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Microsoft / Activision Deal Approval Watch |OT| (MS/ABK close)
- Status
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Let's keep this all in the OT please.
Grildon Tundy
Member
Well, if the pinnacle of fair and incorruptible governance (Brazilian politicians) approved it, then its a sure thing here in the US!
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Brazil is the 10th highest revenue generating country in the world for gaming, I think it's a decently sized market.
Top Countries & Markets by Game Revenues | Biggest Games Markets
What are the biggest games markets in the world in terms of revenue? Discover the top games markets in this ranking from Newzoo.
newzoo.com
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lh032
I cry about Xbox and hate PlayStation.
dont think thats a good measure.Brazil is the 10th highest revenue generating country in the world for gaming, I think it's a decently sized market.
Top Countries & Markets by Game Revenues | Biggest Games Markets
What are the biggest games markets in the world in terms of revenue? Discover the top games markets in this ranking from Newzoo.
Their average income is way lower compared to other countries.
Factor in taxation and currency conversion on full pricing games, its a very hard purchase for them.
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rodrigolfp
Haptic Gamepads 4 Life
Do you also think that they all look like Blanka and live in the middle of jungle?
Murdok
Member
their conclusion in the document is interesting:
"Furthermore, it is important to highlight that CADE's main objective is to defend competition as a way to promote the well-being of Brazilian consumers, and not to defend the particular interests of specific competitors. given that the holder of the legal assets protected by Law nº 12.529/2011 is the community, and not the competitor/economic agent as an individual. the Xbox in case Activision Blizzard games - and especially Call of Duty - become exclusive to the Microsoft ecosystem, SG/Cade does not believe that this possibility represents, in itself, a risk to competition in the console market as a whole. "
"Furthermore, it is important to highlight that CADE's main objective is to defend competition as a way to promote the well-being of Brazilian consumers, and not to defend the particular interests of specific competitors. given that the holder of the legal assets protected by Law nº 12.529/2011 is the community, and not the competitor/economic agent as an individual. the Xbox in case Activision Blizzard games - and especially Call of Duty - become exclusive to the Microsoft ecosystem, SG/Cade does not believe that this possibility represents, in itself, a risk to competition in the console market as a whole. "
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lh032
I cry about Xbox and hate PlayStation.
not sure why you think that? im not trolling or anything. Im being serious here.
GhostOfTsu
Banned
Jim Ryan just lost his dentures
EdGalTBR
Banned
You are not wrong. Xbox Series S + GamePass are making huge succes here. Only rich Sony fanboys can afford to buy and keep PS5 + games.
Their response is common sense and pretty much what a lot of us have been saying. It isn't the regulators' job to protect Sony's place in the market, and Sony would still be competitive if CoD becomes Xbox exclusive, even if they may not remain the market leader.
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rodrigolfp
Haptic Gamepads 4 Life
If they can buy a XBSX for almost 1000 dollars, they can buy games. Plus there is a magic thing called credit card that allows them to pay in 10+ parcels.
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Badlucktroll
Member
Nice, i hope Guatamala and Ecuador approve as well
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
The bolded part is the key. Reason would expect similar kinds of responses from all major authorities.
But let's see. FTC and EU are the two biggest hurdles.
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nikolino840
Member
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
The_Mike
I cry about SonyGaf from my chair in Redmond, WA
HeisenbergFX4
Gold Member
HoofHearted
Member
Welp… there’s only one thing to say…
envyzeal
Member
As a brazilian, I can confirm thisA picture of every house in entire Brazil:
HoofHearted
Member
R3claimer117
Member
Lmao if they let this deal pass with no concessions sheeeesh! Jim Ryan better Buckle up cause he may not have that three year deal that he didn’t sign and Microsoft will be under no obligation to do it for three years now with how public he’s been trying to sabotage their acquisition.
ByWatterson
Member
Lula advances to the runoff and shit starts to get based.
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Torrent of Pork
Banned
Doesn't Brazil charge absolutely ridiculous taxes on videogames and consoles?
Kagey K
Banned
Yeah his arrogance on that deal may come back to bite him in the ass hard.
rodrigolfp
Haptic Gamepads 4 Life
They charge ridiculous taxes on almost everything.
JLB
Banned
As an Argentinian, I can confirm that most brazilians live much better than this in reality.
Kagey K
Banned
I don't think it's closing before Dec. Delay tactics will put it around March.
