? Is using your leverage to make a deal you're directly involved in go through anti-competitive? Isn't using your leverage to block a deal your company isn't directly involved in by definition anti-competitive?

[CBaoth]

you like to victimize MS a lot. Is it easy to schill for a 2 trillion dollar company? Just asking for a friend.

Must be hard hating on Sony all these years. I've been here all these years like you so don't lie now. But I gotta long couch if you wanna lay down and tell me where Uncle Sony touched you

[Imalwaysright]

Sure I'll tell you where Sony touched me after you tell me where I touched you and how much you loved it.

[Chevalier]

"Everyone does that? Does MS pay 3rd party publishers to not put their games on ps plus like Sony allegedly pays third party devs/publishers"

Weird explain why Ark 2, Warhammer Darktides, Contraband, Stalker 2 aren't coming to Playstation or their services then?!

Bethesda and Xbox studio head confirmation that Redfall for Playstation was canceled by Xbox?

Seriously idiots if you think Xbox doesn't money hat. But yeah explain how Sony can outbid Microsoft?! The company that can make $70 billion can't afford to make exclusive deals? Yeah they're 'victims'.

It's not like publishers want to work with Playstation and Nintendo because God forbid they ACTUALLY sell games and make profit off dealing with them?! Sorry get your brain checked. Xbox gamers don't buy games is why it's ABSOLUTELY pointless to make exclusive deals most of the time. Let's say Final Fantasy was an exclusive on Xbox then what? Square dies because no body ends up buying the games?

You believe a corrupt politician who has funding from Microsoft?! Lol.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

Not just any old 3rd party publisher.

They on here comparing an indie team making Deep Rock Galactic or some BS to FF16 produced by one of the biggest names in the industry.

[Imalwaysright]

Chevalier

Sony is allegedly paying 3rd party devs/publishers to keep them off gamepass alone, not MS consoles. If that's true they're not paying them with the goal of making their consoles more appealing to consumers by having 3rd party exclusives/timed exclusives but to specifically target gamepass. They want games to be sold at full price on PS and Xbox ecosystems wich benefits them because the PS brand is much more popular than the Xbox brand.

[generic-user-name]

"Does MS pay 3rd party publishers to not put their games on ps plus like Sony allegedly pays third party devs/publishers to not release their games on gamepass?"

Let's pretend for a moment this is a true fact 100%. Are Sony forcing these 3rd parties to do it at gunpoint or simply making an offer? If they are making an offer, what is stopping MS from doing the same? If they can do the same then it sounds like the competition remains.

[Imalwaysright]

generic-user-name

Paying third party publishers not to make your platform more appealing but to specifically make your competition less competitive is I would say anti-competitive regardless of Sony not pointing a "gun" at third party publishers.

[Chevalier]

"Sony is allegedly paying 3rd party devs/publishers to keep them off gamepass alone, not MS consoles. If that's true they're not paying them with the goal of making their consoles more appealing to consumers by having 3rd party exclusives/timed exclusives but to specifically target gamepass. They want games to be sold at full price"

Again please explain how Sony is forcing these companies to sign these deals and illegally at that? Last I checked Microsoft/Xbox is spending $70 billion on a purchase. So how is it Xbox can't outbid Sony which is worth 1/10th what Microsoft is.

So all this alleged BS you're parroting just confirms how superficial you're thoughts are on this matter. Because you want us all to believe that Sony just out muscles Microsoft with money?! It's completely unbelievable. It take 2 partners at a table to make a deal not one. Unless you're suggesting Sony some how leverages many many studios with what proverbial guns to their head?! Lol. Last I checked if both parties sign a contract its beneficial to both generally and that's a partnership.

But you're shocked that these companies want copies of their games be sold for profit? Over less profit on a subscription?! Lol. You brain dead? Which company wants subscription money over ACTUAL sales?! Could you imagine the losses for Square for FF VII or FF XVII or Zelda Tears of the Kingdom lauched on a service what a disaster it would be for profits?!

https://www.forbes.com/site...

