430°

Analysis | Watchdog group calls on judge to recuse in FTC-Microsoft case

A watchdog group is calling for the recusal of the judge presiding over the Federal Trade Commission’s closely watched bid to block Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal, citing the fact that her son works for the tech giant, according to a letter shared exclusively with The Technology 202.

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washingtonpost.com
lodossrage732d ago

When I reported this last week about this Judge I was called a liar.....

Asplundh732d ago

No you wasn't. I thought it was fake and I was wrong.

Rimeskeem732d ago

That implies that you called them a liar...

4Sh0w731d ago (Edited 731d ago )

“The fact that there has been no motion to recuse tells us that none of the parties is concerned,” said Stephen Gillers, a law professor at New York University who specializes in judicial ethics."
https://www.washingtonpost....

-If the FTC was concerned it should have been addressed immediately, the son apparently is a "rank and file" employee that has nothing to do with the gaming division. Still I think it should be something this group and definitely the FTC said something about in the beginning AND nobody has suggested the judge has done anything unfair in the proceedings. -This group would need to file a official complaint & show evidence of judicial bias to stop the case from moving forward, which they haven't just publicly writing in a tech outlet paper that she should recuse.

Also this wasn't "discovered" by anyone, it says at the very beginning of this story SHE made it public knowledge that her son worked for Microsoft in a dept that has nothing to do with gaming, FTC did not mind.

Sounds to me they are desperate after it's clear from the facts their losing so NOW, the judge is biased. lol

JackBNimble731d ago

When someone claims they were wrong , it shows their mistake was unintentional. A lie is purposely trying to mislead people, a very big difference.

JackBNimble731d ago (Edited 731d ago )

Judges are supposed to recuse themselves even at the appearance of bias .
I would say this meets that criteria.

4Sh0w731d ago (Edited 731d ago )

JackBNimble

-You are correct but "the appearance of bias" is subjective, especially as a matter of law. Judges often have some connection with cases more often than the public actually thinks BUT as far as the judicial oversight is concerned #1 There has to be a good reason for that connection to indicate a person who's dedicated their life to following the law could not do so based on the evidence, simply because they are related to someone that if you read this story it says basically there is nothing her or her son would gain by Microsoft winning or losing this case. #2 After or during the proceedings there would have to be some questionable behavior or something very unusual to suggest that the judge was biased in order to negate the judges verdict. Nobody not even this group has said she is unfair only that she should have recused herself because of the appearance that she might be, again without siting specifically where?

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 731d ago
shinoff2183732d ago

As a ps fan I thought it was bs to. Wow. Kudos to you for bringing it up

731d ago
Hofstaderman732d ago (Edited 732d ago )

This circus keeps giving and giving….Here comes a delay in proceedings and that deadline date is fast approaching.

She is between a rock and a hard place. Rules for; enquiry to determine bias and possible reset of proceedings.

Rules against; Xbox will claim she felt pressured to do so because of this, possible reset of proceedings.

mandf732d ago

To be fair she has to recuse herself. She should have known it would be a conflict of interest. How it got this far she be investigated. This is no minor blumder.

bababooiy732d ago

Judging by the general reception prior to all of this i think most involved thought it would go through without too much hassle. Instead it turned out to be a whole event.
I mean reality is weve seen much worse purchases go through without a peep, like big pharma buying out big competititors is very common. And id argue thats much more scary.

shinoff2183732d ago

Bababooiy

These deals get taking to court or things brought up all the time. My guess is ya just never paid much attention. Far as big pharma lol what a joke. America is gonna get fked in the end either way , happens right now. We pay the most by a longshot for medicine these same big pharma companies charge other countries. I agree but that sh is to far gone monopoly or not.

731d ago
S2Killinit732d ago

Woah, that should have been addressed right away…

Zeref732d ago

The FTC lawyers are fine with it. One of their lawyers used to work for Sony as well.

Sonyslave3732d ago

Not only that this Watch Dog see how bad the FTC is getting killed by her lol she had to remind the FTC your job is to protect the consumers not Sony Corp.

Sephiroushin732d ago (Edited 732d ago )

it's not close to the same, for one they're family and close family mother and son which need to be disclosed and also, who is to say the lawyers who used to work and doesnt work for sony anymore doesnt like sony or hold a grudge against sony for X or Y thing ...

shinoff2183732d ago

Somyslave your so full of sh. You gonna have to come with a link if you expect that to be believed.

