Topher
Identifies as young
I think that guy showed up in the wrong court. lol
Microsoft / Activision Deal Approval Watch |OT| (MS/ABK close)
- Status
I think that guy showed up in the wrong court. lol
DeepEnigma
Gold Member
Sharing means caring.
RickMasters
Member
Where did I say Sony can’t use their revenue to invest in more exclusives though?
thicc_girls_are_teh_best
Member
I'll dream up a plate for you. It's on the house!
Unknown Soldier
Member
GHG
Gold Member
Phil actually held his own. He should be a lawyer, not the head of a gaming division.
His PR, as always was excellent. Shame about all the lies though.
Thirty7ven
Banned
Why?
SuperSaiyanWithDreads
Banned
FTC got cooked today 
DeepEnigma
Gold Member
When we eat egg rolls together, we all win!
Varteras
Member
Which they'll have to anyways unless they want to risk ending up like Meta did. How would you explain your plan to risk tens of billions, to likely walk away with nothing, to your shareholders?
Topher
Identifies as young
I agree with GHG
FTC needs to be making more progress and I just don't think they are. I thought MS handled everything that was thrown at them well.
Personally, I can see why Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond are at the top of Xbox and Matt Booty and Pete Hines are not.
GHG
Gold Member
Personally I don't think they got the material they needed from Phil, but let's see. He sidestepped them where necessary, they needed to be more creative with their questioning. If a guy keeps in telling you "I don't remember" it's time to start asking things in a different way.
Overall though it depends on what they have in terms of documents since there was a lot of redacted material involved today.
thicc_girls_are_teh_best
Member
I think they should've gotten a stronger lawyer for Phil Spencer; he might be a used car salesman but he's very good at talking his way around things and out of things.
Still think they got some good admissions out of him but I'd say that's thanks to Khan and the other female FTC lawyer (unless that was also Khan, or if she's not there, whoever that actually is). Hopefully Day 3 goes better for them and, their closing arguments are very strong.
Where did I say Sony can’t use their revenue to invest in more exclusives though?
You didn't have to; Phil Spencer said it for you
As long as I own all the egg rolls and control the distribution of all the egg rolls, we can kumbaya.
tryDEATH
Member
I am not missing it I just listened along to the whole thing and no where in that questioning was the FTC able to establish a clear and obvious pattern of deceit that one could put Xbox in jeopardy when it comes to the ActiBlizz merger and their comittment to shipping CoD to PS. MS lawyer countered and communicated clearly Xbox's position and reason why certain things were done.
The Indiana Jones example was a perfect such scenario, you would think it is a clear an obvious lie that the FTC got, but when Phil cleared it up it was part of a altering agreement were the game was going to be on Gamepass thus the contract had to be altered and as objectives and money had to be renegotiated it would be understanding that an additional platform could be dropped if it didn't make financial sense, which they also went on and stated when it comes to developing games and who's responsible for making it and fronting the money. In a business sense this isn't a lie its a strategic business change. A game went from multi platform costing $70 to a optional service you pay $10 is a completely different financial dynamic.
harry mason 1989
Banned
Where's Jim Ryan
Ogbert
Member
I thought the lawyer did a pretty good job. I need to listen to the later portion, but he seemed to be reasonably secure.
The only real flop was the Google dude. He sounded like he couldn't be arsed and wanted to be elsewhere.
Topher
Identifies as young
Somehow I think that was their "stronger" lawyer.
I felt like he kept building his points but then moving on before he connected on it. He caught Spencer in some contradictions but that really doesn't matter. There was no major moment today that moved the FTC forward in their case, imo.
But after talking to you about the Phil Spencer oath.....that was pretty huge.
Last edited:
Dick Jones
Banned
In Silent Hill looking for your daughter because you couldn't be arsed
In reality, his video deposition was sealed so no Jim embarrassing moments at all unless he was wants to volunteer them with a good cat story
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Goddam, wish I heard this live.
Varteras
Member
From what I've read about her, she's a good judge. Very calm and considerate.
POKEYCLYDE
Member
Doesn't that bode well for Microsoft?
Dick Jones
Banned
I thought Google would have been prepped to fuck with MS if nothing else. As prepared as the Stadia to be honest.
Topher
Identifies as young
Yes, it does
thicc_girls_are_teh_best
Member
Dude, that is a weak example. Indiana Jones getting a Game Pass deal does not suddenly justify cancellation of the PlayStation version of the game, and you know it. Persona 3 Reload has a Game Pass deal Day 1...it's not being dropped from PlayStation now is it? And as a counter-argument (even though in this following example, the power is out of Sony's hands per-se), MLB The Show going to Game Pass Day 1 hasn't prevented Sony from releasing that on PlayStation platform, and their own developer makes that game. Also, in what world would a new AAA Indiana Jones game not make sense to bring to the best-selling current-gen console, especially when the IP has a new movie coming out in a few days to (maybe) revitalize interest (or kill interest, going by current reviews)?
So any contract renegotiations MS might've felt needed to be done for Indiana Jones due to Game Pass, did not require cancellation of the PS5 version. That was a choice on Microsoft's end, and contract renegotiations would be the excuse to hide behind. And it would have been great if the FTC's lawyers kept some of the deeper things like this in mind and brought them up (perhaps they still will), but we are enthusiasts in this hobby, so we probably think about this stuff at a deeper level than lawyers who do not necessarily follow the industry or engage in the hobby regularly.