"Paying third party publishers not to make your platform more appealing but to specifically make your competition less competitive is I would say anti-competitive regardless of Sony not pointing a "gun" at third party publishers."

So again how is Sony worth 1/10th pulling off this magic?! Xbox seems to be doing it just as well because last I checked Stalker 2, Ark 2, Warhammer Darktides, Contraband to name a few aren't coming to Playstation. So again how does MS who can afford $70 billion purchases not able to make deals? Not really seeing how they're being victimized here. You keep saying alleged, but, still can't explain with examples how and what games Sony has managed to do this with. Why are companies signing deals that hurt them apparently?!

Xbox can sign studios to deals for Gamepass and you guys just accept its a good deal and 2 partners came together to benefit each other. Sony does the same and those same type of deals are bad and they're evil? Really?! Again how is Sony outbidding Xbox when they go literally $70 billion purchases money bagging? Cause last I checked being able to make huge purchases doesn't line up; couldn't that money be used to make games and deals?

[Imalwaysright]

Who said anything about Sony "forcing" anyone?

"Xbox can't outbid Sony" Who says they aren't?

"Sony some how leverages many many studios" Oh my... you're the one making that assumption. For all you know Sony could have just paid to block 5 games from being on gamepass.

"So all this alleged BS you're parroting just confirms how superficial you're thoughts are on this matter"

Hilarious coming from someone that believes that Sony would be paying "many many studios" as if they and MS were on a bidding war for every single game made in this industry and yes allegations made by MS that Sony did not deny. Why doesn't Sony deny such accusations when useless fanboys like yourself get your panties in a twist with just the thought of Sony doing something like this?

"But you're shocked that these companies want copies of their games be sold for profit? Over less profit on a subscription?! Lol. You brain dead"

Says the idiot that is clearly in a conversation with himself.

"Stalker 2, Ark 2, Warhammer Darktides, Contraband to name a few aren't coming to Playstation." So? Paying 3rd parties to make your platform more appealing is something every platform holder does.

[Christopher]

***Does MS pay 3rd party publishers to not put their games on ps plus like Sony allegedly pays third party devs/publishers to not release their games on gamepass?***

Most of those release-day game pass releases are just that. So, yeah. Same with upcoming titles, like Ark 2 and Stalker 2.

[BISHOP-BRASIL]

It's not even an opinion, not really, this is obviously MS lobby put to work, dude's gotta earn that campaign funding, you know.

[Gamer_Dude]

Does Sony pay you? If they don't they should.

[OptimusDK]

The deal was better than the one they had with activision

[Lore]

This is all a non-story. Microsoft donates millions to the democratic politicians and have leaned on them to make an issue out of nothing. Very obvious if you do some research

[Inverno]

MS could just write a bigger check if they wanted to and make more 3rd party deals which attract people to their system. That's how competition works, but nahhh instead they'll just buy every major publisher and keep long running multiplat franchises off one console and just that one console.
People just mad now that some time during last gen SONY brought out the cheque book and started to make long standing deals and went harder with their advertising. Suddenly everything that MS was doing during the 360 became bad when SONY did it more aggressively.
Microsoft YOU created the monster that is modern Playstation.

68 Billion dollars for 1 company. That's 68 Billion that could be spent making deals to make Xbox more popular than PlayStation, but that's not really what they're after is it?

[Stanjara]

Ms is better... at investing in senators than in games.

[Magatsuhi]

MS is in the slumps because of their anti competitive and anti consumer practices. Let's not forget what mainly sunk Xbox which was the mandatory kinect and always online requirement. Now they're buying off huge companies to skew the competition to their platform and somehow this all makes Sony anti competitive? How ridiculous.

[Hereandthere]

I love the narrative that it's sonys fault xbox has no exclusives, it's not sony fault that in 2013 phil Spencer himself closed down 90% of xbox first part studios. Not sony fault that xbox 1st party has not put out a quality game like last of us, god of war etc. Regardless, let them get Activision and watched Microsoft destroy it to the ground like they did rare and so many other developers.