S2Killinit732d ago

“Used to work” is different, and this is the JUDGE.

Haki1112732d ago

@shinoff2183 https://youtu.be/9s35MBJ6vW... 11:33 mark. Judge: "It's not the harm to sony we care about it's the harm to the consumers" the FTC been on full protection for sony instead of the cosumers. Ftc and sony worried about COD coming to gamepass and the Judge even said this will force sony to make their PSN+ service better to compete with gamepass and in the end the cosumers win but sony fans stay mad

Othegamer5731d ago

@shinoff2183 your so goofy. that is public info if you been paying attention the judge clearly said that its not a secret. "your going to have to come up with a link" use google fanboy.

DarkZane731d ago

@Sonyslave3 Blocking this deal would be protecting consumers, but you toxic xbox fanboys can't see that.

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 731d ago
King_Noctis732d ago (Edited 732d ago )

What does her son have to do with anything? As the article clearly said, he doesn’t even work in the gaming division. What benefit does he gain by if Xbox win this case? I fail to understand this.

kneon732d ago

it's pretty simple, microsoft will be harmed by the deal failing to go through (lower revenue, lower share price etc.). Her son works for Microsoft therefore it will have an impact on him as well.

mkis007732d ago

Microsoft is buying Activision...Xbox is not...Microsoft bought Bethesda too...hence why they are still referred to separately from MGS.

This deal is about Microsoft not Xbox. If Xbox was an independent company there would be no issues with the purchase (assuming they could afford it).

Crows90732d ago

Microsoft can afford gaming...Xbox can't. Lol

giovonni732d ago (Edited 732d ago )

Its simple, nothing. It’s just being used because there is nothing left to use to block the deal by those who don’t want it to go through. Even if they (government) threw the case out and retried it the FTC would still fail to show why this deal is anti consumer. The FTC spent their entire testimony on protecting Sony and its position. It got to a point where the judge again had to remind the FTC lawyers that they were there to protect the consumer not Sony. This last five days was really a waste of time, but was very informative with the shady business practices of each company.

ApocalypseShadow731d ago (Edited 731d ago )

Read what Pete posted below. Code of conduct. If you and King were actually using sense, you'd know the law and what the effect is on him or her.

But it's not like you care because you are fine with a huge corporation buying out franchises and the industry. They have plenty of money. Plenty of developers. They just want more to hurt Sony and control everything like Windows.

But that's if you were using common sense to know.

shinoff2183732d ago

It's still the company as a whole. The division doesn't matter. What lol

giovonni732d ago

It’s still a reach, and again what difference does it make? The FTC still failed to prove why this was anti consumer. The Trade Commission Spent days defending Sony not the consumer. Her Son being apart of Microsoft has no bearing on the poor job The FTC has done. Now if the FTC had a legit solid case I’d agree, but this is such a reach and a spin to cope with the fact the FTC had nothing, and wasted time. The thing is MS could still lose.

ApocalypseShadow732d ago

Try using your head. Direct influence from her own son could sway the outcome. You know it's true. But fain ignorance.

giovonni732d ago

Lol! What influence?! The FTC destroyed the case all on their own. Are you kidding me, “direct influence” so you think her son’s influence changes the fact that the FTC couldn’t prove why this was anti consumer. Wait wait, his influence could sway his mom even though the lawyers were clearly protecting Sony through out this case. Man cut the BS and stop reaching.

thesoftware730732d ago

What if her son is a PlayStation fan?

Working for MS(not Xbox) has no bearing on what video games a person likes.

King_Noctis731d ago

Like someone said, what if her son a fan of Nintendo or Playstation? What if he own all the consoles and is not a fanboy of just one? What if he doesn’t play video game at all?

Thing is, N4G’s mentality is everyone has either to be a fanboy of some sort of consoles or is involved in the fanboy console war.

Petebloodyonion731d ago

The problem is the perception of a potential conflict of interest affecting the judge's impartiality.
"The public could rightfully become concerned about a judge being improperly biased if the judge’s child is employed by a corporation whose case the judge is overseeing"

731d ago
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Chris12731d ago

The FTC and Sony have totally blown this case, and they know it. Their only win is likely to be a technicality which is why this has now surfaced. Fan boys and desperation at it's finest.