Anime-Vix
Member
Below is more about the decision from Brazil. After reading, I can definitely see this deal going through without any concessions or problems worldwide. It's pretty lengthy but good read.
EXCLUSIVITY
The Applicants argue that such a vertical relationship would not entail risks associated with the possibility of closing the upstream and downstream markets, since, even in a hypothetical post-Operation scenario: (i) on the one hand, " [a] Microsoft will not have the capacity or incentives to harm rival consoles by preventing them from accessing Activision Blizzard games "; (ii) on the other, " Microsoft will have no ability or incentive to harm rival publishers of console games by preventing them from accessing the Xbox Store (or other Xbox-specific digital stores) "; and (iii) among all the segmentations considered in this analysis for the relevant vertically related markets, the only market segment in which the market shareof the Applicants would exceed the level of 30% would be the digital distribution of games for consoles.
However, despite what is alleged by the Parties, what is observed in practice is that, in general, the concerns expressed by market agents consulted by SG/Cade regarding the proposed Transaction refer precisely to the vertical integration in question.
It can be seen, therefore, that the concerns raised by the aforementioned players boil down to two main points: (i) if Activision Blizzard games – and especially the titles of the popular Call of Duty series – become exclusive to the Xbox ecosystem ( consoles, digital stores, subscription services) upon completion of the Transaction, such a condition could give Microsoft a considerable competitive advantage over rivals, harming competition in the digital distribution and game console markets; and (ii) with the Transaction, Microsoft would significantly expand the size and variety of its first-party game backlog.(which would include, in addition to games developed by Microsoft's own studios and the recently acquired Zenimax, also the successful franchises from Activision Blizzard), which could reduce its demand for third-party content in its ecosystem - and therefore , reduce distribution channels available to other game publishers.
The information presented above shows that the combined share of the Parties in the upstream market is less than 20% in all scenarios evaluated, not reaching the minimum percentage defined in article 36, § 2 of Law No. 12,529/2011 for the purpose of presumption of possible dominant position.
Therefore, despite the popularity that Microsoft or Activision Blizzard titles may have among the gaming public, the fact is that there is no indication that the Claimants have market power in the electronic game publishing segment, nor that the Transaction could create or strengthen a dominant position on the market in question.
The evolution shown in the tables and graphs presented shows that, although Microsoft has a relevant market share - more precisely, [ 30-40]% [ RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE AND APPLICANTS] worldwide and [30-40]% [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE AND APPLICANTS] in Brazil in 2021 –, its share is still lower than that of the leader Sony, which accounts for [50-60]% [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE AND APPLICANTS] of the global market and [ 5 0 -60]% [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE AND APPLICANTS] of the Brazilian market.
Also noteworthy is the fact that, concomitantly with the growth of Nintendo's share in this segment in recent years – possibly motivated by the commercial success of the Nintendo Switch console – Microsoft lost a significant portion of its market share . Indeed, while Nintendo's worldwide market share has increased from [0-10]% [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE AND CLAIMS] in 2017 to [10-20]% [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE AND CLAIMS] in 2021, the Microsoft's share dropped from [40-50]% [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE AND PLAINTIFF] to [ 30-40 ]% [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE AND PLAINTIFF]in the same period. Sony, meanwhile, has seen its market share fluctuate from [ 50-60 ]% [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE AND APPLICANTS] in 2017 to [ 50-60 ]% [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE AND APPLICANTS] in 2021.
In the present case, the closing of the game publishing market would occur in the event that Microsoft has market power and has incentives to acquire content primarily from Activision Blizzard, in order to make it difficult, or even prevent, the access of other game publishers to the its digital game distribution platforms .
More precisely, as pointed out [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE] in its manifestation in the file, there would be a theoretical risk that Microsoft, having enough first-party content in its ecosystem, could reduce its demand for third-party games for its consoles, digital stores and subscription services, and with that, decided to "close" the Xbox ecosystem to third-party content.
As seen earlier, the only downstream market segment in which Microsoft's market share slightly exceeds the 30% threshold - minimum percentage considered for the purpose of presumption of the possibility of closing the market, as defined in article 8, IV of CADE Resolution nº 33/2022 – is the digital distribution of games for consoles , in the world and national scenarios. It can be inferred, in this sense, that the vertical integrations generated by the Transaction do not give rise to the risk of closing the upstream markets for publishing games for PCs and mobile devices , since Microsoft does not hold a dominant position in the downstream markets.relating to the distribution of games to such devices. It follows, therefore, that the present analysis concerns especially the vertical relationship between the publishing and distribution segments of games for consoles.
