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Japan: Apple faces antitrust regulators over Yahoo game platform

By  |  August 16, 2018

The Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) is probing US tech giant Apple on suspicion of unfair trade practices for allegedly forcing its rival to withdraw from a game platform, Nikkei reported Thursday, August, 16. The JFTC was informed last fall about the iPhone maker’s anti-competitive behavior towards Yahoo Japan.

The Internet services firm launched a web-based Game Plus platform last summer, which allowed users to play games without downloading an app and had laxer rules for sales than Apple’s App Store.

Months later, Yahoo Japan reportedly complained to business partners about pressure from Apple, on which it relies for part of its sales through the App Store, and eventually stopped advertising the service.

According to the Nikkei, Yahoo slashed its budget for the platform last year, and has largely stopped promoting the service. Meanwhile, game publisher Square Enix in April removed a game that had been developed exclusively for the site, the newspaper added.

Full Content: Nikkei Asian Review

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