Xbox / Activision Acquisition Discussion

[jolly berry]

Please discussion FTC trial here

[outer magnet]

https://www.theverge.com/23768244/ftc-microsoft-activision-blizzard-case-news-announcements

[valid axle]

https://www.theverge.com/microsoft/2023/6/28/23777279/the-court-has-pulled-all-its-exhibits-after-the-sony-redaction-mess

Vey big opps Sony used a pen to redact some numbers on Horizon Forbidden West when the court scanned them and uploaded to a public website the scanner didnt see the pen and it wasn't checked.

[lament wigeon]

Big oof.

[ornate rock]

When do we know the result of the trial

[lament wigeon]

Also, a million people on PlayStation play nothing but CoD? I'll be honest, that number is higher than I would have expected, for any platform.

[valid axle]

the last day is Thursday for hearings. Then friday will be used to submit then the judge decides so could be over the weeked or it could be a week

[limpid sequoia]

Honestly, I think that number is pretty low!

Was very much expecting a couple of million lowest

[valid axle]

the cut off for the deal is sometime in july the 17th i think. So if its not done by then Microsoft and Acti will have too agree to extend or Microsoft pulls out and as to pay 3 billion to acti

[sinful nest]

ah thats good to know

[lament wigeon]

Hmm...

Yeah, now that I read it further than the bullet point, it's not exactly the dataset I was expecting. It looks like it's just for one year, not as a whole on the platform, which...yeah. That makes it a whole lot easier for me to understand. I mean I think there was one year where all I played was Minecraft, or at least, it was pretty damn close.

[valid axle]

yeah true if you go with say 100 million players on PS thats 1 in 10 that does not seem as high as saying it the other waY

[limpid sequoia]

Oh sorry is it just for a year? I thought that was whole platform. I hadn't seen the actual data 😅 just people talking about it

[valid axle]

this math isnt right but you can see the point i was making. 😅

[ornate rock]

I just hope they bring guitar hero back

[valid axle]

nvidia just finished they breaking for 90 mins

[lament wigeon]

I'm not exactly sure, but people have said after the holiday, and the only holiday I'm aware of coming up is the 4th of July (I'm not a holiday expert though, I can't keep track of them all), but I could be wrong here.

[ornate rock]

Theirs a Muslim holiday tomorrow so it could be that but probably July 4th

[lament wigeon]

Hmm.

[valid axle]

they trying to get it asap because of the deadline of 17th july

its hard to say its like a criminal court the jury could come back in a few hours or sometimes it might be weeks thats my understanding

[rain escarp]

yeah Judge already said it will be done swiftly,, and Kotick said that Activision board will walk from the deal if FTC get their PI

[lament wigeon]

Yeah, I'm really hoping that the judge is not only quick, but that they rule in favor of Microsoft/ABK.

As far as I'm aware, they can close right after and just...not act as a combined entity in the UK and be fine.

[rain escarp]

but yeah many are saying that sometime next week is when the result comes in

[valid axle]

there is a appel in the UK happening in July not sure on dates exactly. If they do have to extend then it will have to go to a vote of the Acti board but they are likley too approve as it means $$$ if they sell

[rain escarp]

28th is the start date and supposed to last for 5 days

[stark jasper]

[pulsar seal]

Someone messed up. They used black pen on their redacted document

[valid axle]

yeah

cost 200 million and they took 600 million so a good profit

[pulsar seal]

Still risky

[hard pike]

230 million for Last Of Us Part II? Or do I need my glasses?

[pulsar seal]

1 flop then your down 100 million

[valid axle]

they said they sold 9 million copies sale price £70

still a 400 million profit 😅

[rain escarp]

not long till Microsoft CEO, havent been able to get in today though. more n more people know about it and been locked. I spent most the day sleeping anyway so good alternative lol

[valid axle]

I can DM you a you tube link if you want Paul

[rain escarp]

nah its fine not gonna be sitting here much longer lol

[valid axle]

yeah people are not giving the you tube stream a title linked too it. The title of this one is just gaming podcast

[rain escarp]

I will listen to Florians Twitter Spaces aswell later anyway he does a recap from the day.

[valid axle]

Syata is up now

[valid axle]

Nadella says cloud gaming includes Xbox Live.The FTC moves on to ask Nadella about cloud gaming and how it can be used on TVs. “Cloud streaming can essentially transcend any device but that’ll be one use case,” says Nadella.
I don’t think of it as strictly substitute for the console. I mean, at least the market feedback to date has been people love their consoles, people love their PCs, people love their phones and use cloud gaming as an adjunct.

Nadella says it’s “possible” for cloud gaming to become a breakthrough market, but that it’s not something that has happened yet.

Nadella says streaming is a “minor” part of his definition of cloud, which also includes Xbox Live:

This is huge for the CMA

the fact that they look at it incluing xbox live changes things i think

[rain escarp]

looks like FTC couldnt find anything from Cloud at CEO so they gave up

[valid axle]

the judge just asked syata if he plays candy crush he says yes and cod

[lament wigeon]

I'm not sure I understand what Satya means when they say that they consider XBN to be part of the cloud.

Does 'cloud' have a much broader definition now than I'm used to?

[rain escarp]

Cloud saves

[lament wigeon]

OH, I get it now. I thought they meant the service as a whole. I was so confused. 💀

[valid axle]

He says that xbox live is in the cloud so that is taken into account

so they might say we have 10 million people on Xcloud but we have 70 million that use are cloud services on xbox he didnt say that but a example

[rain escarp]

this is who is up next :- https://twitter.com/FOSSpatents/status/1674164458829283330?s=20 talking about a report

Florian Mueller (@FOSSpatents)

Now another expert economist working for Microsoft, Professor Dennis Carlton. FTC brings up he worked 600-650 hours for Microsoft on this matter at a rate of $2000/hr.

🧵111/X

Twitter · Jun 28, 2023, 9:14 PM

[valid axle]

that was short

[lament wigeon]

2000 an hour.

That just took my breath away.

[north slate]

I use to play Candy Crush a lot. Game was quite addictive lol

[valid axle]

yeah and anything then FTC is asking hes saying I would have to check that

hes said it about 8 times in 5 mins

[rain escarp]

seems like its just differing opinions to that FTC Robin Lee guy from yesterday

[north slate]

Being $2k hour must be nice lol

[valid axle]

this is quite hard to follow this one because everything is redacted like everything

[foggy matrix]

Expert's gonna Expert I guess

[valid axle]

this guy is not worth $2000 a hour

[rain escarp]

FTC are asking him weird questions though. comparing Ghostwire to Cod contract. Judge stepped in couple times.

[north slate]

Seems he similar to the Lee guy, better off with just Dr.Bailey

[valid axle]

very much

there firing the question cause there running out of time judge wants it done in 15 mins. These questions are yes or no answers and hes struggling

[rain escarp]

he was brought in to counteract Dr Lees work, theres like a 44 page document which is really redacted that he submitted

[valid axle]

yeah thats the thing we dont have full access this is really redacted

[rain escarp]

Expert v Expert basically lol

[north slate]

Good thing is I don’t he will have major weight on the outcome despite if he’s struggling with the question.

As it seemed the FTC still didn’t define how this deal will negatively impact consumers

[rain escarp]

going over those Models again that dragged on for ages yesterday

well Judge is working over the weekend on this so will know 100% by next week likely after 4th July... SeekingAlpha, CNBC and some other places are also reporting the same thing

[north slate]

That’s great, I initially thought it would of been the same day.

[rain escarp]

tomorrow is closing arguements and some other witnesses I think, Friday is when both sides have to put in other documents so Judge can read through.

says evidence will be done by 12 tomorrow, and Closing arguements at 2:30pm

Nintendo Steve Singer is on Video tomorrow as he was the one who was part of the 10yr Cod deal for Switch

[north slate]

Great, this case definitely shifted the perspective of the gaming industry. As well gave the public some insight. Which why I enjoyed it this far.

[rain escarp]

well public got a whole bunch of things they shouldnt so yeah been really good.

[north slate]

I always wanted to know how much AAA games cost. I mean the film industry always tell us their budget on films.

[valid axle]

yeah the table that showed what companies microsoft was looking too buy Sega etc wasnt suspose to be public too

[north slate]

Yeah, that’s crazy. You know there’s the saying “what’s in the dark will eventually come to the light” 😂

[short snow]

Is the verdict tomorrow?

[rain escarp]

no, more witnesses, closing arguement, then they have to give the judge documents the FTC can prove for the case they making.. verdict could be next week sometime. but Tuesday is Independance day so US Holiday

[short snow]

Thanks for the update 👍

[drifting valley]

Wait ms considered buying sqaure

[rain escarp]

yeah for Mobile Game Pass

[drifting valley]

That's crazy tbh they passed on it the jrpgs kings basically

[rain escarp]

yeah passed on it for Bethesda

[drifting valley]

Honestly both are good company's but I generally feel they could of got a tad more out of square but we will never know how that would of turned out

But I'm also kinda glad because I feel tad iffy if Ms touches ff

[rain escarp]

this is semi related so I will post here. but CMA have tried to delay the hearing in UK and it was denied. the document has todays date on it.. they wanted to delay to October..

[trim bramble]

What was their reasoning?

[rain escarp]

wanted to be prepared and making sure they have everyone needed

[trim bramble]

It's an appeal...what more do they need. They already have all the things.