As popular and commercially successful as Activision Blizzard and Microsoft games may be, both Parties' 2021 sales represented a combined share of approximately [10-20]% [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE] in the worldwide gaming market. publishing games for consoles, and only about [0-10] % [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE] on the national scene. From another angle, it can be seen that almost [90-100]% [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE] of the total revenue generated from the activity of publishing games for consoles in 2021, worldwide, does not refer to the content of the Claimants. So, if Microsoft chose to market only first-party contenton the Xbox Store after the eventual conclusion of the Transaction, or to market third-party content under less favorable conditions than those practiced in other stores/platforms, this would likely imply a drastic reduction in the quantity and variety of games available for Xbox, reducing the attractiveness of the console and its ecosystem to consumers.
Console Exclusivity
On consoles , as already seen, there are currently only three stores that distribute digital game content, each one exclusively linked to a manufacturer/console: (i) the Xbox Store , from Microsoft Xbox; (ii) Sony PlayStation's PlayStation Store ; and (iii) the Nintendo eShop for Nintendo Switch. In the current market context, the only way for a game publisher to digitally distribute its content to users of a given console is through the official store of the respective manufacturer/console. It follows that, in practice, competition in the segment of digital distribution of games for consoles takes place only between different devices (or " interconsoles ")."), so it reflects, to some extent, the competitive dynamics of the console market itself.
In this specific segment, therefore, the possibility of closing the downstream market would occur in the event that Microsoft starts to concentrate the distribution of Activision Blizzard games on the Xbox Store after the Transaction, in order to make difficult, or even prevent, the distribution of these titles on the PlayStation Store and Nintendo eShop – and, of course, as long as such games represent relevant inputs so that Microsoft's rival stores can continue to compete in the market.
In consultation with Nintendo's official website in Brazil, this SG/Cade found that only some games and content from the Crash Bandicoot , Diablo , Overwatch and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series by Activision Blizzard are for sale on the official Nintendo Switch digital store, not there being a single Call of Duty title available for the platform [SUP][153][/SUP]. The list of best-selling games released on the store itself reveals that, currently, no Activision Blizzard game is among the 92 (ninety-two) best-selling Nintendo Switch titles [SUP][154][/SUP]. Another list available on Wikipedia, which lists the best-selling games for the Nintendo Switch since its launch in 2017, does not mention a single Activision Blizzard game in the rankingof titles that have sold more than 1 million copies on the console.
Taken together, these elements show that the relevance of Activision Blizzard games to the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo eShop is minimal, so their eventual withdrawal from this ecosystem would likely not have any significant impact on Nintendo's game distribution business.
As for Sony, on the other hand, it turns out that all major Activision Blizzard titles for consoles are available on PlayStation, including games in the Call of Duty series . In fact, as informed by the Plaintiffs, Sony is currently responsible for [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE AND PLAINTIFF] of the revenue earned by Activision Blizzard from the sale of games and game content for consoles worldwide, also representing [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE AND THE APPLICANTS] of such sales under the national scenario. It follows, therefore, that Sony is the only playerof the game distribution market for consoles that could, in theory, be harmed by Microsoft's eventual exclusivity over the distribution of Activision Blizzard content.
Despite this, this SG/Cade considers that, in light of the elements available in the records, there is no evidence that Activision Blizzard games actually represent an indispensable asset for Sony's competitive performance in the digital distribution market.
In its response to a letter sent by SG, Sony reported that in the year 2021, Activision Blizzard accounted for [CADE RESTRICTED ACCESS] of total consumer spending on games and add-ons ( "add-ons" ) in the PlayStation ecosystem at the global, and only Call of Duty responded for [CADE RESTRICTED ACCESS] . Such percentages, although they are quite expressive, do not seem to reflect values whose loss could effectively limit the ability of the leading company in the console market to compete in the digital distribution segment, and are certainly not sufficiently representative to the point of, by themselves, characterize Activision Blizzard content as an "essential input" to Sony's business.
