Virtual Legality
Virtual Legality
Virtual Legality is a continuing series discussing the law, video games, software, and everything digital, hosted by Richard Hoeg, of the Hoeg Law Business Law Firm (Hoeg Law).
Richard Hoeg
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The FTC vs Microsoft/Activision | A Lawyer Reads the Lawsuit (VL754 - LIVE)

E754 • Dec 9, 2022 • 145 mins

In this episode, Richard Hoeg sets the stage for a deep dive into the intersection of law, video games, and digital matters. He provides a comprehensive introduction to the complex world of Virtual Legality.

Key Points

  • The FTC's complaint against the Microsoft-Activision deal is based on concerns that Microsoft would have the incentive to withhold or degrade Activision's content from competitors, which could potentially lessen competition and harm consumers.
  • The FTC's argument hinges on the definition of relevant markets, where they assert that high-performance consoles, multi-game content library subscription services, and cloud gaming subscription services are separate markets, but their reasoning, particularly in excluding Nintendo from the high-performance console market, is not robust.
  • The FTC's case appears weak due to a lack of substantive evidence and logical inconsistencies in their arguments, and it is further undermined by the European Commission's refutation of the FTC's claim that Microsoft misled EU regulators during the Zenimax acquisition review.
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