[rain escarp]

they have had loads of time especially as theres been 2 conferences to go over these details

lol yes

[trim bramble]

Yeah. No wonder it was turned down lol

[winged cosmos]

Microsoft CFO, Xbox CFO and Vice President of licensing for Nintendo of America is all that’s lined up for the final day. Then closing argument later at about 2:30pm pacific

[nocturne vine]

The delay is more likely because of other reasons

It's kinda well known that they all just want to play the time game.

[rain escarp]

but CMA asked for that yesterday lol

[nocturne vine]

Of course they do. They always ask for delays. Now with the FTC they in court they asking for even further delay.

At the CAT the judge even made a joke about it. "I read more in a week than you did in 5 months"

[rain escarp]

I have had the zoom thing open for awhile now so hope to get in today

[winged cosmos]

YouTube exists if not 😆

[nocturne vine]

When I get in I will probably be gone for a few minutes to get some food

Youtube isn't really allowed tho. Not sure if I want to get a letter about it

[rain escarp]

I got in

[nocturne vine]

Same. Nice. I get some food real quick so I will miss the first 10 minutes

[trim bramble]

everyone burned out yet? lol

[nocturne vine]

Okay so I am back. Did I miss anything?

[trim bramble]

more of that one guy

[rain escarp]

Tim Stuart is up, apparently Nintendos 10min video is gonna be confidential/sealed so only judge can see it.

[trim bramble]

i havent made it in to the zoom call yet so.

[rain escarp]

FTC also decided not to cross-examine Amy Hood today

[trim bramble]

im relying on twitter lol

[nocturne vine]

Ah okay. Not Amy Hood? Are they insane?

[rain escarp]

dont know why they arent but crazy yeah

[nocturne vine]

If anyone Amy Hood would be the most interesting for FTC since finances are important

But yeah audio sounds pretty bad rn

[trim bramble]

they dont want to give her the oppurtunity to make them look silly?

[rain escarp]

browser I couldnt even get audio, so doing same thing relying on Twitter

[nocturne vine]

I think Amy Hood if asked the right questions could definitely show that COD exclusive might be good later down the line.

Which is what FTC is arguing about.

[trim bramble]

mmmm

thats one thing they are arguing about.

the COD isnt the actual thing this is about. its just the big thing that was focused on.

[nocturne vine]

It's clear that the judge cares more about the COD than anything else.

[trim bramble]

which is what the ftc needs to prove. that its not just about the one game.. the game that has already been told wont be made exclusive.

[nocturne vine]

Yeah. I think it always is best to argue about more games. But when the FTC analyst tried to do it the judge definitely didn't care. So there's that

[trim bramble]

the ftc guy was also not.. mmm the best ?at giving the info she wanted/needed

[nocturne vine]

Yeah. He had some points but the delivery was absolutely abysmal

[rain escarp]

and yeah glad its over today

[nocturne vine]

FTC Lawyer trying to argue the day old thing again that Microsoft will make games worse on other platforms

[rain escarp]

yep

5 days of repeating what Sony wants

[nocturne vine]

Yeah. It's awful that it's so obvious

[rain escarp]

not much going on, looking at evidence and emails. just saying all the same things

[nocturne vine]

I mean it's a lot of finances. And honestly the FTC is making a good point here and are doing very well now. A bit too late tho

[tough spear]

I'm assuming part of the stigma of "Microsoft bad" is them barging pretty much every competitor out of the home OS market 40 years ago

[stoic sparrow]

Sony is acting like a 2yr old when they cant have all the toys at daycare

[nocturne vine]

Talking about internal discussions about making games exclusives and or making them exclusive for a few months. Which is fair.

[nocturne vine]

It's just stupid in general right now. A market share shift would be good for competition and the fact that the FTC doesn't see it is just...

[olive ibex]

I just want Diablo 4 on gamepass 😭

Which I don’t know if that’s a forsure byproduct of Microsoft winning but it makes a chance

[rain escarp]

Canadian board sent a letter to Judge supporting FTC.

[nocturne vine]

Mhh?

https://tenor.com/view/travesty-south-park-its-christmas-in-canada-s7e15-thats-absurd-gif-22110395

[rain escarp]

https://twitter.com/FOSSpatents/status/1674457002632941570?s=20

Florian Mueller (@FOSSpatents)

The Canadian Competition Bureau sent a letter yesterday to Microsoft's counsel in the FTC case that is meant to support the FTC ahead of the preliminary injunction decision here in San Francisco!

The Canadian antitrust agency says: "[I]n a videoconference on May 5, 2023, the…

Twitter · Jun 29, 2023, 4:37 PM

[nocturne vine]

These people have no idea do they?

I don't understand the world anymore

[rain escarp]

yeah very weird

Florian says it wont do much, Canada cant block now anyway cause the time ran out when they had a chance to do so

[nocturne vine]

It's like... Everyone supports the biggest one. And try to bully out the small one... the only one who could get the competition still going

[trim bramble]

It's not that simple

I do think there are legitimate concerns, tbf.

Not enough to block things, but certainly enough to demand some form of long term concessions and oversight

[rain escarp]

resuming now

[north slate]

I do agree that not all games need to be exclusive. I think promising current IPs to be on all platform for years to come would be great. Any new IPs could be the case by case

[nocturne vine]

I think it's also about how it affects the game as well. A single player game could end up being exclusive no matter if it was an existing IP or not. A multiplayer game like COD with an existing daily playerbase on multiple platforms would be hurt by being exclusive. While a game like ES6 would be better to entice players to the new console.

[north slate]

As long as Microsoft don’t do the same thing that PlayStation does with maps & cosmetics then I don’t see how current players will be hurt by it.

[nocturne vine]

If it's multiplatform I doubt Microsoft will do anything content related. Maybe exclusive skins but I think that's about it

[north slate]

I hope they don’t do that at all.

[nocturne vine]

I don't think that's a bad problem. Previous CODs actually had exclusive modes. Which is by far worse.

They are now arguing about a model that has been made for different scenarios. It's pretty much grasping at straws rn

I am also confused that the judge is not saying anything about this FTC Lawyer having slipped multiple times numbers that are confidential

[rain escarp]

yeah going in circles

[nocturne vine]

"We calculated these numbers to offset a scenario that could happen"
FTC : "WE GOT EM"

[rain escarp]

no more questions from FTC, switched to MS now

[nocturne vine]

Yeah

CFO dropping the bomb right away.

[valid axle]

this^

[rain escarp]

what Series S and Switch?

[valid axle]

Xclould does not make a profit and microsoft do not see it will anytime soon its behind all there expectations Phil also said similar things

[nocturne vine]

That the Series S was priced at the same price as the Switch because competition. Which was a huge mic drop

Also discussing the numbers of Minecraft makes so much more sense. Good call here

Break and then closing arguments

[rain escarp]

2:30 for closing arguements, so 10:30pm. cool I can go chill and make dinner

[nocturne vine]

Yeah and I can shower and play some games

[rain escarp]

Judge wants them to have some engagement whatever that means, is that just a back n forth thing

[valid axle]

they ended the zoom call so if you didnt get in you maybe able too

[rain escarp]

yeah I just tested it on zoom app cause browser doesnt find my computer speakers. works now lol

[winged cosmos]

https://twitter.com/FOSSpatents/status/1674480929245634561

Florian Mueller (@FOSSpatents)

Given that there's been news from the UK (where the court again threw out an attempt by the CMA to stall) and Canada, plus there'll be closing argument here in about 3.5 hours, I may do a Twitter Space later today. Easier to explain some of it there.

Likes

174

Twitter · Jun 29, 2023, 6:12 PM

[valid axle]

judge is going too allow other people to jump in when doing the closing arguments. So that may give us some interesting

[rain escarp]

yeah should speed things along I guess and help the Judge deciding over the weekend..

[winged cosmos]

I don't expect anyhing over the weekend since it's 4th of July weekend

Wednesday 5th probably

[valid axle]

i think towards the end of next week thurs friday possibly monday of the next week

[rain escarp]

no I mean Judge said she was gonna work through the weekend to look over everything for maybe next week verdict

[valid axle]

Whats happening in Canada they tried too block but there out of time?

[rain escarp]

they just supporting the FTC with a letter that they wanted to be put into evidence

[valid axle]

i mean they should just stick to what they are in charge of right ? they cant interfer in a other region

[rain escarp]

something along the lines that supports Multi Game, Cloud and lessening of competition

[valid axle]

it would be like the CMA trying to block the deal in the USA

[rain escarp]

yeah CMA tried getting a delay till October for the CAT yesterday and it got thrown out today

[valid axle]

lol

[rain escarp]

its very odd to see things happening this late

wasting time etc

[stoic sparrow]

is it done?

[valid axle]

nah there on a 3 hour break

back in 55 mins

[rain escarp]

closing arguments is all thats left now, but allowing discussion.. then likely know something by next week depending how quickly Judge decides on it

but yeah its just one person there must be some thoughts running through her head on which way its going

[winged cosmos]

iirc Jude did say she wants it resolved sharpish

obviously the 4th will delay that slightly

[nocturne vine]

Lets hope the court has reasonable people in there

[valid axle]

https://tenor.com/view/blood-shining-splash-blood-gif-12688509

[rain escarp]

Beth Wilkingson is there, think Phil Spencer too.. Sarah Bond is on Holiday right? and went past the old SEGA building today

I hope due to people leaving after zoom ended earlier that I can get in this time

[winged cosmos]

https://twitter.com/FOSSpatents/status/1674519889925771266

Florian Mueller (@FOSSpatents)

The closing argument will be intellectually Interesting but rhetoric can't make up for facts or change the legal framework.

