Xbox FTC Trial Day 2: In Which the Head of Xbox Explains Mergers to the FTC

ign.com:

Today's testimonies in the FTC's legal battle to press pause on Xbox's merger with Activision were bookended by a closed session with Microsoft senior finance director Jamie Lawver and a brief questioning of Google Stadia product director Dov Zimring. But the real meat of today was the Phil Spencer show.

The suit-clad head of Xbox kept steady throughout a lengthy questioning by the FTC before laying out, in cross-examination, a clear map of Xbox's mobile-focused strategy for acquiring Activision. When Microsoft wrapped up its inquiries, Spencer's stint at the front of the court was concluded by a rather awkward line of questioning during which he found himself patiently explaining to FTC lawyer James Weingarten how, exactly, money works in acquisitions.

Once again, the FTC spent a solid portion of time focused on defining the "relevant markets" as part of its job in this affair is to prove that Microsoft acquiring Activision would "substantially lessen competition" in a "relevant market." For this specific case, the FTC has put forth significant efforts on a couple of very specific relevant markets, one of which is high-end consoles - a.k.a., PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S...but not Nintendo Switch. Xbox has argued that it's in "third place" behind both PlayStation and Switch, and an Activision acquisition would help bolster its weaker market position rather than harm competition. But if the FTC can remove the Switch as a competitor in its market definition, then the scales tip more in Xbox's favor, and it can more reasonably make the argument that Xbox could hurt competition.

So, naturally, we heard a lot of back and forth over the Nintendo Switch today throughout multiple rounds of Spencer's time on the witness