Virtual Legality

It's that time of year again. Tom Hoeg, long thought lost to the underbelly of the gaming industry, has awoken, and just in time for him to explain to me how the many entries on my Top Ten Games of the Year are either completely or mostly wrong.  (And there may even be an Ian Runkle appearance or two.)

THABTO is back and here to celebrate the year that was gaming in 2022!

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Microsoft x Activision may well prove the longest playlist on this channel, as the news simply won't stop.

After the US Federal Trade Commission elected to sue to (try to) stop the deal, seemingly all of the "takes" have come out.

Including, now, a new lawsuit from...Playstation players?

Things just keep getting sillier and sillier.

Let's talk about it...LIVE.

#Microsoft #Activision #Lawsuit

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Microsoft x Activision may well prove the longest playlist on this channel, as the news simply won't stop.

With the FTC lawsuit still fresh in everyone's mind, many have started to explore the various contentions made by the US regulatory body.

Among those is the FTC's claim that Microsoft is untrustworthy because they told the European Union they had no incentive to make Zenimax's games exclusive...immediately befo...

Microsoft x Activision may well prove the longest playlist on this channel, as the news simply won't stop.

Now, of course, the biggest news possible has happened. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has sued.

But what does the agency's complaint say? What can we learn from it?

Let's talk about it...LIVE.

It begins...in Virtual Legality.

#Microsoft #Activision #FTC

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The Federal Trade Commission has voted to block Microsoft x Activision.

There's so much to talk about here.

Let's do it all live.

Ain't no party like a Lawsuit Party...in Virtual Legality.

#Microsoft #Xbox #Activision

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Microsoft x Activision may well prove the longest playlist on this channel, as the news simply won't stop.

Now, with late night tweets flying around from Phil Spencer himself, Microsoft seems to have enlisted a new ally: Nintendo.

What does it mean? And why might Steam's rejection of such a deal actually prove the more important?

Let's talk about it.

"It's a me, Captain Price"...in Virtual Legality.

#Microso...

Microsoft x Activision may well prove the longest playlist on this channel, as the news simply won't stop.

With rumors flying about the imminence of an FTC lawsuit to prevent the deal (or is that an allowance of the deal...), Microsoft and allies at the Communication Workers of America launch into an all out Public Relations attack seeking to put pressure on the FTC's impending decision.

Will it work?

Let's discuss what...

Microsoft x Activision may well prove the longest playlist on this channel, as the news simply won't stop.

Now, the NY Post has reported a defection at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), but what does that mean for the deal and the agency?

And can we really trust their reporting?

Slaughter vs Khan sounds like a WWE matchup...in Virtual Legality.

#Microsoft #Xbox #Activision

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Nintendo has long cultivated a moderately adversarial relationship with fans of its many gaming properties, but many thought things were looking up.

That all changed for the organizers of the Smash World Tour on the day before Thanksgiving.

What is their story? What does it have to do with something called the Panda Cup?

And what (if any) legal recourse might they have?

NINTENDO SMASH...in Virtual Legality.

#smashworldtour #nintend...

Microsoft x Activision may well prove the longest playlist on this channel, as the news simply won't stop.

Now, Reuters comes out with a very insightful exclusive, claiming that Microsoft intends to short circuit the EU merger review process...by promising them most everything the tech company thinks they will want.

But will it work?

This was always going to head to concessions...in Virtual Legality.

#Microsoft #Xbox #Activisio...

Leaks at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) suggest that the agency is "likely" to sue over Microsoft's pending acquisition of Activision Blizzard King.

But just how likely is "likely", and what can we tell from the agency's own internal processes and legal requirements?

Legal weakness doesn't always prevent a lawsuit...in Virtual Legality.

#Microsoft #Xbox #Activision

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Microsoft and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) of the United Kingdom have been trading punches over Activision and everybody's (!) got questions...and answers.

But its only Sony that has gone ALL IN.

Let's go through it together...in Virtual Legality LIVE.

#Xbox #Activision #Sony

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...

It's been a while since we last talked about the Blitzchung-inspired "Blizzard of Backlash", but *we* haven't forgotten, and perhaps neither has Blizzard as it separates from Netease, its Chinese distributor of 14 years.

There's definitely a lot to talk about here.

We're all reasonable guys...in Virtual Legality.

#blizzard #netease #china

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Just how long should Microsoft be made to ensure that Activision's Call of Duty game franchise remains available on Sony's PlayStation system? How long could regulators ask for? And did the FTC just show its hand?

We're often hard on them, but the New York Times is doing work today...in Virtual Legality.

#Microsoft #Xbox #Activision

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*** CHAPTERS 00:00 Introd...

Elon Musk's ownership of the Twitter social media platform has been tumultuous to say the least. But there has perhaps been no more tumultuous a period then when the Tesla/Space X head asked for employees to sign on to "hardcore" Twitter 2.0...or be shown the door.

With reports of hundreds leaving, does this spell the end for the Twitterverse? Or are reports of its death greatly exaggerated?

Let's talk about it.

You...

When the Doom Eternal official soundtrack (OST) was released to near universal ridicule in 2020, id Software manager Marty Stratton took to reddit to explain how it was all the fault of composer Mick Gordon.

2.5 years later Mick Gordon joined the fight with his own tale of unpaid contracts, abuse, and mismanagement, and things are getting messy.

Now Bethesda, parent company to id (and subsidiary of Microsoft) has defending its empl...

The Internet is full of conspiracy theories. But when European Commission regulator Ricardo Cardoso told the world what the EC was going to do in Microsoft x Activision *BEFORE* the in-depth investigation had even begun...it's difficult to frame it as simply a theory.

Optics matter...in Virtual Legality.

#Microsoft #Xbox #Activision

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*** CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction ...

When the Doom Eternal official soundtrack (OST) was released to near universal ridicule in 2020, id Software manager Marty Stratton took to reddit to explain how it was all the fault of composer Mick Gordon.

Now, some 2.5 years later Mick Gordon has joined the fight with his own tale of unpaid contracts, abuse, and mismanagement, and things are getting messy.

It's time for a musically synchronized shotgun pump...in Virtual Lega...

The European Commission, regulatory arm of the European Union, has finally announced that it will follow the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in elevating its evaluation of Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard to "Phase 2".

But while the reasoning given is similar. It's not identical.

Let's talk about it...LIVE.

So many phases, so little time...in Virtual Legality.

#Microsoft #...