BlackTar187731d ago

Lmao you sir are a crackpot

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240°

‘I think Xbox hardware is dead’, says Microsoft gaming veteran

One of the founding members of the Xbox team has questioned Microsoft’s multiplatform gaming strategy, and said they believe the Xbox hardware business is effectively “dead"

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videogameschronicle.com
1d 19h ago Replies(3)
Goodguy011d 17h ago

Think that rumor that they'll still make a new console but at a profit at $1000 will be true though. The series consoles will remain their cheap alternative throughout next gen I would say. Keep in mind that game pass and pretty much going 3rd party is their main focus. They want to bring xbox everywhere.

1d 17h ago
GamerRN21h ago

If they don't maintain some kind of console presence, I think they will lose gamepass subscribers and just become a 3rd party publisher who eventually sells everything off

Cacabunga20h ago

Xbox games are releasing on all platforms. Who needs this hardware? PS or PC is all you need

Flewid63818h ago

I've never owned an Xbox in my life and I have GamePass.

thorstein17h ago

The only Xbox I owned was the 360. I have gamepass for my PC.

GamerRN12h ago

Majority of Gamepass users are currently on console...

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crazyCoconuts19h ago

Even if they could get it down to $800 for a box that can run with comparable performance to a PS6 (at, say $200 cheaper) the population of people willing to buy such a thing would be so limited.
It would be the worst of both worlds.

1d 15h ago
Futureshark1d 6h ago

A slow, painful and public death too.

Show all comments (66)
190°

While Layoffs Hit the Industry, Nintendo Retains 98% of Staff Including 78 With Disabilities

TNS: Based on its most recent ESG data, Nintendo boasts a remarkably low staff turnover rate of just 1.9%, with virtually no reported layoffs.

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thenerdstash.com
Jin_Sakai2d ago

Because Nintendo makes great games.

Yesyes1d 17h ago

It’s unreal that people are downvoting this when they consistently have the best scoring games on metacritic.

2d ago
rlow12d ago

Well it doesn’t surprise me. As much money as they make and how they value their employees. It’s a great company in that regard.

2d ago Replies(1)
drivxr2d ago

Well, when your games remain full price many years after release.

And you make profit off of outdated hardware.

I would be shocked if they couldn't afford to retain their staff.

lodossrage2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

I didn't want to say anything but drivxr is right.

Nintendo always sells at a profit because they purposely use tech that's always 5 or more years behind. And it's also true their games hardly ever get price decreases.

Don't get me wrong, it's great they kept most of their workforce, but making a point to have your tech specs behind everyone else affords that luxury.

Darkegg2d ago

I don’t think it’s their purpose to use old tech. It’s their purpose to make value of software and know their value. Nobody makes games like them that’s for sure. I just don’t appreciate their customer unfriendly policy.

It’s not impossible to take their status. Companies need to have a selection of 8-bit and 16-bit. Now imagine a split screen for 8 player game for SNES Mario kart and selling at $9.99. The problem is that it doesn’t make profit. So many companies won’t invest in “old” technology. Everyone guns for triple AAA modern technology software but honestly we can enjoy modernized 16-bit creative ideas that allows 8-player mayhem. It’s a pipe dream, possible but impossible.

Shane Kim2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

If they ended up kicking people out after all of that stated above, it would be truly shameful.

DivineHand1252d ago

Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Tesla and Meta are all trillion dollar companies yet they are laying people off in large numbers.

I believe the reason Nintendo layoffs off less workers may be a result of their culture. It seems Japanese companies believe in giving their workers long term or life long employment opportunities and will exhaust all options before laying off workers. This is something we don't see much of in the west unfortunately.

Rdeal1d 18h ago

might be something to do with the fact all those companies hire more than 20x the employees than Nintendo

LoveSpuds2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

What the hell are you talking about? It has nothing to do with how profitable they are. Its completely cultural, MS and Sony make stacks of cash and still lay folks off. Nintendo chose not to lay off staff for the same reason their execs took pay cuts to increase staff pay instead; because they value their staff and view them as colleagues, and respect them as such.

If Sony weren't so US centric I fancy they'd fare better too, they should get shot of US and European leadership and go back to when Japanese execs were running the show if you ask me!

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60°

Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc To Rock San Diego Comic-Con

This should make fans attending the ahow event happier as Bandai Namco is bringing some interesting game experiences to the convention.