Japan approves Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard as it sees no risk to competition

All eyes are on regulators in the US, UK and EU, but Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard is a game being played around the world, including Japan. From there we get the latest news about the operation of 68,700 million dollars and these tell us that the Japan Fair Trade Commission has given its approval to the movement without any kind of observation.

“The Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) has analyzed the transaction and reached the conclusion that it is unlikely to result in a substantial restriction of competition in any specific business sector,” the press release can be read. Japanese regulator. “Accordingly, the JFTC has notified the parties that it will not issue a cease and desist order, terminating its review.”

The JFTC believes that the purchase of Activision Blizzard is a vertical integration and that its incorporation into the Microsoft structure will not pose any risk to competition in any sector, including console game distribution and cloud gaming. The press release does not mention Call of Duty either. Why has everything been so easy in Japan? It must be taken into account that each regulator cares about its territory and in Japan Microsoft’s consoles and services are hardly relevant. 20 years ago Xbox arrived in Japanese territory and after four generations its market share is 2%.

On the other hand we have Call of Duty, the game that is on everyone’s lips… except Japan. The run of Call of Duty deliveries in Japanese stores is very short and on the best-selling software list we always find other titles, especially those developed by Nintendo. And when it doesn’t lead the Big N, Sony, Sega, Capcom, Bandai Namco, Atlus, Square Enix appear… Consequently, Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard will hardly have any effect in Japan, so the JFTC approves it without any but.

However, one should not downplay the JFTC’s decision. Japan is one of the most important markets in the video game industry and now they have just told the rest of the world that they are not in the least worried about Microsoft buying Activision Blizzard, a message that will surely reach the ears of their American counterparts, British and European. The JFTC’s decision adds to the recent change of heart of the CMA, whose latest interim report no longer considers that the operation will harm competition on consoles.