Month: March 2023

Enlarge / No one really expects any of these Microsoft-owned Bethesda characters to have much of a presence on PlayStation going forward...

For months now, Microsoft has sworn up and down that it doesn't want to take the Call of Duty franchise away from PlayStation if and when it finalizes its proposed acquisition of Activision. But Sony is citing the history of Microsoft's acquisition of Bethesda Softworks parent company ZeniMax as a primary reason why it doesn't exactly trust Microsoft on this matter.

In a filing with the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published last week, Sony pointed to the European Commission's decision to allow Microsoft's acquisition of ZeniMax in 2021. In that decision, the EC cited Microsoft's planned business strategy in concluding that "the combined entity would not have the incentive to foreclose rival console video game distributors by engaging in a total or partial input foreclosure strategy [emphasis added]."

In other words, the European Commission said it felt Microsoft would have no reason to withhold future Bethesda games from rival platforms like PlayStation. Shortly after the deal was approved, though, Microsoft seems to have found that "incentive" quite easily.

Enlarge / This wheel should not be loose or wobbly. (credit: Jonathan Gitlin)

Nissan is recalling some of its newest Ariya electric SUVs this month. The culprit? Yet another possibly loose steering wheel. As a result, the automaker has also issued a stop sale for the new EV until inventory vehicles can all be inspected and, if necessary, fixed. The recall affects 1,063 Ariyas in total.

The problem arose once the EVs had been imported to the United States from Japan. These cars required some quality control work to be performed at the port once they arrived, work that necessitated the removal of the steering wheels. But in some cases the bolt that holds the steering wheel in place might not have been properly torqued.

Nissan was first alerted to the problem at the end of January, when someone working at a dealership noticed a loose steering wheel on an Ariya. Just over a week later a second dealership reported something similar, and upon investigation, Nissan discovered the steering wheel bolt was missing in this case. Nissan says both cars had been serviced by the same technician at the port.