[bananacrust]

HI! Minnesota guy here who lives right next to Fargo ND, Which Coincidentally is home to the second main Microsoft campus. They also Bought North Dakota's governors Doug Burgums business Great plains Software back in the late 90s early 00's. So with connections like that is it that surprising that an ND senator is the one throwing some shade at Sony in all this.

[Pyrofire95]

- paying publishers not to distribute games on rival platforms
-lobbying the FTC and regulators abroad to block the Microsoft – Activision deal
-Sony acquiring Bungie in spite of blocking Microsoft’s deal
-Sony refusing to sign Microsoft’s ten year deal
Those are the reasons listed in the article, 2 of them are ABOUT Sony trying to block the acquisition the other two are worth talking about though.
Exclusivity deals are something all parties have done although sometimes when publishers decide themselves to only produce for one console they are assumed to have been making the same deal. Sony acquired Bungie but I believe the plan is just to use them to bolster their online infrastructure talent while letting Bungie remain multiplatform for their games.
The other two points regarding the MS/Activition deal is just really foolish and petty.
I just expected worse I guess.
But still, so so petty. I don't know if it's old man Ryan or the lawers or both but it's a bad look.

[Redemption-64]

How exactly is this a bad look?

paying publishers not to distribute games on rival platforms

Microsoft literally does the same thing. Am guessing this politician is paid to ignore all the 3rd party exclusive games Microsoft paid for that magically gave not released on their rivals platform. Or should we pretend Microsoft doesn't do that at all?

-lobbying the FTC and regulators abroad to block the Microsoft – Activision deal

Just like Microsoft has been doing with these politicians.

-Sony acquiring Bungie in spite of blocking Microsoft’s deal

Comparing Bungie to Activision is laughable. Also did Microsoft try to block the Nvidia acquisition? Am sure they keep that out of the notes they gave this politician

-Sony refusing to sign Microsoft’s ten year deal.

Sony is within their right to not sign a deal with Microsoft

[343_Guilty_Spark]

MSFT deals are typically timed. Sonys are lifetime exclusivity agreements.

MSFT makes deals with indies or smaller 3rd parties

Sony makes deals with Konami, Capcom, SE on major titles.

[Redemption-64]

@343_Guilty_Spark

MSFT deals are typically timed

And? Is Sony forcing MS to only pay for timed exclusive deals? Microsoft has a history of paying for lifetime exclusive deals, them choosing to pay for timed exclusive deals is purely on them.
They can pay for the same exclusive deals as Sony, they just choose not to. I guess it far more cheaper to cry to politicians. Just like it was their choice to stop working with Activision for COD, reject Marvel and Genshin Impact.

Microsoft is more than capable of securing exclusive games with all those companies and have a history of exclusive deals with some of those companies. They decided to stop working and again, I guess it's just easier to cry to politicians and blame Sony, rather than actually doing the work.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

Microsoft won’t get the home town Japanese discount.

I mean wtf do you want?

Sony buys lifetime excluding agreements from major publishers — that’s okay.

MSFT buys major publishers that want to be bought and still keeps some of the games on multi platform

[Redemption-64]

@343_Guilty_Spark

Look I get that ignorance is your coping mechanisms, but you got to stop embarrassing yourself. You bots are truly a special breed.

Nitendo is far more dominant in Japan than Sony, There are numerous American companies that are successful in Japan, tell what happened to your made up home discount? Do those companies use magic to do better in a market MS is failing at. MS during the start of the 360 era secured major Japanese support, but stopped investing in the Japanese market, especially at a time Sony was at their weakness. I guess we can blame for Microsoft's desire to stop investing in Japan right?

MSFT buys major publishers that want to be bought and still keeps some of the games on multi platform

And Sony freely negotiates exclusive deals with publishers that want to make deals with them.

