Microsoft/Activision Blizzard antitrust hearings reveal gaming data trove | The DeanBeat
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Whether the Federal Trade Commission wins its antitrust case or not, its attempt to stop Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard has revealed a trove of new data for everyone.
The FTC has argued in a federal court that the merger would harm competition in the game industry and be bad for consumers, as Microsoft could pull Activision Blizzard’s games like Call of Duty away from the Sony PlayStation, despite Microsoft’s stated intention of not doing so for at least 10 years.
In this case, the FTC might not have had an obvious winning hand, as the industry has an odd situation. Microsoft has the highest value ($104 billion in cash alone, versus $13.4 billion for Sony) at $2.49 trillion as a company compared to $115 billion for Sony, and yet it is in third place behind Sony and Nintendo.
Hence, there’s some significance to Microsoft’s Xbox first-party head, Matt Booty, sending an ill-advised email in 2019 saying Microsoft “has the ability to spend Sony out of business.” That was long before the deal was announced 17 months ago, but it could be used as a sign of intent. Microsoft said it never pursued this strategy.
While competing fiercely is fine, using monopoly power to drive a rival out of business so you can raise prices later is a no-no. Arguing the opposite was true, Xbox chief Phil Spencer said Xbox in third place was “not a robust business.”
This case has always revolved around the issue of credibility. Will Microsoft play nice or use its market power to undermine its rivals, such as taking Call of Duty and other titles from rival platforms? The FTC has gone fishing through emails to
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