The bizarre plot twist continues as members of Congress from both parties are pressuring the Biden administration to act on a purported PlayStation monopoly in the Japanese video game market.

This is something you should read up on because it all stems from a conversation between Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash) and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai on Friday. Cantwell alleged that American companies are being hurt by an imbalance in the Japanese market for high-end video games.

Axios reports that 10 more lawmakers have added their voices to the debate by penning letters voicing their concerns.

Seven of the ten lawmakers hail from Microsoft’s home state of Washington. More than $500,000 has been donated by the company over the past few decades, making it Cantwell’s single largest political donor.

The Senator who raised this and 6 of the 10 Reps are from Microsoft's home state

And MS' government affairs people have discussed this issue with members of Congress

Not hard to guess why this is coming up

More in the story, including the full letters https://t.co/spi4Sqq58Y

— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) March 27, 2023

While the two letters’ political perspectives couldn’t be more different, they both make use of the same misleading “98% of the high-end video game market” statistic, which glosses over the enormous influence of PC, mobile, and, you know, Nintendo. This final point is also significant because Switch is the dominant console in the region.

Microsoft’s proposed buyout of Activision Blizzard has been given a significant boost now that the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has dropped its objections to the deal.

We doubt this is the last we’ll hear of this issue, with Democrats and Republicans alike calling for an investigation into Sony’s allegedly unfair business practices. Let me know what you think about this situation.