Sony Group Corp. urged the UK’s antitrust watchdog to block Microsoft Corp.’s $69 billion Activision Blizzard Inc. deal or force it to sell the blockbuster Call of Duty, as no other solution exists that’ll prevent harm to consumers in the cloud gaming and console markets.
(Bloomberg) — Sony Group Corp. urged the UK’s antitrust watchdog to block Microsoft Corp.’s $69 billion Activision Blizzard Inc. deal or force it to sell the blockbuster Call of Duty, as no other solution exists that’ll prevent harm to consumers in the cloud gaming and console markets.
The UK’s Competition and Market’s Authority said in provisional findings last month that the deal could result in a substantial lessening in competition for UK gamers. It suggested a number of remedies, including the sale of the best-selling Call of Duty game or blocking the deal altogether. The agency did say it would consider other remedies that would safeguard rivals’ access to the blockbuster shooter game.
Microsoft has since said that the deal cannot be be completed without Call of Duty. It has struck long-term licensing deals with Nintendo Co. and Nvidia Corp. in an effort to appease global regulators.
However, Sony said that Microsoft’s past conduct shows that behavioral remedies are not suitable in this case, according to responses to the potential remedies published on Wednesday.
Competition authorities in the US and UK have soured on so-called behavioral remedies in recent years. In a recent speech, CMA Chief Executive Officer Sarah Cardell said behavioral remedies are disfavored “particularly in a sector where technology or business models are changing quickly.”
“Behavioral remedies are unsuited to this case because of the lever they would give Microsoft over PlayStation and the difficulty the CMA would encounter in specifying, monitoring, policing, and enforcing any behavioral commitment,” the company’s lawyers said in a reply to the CMA’s proposals.
Microsoft’s lawyers said in a separate document published Wednesday that behavioral remedies are met in this case because the firm is “proposing a package of licensing remedies,” which guarantee equality between the PlayStation and Xbox platform.
–With assistance from Stephanie Bodoni.
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