North Dakota Senator Kevin Cramer Demands Transparency from Sony over Exclusivity Deals and Bungie Acquisition

North Dakota Senator Kevin Cramer has asked Sony to disclose all of Sony’s exclusivity deals. PlayStation, as a transparency action in the midst of the dispute over the purchase of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft. The American politician also asked the Japanese company to clarify how it managed to acquire Bungie, describing his conduct as “anti-competitive.”

“I am writing to express my concern about Sony’s efforts to protect its game console business from competition. For more than 20 years, Sony has completely dominated the console market, as defined by the Federal Trade Commission. [FTC]”, points out Cramer in his carta.

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The politician assures that the Japanese company has a lot of power in the video game sector. “I am concerned that Sony’s dominance in that market and its efforts to perpetuate its current position jeopardize a significant economic development opportunity for North Dakota”, he adds.

Likewise, it affirms that Sony is pressuring regulatory entities so that the purchase of Activision Blizzard is avoided. “Sony’s anti-competitive conduct has also included lobbying the FTC and foreign competition regulators to oppose Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision.a transaction that many gaming industry and legal experts believe would promote a more competitive gaming market”, he assures.

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Cramer indicates that Sony complains about purchases when it acquired Bungie just before the Activision purchase. “AEven more worrisome is that Sony’s actual lobbying of the FTC and other regulators began shortly after Sony acquired Bungie, another major gaming competitor.. Sony’s efforts to block this transaction appear to include a refusal to agree to a settlement that fully addresses its concerns and would expand consumer access to games.“, Add.

So Cramer asks Sony to send him copies of the documents that clarify all the exclusivity agreements for PlayStation, both those that are with independent developers and those that prevent them from negotiating with other distribution companies; and documents outlining the strategic rationale for purchasing Bungie (Destiny, Halo, among others). The deadline to respond to the senator’s request is May 1.