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Yet another U.S. lawmaker has demanded to see details of third-party PlayStation exclusives. In a letter addressed directly to Sony’s chief executive officer Kenichiro Yoshida, Republican senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota also expressed concerns about Sony attempting to block Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Third-party PlayStation exclusives apparently hurt consumers
The letter regurgitates Microsoft’s oft-repeated complaints about Sony’s dominance, which doesn’t come as a surprise because the Xbox maker has allegedly been “discussing” Sony’s market position with lawmakers. In fact, the letter references Activision Blizzard executive Lulu Cheng Meservey, who has been openly critical of Sony’s attempts to block the Microsoft Activision deal.
“For more than 20 years, Sony has utterly dominated the gaming console market, as that market has been defined by the Federal Trade Commission,” Cramer wrote. “I am concerned Sony’s dominance of that market, and its efforts to perpetuate its current position imperils an important economic development opportunity for North Dakota.”
Cramer has given Sony a deadline of May 1 to provide unredacted copies of documents pertaining to third-party exclusivity deals, its acquisition of Bungie, and correspondence with the FTC regarding Microsoft Activision deal.
It is our understanding that Sony does not have to comply with the request.