The ruling won't be a close decision.

Twitter · Jun 29, 2023, 8:47 PM

[nocturne vine]

I mean... Sony is winning with or without Activisions library.

[rain escarp]

right Zoom App has let me in, finally can listen in for the last part

[winged cosmos]

yep let me in too

[nocturne vine]

Same

[nocturne vine]

Oh... They started?

[rain escarp]

yeah

just now

[nocturne vine]

Came back at the right time then

Lol... I would have objected to that immediately

[valid axle]

ah this is going to be great the judge is questioning when the FTC is making there close

[nocturne vine]

Did he also just mention ESO as a single player game?

[valid axle]

didnt hear that

[winged cosmos]

now he's trying to make game pass sound like it's terrible for the consumer

[rain escarp]

lol

[nocturne vine]

Omg... That FTC Lawyer is talking stupid again

[valid axle]

the judge is not having it

[short snow]

Where can I watch?

[rain escarp]

likely filled now cause zoom only allows 1000 people

[short snow]

Rip

[nocturne vine]

Yes... What Microsoft did with Minecraft right? lol

Canada has no voice in this conversation as of right now

[winged cosmos]

Canada can't do anything

[rain escarp]

great that Judge is asking questions cause FTC is doing a bad job already

[winged cosmos]

they missed their deadline

[valid axle]

this ^ canada should not be included in this

[nocturne vine]

And? I could do so too. But it doesn't matter

Judge got him there already lol

[valid axle]

they sent the judge a letter too support the FTC how they allowed to do that i do not know

[winged cosmos]

there's no law stopping them sending letters. but authority wise they can't do anything

[valid axle]

should be

[nocturne vine]

HA. Judge got him there

[winged cosmos]

it literally can't cause xbox to get denied

Canada has no jurisdiction

[nocturne vine]

Yeah no... It was clear FTC was failing to answer that question correctly

Do you?

[valid axle]

Microsoft will also be closing next so they can and have

[winged cosmos]

do you understand that Canada sending a letter changes nothing?

[rain escarp]

Canada had a date they could complain about and went beyond that, they cant do anything to change whats going on here

even Microsoft replied to Canada on this saying they were too late

[nocturne vine]

But a letter from Canada will not do anything

[rain escarp]

if FTC get the PI which is why they are in court for the past 5 days

[nocturne vine]

At this point even a letter from the king of england should not have any effect

[rain escarp]

they going on about FTC Expert v Microsofts now.

[nocturne vine]

FTC doing a terrible job again... At their closing argument

[valid axle]

ah doom lmao

[nocturne vine]

Imagine failing to answer the judges questions at your closing argument... oh man...

[valid axle]

the judge does not understand the FTC case so thats why shes been like this

[drifting valley]

So when is the judge going to grant the ftc a not a block but a investigation and then this drags more real /j

[rain escarp]

yeah they going through as if they trying to block the whole case, when Judge says the whole thing has been about Call of Duty

[valid axle]

You dont need to ping People we are all here watching the chat and chatting

🙂

[nocturne vine]

Judge is keeping a closer eye out on Microsofts data instead of FTCs expert one... That's a big oof

[drifting valley]

Unless they have a bell

[nocturne vine]

"That is not my question" oof

[drifting valley]

Ftc sorry replace the cma with ftc in that sentence

[nocturne vine]

Judge "Did you look at the numbers?"
Lawyer : "But... Jim Ryan said COD is important to him"
Judge : "Not what I asked"
lol

She asked about consumers and he said "some" and then was changed topic to Sony...
That shows a lot about how absolutely dismissal the FTC is here

[short snow]

So has the trial been going well for Microsoft over the past few days?

[nocturne vine]

It's going incredible well right now... which is the most important part

[valid axle]

yes

[nocturne vine]

Judge really thinking the 20% the FTC calculated as market shift is taken out of blue

[drifting valley]

Ya if there's nothing granted there's a higher chance it closes before the cma hearing basically pressuring the cma into allowing it with everything that's been said here I would even be confident enough to close it before

[nocturne vine]

"If they buy the game for 70$ they will value it more than 70$"
I am shocked at that sentence

[drifting valley]

I don't even know what this means

[valid axle]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e73hawA31fg

[nocturne vine]

This is the second FTC lawyer and can't give the judge the answer...

[drifting valley]

Even though this basically breaks server rules appricate ya I can hear it now

I think it does at least I have no clue

[nocturne vine]

And the fact that all of this discussion is nonsense since MS already swore under oath to keep COD on PS...

[rain escarp]

yep atleast 4 different people said they keeping it on PS

[drifting valley]

Are they back to call of duty oh my god

[nocturne vine]

Yeah. And all the emails about "We make Minecraft exclusive" and stuff... has no effect since actions speak louder than emails

[rain escarp]

yes because the whole thing has been around Call of Duty,

[nocturne vine]

https://twitter.com/LawofTD/status/1674532339584757760

Matt Kim (@LawofTD)

@DestinLegarie Was gonna make a joke about how we totally get a new Elder Scrolls each year, but I'm pretty sure we've gotten a new version of Skyrim every other year so maybe haha.

Twitter · Jun 29, 2023, 9:36 PM

[rain escarp]

that separate 10 gamer lawsuit was over Call of Duty aswell the same Judge was part of it.

[short snow]

Thanks man

[nocturne vine]

So now they say the 20% is estimate... Ouch
Basically "We made it up"

[rain escarp]

is this Beth talking?

[limpid sequoia]

Objection! That's devistating to my case

[valid axle]

did she just say he makes that number up 😅

[nocturne vine]

Booty definitely needs to not talk to his coworkers again lol

Yeah Beth was pointing out that the numbers were made up

[valid axle]

yreah it must of been FTC just said that 20% was not made up

[nocturne vine]

"The numbers are not made up"
"Show me"
"Uhhhhh"

Wow... "I did some economics"
"You are ahead of me then"
Judge not having it anymore

[valid axle]

FTC 1+1= 20

[limpid sequoia]

Who is this guy? Why was he not supposed to be up there originally?

[valid axle]

judge why does 1 +1 make 20? FTC 😮 hum

[nocturne vine]

Judge is really not having it.
Earlier as well
"They have the incentive to make the game exclusive"
"Like sony right?"
Oof

[valid axle]

he was hes a ftc lawyer

[limpid sequoia]

Oh when I joined the judge said she appreciated he wasn't supposed to be up there

[tight edge]

Following FOSS' tweet thread, this is

[nocturne vine]

It's better in voice

[valid axle]

yeah doing this

[short snow]

god damn has the FTC been getting cooked the entire time

[rain escarp]

yeah many frustrations

[nocturne vine]

The stuttering... The judge really pressing for actual info

[valid axle]

the judge is defo not understanding the FTC point and this is cauing this. Because the FTC do not have a case so they are stuggling

[winged cosmos]

she's talking about you now Pauldnb. Lots of people buy games then play them once or twice and never touch them again

[rain escarp]

shhh 😄

[nocturne vine]

She knows more about gaming than the FTC

[valid axle]

well sarah did a good job of that

[nocturne vine]

https://www.cand.uscourts.gov/judges/corley-jacqueline-scott-jsc/

[rain escarp]

she said at the 1st day her son works for Microsoft

[nocturne vine]

Sarah did a great job as well as I think her name was Amy

Btw... Third lawyer is now stepping in to explain Professor Lees model

[valid axle]

yeah Amy hood CFO at MS

i missed Amy i was at work

[nocturne vine]

Are we listening to a comedy podcast right now?

[winged cosmos]

it really sounds like one

[limpid sequoia]

They're going in circles right?

[winged cosmos]

too many cooks but with lawyers

[rain escarp]

I didnt think it would be this bad, and this is the first part

[valid axle]

the judge is trying too get the FTC too make there point but they do not have one so..

[winged cosmos]

they've finally figured out Dr Lee's report

[nocturne vine]

"You can't even point me to where you tried" WOW.... That burn

[valid axle]

the judge allowed it in some cases it would just be one lawyer from each side

[nocturne vine]

Lol... They spent 30 minutes about something that will not happen

[valid axle]

and in the end it was a footnote.....

https://tenor.com/view/aimebap-gif-22545168

[nocturne vine]

She always brings up Nintendo and PC. Interesting

[limpid sequoia]

Surprised the judge hasn't slapped that gavel down and said do one

[winged cosmos]

FTC is speachless with that question

[valid axle]

the judge is trying too get the FTC too make there point but they do not have one so..

[nocturne vine]

Cause FTC didn't expected the judge to know.

"It's a construct... but THAT's the construct"
That's what you say when you want to sound clever but aren't sure of yourself

[limpid sequoia]

This Foss person must be typing like 1000WPM

[winged cosmos]

he's sat in the courtroom too 😆

[nocturne vine]

Yeah. A lot of stuff being said...

[limpid sequoia]

Surprised you can't hear the tippity tappity of the keyboard lol

[rain escarp]

he said lulumeservey was in the court earlier

everyone has turned up I think

[nocturne vine]

Judge should ask "What about the 350$ (Discounted rn) steamdeck?"
lol

[limpid sequoia]

I'm not familiar with who that is unfortunately 🥲

[nocturne vine]

About the FTCs "Oh they can make console more expensive"

[pulsar seal]

I would laugh that this is where us tax dollars are going but then I remember I’m from the uk and ours is just as bad

[valid axle]

well ours is next month

[nocturne vine]

WHAT.... Are the FTC really saying Microsoft has the incentive to go 1499$ with an xbox?

