Imagine having an internet platform where all trailers of games live. It's so pervasive that your competitors rely upon it to stream their press conferences and upload their video game trailers. Imagine every time someone wants to get information about a video game, they need to use your search engine to find it too. Now imagine also being able to instantly sell such video games as simple hyperllink, without a storefront, without hardware, and without an install. It simply exists in your browser. The browser is the hardware. The browser is the storefront. The opportunities to undermine your competitors under such circumstances are virtually endless.
This is a huge issue and I'm surprised that no one has written about it yet. Every time you Google a multiplatform game, Google will get the first opportunity to sell it to you. Every time you see a trailer for a game, Google will have the first opportunity to sell it to you. Heck, if Nintendo/Microsoft/Sony uploads a trailer for a new game on YouTube, Google can run a YouTube advertisement that plays for 30 seconds PRIOR to the trailer for a similar game or potentially the SAME GAME with a "play now" link before you ever see the competitor's ad.
This platform is, very clearly, designed in a way to undermine fair competition in the video game industry. It's really shocking that no one is at least questioning its legality or the ethics that surround it.
I have not seen a single journalist raise this issue.... (hint hint)
EDIT: I'm seeig a lot of confusion about what antitrust behaviors are present here.
THE ISSUE IS OF VERTICAL INTEGRATION - a type of monopoly that is different from horizontal monopolies people are referencing. The concern is that vertical integration may allow a dominant firm in one market to leverage market power into another market in such a way that undermines otherwise would-be horizontal competitors.
So, in this instance, a search engine, video platform, and browser that controls the information you see about video games, that also exists to sell you video games. Merging the functionality of these separate applications can be considered to be a VERTICAL integration that undermines competition.
The basic premise is: If your in the business of delivering search results, you should not be allowed to deliver such results in a way that undermines competition of non-search competitors in favor of your own non-search related products. In this case, the non-search product is access to video games.
Here's a link:
https://academic.oup.com/jleo/article-abstract/33/4/653/3091191?redirectedFrom=PDF
This is a huge issue and I'm surprised that no one has written about it yet. Every time you Google a multiplatform game, Google will get the first opportunity to sell it to you. Every time you see a trailer for a game, Google will have the first opportunity to sell it to you. Heck, if Nintendo/Microsoft/Sony uploads a trailer for a new game on YouTube, Google can run a YouTube advertisement that plays for 30 seconds PRIOR to the trailer for a similar game or potentially the SAME GAME with a "play now" link before you ever see the competitor's ad.
This platform is, very clearly, designed in a way to undermine fair competition in the video game industry. It's really shocking that no one is at least questioning its legality or the ethics that surround it.
I have not seen a single journalist raise this issue.... (hint hint)
EDIT: I'm seeig a lot of confusion about what antitrust behaviors are present here.
THE ISSUE IS OF VERTICAL INTEGRATION - a type of monopoly that is different from horizontal monopolies people are referencing. The concern is that vertical integration may allow a dominant firm in one market to leverage market power into another market in such a way that undermines otherwise would-be horizontal competitors.
So, in this instance, a search engine, video platform, and browser that controls the information you see about video games, that also exists to sell you video games. Merging the functionality of these separate applications can be considered to be a VERTICAL integration that undermines competition.
The basic premise is: If your in the business of delivering search results, you should not be allowed to deliver such results in a way that undermines competition of non-search competitors in favor of your own non-search related products. In this case, the non-search product is access to video games.
Here's a link:
https://academic.oup.com/jleo/article-abstract/33/4/653/3091191?redirectedFrom=PDF
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