Unit 3: Monopoly & Microsoft

There was a time when if you asked students for an example of a firm with monopoly tendencies more than 25% of them would give Microsoft as their answer. Those days seemed a thing of the past as first Apple and then the more recent arrival of Google's Android platform suggested we were going tired of watching Bill Gate's egg timer. However, it would seem that the arrival of Windows 8 has brought the good old bad old days of market domination back.


Recent reports have suggested that some software companies are unhappy with the innovations they have brought with the latest incarnation of their Windows operating system. Designed primarily for tablets and sporting a more 'application market ' style user interface this is meant to be the big comeback of the flying window. The makers of of block-building Minecraft and similar games writers Activation Blizzard and Valve have expressed a familiar rage against the MS machine.

It seems that Microsoft are trying a few new domination tricks. The software firms object to the 30% cut Microsoft are taking when selling apps using their on-screen Market suggesting this could put some firms out of business. Even worse, in order to sell through Windows 8, each firm has to have its software certified by Windows, potentially restricting creativity and competition.

The creators of Minecraft are threatening to refuse to sell their product on Windows 8 - a brave but risky strategy that most firms would find hard to copy given the domination that Microsoft has.

Questions for discussion:

How are microsoft competing?
Is there any eviodence of restrictive practices?
Will the consumer benefit in the long run?