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[Topher]

"Had to be purchased at an additional 9.99/month" . Man, show how many people paid for live monthly instead of the previous $59.99 annual at RRP let alone had to pay for online at all. At most you're saving 1 dollar a month at the cost of no day one games now if you did. The worst is far worse for consumers though. you're having to pay for something you might not want (and should be free anyway), still get a poorer service with no new games on the sub that you had before, and paying $4/month more. It's like saying oh but we give you a sauce for $4 more with this sandwich meal that no longer has the meat or fries adamsapples analogy. A lot of places give you free sauce anyway.

If they were truly trying to save you money they would have offered both options but nobody would have chosen no day one for a dollar less and a lot wouldn't have even paid for online play. They wanted to remove the day one option for that price because it is the most costly thing and drive people to the more expensive $20/month. Near double what they were paying before for day one games on the console.

That was particularly stupid take by these lawyers. Who are these idiots buying Core separately from GP Console? Was that even an option? Folks would just upgrade to Ultimate if they wanted to add online gaming.

 

[Topher]

As oppose to MS lawyers citing TweakTown in their latest response and Tom Warren previously?

Heck, parts of MS response could have been pulled straight out of this thread.

 

[laynelane]

As oppose to MS lawyers citing TweakTown in their latest response and Tom Warren previously?

Yeah, I noticed that too. Dragging Sony into this is unfocused on its own, but then to cite an internet site as proof of Sony's reaction to the CoD deal is just strange.

As well, this passage:

While Game Pass Ultimate's price will increase from $16.99 to $19.99/month, the service will offer more value through many new games available "day-and-date." Among them is the upcoming release of Call of Duty, which has never before been available on a subscription day-and-date."

...may not be the best way to handle the implication that the ABK acquisition caused price increases.

 

[adamsapple]

Why the focus on Gamepass, literally every subscription service does this once they have built up a userbase.

Because they lost their original case, this is just them lashing out.

 

[ShaiKhulud1989]

Is Microsoft’s letter is written by Little Chicken or something?

 

[adamsapple]

Hopefully the next FTC administration will be less prone to make fools of themselves.


Fantastic response, Little Chicken .

 

[Dick Jones]

People in this thread complaining about the FTC's role to protect consumers. Ye deserve your recent Gamepass price increase and hopefully it keeps happening until ye learn a lesson.

 

[Topher]

Hopefully the next FTC administration will be less prone to make fools of themselves.


Fantastic response, Little Chicken .

 

[adamsapple]

 

[JackMcGunns]

I didn’t know Sony acquired the FTC.

The FTC got caught defending Sony instead of "The people". The response from the judge was quite hilarious.

 

[Daniel_Mallorca1985]

 

[GHG]

The FTC got caught defending Sony instead of "The people". The response from the judge was quite hilarious.

Sony are the people.

 

[bender]

 

[adamsapple]

Sony are the people.

 

[GHG]

I love this so much.

 

[Daniel_Mallorca1985]

Xbox hits back at the FTC, saying it's "wrong" to call its revised Xbox Game Pass tiers "degraded"​

UPDATE: "Sony's subscription service continues to thrive, even as they put few new games into their subscription day-and-date."

Xbox hits back at the FTC, saying it's "wrong" to call its revised Xbox Game Pass tiers "degraded"

Update, 20th July, 2024: Xbox has hit back at the FTC, saying it is "wrong" and "misleading" to call its revised Xbox G…

www.eurogamer.net

Update, 20th July, 2024: Xbox has hit back at the FTC, saying it is "wrong" and "misleading" to call its revised Xbox Game Pass tiers "degraded", and stating the Commission "barely mencione [concerns about] subscription at trial".

"Earlier this month, Microsoft announced changes to its gaming subscription service, Game Pass, to provide consumers valuable options at different price points," Xbox said, in court papers filed yesterday, Friday 19th July.

"Microsoft is offering a new service tier, Game Pass Standard, which offers access to hundreds of back-catalogue games 'and multiplayer functionality for S14.99/month.

"It is wrong to call this a 'degraded' version of the discontinued Game Pass for Console offering. That discontinued product did not offer multiplayer functionality, which had to be purchased separately for an additional $9.99/month (making the total cost $20.98/month).

"While Game Pass Ultimate's price will increase from $16.99 to $19.99/month, the service will offer more value through many new games available 'day-and-date'. Among them is the upcoming release of Call of Duty, which has never before been available on a subscription day-and-date."

"The FTC barely mentioned subscription at trial, instead focusing on the theory that Microsoft would withhold Call of Duty from Sony's console. The district court correctly rejected that theory, which is now further eroded by Microsoft and Sony's ten- year agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation – a contract Sony was 'thrilled' to enter."

Microsoft also stated that the FTC has now retrospectively "shift[ed] focus" to its subscription service.

"Setting aside that it is common for businesses to change service offerings over time, the FTC's case in all of its alleged markets has always been premised on vertical foreclosure, i.e. that Microsoft would withhold Call of Duty from rivals and therefore harm competition," Microsoft continues.

"But even in the alleged subscription market, Call of Duty is not being withheld from anyone who wants it. And there remains no evidence anywhere of harm to competition: Sony's subscription service continues to thrive, even as they put few new games into their subscription day-and-date, unlike Microsoft.

"The transaction thus continues to benefit competition and consumers – exactly what the district court correctly found."

Original story follows.

 

[Topher]

Xbox hits back at the FTC, saying it's "wrong" to call its revised Xbox Game Pass tiers "degraded"​

UPDATE: "Sony's subscription service continues to thrive, even as they put few new games into their subscription day-and-date."

Xbox hits back at the FTC, saying it's "wrong" to call its revised Xbox Game Pass tiers "degraded"

Update, 20th July, 2024: Xbox has hit back at the FTC, saying it is "wrong" and "misleading" to call its revised Xbox G…

www.eurogamer.net

Nothing new there. That's the same MS response that was already reported.

 

[FlyyGOD]

That's simply because there were no day one games at the time of announcement. Come on man.

But yes, grandfathered in until MS says otherwise.

Alot better than other game subscriptions by far .

 

[Topher]

Alot better than other game subscriptions by far .

 

[reinking]

Call me Miss Cleo because I could have predicted Microsoft's response and those in this thread.

 

[Daniel_Mallorca1985]

 

[poppabk]

"And that it was the kind of merger "𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙, 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨, 𝙤𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙨", before firing 1900 mostly ABK employees almost immediately after closing the deal."


Isn't this them doing exactly what they said they would do?