Furthermore, as already shown in Table 5, it is observed that no Activision Blizzard game released for the PlayStation 4 was among the 10 best-selling games on the Brazilian PlayStation Store in the last 5 years, despite the company having published several titles for that console between 2017 and 2021 – including, among them, at least five games in the Call of Duty series . It is quite true that the PlayStation Store rankingmay not accurately reflect PlayStation 4 game sales in their entirety, as they do not include games sold on physical media; nevertheless, it is still a reasonable indication that, for most Brazilian users of the console, the Activision Blizzard games catalog is less attractive and relevant than that of other major publishers such as Electronic Arts, Take-Two Interactive, Sony and Ubisoft, which are better positioned on the list.
For all of the foregoing, although it is recognized that an eventual exclusivity over the distribution of Activision Blizzard's content may give Microsoft a competitive advantage, there is no evidence that such an advantage can, by itself, harm the performance of third parties to the point of limit competition in the market for digital distribution of electronic games.
CALL OF DUTY
The information presented seems to corroborate the allegations made by some of the players consulted by SG/Cade throughout the procedural instruction, who cited the Call of Duty franchise as Activision Blizzard's most important asset in the video game market for PC and consoles. So important that, in Sony's understanding, such a franchise could stand out " as a category of games in itself".
As can be seen, no less than 10 of the 20 best-selling games in the US in the last decade are Call of Duty , with 7 titles in the franchise among the top 10. It is also noted that 14 of the 20 games on the list belong to the "first-person shooter" genre, which seems to indicate a certain predilection of the American consumer for this type of game. Although it refers only to the US market, it is possible that the ranking presented is also representative, to some extent, of the preferences of players worldwide, given the relevance of such a country in the global context of the sector. According to estimates by Newzoo, the United States constitutes the [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE AND CLAIMANTS]The largest market in the gaming industry in terms of revenue generation ( [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE AND PLAINTIFF] ), with [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE AND PLAINTIFF] being for the specific console segment.
Despite the undeniable popularity of Call of Duty , the series' dominance in the best-selling video game list is not, in itself, an indication that Activision Blizzard holds a dominant position in the game publishing market. In 2021, as already seen, the company's games catalog earned it, worldwide, a market share of [0-10]% [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE] in the PC games segment and of [0-10] % [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE]in console games – percentages that, although they are quite expressive when compared to the shares held by most competitors, seem insufficient to give Activision Blizzard a leadership position. In Brazil, in turn, the company's share in the game publishing market is even less representative, reaching [0-10] % [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE] on PCs and [0-10] % [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE] on consoles in 2021. In fact, from a Brazilian consumer perspective, Activision Blizzard games for PC and consoles seem to have less relevance than publisher titlescompetitors such as Take-Two Interactive, Electronic Arts, Sony, Tencent and Valve, among others, as evidenced in the offer structures presented in tables 7 and 8 above.
The information presented shows that neither Call of Duty , nor any other Activision Blizzard title for PlayStation 4 appeared on the list of best-selling games on the Brazilian PlayStation Store in the years 2017 to 2021, despite the company having published several games for the console. Sony (the most popular console in Brazil) in the period – among them, at least five titles from the Call of Duty series. Although the rankingof the PlayStation Store may not accurately reflect the sales of games for the PlayStation 4 as a whole, as it does not include games sold on physical media, it still constitutes a reasonable indication that, for the majority of Brazilian users of such console , Activision Blizzard's games catalog is less attractive than that of publishers such as Electronic Arts, Take-Two Interactive, Sony and Ubisoft (whose games are also sold in physical media in Brazil), which are better positioned on the list.
It should also be noted that it is not only in Brazil and other Latin American countries that Call of Duty seems to be less popular and relevant than in the United States, but also in the Japanese market.
Based on all the above, it is possible to observe that the Activision Blizzard catalog, and in particular the Call of Duty series , are very important assets in the general context of the video game industry, being among the most successful games in terms of sales and audience. Nevertheless, this SG/Cade considers that, from the perspective of the Brazilian consumer, Call of Duty represents one among several highly successful game franchises, while Activision Blizzard, although it is among the largest publishers of games for consoles in the national scenario, is not the most relevant among them.
It is also necessary to consider that, as Call of Duty is an "essential" game, as defended by Sony, then the Nintendo Switch would probably not be able to compete effectively in the market, since no title in the franchise was released for the platform ( until the moment). What can be observed, however, is that the Nintendo console has been showing a good sales performance since its launch in 2017, having even surpassed the numbers of the recently launched PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S in 2021, according to estimates.