[pulsar seal]

Judge is ripping this ftc argument up tho

[nocturne vine]

https://tenor.com/view/paul-rudd-confused-what-wait-gif-14511318

[pulsar seal]

I feel bad for the poor guy talking

[limpid sequoia]

I hope MS reached out to KFConsole to allow CoD on that for 10 years

[short snow]

is the woman speaking now the MS lawyer?

[valid axle]

yes

[short snow]

👍

[valid axle]

one of them

[nocturne vine]

Imagine having the other side explain YOUR POINT in YOUR closing argument

[tight edge]

FTC's source: trust me bro

[nocturne vine]

The whole time they moving the goal like crazy... it's insanely hard at times to follow

FTC can argue a lot.... They just trying right now. Let them cook. They will fail no matter the argument

FTC using Brown shoe process argument a lot... but didn't apply that.

[rain escarp]

Audio dropped?

[nocturne vine]

HA.... Judge just said Switch is better than Gen9 consoles

[winged cosmos]

yeah

[limpid sequoia]

In some ways

[winged cosmos]

she likes that you can play the switch on the plane

[rain escarp]

they need to stand closer the mic

[nocturne vine]

She understands gaming

[trim bramble]

The portability of the switch is a major selling point tbh

[winged cosmos]

here comes Mr Lee's report again

1000

[trim bramble]

1k

And legally they are not supposed to be sharing it anywhere else..

So. That's why people are live tweeting comments

No like...they can see it and people will get notified about it

Its not a joke lol

[nocturne vine]

https://twitter.com/HoegLaw/status/1674538932497702918

Richard Hoeg (@HoegLaw)

You really never want the judge to ask “Your opponent was looking at real data, what the heck were you looking at?”

Likes

164

Twitter · Jun 29, 2023, 10:02 PM

[limpid sequoia]

'just like they do on playstation' lol

[trim bramble]

Glad they called it out. We've been saying it for ages lol

All platforms do it

[limpid sequoia]

Have exclusives

[nocturne vine]

HA... Judge calling the FTC out on Elder Scrolls!

ES16 tho...

[winged cosmos]

we're in the future now 😆

[valid axle]

similar

[pulsar seal]

Elder scrolls 16 let’s gooo!

[short snow]

es16: skyrim

sorry but yes

[valid axle]

i do not think she was supose to say coming out in 2026 i think that was likely redacted

[nocturne vine]

FTC has no idea what the judge wants to point out...
COD is unique. So pointing to Bethesda with ES makes no sense

[limpid sequoia]

I'm the same. Not my sort of game personally

[trim bramble]

I feel like the FTC doesn't get the gaming market and they did a try lol

[nocturne vine]

They don't. Judge clearly gets it.

[limpid sequoia]

Judge sounds fed up

[winged cosmos]

she has done all week

[limpid sequoia]

I hope she's paid well lol

[nocturne vine]

"More realistically"
He never met a gamer

[winged cosmos]

I think that was just FTC projections. Phil said it's still 5+ years out while he was on the stand

[rain escarp]

the best new christmas character to play at Christmas for CoD really

[limpid sequoia]

But aren't there PS specific skins on cod?

[nocturne vine]

"Most christmas character on christmas in COD only on Xbox"
Just like Sony does

[serene thistle]

when is the judge expected to make the decision by?

[winged cosmos]

next week

[nocturne vine]

MS lawyer can just go : "Spencer swore an oath. They always respected contracts and oaths. That's it." and walks away.
Bam... Any argument of the FTC for the last hour destroyed

[serene thistle]

if the deal doesnt close by tomorrow what happens since it past the deadline of june 20 2023?

[nocturne vine]

When is the judge gonna lose it? 😛

[valid axle]

Judge " All this just for one shooter game"

[winged cosmos]

nothing because the deadline is the midle of July

[rain escarp]

no the deadline is 18th July

[valid axle]

i thought she was about to say you know what you have no case bye

[serene thistle]

i thought it was end of june

[nocturne vine]

MS lawyer should step in "Just like Sony does right now"

[rain escarp]

30th June was just Microsoft cause thats their whats it called end of quarter

[serene thistle]

oh

[limpid sequoia]

I don't understand the argument when Sony does the exact same thing. How are they using this as an argument?

[nocturne vine]

They can't bring COD games on Gamepass this year. Maybe next year or the year after

[short snow]

RIP

[nocturne vine]

Sony knows how they got the market lead... That's why. But FTC doesn't want to admit it.

[winged cosmos]

2025 is the earliest iirc

[serene thistle]

after they settle all of activision agreements so after 2025 at least

[winged cosmos]

2024 is the last year of the contract but doesn't include cod 2024

[valid axle]

July 17th but they can ask the actvi broad to vote on a extension and they likley would approve

[rain escarp]

if FTC get their PI Bobby Kotick said Activision Board said they gonna walk away. so its all down to the Judge

[oblique halo]

FTC loses its over

Microsoft will just close and deal with CMA in due course

[valid axle]

It isnt down too Bobby he as the most shares but the borad can overrule a CEO. It happnes all the time

the borad can also remove him

[nocturne vine]

Thinking the same here

[serene thistle]

personally it really dont bother be either way if the deal gets approved or not. im not really a major cod player. or diablo

[rain escarp]

when Bobby was on the stand. he said 98% of the shareholders were for the deal, and then if PI is granted. the board were going to walk away

[oblique halo]

We will get the biggest Gamepass add with the deal

Candy crush xbox. Totally worth 70 billion

[nocturne vine]

FTC claiming that Stadia was shut down because of content is just too funny

[winged cosmos]

which makes perfect sense because the PI trial could take up until 2025 to settle

[rain escarp]

yeah

[oblique halo]

If I got info right that way UK won't be closed for long. There is a trial end of July for CMA

[rain escarp]

myriad of ways none of the agreements could save the deal? whats he talking about

[oblique halo]

Anyone listening or just reading updates

[nocturne vine]

Listening

[rain escarp]

listening

[winged cosmos]

listening

[valid axle]

listernig

[oblique halo]

Damn

[nocturne vine]

So far the two pauls have listened the most lol

[serene thistle]

whats PI?

[winged cosmos]

preliminary injunction

a temporary block while internal FTC courts look at the deal in greater detail

that look would start in August and run until 2025

[serene thistle]

im not a lawyer so all this looks like a foreign language 2 me

[oblique halo]

where does nintendo and nvidia say they dont understand the agreements they signed lol

[nocturne vine]

In the FTCs Lawyers head

[oblique halo]

the judge is laughing at him

[quiet ice]

i'd love to know what was going through the heads of the FTC when they came up with that stuff

as if both nintendo and nvidia don't have their own legal teams that look over every contract they're given to ensure it would actually be beneficial for their company overall

[valid axle]

tell them beth

[limpid sequoia]

Final fantasy 6

[oblique halo]

oop

[nocturne vine]

Yeah they get the numbers wrong at times. But it's okay

[limpid sequoia]

She's got the games mixed up haha, but at least people know what she means

[winged cosmos]

Ghostloop too

[oblique halo]

hahaha

[winged cosmos]

merging both of them into one

[oblique halo]

elder scrolls 16 final fantasy 6

wait a minute

[rain escarp]

yes Judge you tell FTC its not about Sony its about consumers

[oblique halo]

ooooh she shut him down

[valid axle]

you cant base a case on probability sure they do not have to prove for sure its anti competitive but it needs some basis

[nocturne vine]

Yeah she is slowly losing her mind about it

[rain escarp]

dont blame her

[nocturne vine]

It's already nearly 1am here... Gonna go through the night then.

[winged cosmos]

10 minute break then they're talking about cloud

[limpid sequoia]

Yeah I'm gonna go bed now it's been fun though

[nocturne vine]

This is the best entertainment I have gotten for a long time

[winged cosmos]

nowhere near done

[rain escarp]

they talked about console which got shutdown and now its cloud

[nocturne vine]

Nearly done... Judge has to get the arguments out of them. It's lowkey ridiculous

[oblique halo]

they are done but will argue anyway 🥁

[nocturne vine]

They will still go

[valid axle]

Beth is going to smash it

[nocturne vine]

The fact FTC brings up Sony a lot and "This will harm sony" when asked about consumers is just... embarrassing

[quiet ice]

exactly, they've brought up sony more than they have the actual people they're trying to "protect" - the consumers

[oblique halo]

protect the sonumers

[pulsar seal]

Ftc said “we know it cause harm to Sony”
Judge cut them off “it’s not about Sony it’s about the consumer” then went on break

[north slate]

FTC has really lost their way in this argument. When I get a ps5/pro it’s not for no COD. I don’t even care for that game.

I like how the judge says “all just for this one game” 😂😂😂

[nocturne vine]

If Microsoft gets Activision...
Pls make the Lawyer as a christmas character in the game

Only those who listened to the whole thing get this joke

[rain escarp]

lol

[winged cosmos]

https://twitter.com/FOSSpatents/status/1674555057659080704

Florian Mueller (@FOSSpatents)

My prediction is that the cloud part will also be lost by the FTC by a very wide margin. Here's why I think so:

• The FTC actually has bigger market definition issues with those services markets, also based on Apple Arcade decision in this district.
• 10-yr. contracts

🧵100/X

Twitter · Jun 29, 2023, 11:06 PM

[north slate]

All 5 days they have not once mention how this affect consumers.

[nocturne vine]

They are back

[north slate]

I agree with the judge about PC. The pandemic is when I started thinking about building a PC. I have yet to done it but with Microsoft making Xbox ecosystem on pc it will be an easier transition.

