Well, it seems like things have taken a turn in recent times, according to a new report from Axios regarding the state of affairs in Japan between PlayStation and Xbox. According to policymakers that are currently pressing the Biden administration, Sony’s business practices are actively blocking US Companies from competing in the gaming market. They have, subsequently, hurt the Xbox stand in this particular market because of these underhanded tactics.
During a trade hearing, Senator Maria Cantwell pressed the US Trade Representative Katherine Tai on this issue. The Biden administration then received two letters that aimed to bring the imbalanced Japanese video game market into the spotlight. According to the letters, PlayStation has unfairly gained a 98% stake in the high-end console market in Japan and has signed multiple deals to keep Japanese games from Microsoft’s Xbox.
Considering the latest demands from Sony regarding “fair competition” that have been argued with the FTC and the CMA, this is certainly not a concern that can be easily dismissed, especially with Xbox being on the path of acquiring Activision Blizzard and the Call of Duty IP over in the west. According to the letter penned by the Republican side, the deals that Sony has made in Japan may even violate Japan’s antitrust laws.
The Japanese government’s effective policy of non-prosecution when it comes to Sony appears to be a serious barrier to U.S. exports, with real impacts for Microsoft and the many U.S. game developers and publishers that sell globally but see their earnings in Japan depressed by these practices.
Both sides of the political aisle have penned the letters. In other words, both Democrats and Republicans are demanding an investigation regarding the business practices adopted by Sony and PlayStation. A Microsoft spokesperson told Axios that Sony’s anti-competitive tactics do deserve discussion. Although, they aren’t mentioning how involved it was in orchestrating this push that so coincidentally matches that of Sony against the Activision Blizzard deal.
One more thing about the letters, the House members have also asked that this issue be raised with the Japanese government in order to identify “Additional barriers” to American companies that may prevent them to access the Japanese gaming market. Of course, we won’t know what will come out of this but make sure to stay tuned to know of the outcome of the Activision Blizzard deal.
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