Furthermore, it is important to bear in mind that the game development and publishing market is quite dispersed and open to innovation, and that consumer tastes and preferences can vary significantly over time. That said, a video game does not necessarily need to have a multi-million budget to obtain recognition and commercial success. As an emblematic example of such a statement, it should be noted that the initial version of the Minecraft game – today [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE AND CLAIMANTS] , usually referred to as the best-selling game of all time – was created and published in a independently by a single developer.
In light of all the above, what can be observed is that, despite the fact that Activision Blizzard is the owner of some of the most popular game franchises today, there is no evidence in the file that the company has market power in the publishing segment. of games, or that their titles can be considered indispensable for the commercial success of a given console or digital game distribution platform – especially from the perspective of the Brazilian consumer, which is what is effectively of interest to the present analysis.
EXCLUSIVITY
The Applicants argue that such a vertical relationship would not entail risks associated with the possibility of closing the upstream and downstream markets, since, even in a hypothetical post-Operation scenario: (i) on the one hand, " [a] Microsoft will not have the capacity or incentives to harm rival consoles by preventing them from accessing Activision Blizzard games "; (ii) on the other, " Microsoft will have no ability or incentive to harm rival publishers of console games by preventing them from accessing the Xbox Store (or other Xbox-specific digital stores) "; and (iii) among all the segmentations considered in this analysis for the relevant vertically related markets, the only market segment in which the market shareof the Applicants would exceed the level of 30% would be the digital distribution of games for consoles.
However, despite what is alleged by the Parties, what is observed in practice is that, in general, the concerns expressed by market agents consulted by SG/Cade regarding the proposed Transaction refer precisely to the vertical integration in question.
It can be seen, therefore, that the concerns raised by the aforementioned players boil down to two main points: (i) if Activision Blizzard games – and especially the titles of the popular Call of Duty series – become exclusive to the Xbox ecosystem ( consoles, digital stores, subscription services) upon completion of the Transaction, such a condition could give Microsoft a considerable competitive advantage over rivals, harming competition in the digital distribution and game console markets; and (ii) with the Transaction, Microsoft would significantly expand the size and variety of its first-party game backlog.(which would include, in addition to games developed by Microsoft's own studios and the recently acquired Zenimax, also the successful franchises from Activision Blizzard), which could reduce its demand for third-party content in its ecosystem - and therefore , reduce distribution channels available to other game publishers.
The information presented above shows that the combined share of the Parties in the upstream market is less than 20% in all scenarios evaluated, not reaching the minimum percentage defined in article 36, § 2 of Law No. 12,529/2011 for the purpose of presumption of possible dominant position.
Therefore, despite the popularity that Microsoft or Activision Blizzard titles may have among the gaming public, the fact is that there is no indication that the Claimants have market power in the electronic game publishing segment, nor that the Transaction could create or strengthen a dominant position on the market in question.
The evolution shown in the tables and graphs presented shows that, although Microsoft has a relevant market share - more precisely, [ 30-40]% [ RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE AND APPLICANTS] worldwide and [30-40]% [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE AND APPLICANTS] in Brazil in 2021 –, its share is still lower than that of the leader Sony, which accounts for [50-60]% [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE AND APPLICANTS] of the global market and [ 5 0 -60]% [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE AND APPLICANTS] of the Brazilian market.
Also noteworthy is the fact that, concomitantly with the growth of Nintendo's share in this segment in recent years – possibly motivated by the commercial success of the Nintendo Switch console – Microsoft lost a significant portion of its market share . Indeed, while Nintendo's worldwide market share has increased from [0-10]% [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE AND CLAIMS] in 2017 to [10-20]% [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE AND CLAIMS] in 2021, the Microsoft's share dropped from [40-50]% [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE AND PLAINTIFF] to [ 30-40 ]% [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE AND PLAINTIFF]in the same period. Sony, meanwhile, has seen its market share fluctuate from [ 50-60 ]% [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE AND APPLICANTS] in 2017 to [ 50-60 ]% [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE AND APPLICANTS] in 2021.
In the present case, the closing of the game publishing market would occur in the event that Microsoft has market power and has incentives to acquire content primarily from Activision Blizzard, in order to make it difficult, or even prevent, the access of other game publishers to the its digital game distribution platforms .