[oblique halo]

hahaha

judge calls him out every sentence

[winged cosmos]

he had to tag his partner in

[nocturne vine]

A 4th FTC Lawyer is now stepping in... bruh

[valid axle]

yeah the other guy was useless

[nocturne vine]

Ha... Beth calling the FTC out on the argument about the devkit stuff

[oblique halo]

wooow they really said that

[nocturne vine]

Beth killing it. Exactly

[short snow]

GOD DAMN

[north slate]

For gamepass?

[oblique halo]

what are they on about lol

[valid axle]

🤷‍♀️

secret sauce

[nocturne vine]

"Secret sauce" lololol

It's a piece of metal

[oblique halo]

partial exclusviity lol

[winged cosmos]

they're not doing any of those things though

[valid axle]

streaming yeah writting about it no at the end of each day the docs are submitted on the corts website for anyone in the world too view. Some of it is redacted but its open court

[nocturne vine]

"Subscription service is more developed now"
Not in gaming tho. It's still in its baby steps

Yes... "Nvidia will die" lol
This dude

[oblique halo]

ftc like la la la we arent listening to the contracts already made

[valid axle]

you dont want that though

Hes saying if the deal passed Microsoft would become to storng and put everyone out of busniess. Because they buy all the rights, Meaning Sony Navida will not get in. Just look at staida as a example. This would mean less choice for customers microsoft could charge what they want because there isnt anything else for customers

[valid axle]

Thats the FTC point

on cloud

[oblique halo]

but nvidia have the contract lol

[nocturne vine]

Beth will refute that... Believe me. She will kill that

[valid axle]

yep

am not saying thats right but thats what hes saying

[nocturne vine]

Yep... Beth is doing the right thing here. Going the right way. Don't mention the deals until the last second

[valid axle]

yeah so now Microsoft are pointing out the FTC is wrong because this content will be on PS5 consoles and PC switch etc this is going back to that streaming is the same market not its own

[oblique halo]

yes keep at it

[nocturne vine]

Beth is going the right way with it

[oblique halo]

whats it got to do with countries, more services will have it

[nocturne vine]

Yeah I don't understand this FTC Lawyer at all

[winged cosmos]

"there's no deal between Microsoft and Google"

[valid axle]

not if there is no content to buy

[winged cosmos]

because google killed cloud

[nocturne vine]

Yeah he didn't hear it

[oblique halo]

hahahahaha google of all things hahahaha

go in for the kill

[nocturne vine]

Yeah. She is killing it

[valid axle]

Beth is amazing she needs a pay rise

[nocturne vine]

Everyone who is involved in winning this case needs a pay raise.
Especially Professor Lee 😛

https://twitter.com/Welfare_JBP/status/1674533475158835202 Vs 40 million of PS5s

John Welfare (@Welfare_JBP)

Xbox Series X|S console sales are at 21M+ according to Microsoft at BIG Festival in Brazil.

Credit to @LucasTaves for this information. This is all part of an ID@Xbox presentation

Twitter · Jun 29, 2023, 9:41 PM

[valid axle]

oof

[oblique halo]

WHAT

lol

he really said prove its good for consumers and pro competitive

[nocturne vine]

Judge says FTC had enough time... Didn't use it. Their bad.

[valid axle]

were going to go out and buy sony out of the industry nothing wrong with that. Its how every company runs that compete

[nocturne vine]

Right?

[valid axle]

its a know fact Microsoft as more captail then sony and can go and do more bigger deals

[nocturne vine]

Microsoft will win this and bankroll their way to the top and make the xbox 1499$

[oblique halo]

omg this guy

[limpid sequoia]

How long is this on for?

[winged cosmos]

a while

[valid axle]

i want to reach though the screen and explain a few things to this guy lol

[winged cosmos]

we've not even gotten to Microsofts closing statement yet

[limpid sequoia]

Ah, I might have to call it then. I am shattered haha

[nocturne vine]

This FTC dude needs to stop talking. He is getting rather annoying

[oblique halo]

he said no other country is in the market 🤣

[rain escarp]

nearly 1am lol

[nocturne vine]

2 am here

[rain escarp]

yeah you got work tomrrow?

[nocturne vine]

Yes haha

[valid axle]

yh

[limpid sequoia]

Yep

[nocturne vine]

Well basically today. And need to get to work in 3 hours. But just gonna keep going here.

[valid axle]

the server is in hong kong what is this guy on

[nocturne vine]

Yeah... He is rather stupid

[valid axle]

does he think gamers are going too accept connecting to a server the other side of the world ,,,

[nocturne vine]

So far FTCs argument is "We don't know we have no evidence"

[valid axle]

i just seen the time

they must be getting close to court close time

[oblique halo]

can i ask xbout the x pass lol

[rain escarp]

yeah 1am isnt it. 5pm

[nocturne vine]

"The Thor game" haha

[oblique halo]

lol

[valid axle]

they had this exact convo this morning

the thor game lol

[rain escarp]

yes very good Judge

[nocturne vine]

Ha. Exactly. Good one Judge

[oblique halo]

yes judge

[nocturne vine]

Get Sony to bring those games to PS+ Day 1 and I will buy a PS5 immediately

FTC Lawyer.... "But-for-World is my own argument" 🙄

Yeah... Judge wants to know how the consumers get harmed and not how sony gets harmed. But FTC probably will go "We don't know"

[valid axle]

now its coming down to gold lol

[nocturne vine]

https://twitter.com/MActon93/status/1674567338535063552

Michael Acton (@MActon93)

But she asks that if MS limited COD to Game Pass, would that not incentivize Sony to “up their game"?

FTC lawyer - if this deal goes through, terminates independent ability of Activision to EVER sign a deal for COD on PS Plus.

Twitter · Jun 29, 2023, 11:55 PM

[winged cosmos]

wasn't minecraft legends added on PS Plus

[nocturne vine]

Why COD on PS Plus? Why not their own library right? Judge really asks the right questions in this case

[nocturne vine]

Yep.

[oblique halo]

and cold war is in july on plus lol

[valid axle]

https://tenor.com/view/judge-judy-clock-ticking-gif-26388273

[nocturne vine]

"It will give Sony an incentive to build Walled Garden on their own?"
They already own one, FTC Lawyer.... Dude wth?

[winged cosmos]

they're still independant as of now so didn't count that

[nocturne vine]

"This industry is dynamic"
Good point there

[oblique halo]

other games come and go like myspace

[nocturne vine]

"Why does Sony not search for a competition? Bobby Kotick came from nothing and was able to do it... so everyone can do it right?"

[valid axle]

Sony can just bring back killzone

[nocturne vine]

Or SOCOM

[valid axle]

i'm suprised this was not mentioned like sony does have a cod

and guess what its exclusive

[nocturne vine]

Yeah

[stark jasper]

they have Bungie!

[nocturne vine]

There is a lot that can compete. Battlefield, Titanfall, Killzone, Bungie can make new games, Socom

[valid axle]

cod is not everything people complain every year

[nocturne vine]

The one mentioned are even further up in quality at times

[valid axle]

ah judge just explained it if ms made cod we would not be here

[nocturne vine]

BF stumbled but BF4 could have been more popular if EA didn't you know... did what they did.
Same with Titanfall.
Same with Killzone regarding Sony
Same with Socom
Same with Bungie

[winged cosmos]

https://www.businessinsider.com/ftc-amazon-antitrust-suit-marketplace-third-party-sellers-lawsuit-bloomberg-2023-6

They’re busy recently 😆

[oblique halo]

not with that attitude

[nocturne vine]

Do we wanna bet that they lose?

[oblique halo]

yes it can

[short snow]

true

[oblique halo]

battlefield could but ea fall flat on their faces

everyone craps on cod but buy it because no one else comes close or dont want to

[nocturne vine]

Did he mention Jim again?

Oh.. Bobby

[oblique halo]

it would take time but it can be done

[valid axle]

Is Beth going to have her turn today?

[nocturne vine]

Bobby was a terrible witness ngl.

[short snow]

important to note that people that spend their time whining about video games on internet forums are a vocal minority

[nocturne vine]

Him hating Gamepass should have been made clear to the judge is because of the lack of upfront money

[rain escarp]

they are doing a back n forth I think. Beth has spoken many times

[oblique halo]

i mean look at fortnite it dominated br

[north slate]

June been a interesting gaming month

[short snow]

Fr

[valid axle]

yeah i guess I just expected FTC to say there case and then Microsoft to say theres.

seems like they doing it all in one and its dragging

[north slate]

I personally prefer siege than call of duty

[oblique halo]

the issue is publishers wouldnt invest like activision in a gane and each year

[nocturne vine]

This is the longest closing argument I have ever heard in my entire life

It's one side as well... For over 2 hours and 30 minutes now

"I am not sure I follow the point here"
Are you serious?

[winged cosmos]

Touched on cloud gaming and then plunged straight back into console of harm

[nocturne vine]

Wait this it it?

[valid axle]

yep

closed court to submit tomorrow

yeah i thought that but seems like they did it jointley Microsoft did give there points

[rain escarp]

July 12th date?

[winged cosmos]

For the public filing

[rain escarp]

ah I see

[valid axle]

no sharpies 😆

[short snow]

for verdict?

