11 members of Congress believe SONY may breach a US-Japan trade deal to deliberately penalize the Xbox brand.
At least 11 members of Congress have urged the US Biden administration to take action over alleged Sony interference in Microsoft’s Xbox efforts in Japan.
Stephen Totilo from Axios.com has emails and other documents that prove this. The key finding is that a 2019 US-Japan trade deal provides for “non-discriminatory treatment of digital products” by both countries, meaning there could be a real trade issue here.
The letters reveal:
“We are writing to you today to draw your attention to the unbalanced Japanese video game market, which we believe may be the result of a discriminatory trade practice that violates the spirit of the US-Japan Digital Trade Agreement,” reads in one of the letters signed by four House Republicans, including Carol Miller (RW.Va.) and Mike Carey (R-Ohio).
“The Japanese government’s effective policy of not going after Sony appears to be a serious impediment to US exports, with real implications for Microsoft and the many US game developers and publishers that sell worldwide but derive their revenue in Japan from them see practices diminished,” the letter continued.
Microsoft has also commented on this:
“Sony’s anti-competitive tactics deserve a discussion, and we welcome further investigation to ensure a level playing field in the video game industry,” Microsoft spokesman David Cuddy told Axios.
So after SONY tried everything to block the Activision Blizzard deal, Microsoft believes SONY’s anti-competitive tactics should also be investigated. In any case, members of Congress appear to be urging the US to investigate SONY’s business practices in Japan.
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