More precisely, as pointed out [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE] in its manifestation in the file, there would be a theoretical risk that Microsoft, having enough first-party content in its ecosystem, could reduce its demand for third-party games for its consoles, digital stores and subscription services, and with that, decided to "close" the Xbox ecosystem to third-party content.
As seen earlier, the only downstream market segment in which Microsoft's market share slightly exceeds the 30% threshold - minimum percentage considered for the purpose of presumption of the possibility of closing the market, as defined in article 8, IV of CADE Resolution nº 33/2022 – is the digital distribution of games for consoles , in the world and national scenarios. It can be inferred, in this sense, that the vertical integrations generated by the Transaction do not give rise to the risk of closing the upstream markets for publishing games for PCs and mobile devices , since Microsoft does not hold a dominant position in the downstream markets.relating to the distribution of games to such devices. It follows, therefore, that the present analysis concerns especially the vertical relationship between the publishing and distribution segments of games for consoles.
As popular and commercially successful as Activision Blizzard and Microsoft games may be, both Parties' 2021 sales represented a combined share of approximately [10-20]% [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE] in the worldwide gaming market. publishing games for consoles, and only about [0-10] % [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE] on the national scene. From another angle, it can be seen that almost [90-100]% [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE] of the total revenue generated from the activity of publishing games for consoles in 2021, worldwide, does not refer to the content of the Claimants. So, if Microsoft chose to market only first-party contenton the Xbox Store after the eventual conclusion of the Transaction, or to market third-party content under less favorable conditions than those practiced in other stores/platforms, this would likely imply a drastic reduction in the quantity and variety of games available for Xbox, reducing the attractiveness of the console and its ecosystem to consumers.
Console Exclusivity
On consoles , as already seen, there are currently only three stores that distribute digital game content, each one exclusively linked to a manufacturer/console: (i) the Xbox Store , from Microsoft Xbox; (ii) Sony PlayStation's PlayStation Store ; and (iii) the Nintendo eShop for Nintendo Switch. In the current market context, the only way for a game publisher to digitally distribute its content to users of a given console is through the official store of the respective manufacturer/console. It follows that, in practice, competition in the segment of digital distribution of games for consoles takes place only between different devices (or " interconsoles ")."), so it reflects, to some extent, the competitive dynamics of the console market itself.
In this specific segment, therefore, the possibility of closing the downstream market would occur in the event that Microsoft starts to concentrate the distribution of Activision Blizzard games on the Xbox Store after the Transaction, in order to make difficult, or even prevent, the distribution of these titles on the PlayStation Store and Nintendo eShop – and, of course, as long as such games represent relevant inputs so that Microsoft's rival stores can continue to compete in the market.
In consultation with Nintendo's official website in Brazil, this SG/Cade found that only some games and content from the Crash Bandicoot , Diablo , Overwatch and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series by Activision Blizzard are for sale on the official Nintendo Switch digital store, not there being a single Call of Duty title available for the platform [SUP][153][/SUP]. The list of best-selling games released on the store itself reveals that, currently, no Activision Blizzard game is among the 92 (ninety-two) best-selling Nintendo Switch titles [SUP][154][/SUP]. Another list available on Wikipedia, which lists the best-selling games for the Nintendo Switch since its launch in 2017, does not mention a single Activision Blizzard game in the rankingof titles that have sold more than 1 million copies on the console.
Taken together, these elements show that the relevance of Activision Blizzard games to the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo eShop is minimal, so their eventual withdrawal from this ecosystem would likely not have any significant impact on Nintendo's game distribution business.
As for Sony, on the other hand, it turns out that all major Activision Blizzard titles for consoles are available on PlayStation, including games in the Call of Duty series . In fact, as informed by the Plaintiffs, Sony is currently responsible for [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE AND PLAINTIFF] of the revenue earned by Activision Blizzard from the sale of games and game content for consoles worldwide, also representing [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE AND THE APPLICANTS] of such sales under the national scenario. It follows, therefore, that Sony is the only playerof the game distribution market for consoles that could, in theory, be harmed by Microsoft's eventual exclusivity over the distribution of Activision Blizzard content.
Despite this, this SG/Cade considers that, in light of the elements available in the records, there is no evidence that Activision Blizzard games actually represent an indispensable asset for Sony's competitive performance in the digital distribution market.