But this hearing's eaten up some of my eggroll cooking time, and I'm getting hungry
Somehow I think that was their "stronger" lawyer.
I felt like he kept building his points but then moving on before he connected on it. He caught Spencer in some contradictions but that really doesn't matter. There was no major moment today that moved the FTC forward in their case, imo.
But after talking to you about the Phil Spencer oath.....that was pretty huge.
Not sure if I brought up the oath, but did see a few others point out the oath turning into a promise, and saying he couldn't bind MS the corporation to his oath in court in that regard. So I think they kinda got him there.
Otherwise though, yeah the male FTC lawyer who was questioning him, they should find a better way to string their points together, and hold their presence in questioning. Needing the witness to rejig you on what question you're asking is never a good thing.
That said, I think they can recover on Tuesday. And, I'm really interested to see what the closing arguments are and how they tie everything together.
Last edited:
SirKicksalot
Member
Stadia guy with the cloud argument
I agree. It has also helped that the different lawyers and declarants have been very respectful of each other.
Gambit2483
Member
Thirty7ven
Banned
Possible, from what I heard he was doing a good job of “we can’t let MS be the one dictating which content is exclusive and which content is not exclusive” and why “content is the critical differentiator” along with “strategic value vs financial value”, also highlighted the fact that you can’t say you can’t afford certain exclusivity deals and then drop 70B on a publisher.
At the end of the day I don’t think the FTC should be here trying to burn people on the stake but simply establish a pattern of unpredictability, and that this merger deserves to go through the regulatory process with the FTC.
I would argue that so far MS has done nothing to convince the judge that there’s nothing here, and that they should be allowed to close the deal after the hearing trial ends.
But it’s not easy to predict, there are factors we probably aren’t even considering like the appetite of the judge to deliver such a ruling.
harry mason 1989
Banned
Ftc got ownd today
Activision will join Microsoft on july
Activision will join Microsoft on july
Nydius
Member
It's like people have forgotten that it's still blocked in a major market where approval is mandatory to proceed and that court case won't even start until after the breakup date.
But hey, enjoy your hopium while you can.
Topher
Identifies as young
RedC
Gold Member
You mean final tribute to the death of the preliminary injunction is next Thursday
Last edited:
VAVA Mk2
Member
If FTC falls, it makes CMA's case much weaker since everyone else pretty much approved.
GHG
Gold Member
The way I saw it was that every time Phil said "I don't recall" or "I don't remember" or words to that effect, that represented material the FTC really needed to help build their case.
Last edited:
Topher
Identifies as young
"First of all to any mod reading this, if your mom was fucked by one man only don't delete this thread"
-Kretos
No, it really doesn't. EU already agreed with CMA on the cloud issue. FTC isn't going to have any impact.
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Only a pre-recorded deposition, he will not appear live.
Time for Phil to chill
DeepEnigma
Gold Member
Why does team green never bring their best in these threads? Must be the low intellect, easy conditioning thing.
DForce
NaughtyDog Defense Force
I thought the FTC did very well today.
I don't see how Phil did great or a good job under cross-examination.
FTC
- The FTC pointed out Phil wanted to make Minecraft Dungeons exclusive.
- Phil claims he couldn't remember conversations about exclusivity (which is likely a lie).
Microsoft Lawyers
- They tried to use Minecraft Dungeons as an example as to how Microsoft will not make Call of Duty exclusive.
- A big point from Phil is that he stated "Underoath" that Call of Duty will remain on PlayStation. This was really effective when he was being questioned.
- They bought up how they look at financial estimates to determine which games are exclusive and when and how to acquire a publisher/studio.
- Back to the FTC
- They reiterated how Phil didn't want Minecraft Deungon on Xbox and how Redfall, Starfield, Indiana Jones, and Elder Scrolls are Xbox exclusive titles
- Phil's underoath's statement about Call of Duty was squashed when cross-examined again.
- Financial estimates weren't really used when acquiring big publishers, putting games on Nintendo, or making games exclusive after the Zenimax acquisition.
Nearly every point from Phil today was countered effectively, even the point about how MS tried to make the 69b acquisition really about mobile.
I don't see how Phil did great or a good job under cross-examination.
FTC
- The FTC pointed out Phil wanted to make Minecraft Dungeons exclusive.
- Phil claims he couldn't remember conversations about exclusivity (which is likely a lie).
Microsoft Lawyers
- They tried to use Minecraft Dungeons as an example as to how Microsoft will not make Call of Duty exclusive.
- A big point from Phil is that he stated "Underoath" that Call of Duty will remain on PlayStation. This was really effective when he was being questioned.
- They bought up how they look at financial estimates to determine which games are exclusive and when and how to acquire a publisher/studio.
- Back to the FTC
- They reiterated how Phil didn't want Minecraft Deungon on Xbox and how Redfall, Starfield, Indiana Jones, and Elder Scrolls are Xbox exclusive titles
- Phil's underoath's statement about Call of Duty was squashed when cross-examined again.
- Financial estimates weren't really used when acquiring big publishers, putting games on Nintendo, or making games exclusive after the Zenimax acquisition.
Nearly every point from Phil today was countered effectively, even the point about how MS tried to make the 69b acquisition really about mobile.
Topher
Identifies as young
- Status
Similar threads
- Locked