MS is literally spending close to $80 billion and still can't match Sony. It's honestly going to be very embarrassing if years down the line Sony keeps dominating MS without even spending near what MS spent, having more studios and IPs.

[Chevalier]

"- paying publishers not to distribute games on rival platforms"

Cool how is Sony worth 1/10th of Microsoft outbidding them? You guys seem to victimize MS/Xbox a lot. But still can't explain how Sony does this? Is this at gunpoint? Last I checked MS is making enough bank to make the biggest media purchase in history of purchases at $70 Billion, but, also is a victim that can NOT afford to outbid Sony on these contracts.

You know how dumb and unlikely that sounds? But you know you're right Sony and Playstation is forcing all these publishers and studios to sign terrible deals. But since you're so knowledgeable can you explain to us all how Sony is doing this? I mean clearly they're evil. Microsoft being the good guys here. So again which deals and how did Sony outbid Microsoft?

While you're at it can you explain how Microsoft got the deal for Warhammer Darktides, ARK 2, Contraband, Stalker 2, Scorn? Just so we're clear. I mean clearly these should all be exclusives for Playstation. Was it luck?!

[dcbronco]

Not surprised this happened. I predicted it would. Sony spent a lot of money trying to kill Xbox by buying exclusives over the years. It was wrong for them to complain about Microsoft spending money to compete. No matter how bad you want to claim Microsoft management is, this was the most boneheaded move in gaming history. More than Don Mattrick's 360 comment. Sony should drop the case and never speak of it again. Here's my post from 176 days ago.

dcbronco176d ago
I meant to say I rarely come to this site anymore because of the bias. My history shows that. But everything else I said has often been rumored and if Sony's current efforts to block the Activision sale are made public it will probably bring years of Sony's efforts to kill Microsoft early on to light. Sony opened the door with their claims for Microsoft to show Sony used many financial and coercion tactics to hurt Microsoft despite already having a huge market and mindshare advantage. They would have been better off staying quiet. Minecraft should have been their guide because they aren't going to lose anything. But they are being greedy.

[generic-user-name]

Thanks for bringing up your comment from 176 days ago, it makes it easy to prove you wrong.

"Minecraft should have been their guide because they aren't going to lose anything."

We know Starfield's PS5 development was canned after MS acquired them, we know TES6 isn't coming to PS consoles, we can see that Psychonauts 2 never came to PS5 and we recently got confirmation that Redfall's PS5 version was also cancelled. Not to mention MS only acquired Mojang one month before Minecraft PS4 released, the game was already made, deals already signed.

"this was the most boneheaded move in gaming history. More than Don Mattrick's 360 comment."

Couldn't be more wrong.

1. At the very least Sony's efforts to stop MS's continued attempts to monopolise the gaming industry have brought them from a 3 year offer to a 10 year offer, plus the ability to put COD on PS+ subscriptions. That alone is worth billions.

2. The Don Mattrick episode was so devastating that even the mainstream talked about it. "Xbox can't play used games anymore" was broadcast to the casuals. It single-handedly nearly ended Xbox entirely if it wasn't for Phil insisting they give it another chance. Nobody outside of enthusiasts gives a crap about this deal. Go check recent PS5 sales if you want proof.

[Ryuk_2007]

Sony has been anti-competitive for decades. Hell, look at Destiny 1, 2 and Monster Hunter World for example. 3 games that are multiplatform worldwide, but money hatted to not release on Xbox in Japan lol. Let's not even get into those leaked capcom docs where Resident evil can be released on Xbox but blocked on game pass.

[rob-GP]

Do you know how marketing deals work? RE Village was marketed by Sony so one clause was no GP for 12 months. After that, they were free to do whatever.

Name one Xbox marketed game that hit PS Now/Pus within the first 12 months...

[Ryuk_2007]

Sony had marketing rights for those 3 games I listed as well and guess what happened? They blocked it from coming to a competitors system in a whole country. You don't see MIcrosoft blocking games on PS in North America but allowing the rest of the world to play it do you? So like I said.. anticompetitive.

