Microsoft explains why it should be allowed to make its biggest-ever acquisition – Times of India
Microsoft filed its response to the lawsuit filed by US regulators to block its $68.7 million worth acquisition of Activision, the maker of Call of Duty, while defending its acquisition of ZeniMax, the owner of Bethesda.
Earlier this month, the Federal Trade Commission of the US sued Microsoft in an attempt to block its purchase of Call of Duty maker Activision on the grounds of antitrust violations.
In the complaint, the US regulator argues that once the deal goes through, Microsoft would have the means and motive to harm competition, adding that the Redmond giant could manipulate pricing, degrade quality, hamper the experience on rival consoles, or even withhold titles from the competition, eventually abusing consumers.
The company, in reply to the lawsuit, filed a 37-page response, which basically says that its acquisition of Call of Duty would not harm the competition.
“Xbox also believes it is good business to make Activision’s limited portfolio of popular games more accessible to consumers, by putting them on more platforms and making them more affordable. That includes making Call of Duty, one of Activision’s most popular games, more broadly available. Microsoft made this public pledge on the day the deal was announced. Since then, Xbox has agreed to provide the game to Nintendo (which does not currently have it) and has offered [retracted] to Sony [retracted],” says Microsoft in the document.
Microsoft here is referencing the 10-year deal it signed with Nintendo and also a similar deal it offered Sony, but the latter rejected it, finding it “absurd on so many levels”
Activision’s acquisition won’t harm the market, reassures Microsoft
The FTC and regulators worldwide have doubted that Microsoft could withhold the Call of Duty series from Sony’s PlayStation. To which Microsoft has responded, “If Xbox withheld Call of Duty from Sony’s PlayStation or other platforms that compete with Xbox, Xbox would immediately forgo billions of dollars in lost game sales and cleave off a massive portion of the garners that Activision has worked so hard to attract and retain.”
In its complaint, FTC has said that Microsoft has already shown that it can and will withhold content from its gaming rivals, citing its acquisition of Zenimax, the parent company of video game company Bethesda.
“The European Commission agrees it was not misled, stating publicly the day after the complaint that Microsoft did not make any ‘commitments’ to the European Commission,” Microsoft said, “nor did the European Commission ‘rely on any statements made by Microsoft about the future distribution strategy concerning ZeniMax’s games,’” said Microsoft in response to FTC concern that the company made false promises to EU over its acquisition of Zenimax.
While the deal has been approved in Brazil, Microsoft has been heavily scrutinized by the UK and EU over the “antitrust issues,” and around 10 gamers have sued Microsoft over the same reason.
Earlier this month, the Federal Trade Commission of the US sued Microsoft in an attempt to block its purchase of Call of Duty maker Activision on the grounds of antitrust violations.
In the complaint, the US regulator argues that once the deal goes through, Microsoft would have the means and motive to harm competition, adding that the Redmond giant could manipulate pricing, degrade quality, hamper the experience on rival consoles, or even withhold titles from the competition, eventually abusing consumers.
The company, in reply to the lawsuit, filed a 37-page response, which basically says that its acquisition of Call of Duty would not harm the competition.
“Xbox also believes it is good business to make Activision’s limited portfolio of popular games more accessible to consumers, by putting them on more platforms and making them more affordable. That includes making Call of Duty, one of Activision’s most popular games, more broadly available. Microsoft made this public pledge on the day the deal was announced. Since then, Xbox has agreed to provide the game to Nintendo (which does not currently have it) and has offered [retracted] to Sony [retracted],” says Microsoft in the document.
Microsoft here is referencing the 10-year deal it signed with Nintendo and also a similar deal it offered Sony, but the latter rejected it, finding it “absurd on so many levels”
Activision’s acquisition won’t harm the market, reassures Microsoft
The FTC and regulators worldwide have doubted that Microsoft could withhold the Call of Duty series from Sony’s PlayStation. To which Microsoft has responded, “If Xbox withheld Call of Duty from Sony’s PlayStation or other platforms that compete with Xbox, Xbox would immediately forgo billions of dollars in lost game sales and cleave off a massive portion of the garners that Activision has worked so hard to attract and retain.”
In its complaint, FTC has said that Microsoft has already shown that it can and will withhold content from its gaming rivals, citing its acquisition of Zenimax, the parent company of video game company Bethesda.
“The European Commission agrees it was not misled, stating publicly the day after the complaint that Microsoft did not make any ‘commitments’ to the European Commission,” Microsoft said, “nor did the European Commission ‘rely on any statements made by Microsoft about the future distribution strategy concerning ZeniMax’s games,’” said Microsoft in response to FTC concern that the company made false promises to EU over its acquisition of Zenimax.
While the deal has been approved in Brazil, Microsoft has been heavily scrutinized by the UK and EU over the “antitrust issues,” and around 10 gamers have sued Microsoft over the same reason.
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