[valid axle]

public filing

[oblique halo]

civiltiy lol

[rain escarp]

https://twitter.com/FOSSpatents/status/1674572316024668161?s=20

Florian Mueller (@FOSSpatents)

Argument finished. Tomorrow at this time (5 PM) deadline for proposed findings of fact and conclusion of law under seal. By Monday at noon submit joint appendix of exhibits admitted.

So decision not likely on Monday I think.

FTC asks about public version of filings.

🧵164/X

Twitter · Jun 30, 2023, 12:15 AM

[nocturne vine]

To Microsoft taking contracts serious and releasing Deathloop and Ghostwire Tokyo as PS5 exclusive

[winged cosmos]

Judge said she’d make a decision in time which would then be submitted sealed

Then FTC and MSFT go through and decide what needs redacting and what doesn’t in case they want to appeal to the 9th circuit

[oblique halo]

so is the 12th the result?

[winged cosmos]

It’ll be sometime after most likely

[nocturne vine]

Finally... I survived. Time for bed. 3 hours sleep

[winged cosmos]

12th is just when the documents being submitted tomorrow will be made public

[nocturne vine]

What's tomorrow?

[oblique halo]

all the arguements sumbmitted

[rain escarp]

just them putting all their stuff in.. nothing for Zoom call

its finally over

[winged cosmos]

tomorrow is just doccument submission. this should be the last zoom call

[oblique halo]

so how we feeling on chances

[valid axle]

i think thats closed court funny

[nocturne vine]

Damn... What a ride this was fellow gamers. It was a pleasure texting with you on this wild ride

[valid axle]

https://twitter.com/tomwarren/status/1674547360842539019

Tom Warren (@tomwarren)

Microsoft's lawyer tries to correct the FTC and makes an Elder Scrolls mistake by saying "Elder Scrolls 16" and then reveals Elder Scrolls 6 is projected for release in 2026...! https://t.co/aPQgk9JU8L

Likes

2229

Retweets

217

Twitter · Jun 29, 2023, 10:36 PM

[winged cosmos]

we'll all be back again soon for the CAT Appeal 😆

[rain escarp]

definitely been a good time for sure

[winged cosmos]

the hearing is estimated to be another 6 days 😆

[nocturne vine]

Damn... CAT as well

[rain escarp]

yeah but what I am saying is,. over as in no more zoom calls

[winged cosmos]

CAT will depend on the PI anyway since CAT doesn't start until 28th July

If I remember correctly 5 days after the PI decision is the earliest the deal can close

Unless of course the PI is granted

[stark jasper]

oh CAT is for the CMA block.

[valid axle]

yes

[honest flare]

And now we wait. The key phrasing by the Judge was that FTC was able to "keep up" not surpass. I'm leaning towards no PI but we'll see.

[winged cosmos]

She didn’t mean it in the sense of surpassing though. She meant keep up as in keep within the strict timeframes with a much smaller team that Microsoft brought

[honest flare]

I just meant to say that it's kind of like acknowledging the lesser party for their effort but not enough to sway her decision.

[olive ibex]

Guys I got this

@judg.e make Xbox win

[rose spade]

@primal laurel, has been warned for spamming.

[silk turtle]

Don't mass tag random people.

[nocturne vine]

https://twitter.com/HoegLaw/status/1674561375757033472?s=20

Richard Hoeg (@HoegLaw)

There’s the basket for your eggs, FTC.

Twitter · Jun 29, 2023, 11:31 PM

[short snow]

https://www.reddit.com/r/XboxSeriesX/comments/14mrbly/ftc_to_judge_ms_could_create_unique_cod_skin_for/

did they actually say this????

wtf

[lament wigeon]

The FTC has shown an incredible bias against Microsoft.

PlayStation literally has an exclusive skin on CoD that people on other platforms can't even see, it just shows up as a default skin if you're not on PlayStation. So Sony is already doing this and yet the FTC acts like they're angels.

[nocturne vine]

Yes they did. "A special christmas character only available on xbox for christmas" was their argument

[lament wigeon]

To be honest, I'm not even sure how we got to this point. Just...like...in the world, not just this.

Everything they would want/need to know about it is right there, free for the taking. They could just Google it or even ask gamers and then Google to confirm. It's so easy.

[nocturne vine]

It was pretty obvious they are defending Sony. Not the consumers... Sony

[lament wigeon]

Yep.

[nocturne vine]

Judge : "But how does it hurt the consumer I am asking?"
FTC Lawyer : "It hurts Sony"

Judge "If Sony would have bought Activision we would sit here again right?"
FTC Lawyer "Eh... um... eh.... We... Ehm"

Judge "Sony could just up their game to compete right? Shouldn't be that hard"
FTC Lawyer : "No your honor it is not. It would damage Sony"

Everyone who listened can probably take another 500 examples. It was very obvious right away... the whole time. They just want Sony to win. Even the "Esteemed Harvard Professor" argued that a PS exclusive is pro consumer and an xbox exclusive is anti consumer.

[lament wigeon]

😂

[winged cosmos]

I think the stats were FTC mentioned Sony 200-300 times and consumers 20

[rain escarp]

lol oh dear

[winged cosmos]

https://vxtwitter.com/fosspatents/status/1674836065843134465

Florian still confident it’ll be fine

[rain escarp]

I mean yeah you had closing arguments but Judge still has to take in all the other days

[nocturne vine]

I am generally shocked that ftc served the only good argument for the last 15 minutes of the whole hearing lol

[rain escarp]

and looking over all the documents they putting in today by 5pm

[valid axle]

there no live zoom call today right?

[rain escarp]

nothing now its over, till 28th July for CAT they have video over there too

so much better when you can see the other side get stressed out over things lol

[valid axle]

yeah thought so I was just checking

[nocturne vine]

It’s hard for me to see any documents with twitter now being like it is

[stark jasper]

preliminary injunction means block, right?

[oblique halo]

More to drag it out further not completely block

But Activision said if it gets that they'll just walk so same result

[olive ibex]

I hate this FTC guy

[stoic sparrow]

its a group of brainless husks bribed by sony

[honest flare]

Judge Corley has already been recognized as being very astute and hyper aware so I would assume she denies the PI. She knew the outcome of the case when she made Phil swear on oath to keep cod multiplatform

[foggy matrix]

She was already well-acquainted with the case prior

[oblique halo]

I don't see FTC winning this but stranger things have happened

[quiet ice]

the only hope the FTC has at this point is cloud, since (predictably) any attempt at trying to use the console market theory of harm has been denied

just like it has in every other country it's been presented in

[honest flare]

Yea the gamer's lawsuit gave her a basic tutorial of the real thing lol. Luckily, it only added to her comprehension of the gaming industry.

[drifting valley]

Man I wish we was in a world where no one would own anything no console makers buy studios

[olive ibex]

I wish Xbox owned all th game companies

I’m pro monopoly

[foggy matrix]

go play monopoly then.

I prefer competitive market

[worthy frigate]

monopolies do not need to be competative. ends up being bad for the consumer

[olive ibex]

(/j)

[drifting valley]

Man you'll love Disney then

I swear if anyone's a monopoly it has to be Disney

[honest flare]

Looks like Judge Corley already uploaded some documents but they're sealed. Then the link to the folder was removed completely

[wooden rapids]

anything neat happening in the most boring yet exciting event in gaming

[trim bramble]

its the weekend. so not really

[rain escarp]

Judge is reading through all the documents that have been posted and facts of law, may hear something this week. but she sending her verdict sealed so wont know right away

[nocturne vine]

Yeah we will probably not know till either friday or the friday after. Since it’s a lot of evidence and a lot of uncertainties I expect her to take two weeks and not just one

[wet mountain]

What does FTC mean

[lament wigeon]

Federal Trade Commission, it's a US regulatory entity.

[wet mountain]

Oh

[honest flare]

https://twitter.com/FOSSpatents/status/1675730269385490433?s=20

I have setting to show embeds but it is not. Strange

Nm, it's role specific

[worthy frigate]

twitter broke embeds

[honest flare]

Oh it's twitter. Of course it is. The owner is just winging it

[worthy frigate]

yuuup

[nocturne vine]

Well now we can't even get news for this topic thanks to the new twitter policy.

[lament wigeon]

if you append vx to the link (example: twitter.com -> vxtwitter.com), everything works again.

[nocturne vine]

Doesn't work for me

[silk turtle]

https://vxtwitter.com/tomwarren/status/1675798043545804800

[nocturne vine]

Why does it work for you 😩

[silk turtle]

Because I used vxtwitter

[nocturne vine]

I tried it too but it didn't work. Let me try it again

Now it works... Nevermind... Was a parameter that doesn't work

[nocturne vine]

https://vxtwitter.com/user/status/1675863536143089665

[nocturne vine]

https://vxtwitter.com/user/status/1674565923989241857 The moment the Cloud argument was basically dead imo

[lament wigeon]

They're either really, really unfortunate in the brain department, or they're being purposely dense.

[nocturne vine]

They are purposely trying to go the "We don't know" route to create uncertainty to get the judge to give a PI

[lament wigeon]

I try every day not to assume malice in everything, but at this point it has to be on purpose.

Yeah, exactly.

The only lack of evidence in this trial is the lack of evidence of the FTC being able to think for themselves.

[nocturne vine]

It's literally "We didn't do numbers so pls give us more time"
And then MS : "Here are the numbers"
"But it's not the numbers we have"
It's a lot to take in and I genuinely think the whole thing was just a big farce and corrupt.

