In NO SENSE does Microsoft buying Activision create a monopoly. Even with Activision they’re still in third place, there are still two major and MANY minor players in the console market and hundreds, probably thousands of game developers, and their two biggest competitors both have decades long franchises with tens of…

The entire of these challenges are compromised of nothing but weak arguments if not outright fabrications. There is no sense in which this acquisition meaningfully lessens competition on any level. The fear mongering about “monopolies” demonstrates not only the disingenuous nature of those bringing these cases, but a…

They’ve been bought by Sony, no question.

Actually the big problem is that US antitrust laws have no solid *definitions*. Basically, antitrust bills down to "Whatever we say it is this week", which effectively means that whoever manages to grease the right palms first gets their way. The teeth are there, if you're willing to pay for them, and that's exactly…

Except it’s not a lie. By buying ABK, Microsoft can bring games to their platform that aren’t there now, while continuing to sell games on other platforms, profiting from their millions of sales. By increasing the appeal of the Xbox platform without decreasing the appeal of others, competition will increase as more…

In all probability, call of duty will continue to be multiplatform immediately. It does not make financial sense to limit its audience. 

Capitalism is the most ethical economic system that exists, even in the highly limited forms we have. Everything else boils down to an aristocracy of pull and graft. 

That’s just conspiracy theorist nonsense.

In general, that’s what you’re at risk of in a room full of anti-capitalists: being murdered for daring to think human beings have a right to be free to trade amongst themselves in peace, without fear of violence or legalized coercion.

Plenty of game designers want this kind of thing for a simple reason: a profitable game leads to more work, and possibly even bonuses/raises.

There’s no reason to regulate or ban loot boxes or microtransactions. At most, they should have a big, bold-type disclaimer stating “You are NOT paying to win, nor are you guaranteed any specific kind of experience except that you will receive the item you CHOSE to PURCHASE.”

The last panel is missing. It has the cyclist demanding Schwinn refund him for the bike’s purchase price.

I get that stroking fans’ egos is a reasonable (if pathetic) marketing tactic. I just despise it :P. Gamers are like any other group of human beings: a lot of good folks who enjoy what they do and don’t make a lot of noise, and a handful of overly sensitive halfwits who cry foul every time a texture on a wall they…

They’re not rewarding anyone but Activision employees, really. Activision has long had complaints of employee mistreatment on various levels, but Microsoft, by contrast, is lauded as a great place to work. Activision employees have nothing to lose and a lot to gain. Kotick will be out the door inside of a year after…

I’ve played some of the single player campaigns, but none of the multiplayer. I really hate playing multiplayer with internet strangers.

Oh, I see. So you’re argument is that Sony’s argument is actually a non-argument based on what they want other people to imagine in order to fool regulating agencies into making rulings that are favorable to Sony. Got it.

Also, no game is “essential”. They’re GAMES. If you get them, great! If you don’t, life goes on.

Actually, it’s easy. Call of Duty has always been multiplatform (except when it was just on PC in the beginning), so it’s impossible to say conclusively that people en masse use it as a metric in their console buying choices. Exclusives are one thing, but multiplats are quite another.

Until the deal closes, Microsoft has no authority to fire Kotick. If Activision’s leadership chooses to give him the boot that’s one thing, but MS has no power here yet.

Capitalism--when conducted without force or threats--is inherently ethical. The real problems emerge when private businesses make deals with governments, yielding laws that force customers to buy their products or services, hinder competitors from entering the market, or put taxpayer dollars in the hands of private…