[Jigga69]

I guess that is a strange coincidence that this US Senator received a donation by Microsoft :
https://i.ibb.co/R0ZbBxd/Ft...

[Hofstaderman]

In other news, Senator get cheque from Microsoft, buys PS5 for his kid.

[Brazz]

Ms is the one buying publishers and spending over $70bi and Sony is the anti-competitive!? Yeah, sure! /S

[343_Guilty_Spark]

Sony never proved how it was anti-competitive buying a publisher. That’s why the deal will go through.

But it’s easy to make a case on why Sony is anti-competitive…they make life time exclusivity agreements to prevent games from appearing on Xbox.

[Chevalier]

@343

Sorry dumb question. How did Sony worth 1/10th outbid MS worth $2 trillion? Since you clearly have those contracts in hand can you explain the money side of things?

Also can you explain how this politician receives money from Microsoft can be impartial?

So Microsoft can lawyer up, make contracts for games like Warhammer Darktides, ARK 2, Scorn, Contraband, Stalker 2 and also make $70 publisher purchase, but, can't make contracts longer than 6 months or a year. Please explain how Sony can, but, Microsoft can't afford to make those deals as well. How did Sony pull this off?

[BrainSyphoned]

It is hard for a politician to understand getting ahead by producing things of worth rather than milking your constituents dry.

[2moda5gamer]

Regardless of the dirty laundry - of which both companies have and things should change, the issue here is the size of the purchase. I don't think MS would do this if they were dominating now like Sony is, which is another thing to factor in.

Competition is a good thing for the industry but buying out these guys is not how it's meant to be done.

The days of MS buying into Apple to keep competition afloat is long gone.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

Smells like corruption to me, seen this kind of crap way too often.

[VariantAEC]

Another moron of a politician who doesn't understand MS does all this too and then sinks its purchased companies laying off literally tens of thousands of staff members in a single day.

[PitbullMonster]

Imagine defending Microsoft in terms of anti-competitive practice.
Microsoft killed so many competitives they could fill a whole graveyard.

[PressPlayBros]

Everyone's missing the real anti consumer practice. It's DIGITAL SALES. You can only buy games digitally through Sony as of the past few years just pre PS5 because they KNEW they were coming out with a digital only system, locking any of those consumers into their own market place where they can decide the price and what "sales" you get. Sure they have sales often but they're never as deep as some of the ones you see from Walmart, BestBuy, etc. They run a monopoly on digital video game sales. There is literally zero competition in the marketplace.

I don't see anything wrong with exclusives. I don't see people complaining that certain shows or movies are only on one streaming service and not the others. Is there a difference?

[hiroyukisanada]

You do realize..... MS ALSO has a digital only....system.... right? As a matter of fact, their digital only version sells more than the Series X and they make every first party studio make their games available day 1 on Gamepass.... further pushing the digital narrative. Nintendo ALSO has a digital eShop... And Steam... Quit trollin 😂

[purple101]

Yeh proper lemon of a comment.

I've brought all my games in disk for the last 10 years and continue to do so
His comment makes it seem as that's the only way ,(digital). When that's simply not true

[Crows90]

It's not anti competitive to make deals with studios that make games for your platform almost exclusively or most of the time anyways.

It's anti competitive when you take direct actions that actually hurt a competitors bottom line. Most japanese games that don't show up on Xbox barely sell on it when they do...this means it isn't much of a loss at all.

However, absolutely ALL of the IP that Xbox has recently and is seeking to purchase sell way more on PlayStation and do in fact give a blow to their bottom line...that is anti competitive.

What makes it even worse is that they're not even new to the industry. They've had years of time and many purchased studios to develop their IP, new IP and improve upon their talent.

They have failed at every turn. They don't get the benefit of the doubt nor the privilege to go ahead and start buying up all the major 3rd party developers and publishers.

For a company that touts anti exclusivity they've sure created a future of gaming much more heavily focused on exclusivity. Because of Xbox there has been a tremendous increase in developers that make games exclusively for one platform whereas just a few years ago they weren't.