In its response to a letter sent by SG, Sony reported that in the year 2021, Activision Blizzard accounted for [CADE RESTRICTED ACCESS] of total consumer spending on games and add-ons ( "add-ons" ) in the PlayStation ecosystem at the global, and only Call of Duty responded for [CADE RESTRICTED ACCESS] . Such percentages, although they are quite expressive, do not seem to reflect values whose loss could effectively limit the ability of the leading company in the console market to compete in the digital distribution segment, and are certainly not sufficiently representative to the point of, by themselves, characterize Activision Blizzard content as an "essential input" to Sony's business.
Furthermore, as already shown in Table 5, it is observed that no Activision Blizzard game released for the PlayStation 4 was among the 10 best-selling games on the Brazilian PlayStation Store in the last 5 years, despite the company having published several titles for that console between 2017 and 2021 – including, among them, at least five games in the Call of Duty series . It is quite true that the PlayStation Store rankingmay not accurately reflect PlayStation 4 game sales in their entirety, as they do not include games sold on physical media; nevertheless, it is still a reasonable indication that, for most Brazilian users of the console, the Activision Blizzard games catalog is less attractive and relevant than that of other major publishers such as Electronic Arts, Take-Two Interactive, Sony and Ubisoft, which are better positioned on the list.
For all of the foregoing, although it is recognized that an eventual exclusivity over the distribution of Activision Blizzard's content may give Microsoft a competitive advantage, there is no evidence that such an advantage can, by itself, harm the performance of third parties to the point of limit competition in the market for digital distribution of electronic games.
CALL OF DUTY
The information presented seems to corroborate the allegations made by some of the players consulted by SG/Cade throughout the procedural instruction, who cited the Call of Duty franchise as Activision Blizzard's most important asset in the video game market for PC and consoles. So important that, in Sony's understanding, such a franchise could stand out " as a category of games in itself".
As can be seen, no less than 10 of the 20 best-selling games in the US in the last decade are Call of Duty , with 7 titles in the franchise among the top 10. It is also noted that 14 of the 20 games on the list belong to the "first-person shooter" genre, which seems to indicate a certain predilection of the American consumer for this type of game. Although it refers only to the US market, it is possible that the ranking presented is also representative, to some extent, of the preferences of players worldwide, given the relevance of such a country in the global context of the sector. According to estimates by Newzoo, the United States constitutes the [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE AND CLAIMANTS]The largest market in the gaming industry in terms of revenue generation ( [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE AND PLAINTIFF] ), with [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE AND PLAINTIFF] being for the specific console segment.
Despite the undeniable popularity of Call of Duty , the series' dominance in the best-selling video game list is not, in itself, an indication that Activision Blizzard holds a dominant position in the game publishing market. In 2021, as already seen, the company's games catalog earned it, worldwide, a market share of [0-10]% [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE] in the PC games segment and of [0-10] % [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE]in console games – percentages that, although they are quite expressive when compared to the shares held by most competitors, seem insufficient to give Activision Blizzard a leadership position. In Brazil, in turn, the company's share in the game publishing market is even less representative, reaching [0-10] % [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE] on PCs and [0-10] % [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE] on consoles in 2021. In fact, from a Brazilian consumer perspective, Activision Blizzard games for PC and consoles seem to have less relevance than publisher titlescompetitors such as Take-Two Interactive, Electronic Arts, Sony, Tencent and Valve, among others, as evidenced in the offer structures presented in tables 7 and 8 above.
The information presented shows that neither Call of Duty , nor any other Activision Blizzard title for PlayStation 4 appeared on the list of best-selling games on the Brazilian PlayStation Store in the years 2017 to 2021, despite the company having published several games for the console. Sony (the most popular console in Brazil) in the period – among them, at least five titles from the Call of Duty series. Although the rankingof the PlayStation Store may not accurately reflect the sales of games for the PlayStation 4 as a whole, as it does not include games sold on physical media, it still constitutes a reasonable indication that, for the majority of Brazilian users of such console , Activision Blizzard's games catalog is less attractive than that of publishers such as Electronic Arts, Take-Two Interactive, Sony and Ubisoft (whose games are also sold in physical media in Brazil), which are better positioned on the list.
It should also be noted that it is not only in Brazil and other Latin American countries that Call of Duty seems to be less popular and relevant than in the United States, but also in the Japanese market.
