The Video Game Industry

You'd think that would run afoul of collusion laws at some point.

Not really. Collusion laws cover things like deliberate price fixing or the companies maneuvering to create monopolies in related but not identical products. Basically things to reduce competition.

Two companies agreeing to release products in the same niche at the same time doesn't reduce competition and all and can actually increase it.

You can actually see it in a ton of industries. Nike and Adidas tend to release major new product lines at the same time, for example.

Edited by Zendervai on Nov 18th 2022 at 3:15:31 PM

I suppose that makes sense.

It also leads to a lot of inane online arguments as to which generation the Switch actually belongs to, as an added bonus.

Yes, they are not literally colluding with each other. What basically happens is that both companies decide it is in their best interest to release simultaneously with the other company, watching each other's press releases and such. That's all very much above board, done with publicly available information. Were we to launch a Trope Console, we could conceivably plan it to coincide with their launch as well without them coordinating with us.

Why does it have the same date every time? Probably because it lines them up nicely with the holiday season, when parents are breaking out the credit cards to buy kids new consoles. This is also why there tends to be a flood of games around the same time each year.

And a lot of fanboying over the "console wars", which probably doesn't hurt sales and competition either.

Edited by Redmess on Nov 18th 2022 at 10:00:54 AM

very few people attending

launched a boat

Edit: Comments in the first article say "it must be fake since 60% of PS3s were preordered", but people who preorder don't need to come to an event at midnight since their order will be waiting for them at their regular store at reasonable hours, which makes them snubbing the event even more believable.

Edited by Medinoc on Nov 19th 2022 at 11:05:52 AM

I love it when marketing lets their hair down and just goes and trolls the competition like this.

This could have been before the era when launches synchronized worldwide. This change being indicative of the internet age becoming more and more mainstream is something I certainly wouldn't question.

They still don't always synchronise. The PS 5 launched a few weeks later over here in Europe, if I remember right.

How the PS5’s DualSense controller is failing disabled players: Two years after PS5 launch, Sony doesn't offer accessible-control alternatives.

That's a real shame. Microsoft is apparently making a much better effort, and this is a real demerit to Sony.

Re: Yuji Naka

Yong Yea pointed out in his coverage that the timeline of Naka's removal from Balan Wonderworld coincides with when he was accused of doing the inside trading. (Starts around 4:00)

Balan Wonderland launched in March 2021 and Naka was said to have been removed 6 months before then. That would be September 2020, when the Dragon Quest game was announced.

While it's possibly a coincidence, it's worth bringing up.

It’s sad how far one of the original members of Sonic Team has fallen.

Granted all reports of him by people like Hirokazu Yasuhura (level designer of the main Genesis Sonic games) and Naoto Oshima (character designer for Sonic) are that he was a major asshole to work with.

Wish people stop attributing the creation of one thing through a sole person. Sonic had a literal team behind it yet everyone’s saying Yuji Naka made him.

So how much "the creator" of Sonic is he? It isn't a situation like people calling Kenji Inafune the "father of Mega Man," and that title being quite exaggerated?

Edit: 'd by post, I wasn't responding to it.

Edited by diddyknux on Nov 23rd 2022 at 12:51:31 PM

There are three important people that are key to the creation of Sonic. Yuji Naka did the programming of the engine, Hirokazu Yasuhura did the level design, and Naoto Oshima did the character design.

There were 12 others but I literally don’t know their names as they went under pseudonyms.

The US Federal Trade Commission likely to bring an anti-trust lawsuit against Microsoft's acquisition of Activision-Blizzard.

Edited by tclittle on Nov 23rd 2022 at 5:31:18 AM

Sources say FTC likely to attempt to halt Microsoft's purchase of Activision-Blizzard and will move as soon as next month.

Jason Schreier commented on it so it's likely legit. He also points out that a lawsuit won't strictly mean the deal is off.

Edited by Karxrida on Nov 23rd 2022 at 4:02:36 AM

Sony Alleges That Microsoft Is Trying To Turn It Into Nintendo

Original document

Edited by VampireBuddha on Nov 24th 2022 at 2:56:03 PM

I wonder how closely FTC looks into that kind of minutia when ruling on big business mergers. I don't think anything Sony is alleging there is necessarily wrong, but its kind of specific. I don't really know about how the FTC evaluates the legality of mergers or buyouts.

While I'm leery of Microsoft snapping up as many major studios and publishers as it has and would rather it not add ABK to the mix, I'm endlessly amused by how eager Sony's been to eat its foot the whole way through.

The entire thing just comes off as a bit of a table flip, since Sony's had console-exclusive content for Call of Duty for over a decade now. Trying to argue that Microsoft's trying to sterilize them into a family-friendly company isn't doing 'em much favors.

I've seen people run away with the statement by pointing out Nintendo has full exclusivity to a number of teenager-aimed JRPGs and Bayonetta 3, thus taking it to mean Sony's tonedeaf about Nintendo's offerings... but I'll cut Sony some slack there since their assessment that Nintendo succeeds by focusing mainly (not exclusively) on that market is correct. The problem's just the part where they say that's the market Microsoft is trying to force them into.

Edited by NesClassic on Nov 24th 2022 at 10:53:55 AM

It find it odd that its argued that hoarding franchises are comparable to Nintendos lineup is silly. As a certain Scott The Woz once explained, Microsoft trying to become like Nintendo by buying up companies for the notable franchises falls on its face considering that there is no synergy between the franchises they now own. F-Zero and Kirby are two franchises with extremely varying degrees of exposure but you can see them produced by the same company. Microsoft wants a diverse lineup but they all feel disjointed and separated due to not being cultivated from within.

The argument that Microsofts lineup is comparable to Nintendo to portray a monopoly on the shooter genre is an odd argument to say the least. That implies that Nintendo has a monopoly on family-based games but anyone could tell you thats a bad hill to die on.

You got it backwards. The accusation is that Microsoft is trying to force Sony into a Nintendo-like niche by snapping up as much of the big serious gamer genres as possible.

Especially funny since Microsoft has been doing the same thing. Not long ago, they presented an argument (I want to say to the FTC) saying it wasn't monopolistic for them to buy ActiBlizz because Sony has always been way more successful in the console space.

I mean, Sony does have a point. Nintendo is able to look at this whole situation with a bag of popcorn because their core business and franchises really don't compete with Microsoft, while the Playstation is the generic gaming console which only does everything. Microsoft grabbing Actiblizz is a direct threat to the Playstation's ability to maintain a presence in the FPS space.

How many shooter franchises does Sony have exclusivity rights so we can have a good comparison?