[CrimsonWing69]

I bet things would’ve been better if Jimbo just took the deal.

[TriniOutsider]

Why is a US Senator writing Sony is beyond me at this point. If Sony is cutting deals with 3rd party devs that's just business at the end of the day. If a US Senator can't see that, then they shouldn't be Senator at all.

[ChasterMies]

What an odd way to solicit a campaign contribution.

[Bobertt]

Microsoft is USA and Sony is Japan it's obvious the politicians would side with Microsoft because of pay offs and the tactical advantage of keeping Microsoft in business.

[rlow1]

I think that there is an mis -understanding on how the gaming industry works. Paying for exclusive content has been a standard practice all the way back to the NES era. All companies that have ever had a console product on the market have engaged in it. So that’s not the problem.

The problem as I see it is two fold. The first was Sony’s incredible effort to kill this deal. Nothing wrong with opposing a deal, but they overly dramatized the affect it would have on them, which will draw scrutiny, especially on a deal this large.

Second, using their position in the industry, they have prevented companies via contracts of putting games on services like a gamepass. Basically putting a stranglehold on a competition.

But the real reason they are receiving scrutiny is because of those embellished statements of the PlayStation Brand tanking if it goes through.

[generic-user-name]

"but they overly dramatized the affect it would have on them"

COD is the biggest money maker for whatever platform it's doing best on since COD4. In the beginning that was 360. Now it's PS4/5. This money is what funds development of games like God of War.

COD is literally the best selling franchise in NA for the last 15 years in a row. Losing COD while it's still as popular as it is, is most definitely a massive blow to Sony.

"Second, using their position in the industry, they have prevented companies via contracts of putting games on services like a gamepass. Basically putting a stranglehold on a competition."

Timed. No different from other timed exclusives and most likely being done by MS as well when you see how many MS marketed 3rd party titles make it to PS+ within 12 months.

[rlow1]

Well I can understand where you are coming from. It will be a big loss for them, though the game will still be on their system just not in the money making way it was. But they’ll still make money.

Jim Ryan went on record saying this would kill the PlayStation brand. That Sony wouldn’t be able to survive without it. That’s called theatrics and they way overstated the impact it would have on them. Need proof? We just had an article on this website about how PlayStation was 12-13 million console units ahead of Xbox. I think they’ll be just fine.

As for agreements had you read my first paragraph you would know that i covered that subject and agree on that. But my second point wasn’t about timed exclusives. It was about contracts that strictly prohibits said content from being on a service like gamepass. As the market leader in gaming, that’s anticompetitive move on their part. Same when Europe went after MS on windows back in the day. When you’re on top you have a lot more sway with companies because you have the largest audience willing to pay.

Again, by their own actions wether you agree or not. Invited the scrutiny they are receiving now. I really hope nothing comes of it. The last thing we need is a politician looking for a cause to raise their prospects.

[generic-user-name]

"Jim Ryan went on record saying this would kill the PlayStation brand."

Did he said that actually or did he say "our business would never recover". Because it's easy to see how losing COD revenue would be hard to recover, making it an accurate statement.

"though the game will still be on their system..."

It will until it won't. MS are not offering any perpetuity deals, first 3 years, then 10 once they got nervous. One of the CMAs suggestions was for Activision to sell off COD separately, MS refused this, despite claiming COD had little value to them and it was all about King and mobile.

"But my second point wasn’t about timed exclusives. It was about contracts that strictly prohibits said content from being on a service like gamepass."

And my point was referring to this. The "don't put RE8 on Gamepass" contract was for a 12 month period and we have no evidence that MS don't make similar deals for games to appear on PS+ and even if they don't, there is no evidence that proves 3rd party publishers will only make these kinds of deals with Sony and not MS/Nin. So calling it anti-competitive is not true.

The scrutiny they are getting now from US politicians who are funded by the US company MS, is not anything Sony will be worrying about.

