We’re all familiar with the concept of console wars, but it appears that it has a new entrant: the US government. As reported by Axios, 10 members of the House of Representatives sent letters to US trade representatives and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, citing concerns that Sony is taking advantage of Japanese governmental inaction to profit in its home country.
One of the letters says that Sony has 98% of the “high-end console market” in Japan, that Sony signs deals to keep Japanese games from the Xbox platform, and claims that these actions may be in violation of Japan’s anti-trust laws. This “high-end console market” language apparently excludes Nintendo entirely, the company that actually owns the biggest market share in Japan. The highest-profile upcoming Japanese-made game exclusive to PlayStation (and not made by a Sony-owned studio) is Final Fantasy XVI.
“The Japanese government’s effective policy of non-prosecution when it comes to Sony appears to be a serious barrier to U.S. exports, with real impacts for Microsoft and the many U.S. game developers and publishers that sell globally but see their earnings in Japan depressed by these practices,” the letter says in part.
Though there’s no official word, this pressure from US officials is almost certainly the result of Sony’s ongoing efforts to block the merger of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard, one of the biggest gaming stories of the year. Axios reports that its government affairs team discussed “these issues” with members of Congress. Japan’s own regulators recently approved the acquisition.
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