U.S. senator questions Sony’s monopolistic practices.

[The Mad Titan]

Their own weakness. They can't claim Xenophobia either as the IPhone is by far the #1 phone in Japan and has been for years.

shyt is just trash.

Iphones just got in early, and apple wasn't some "big scary" america company like MS.

On top of that the who iphone looks meshes perfectly with Japan.

 

[Khalil's_Black_Excellence]

Iphones just got in early, and apple wasn't some terrible america company like MS.

On top of that the who iphone looks ( what fool?) meshes perfectly with Japan.

Fixed for posterity.

 

[Animal House]

I'm shocked.

 

[YaThreadTrashB!]

If ms actually made good games we wouldn’t have to worry about this now would we

 

[Pull Up the Roots]

What a stupid claim to make. Not surprised coming from her since she's one of Microsoft's most lobbied senators.

US Senator Says Sony Has 'Monopoly' on High-End Japanese Game Market

You'll never guess her biggest campaign contributor

www.pushsquare.com

Senator Cantwell stated that she was "told that Sony controls a monopoly of 98% of the high-end game market, yet Japan’s government has allowed Sony to engage in blatant anti-competitive conduct through exclusive deals and payments to game publishers, establishing games that are among the most popular in Japan."

This 98% figure is quite misleading, ignoring PC, Nintendo and mobile games, and instead refers to Sony's adoption rate over Microsoft in Sony's home region of Japan, a revelation which shouldn't come as much of a surprise to anyone moderately aware of the video game industry.

After accusing Japan's Federal Trade Commission of having failed to investigate this alleged "exclusionary conduct" properly, she asked US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, "What do you think we can do to address these issues and create a level playing field?"

As Luke Plunkett over at Kotaku rightly points out, it's ludicrous to suggest Sony has some kind of monopoly on the Japanese game market because "Sony doesn’t even have a 98% share of the God of War market, a series they own, since Steam is getting 30% of every sale on PC."

Obviously, we can't expect elected officials to be experts on everything, but it sure is a conspicuous take during a fairly critical moment in the ongoing acquisition effort.

Is it relevant that Microsoft (not to mention Nintendo) is headquartered within Senator Cantwell's district of Redmond, WA, or that Microsoft has contributed more than half a million dollars to Cantwell over the past two decades? We'll let you decide.

 

[Pull Up the Roots]

Statement by U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell on the Microsoft Decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals

The Official U.S. Senate website of Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington

www.cantwell.senate.gov

"Today's unanimous ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals is, on balance, good for Microsoft. The ruling narrows the issues and reverses the lower court's decision to break up Microsoft. I have always believed that breaking up the company was ill conceived.

"Most issues are best resolved through negotiations. Rather than continue to litigate, I hope the Department of Justice, the State Attorneys General and Microsoft will take this opportunity to come together and find a way to settle this case.

"One of the most striking aspects of this decision is that, on the tying issue, the court recognized that an antitrust analysis has to be cautiously applied to the changing economy. In this regard, the court clearly showed that the rapidly changing business environment presents novel conditions and legal analysis must be very fact specific.

"The best news of all is that the court's decision ensures that consumers will continue to benefit from Microsoft's innovative work. This decision also will improve the business climate for other growing, innovative companies.


"Microsoft employees are some of the most dedicated and hard-working people in Washington state and around the world. Their innovations will continue to drive incredible products and solutions for consumers. During the years this case has been under way, they have carried an extra burden, yet they have continued to do extraordinary work. Today's ruling narrows the government's case and creates a new opportunity for constructive discussion and possible compromise among all of the parties."

This senator sounds like a PR person.

 

[MeachTheMonster]

What a stupid claim to make. Not surprised coming from her since she's one of Microsoft's most lobbied senators.

US Senator Says Sony Has 'Monopoly' on High-End Japanese Game Market

You'll never guess her biggest campaign contributor

www.pushsquare.com

Statement by U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell on the Microsoft Decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals

The Official U.S. Senate website of Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington

www.cantwell.senate.gov

This senator sounds like a PR person.

Da Shambles

 

[FaTaL]

 

[Pull Up the Roots]

The "shambles" or "sony stans" coping mechanism

 

[Regular_P]

This will not stand. I will be voting against her in next year's primary.

 

[Cladyclad]

I'm shocked.

King of the cadium

prolific posting

word to nip

 

[MeachTheMonster]

King of the cadium

prolific posting

word to nip

@Gizmo_Duck somewhere punching air right now

 

[Tair]

"Corrupt U.S. Senator makes ridiculous claim against Sony" is the real title.

 

[Cladyclad]

@Gizmo_Duck somewhere punching air right now

Gizmo the shooter. His role solidified

we don’t infighting on this side player

 

[humminbird]

I would love to hear someone explaining to the senate what final fantasy is