Based on all the above, it is possible to observe that the Activision Blizzard catalog, and in particular the Call of Duty series , are very important assets in the general context of the video game industry, being among the most successful games in terms of sales and audience. Nevertheless, this SG/Cade considers that, from the perspective of the Brazilian consumer, Call of Duty represents one among several highly successful game franchises, while Activision Blizzard, although it is among the largest publishers of games for consoles in the national scenario, is not the most relevant among them.
It is also necessary to consider that, as Call of Duty is an "essential" game, as defended by Sony, then the Nintendo Switch would probably not be able to compete effectively in the market, since no title in the franchise was released for the platform ( until the moment). What can be observed, however, is that the Nintendo console has been showing a good sales performance since its launch in 2017, having even surpassed the numbers of the recently launched PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S in 2021, according to estimates.
Furthermore, it is important to bear in mind that the game development and publishing market is quite dispersed and open to innovation, and that consumer tastes and preferences can vary significantly over time. That said, a video game does not necessarily need to have a multi-million budget to obtain recognition and commercial success. As an emblematic example of such a statement, it should be noted that the initial version of the Minecraft game – today [RESTRICTED ACCESS TO CADE AND CLAIMANTS] , usually referred to as the best-selling game of all time – was created and published in a independently by a single developer.
In light of all the above, what can be observed is that, despite the fact that Activision Blizzard is the owner of some of the most popular game franchises today, there is no evidence in the file that the company has market power in the publishing segment. of games, or that their titles can be considered indispensable for the commercial success of a given console or digital game distribution platform – especially from the perspective of the Brazilian consumer, which is what is effectively of interest to the present analysis.
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bxrz
Member
Damn they destroyed Sony's whole argument with point 4/5.
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Again, any reasonable body would/should come to the same conclusion. They're not there to protect the interests of one company, they're there to protect the interest of consumers.
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"Furthermore, it is important to highlight that the central objective of CADE's activities is the protection of competition as a means of promoting the well-being of Brazilian consumers, and not the defense of the particular interests of specific competitors .."
Since they're specifically talking about PlayStation in these quotes we can conclude that Jim Lyin' Cryin' dance moves Ryan is looking mighty foolish right about now. To the surprise of nobody. Might need to add Flyin' to his name since he's flying all over the EU as of late to talk to regulators in person.
But seriously, any reasonable person should know should know regulators are not in the business to protect rival companies best interests, and all this is coming from a country that was adamantly against the Disney deal. This is why Sony's arguments are so laughable, along with the literal lies they peddle such as CoD is a "genre of it's own," it has "no competitors" or that Microsoft owning ABK would harm "gamers." What's a hill to die on.
Since they're specifically talking about PlayStation in these quotes we can conclude that Jim Lyin' Cryin' dance moves Ryan is looking mighty foolish right about now. To the surprise of nobody. Might need to add Flyin' to his name since he's flying all over the EU as of late to talk to regulators in person.
But seriously, any reasonable person should know should know regulators are not in the business to protect rival companies best interests, and all this is coming from a country that was adamantly against the Disney deal. This is why Sony's arguments are so laughable, along with the literal lies they peddle such as CoD is a "genre of it's own," it has "no competitors" or that Microsoft owning ABK would harm "gamers." What's a hill to die on.
HeisenbergFX4
Gold Member
The rumor mill has Sony closing in on an acquisition themselves so they might have some bullets in their gun very soon to trade with
GhostOfTsu
Banned
Are you CatLady? You sound like they/them.
Kdad
Member
Just need enough positive buzz bump that ACTI price
Just looked up that person and we don't even sound/type even remotely the same. Guess you're just comparing two people that usually embarass you and your troll posts or something, because you should know mods can check your IP addresses and the country/state you reside in. I'm sure you know this, though.
Just need enough positive buzz bump that ACTI price
It doesn't need to be bumped. Your shares will automatically hit $95 next year.
Kdad
Member
If the go ahead is given but the deal still hasn't close yet, ACTI will jump to 95ish right away...this is what I meant by 'bump'.
Hendrick's
If only my penis was as big as my GamerScore!
MS won't be petty. COD will be on PS for three years. After that, it will be up to PS to make some concessions.
if this go through with no concessions by other regulators than more like which publisher will be acquired by MS next ? because MS will go for hunt again after March 2023
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ChorizoPicozo
Member
If Sony is not able to achieve some kind of condition regarding CoD (after crying out loud)...i wonder if MS is going to be like..."Now I am changing my inadequate offer, and you will be happy and accept it".
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