[valid axle]

All the FTC have to show is that there **"Might" **be unfair competition if the deal goes though not that there "Will be"

[nocturne vine]

And there were barely able to do that. All they did was fearmongering without evidence "Why did they not do a deal with amazon and nvidia? Why they do cherry pick the cloud companies? Why not Sony?" was their argument. It always comes down to "Bring all games to PS or else we will block you" and that argument is just bad. Exclusive games create competition. And knowing that Xbox is third in the console market and actually doing less numbers in every regard would mean that Activision exclusives would create fair game again. But Sony wants to do the lazy route and get Xbox out of the game so they don't need to do exclusives at all anymore... until Nintendo joins the "HIGH PERFORMANCE CONSOLES" market. Giving Xbox a chance here would give the whole gaming market a better place. Activision Devs would have better work environment. Gamers would get more variety again from Activision. COD would improve in terms of quality most likely. And competition creates more opportunity for variety.

[lament wigeon]

100%.

[stoic sparrow]

Ftc is riding sony's roller coaster iyk wat i mean

[valid axle]

these are based on the numbers that Bobby gave to the court in is evidence to court

[nocturne vine]

Wow. That's pretty big evidence right there

[valid axle]

yep

[nocturne vine]

If this was PS they would take it from PC, Xbox and Mobile just to have it PS only.

[lament wigeon]

...Hmm.

I'm actually pretty shocked that total console players are just barely under total PC players.

[nocturne vine]

Yeah. I think it's because of the MKB controls also the more professional streaming possibility

[valid axle]

Pc market is huge compared too console

[nocturne vine]

Especially for a shooter. I think MKB is the preferable inputs

[valid axle]

It just shows though that call of duty isn't at play for xbox. This whole think is about mobile.

[nocturne vine]

Mobile is the biggest market in general. But yeah. I think it's very important to show that mobile and PC is bigger than the console market in terms of CODs income

[valid axle]

CODs users

you could say more users more income but the numbers are based on users not income or sales

[kind crown]

I think Warzone plays a big part of that. I remember playing the older ones like BO2 on PC usually only a few K on PC compared to hundreds of thousands on console.

[short snow]

when will we know the verdict?

[rain escarp]

no clue, Judge gonna post it sealed incase anything needs redacting

many are still saying this week though. but she has other cases and work to do inbetween

[nocturne vine]

But yeah I think the verdict being today is small chances. There were also the holidays for the judge. If anything I think the judge just starts to get through the evidence from today on.

[north slate]

I thought Playstation would atleast be the 2nd largest because of their exclusivity deals at times.

[nocturne vine]

https://comcom.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/321113/Microsoft-Submission-on-Microsoft-and-Activision-Blizzard-statement-of-issues-4-July-2023.pdf Microsoft writing 100 pages document in 2 weeks. While CMA says they can't write a 10 pages document in over a month lol

[wooden rapids]

reminds me of my parents attorney writing a 40 page opposition on why walking straight up a wall is impossible

long story

[oblique halo]

grumble clickbait headlines coming out atm

[nocturne vine]

New day and people expect again that the verdict is today before the market closes

[oblique halo]

Could be a week yet

[nocturne vine]

Could be more than that

There's a lot of time till the 18th

[oblique halo]

There's an appeal window of 5 days so make it the 13th latest

[nocturne vine]

They will appeal no matter what

They want to delay the deal as much as they can

[rain escarp]

yeah some news coming out from New Zealand at the moment, I think its mainly ABK telling them different things, plus they gave them Stadia notes about Cloud from when they talked about how it competes with console from the FTC case

[nocturne vine]

I like how the contents on the first page look like a discord screaming match :

[serene thistle]

When is the judge going to release the decision?

[rain escarp]

we dont know, many speculating just because of what she said about being speedy, it could be this week

even then it will be sealed to public for any redactions, put apparently will know on the website if its been approved/denied or "approved in part,denied in part"

I keep checking Twitter many people are getting anxious waiting too lol

[serene thistle]

So we wont know if the judge denied ftc or not. If its gets sealed to the public

[rain escarp]

yes but on the website it will say on the page thats sealed if its been approved,denied like I said above

we gonna find out if its approved cause FTC will try appeal and may give some info as to why

[oblique halo]

What's the website. FTC?

[serene thistle]

I think xbox wired

[valid axle]

it be on the courts website

it could be announced tomorrow it could be announced in a month the judge can take as long as she wants to review everything. But the judge FTC and Microsoft and Acti have all agreed it needs too be ASAP because they only have untill 18th July before the offer can be withdrawn anyhow from either side, So it be before then.

[serene thistle]

so less than 12 days basically

[oblique halo]

Guess nothing til next week then

[nocturne vine]

Still a long time till we hear anything. Friday isn't over there yet

Also... Somehow Activision is tweeting some weird stuff... even CCO of Activision is tweeting stuff like this : https://twitter.com/lulumeservey/status/1677332664838246400

Lulu Cheng Meservey (@lulumeservey)

@ATVI_AB rizz

Likes

133

Twitter · Jul 7, 2023, 3:04 PM

[oblique halo]

Know days not over but would think early news for there stocks and all

[nocturne vine]

I think the judge doesn't care about stocks 😛

[tough spear]

Currently taking wagers on "new dials arriving from Korea for car" Vs "the decision about the Activision merger"
Will the dials be installed before or after the decision?
find out in the next exciting chapter

[wooden rapids]

i wonder when the next exciting chapter drops

[tough spear]

I'm hoping to get a call today to give me an order update

[nocturne vine]

I feel like today might be the best day. That gives ftc more than 5 days to appeal

[wary lake]

pretty sure they only get 5 days

idk

[rain escarp]

well the TRO is expiring this week so its the FTC who need all this MS/ABK dont have to do anything

18th July was MS/ABK end agreement date so if things are gonna line up with that yeah something should happen soon

[nocturne vine]

Yeah I wonder what will happen. I think CMA is the biggest hurdle by now

[serene thistle]

Im really confused. Too much lawyer talk. So if it passes july 18th and judge didnt make the ruling what happens

[rain escarp]

the restraining order was just a temporary thing so MS/ABK couldnt merge when everyone thought it would happen was it last month.

if PI is granted by judge, Activision has already said they walking away from the deal. if its denied, it gives FTC some time to appeal. even if its granted FTC could still try and get the companies to split apart or sell parts of the company etc

yeah its confusing lol

I been reading couple bits n pieces and listening to Florian he has some recordings up on Twitter spaces

Florian :- " Yes, if the Restraining Order expires and there's no PI there to replace it, be it because the court denies one or because it doesn't decide in time, then the parties are free to close as far as U.S. law is concerned (it would then be a matter of how to deal with the UK situation). "

[serene thistle]

What happens if judge dont make a ruling by july 18th

[rain escarp]

the restraining order is ending this week I believe. so with or without Judge something may happen

Judge already knows the end date though and said she wouldnt take long thats why people have been waiting since like Friday and the Weekend we all believed something would happen

[serene thistle]

Yeah. Thanks. Sorry i need it to dumb it down 4 me.

Law language i dont have a clue lol

[rain escarp]

I dont have much but after looking at documents and everything for months I like to think I know alittle 😄

[serene thistle]

I didnt do that dont have that much free time for it lol

[winged cosmos]

Before anyone asks, don’t expect a decision for the next 6 hours https://twitter.com/fosspatents/status/1678429000241229833

Florian Mueller (@FOSSpatents)

Judge Corley is now (pretty sure, though there's no livestream to verify) in her courtroom to preside over Day 1 of a jury trial. Presumably they'll wrap up at 3 PM local time more or less. So for the next 6 hours or so, it is very unlikely for a decision to come down.

Likes

256

Twitter · Jul 10, 2023, 3:40 PM

It’ll happen when it happens

[nocturne vine]

Yeah I saw a countdown for like 12 hours from now till the day closes for her to make a decision. So I expect it late in the day and not in the morning

[serene thistle]

So basically tomorrow or later

[rain escarp]

Pacific Time dont forget. so its near 10am

[serene thistle]

Yeah. Im like 3 hours ahead of them

[reef lantern]

so were gonna find out tomorrow?

[winged cosmos]

no

we'll find out when we find out

[valid axle]

the judge can take as long as she wants - But everyone including the judge as agreed that it needs too be ASAP because of the deadline on the merger

the verdict is supose to be sealed anyhow so there will be a delay before its public so each side can redact anything

[balmy thorn]

If the deal goes through, will cod come to game pass within a week?

[rain escarp]

no

sony marketing ends in 2024

[frail surge]

When will they announce winner

[balmy thorn]

Is there an exact date?

[rain escarp]

nope thats all we know whats public anyway

[balmy thorn]

Damn

[rain escarp]

and as for 'winner' this is just one hurdle they still have UK to deal with which is another 5-6 days in UK courts starting on the 28th

[balmy thorn]

At least other games like Diablo are coming

[balmy thorn]

10 countries already approved the deal why would they focus on the UK that much

And why is the uk not approving the deal

[winged cosmos]

it's a lot more than 10 countries

[rain escarp]

cause both companies have trading in the UK, and it was part of the original agreement

[balmy thorn]

What happens if the us approves?

[rain escarp]

around 39 or 40 countries have approved so far, still got Canada, New Zealand, Australia and UK left.

[balmy thorn]

DAMN BRO

[rain escarp]

New Zealands date is 17th July

[balmy thorn]

so the US approved the deal

[rain escarp]

no, they sued to block the deal in December, and Microsoft just had 5 days in court. waiting on Judge to see if its going through or not

[balmy thorn]

Sued them for what?

