Well, the results are here. In the USA the FTC was trying to block Microsoft from acquiring Activision Blizzard but Microsoft has won the fight. Now Microsoft are one big step closer to actually properly closing the deal, and a rather big consolidation of the gaming industry given how big Activision Blizzard are.
I haven’t been keeping up with this case very much, but if history’s anything to go by, any form of consolidation at this scale tends to work out worse for consumers and the market.
Who could have possibly seen that one coming? Microsoft complains that they can’t compete with Sony. But it is their own dumb fault that they completely torched and scorched their Xbox brand a decade ago with the “connect daily or else we brick your games” policy when the Xbox One launched. A few weeks ago, I was telling people how funny it was that a literal injunction was issued to stop this merger; joking that somebody didn’t offer a big enough bribe. But I guess another 0 was finally added to the check. Meanwhile Microsoft’s employees are upset that they aren’t getting raises. I guess now we know where all the money went!
The lesson here seems to be that a company can make bad decisions, treat their customers and employees like garbage, and then just run and cry to big daddy government with an oversized novelty check to prop themselves up and be shielded from free market consequences of doing so. “Hi, we’re Microsoft; you don’t like our policies or the way we conduct ourselves and you thus decide to switch brands as a result? We’ll just buy out all the competition then, even though we’ve already literally been found guilty of monopolistic, anti-competitive behavior!”
Good,
Like it or not, facts are on Activision’s side here. (Note: They were the ones who wanted to sell to Microsoft).
Name of the company, nor the dollar amount does not matter. What matters is whether this will be anti-competitive. And apparently it will be pro-competitive.
(How can one assume “monopoly” when the combined entity would at best be third in the gaming market, still after Nintendo and Sony, depending on how you count it. If you count globally, it is even worse, Tencent, Apple, and Google will also be there).
Anyway, a good day for gaming consumers. Hopefully FTC will use our tax monies better in the future. There are real cases, like loot boxes, deceptive marketing, and dark patterns against children which cause actual harm. And they should be commended for their recent action against Fortnite forcing them to refund parents.
(Disclaimer: I have financial interest in this).