[rlow1]

Same thing, kill the brand or never recover. It’s not about the words, it’s the emphasis. Plus the guy literally flew out to meet the regulators and I’m sure painted an extremely dire picture for them.
Finial Fantasy, Finial Fantasy, Finial Fantasy, easy pic but a prime example of a certain game that seems prohibitive from coming to Xbox. We know which ones and before you go to the old tired cliche of, Sony paid money for development, or Xbox gamers don’t buy it. MS has paid for development of games in the past that ended up on Sony’s systems. Yes, PlayStation players have bought more in this genre but to say that Square didn’t make any sales on Xbox is disingenuous. At the end of the day, sales are sales and money is money. It sells well enough on Xbox.

I agree that since we don’t know the content of any contracts. We don’t know what kind of lockouts or timed exclusives any of these companies have in place.

But being the leader is going to invite scrutiny. That said, I agree with you that MS surely reached out to these politicians to put pressure on Sony. But again that was in response to Sony personally flying out to talk with regulators. A lot of tit for tat going on. Do I fault Sony for trying so hard? No, if it was my business and I was the market leader I do anything to keep it at the top.

All said, this has been messy and not a good look for either company. Again this is just my take.

[YourMommySpoils]

We all know what those US Senators are. They can go brag as much as they wont, but nothing ever gets done there. Ending my sentence with a bullet point.
◉ How about worrying about more important things.

[gold_drake]

did he write to MS too?
and to Nintendo?
and to basically any other conpany?

i feel like the bullet points are poorly researched by said Senator.

[Dirtnapstor]

Sorry, but I think our Federal Government is the last group to peer into the private sector as such. Pot calling the kettle black... throwing stones from a glass house. Call it what you like. SMH.
And I would never go as far as stating Sony as anti-consumer. They've done their player base just right. Sony hasn't done anything any other company has done or will do. That's how you play the game. This is only an "issue" because MS currently cannot upkeep their own house.
I recall many moons ago (even evident on this site), Sony getting dogged left and right, and MS was wheeling and dealing. Now, MS needs to reassess their focus. They've established a path, now produce something properly to journey said path. They need some of their own exclusives to be relevant.

[Juancho51]

They dominate the market for 20 years because they've always had a better product than competitors. Also, Bungie =/= Activision. This Senator is out of his element, Donnie needs to put things into perspective and stop acting like Sony hasn't dominated because of quality, the Japanese are much harder and more efficient workers than any American company when it comes to Electronics. When Sony releases their Electric Vehicle people will be saying this again, quality product isn't a monopoly.

[MIDGETonSTILTS17]

Why is this senator so eager to help Xbox make up for broken promises?

Those broken promises are on M$, not Sony.

[rippermcrip]

If they're going to allow Bethesda and Activision purchases... Sony sure as hell has nothing to worry about.

[GooGobbler]

MS is one of the biggest donors to his campaign

[Thundercat77]

Another senator whose campaign contributor is no other than who? ... Microsoft.

How low can Microsoft get? Blaming Sony for its own management problems.

[PhillyDonJawn]

Sony getting heat but I don't blame Sony for fighting against it. What kind of competition would you be if you let the comp get the #1 franchise on your platform without a fight.

[ghostrider32]

Cartoons were right about people named Kevin.

[Binarycode]

Joe Biden has already signed to invade Sony. Well he thought it was country.

[S2Killinit]

Its interesting that MS is paying these lobbyists to talk about “anti-competitive” practice when it is so obviously aimed at deflecting and drawing attention away from the elephant in the room:

MS’s unprecedented anti-consumer move to purchase a publisher that used to produce multiplatform games!

It seems that literally anything that comes out of MS mouth can be flipped on its head.

[azedean]

And who's one of the contributor of this senator, Guess ?

https://www.opensecrets.org...

[mastershredder]

A

[anast]

An MS ghoul writing letters against Sony....yeah...smooth. Is it me or did politicians get exponentially dumber over the years? This is middle school playground kind of stuff.