[rain escarp]

they didnt want the deal going through. cause " Big Tech Bad "

[balmy thorn]

Of course sony paid them

Well at least the chance of the deal going through is really high

[frail surge]

Are they announcing winner today

[balmy thorn]

No

I mean no one knows

It could be at any random time

Expect it to be announced before July 15th

[rain escarp]

its upto the Judge and she has other cases they working on, but knows that Microsoft/Activision end date is 18th July said she would be quick about it. but after Judge says anything there is still a 5 day waiting period

[balmy thorn]

And after that waiting period the deal goes through?

I mean if she agrees with the deal

[rain escarp]

yeah for US, still more waiting as I said with UK etc

[balmy thorn]

So it's all up to the UK

[rain escarp]

everyone will know when it happens. bet its gonna make loads of noise either way,. so many people getting impatient on Twitter they been waiting since last week hoping something would happen

[balmy thorn]

Tbh i just want more games on game pass

[valid axle]

It would be up to microsoft what they do if everywhere else appoves and the UK doesnt. But they would face legal issues if they closed in the UK and i doubt they do that. The case in the UK is due too be heard on the 28th July

[balmy thorn]

And mostly cod

[balmy thorn]

Lets hope the UK approves

[valid axle]

Its already declined it

The case on the 28th is an appeal

[rain escarp]

yeah cloud issues, thats why they going to court, Microsoft are appealing

[balmy thorn]

I know that but I thought the whole thing was to convince the UK to change their mind

[valid axle]

no not at all

[balmy thorn]

An appeal....

[valid axle]

The UK will look at the deal just like any other country what happens in one country doesnt really have a impact in an other as such. So the 40 counties that have approved and the FTC that means nothing for the UK really

[balmy thorn]

Thanks for the update 👍

On what's going on

[balmy thorn]

Look at the deal and do what?

They already declined

[valid axle]

for the appeal they will have too look at it again the appeal is done by an other Body (CAT) not the CMA so they will have too look at it again thats what an appeal is.

[balmy thorn]

Ok sorry

Thanks for explaining, I hope I didn't waste your time

[rain escarp]

I was reading and in some cases the CAT can give their verdict without it going back to CMA, but will see how that goes, cause same as US Judge knows it cant drag on for a long time

[balmy thorn]

I have a better understanding of the deal now

[balmy thorn]

We'll see how that goes.

@drifting valley

[drifting valley]

🙋‍♂️

[balmy thorn]

Xbox actually wanted to spend Sony out of business at first by buying companies

[drifting valley]

Do the chances of that working out look realistic?

[tough spear]

More for Tobi but Microsoft have been worried of Sony's market share and strategies before. I don't think this will "go away" as Microsoft also have a decent chunk of the PC space compared to Sony

[balmy thorn]

Not really, more players are on playstation and playstation is the 1st in the leaderboard while Xbox is 3rd with Nintendo being 2nd

[gritty geyser]

Everyone keep refreshing Twitter. If we all do it, the decision will come faster

[tough spear]

Trippy trying to bend the odds of my wager tsk tsk tsk

[drifting valley]

Why, are they supposed to come today?

[balmy thorn]

I really want Activision on game pass right now

[balmy thorn]

At any time, it could be in the next second, minute, hour, day, week

But not months because the judge wants to end this case soon

[pure haven]

Oh wow didn't know there was a channel for this

[drifting valley]

I don’t really know what I want the results to be 🤷‍♂️

[pure haven]

Is today supposed to be the verdict?

[drifting valley]

^

[pure haven]

I see

[valid axle]

18 July is the deadline for the merger so it likely be before then but the verdict is supose to be sealed anyhow

[tough spear]

I'm indifferent about the result but then I don't play that many Activision games. All I do know is competition is a good thing

[balmy thorn]

I want more games on game pass

That's what I want the results to be

[balmy thorn]

Come on man, cod, diablo, transformers

Tony hawk

[tough spear]

A series that I've never enjoyed, a genre I don't enjoy, a game I just don't have any interest in and a release that wasn't even finished on release. No thanks.

[balmy thorn]

Damn

What about you @drifting valley

[tough spear]

We all like different things. I'm not invested in the merger though

[balmy thorn]

You're right

[drifting valley]

What?

[balmy thorn]

.

[balmy thorn]

.

[drifting valley]

More Games on gamepass would be awesome, but currently I only play cloud through other devices because I have no xbox in hand, I haven’t really figured out if I want to get a PlayStation or Xbox

Had both before but I’m just very interesting with decision making

[balmy thorn]

Backwards compatibility, fps boost on old games, game resume, game pass

Or for ps5, the controller, the game exclusives, ps plus

It's your choice but I moved from ps4 to Xbox series because of game pass

[drifting valley]

God I hate this, I would love to stay with Xbox but PlayStation exclusive games are very good too!

[balmy thorn]

It's actually proven that the series x is more powerful than the PS5, and the developers of final fantasy said that the game would run better on the series x

[silk turtle]

It's only marginally more powerful. There's barely any difference when it comes to cross-platform titles.

[balmy thorn]

There's starfield, Indiana Jones, avowed, clock work, and a lot of other exclusives coming to Xbox

[drifting valley]

Yeah I’m aware, the only thing that I like about PlayStation are the games, as for everything else it’s Xbox 😅

[balmy thorn]

The elder scrolls 6 is exclusive but it's more than 5 years away from release

[silk turtle]

That's why I have both. Xbox for multi-platform titles and Game Pass and PS5 for their exclusives.

[drifting valley]

What’s the deal with elder scrolls 6, is it a story game or online like eso?

[silk turtle]

It will be more like Skyrim than ESO

[balmy thorn]

Yeah but we aren't as rich as you tbh, no hate

[silk turtle]

You don't need to be rich.

[drifting valley]

I could get both if I wanted to, but I’m just trying to be careful with my money and make reasonable decisions 😌

[balmy thorn]

Exactly

[tough spear]

Then make a list of exclusives for both that you want, buy the one with the longest list first

[balmy thorn]

It's your choice but I recommend Xbox, since I used to be a playstation fanboy, I got convinced by game pass

[drifting valley]

Well where would I find xbox exclusives? I don’t know many

[tough spear]

Wikipedia has a list

[drifting valley]

Ive always been on Xbox’s side, like I said, I like nothing about PlayStation but their games lol

[drifting valley]

Thanks

[balmy thorn]

There is a lot of upcoming exclusives coming such as Indiana Jones game, but as of right now there's Microsoft flight simulator, halo, forza

Skate 3

[drifting valley]

I don’t know if people will agree but Forza > GT

Forza is so much fun

[tough spear]

Preference innit

[balmy thorn]

The controller has haptic feedback (meaning it can track the controller movement) and a built in microphone, with awesome vibration feeling and triggers feeling like you're shooting a gun

[drifting valley]

There’s so many games on the list that I love but didn’t even know that they’re exclusives 😯

[drifting valley]

That’s true, but Xbox ox controllers feel more comfortable in my hands, but then again that’s also a preference rather than fact

[balmy thorn]

Yeah I moved to Xbox but my heart broke when I thought of god of war

[drifting valley]

Spider-Man for me

[balmy thorn]

I got platinum trophy for it

At least there are great exclusives coming to Xbox as well

[drifting valley]

Indiana Jones is a clear win!

[balmy thorn]

Clockwork resolutions is a game about time travel and it changes your city's looks according to what you do in the game

Starfield is a shooter game in space

[drifting valley]

Marvel‘s Avengers was such a good idea but it was executed badly

[drifting valley]

Sounds familiar

[balmy thorn]

All that is great but God of war, uncharted, spider man and the last of us definitely better

I mean it's your choice but other than exclusives I'd rather stick with xbox

GTA is on game pass if you like gta

[drifting valley]

I mean, not necessarily, Indiana jones clockwork etc. aren’t even out yet are they?

[drifting valley]

Totally do 💯💯

[balmy thorn]

Nope

[drifting valley]

Also where was the Indians jones game confirmed?

[balmy thorn]

But starfield and clockwork sounds like they're focused on combat and not story

And ps exclusives focus on both and that's what I like

[balmy thorn]

All we know is a 10 second long clip of Indiana picking up his hat and whip and then saying "play it day one on game pass"

[drifting valley]

On the Xbox channel?

[balmy thorn]

Yes

In the Xbox showcase

[drifting valley]

Ohh

[balmy thorn]

Payday 3 is also coming to game pass

Since you like gta I assume you like shooters

And Rainbow Six Siege

[drifting valley]

Around what time does it show in the showcase?

[balmy thorn]

Mostly at the end

And I think it's the extended version of the showcase

[drifting valley]

Omg i don’t find it

[balmy thorn]

One sec

[balmy thorn]

https://youtu.be/1CCQg4JEidM

At first I actually thought this was in real life

The graphics is out of this world ✨

[drifting valley]

It looks good!

[wooden rapids]

random email between employees is not the same as the companies actual views as thoughts

[balmy thorn]

But don't expect the game to come out anytime soon

[lament wigeon]

Kinda hard to discuss the FTC deal when this channel has been taken over by Game Pass discussion. 😄

[balmy thorn]

I didn't know it was a random email, and the judge didn't care about it anyway

[wooden rapids]

and yet you leave a comment as if that was the whole situation

[balmy thorn]

Because Tobi's brother said that Microsoft will make Sony disappear in a couple of years so I told tobi about it

Tobi knows that this whole deal is about Activision

[drifting valley]

Don’t worry he just told me because of something my brother said:)

[short snow]

any updates?

[lament wigeon]

No.

[short snow]

😭