Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

Consolidation doesn't equal monopoly. A monopoly is defined as "the exclusive possession or control of the supply of or trade in a commodity or service" - As long as indie game studios exist, the FTC will pay the gaming industry no mind. As long as games, as a commodity, can be created out of "thin air" (code), the FTC will pay the gaming industry no mind.

Huge companies buying every major studio is definitely a "dick move" (lack of a better term), but it's not a monopoly, and it never could be. Some of the most impactful games of the past 5 years were released by small teams and amassed cult followings.




FTC has more powers than investigating monopolies. It can investigate and sanction both unfair competition between businesses and deceptive, anti consumer practices. And there is a lot of practices in gaming industry that could potentially be investigated (console exclusives, lootboxes, platform commissions, etc).


Good point. +1


I'm not an expert on the law on this subject (or any subject lol), but I wonder how much a strict definition of the word "monopoly" actually matters? I would assume that the important thing is for the FTC to take action against businesses/practices that harm consumers, rather than focusing on the narrow definition of a single word.

Also, where did you get that definition of "monopoly" you quoted? There are a lot of definitions of that word flying around the internet, so I'm curious if you got that from like the FTC's website or something? I'm wondering because back when antitrust law was created, the issue at the time was railroad companies monopolizing transportation; however, what you're saying about indie games could also be said about transport: trains are not a monopoly, and they never could be as long as horses still exist!

> As long as games, as a commodity, can be created out of "thin air" (code)

Games are not created out of "thin air", they're created through very expensive labor, which is not only programming.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: