While Sony Interactive Entertainment is anything but confident about Microsoft's takeover of Activision Blizzard, a document from the Competition Markets Authority (CMA) reveals that the Japanese manufacturer is convinced that even if Call of Duty continues to be released on PlayStation , its machines will be disadvantaged compared to Xbox consoles. “The merged entity would be able to put in place a kind of partial lockdown, notably by reinforcing the difference between the two versions, it is indicated. According to Sony Interactive Entertainment, Call of Duty players can expect more content on Xbox as well as better interoperability with the console, not to mention the benefits of Xbox Game Pass.Sony Interactive Entertainment has indicated that these factors are likely to influence players in their choice of console. "
Microsoft isn't happy with the UK's CMA regulator over its Activision Blizzard acquisition comments. It describes the regulator's concerns as "misplaced" and that it "adopts Sony’s complaints without considering the potential harm to consumers" 👀 🧵 1/3 pic.twitter.com/nIWuVqyvSW
— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) October 12, 2022
For its part, Microsoft is not smiling either since it regrets that the CMA has decided to investigate the case more deeply, while according to him, its rival has nothing to fear. He highlights in particular that Sony Interactive Entertainment has dominated the video game market head and shoulders over the past twenty years, that increasing the price of its consoles without fear of losing market share has never been a problem. to the Japanese manufacturer, that the fear aroused by a possible loss of Call of Duty is exaggerated given that there are more than 4 titles available on PlayStation, that Call of Duty players do not represent the majority of PlayStation owners, and that Sony Interactive Entertainment has also acquired studios since the announcement of the takeover of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft.
Microsoft also claims "keeping Call of Duty on PlayStation is... a commercial imperative for the Xbox business" and that it is "counting on revenues from the distribution of Activision Blizzard games on Sony PlayStation." 🧵 3/3 pic.twitter.com/QxylhKv4xl
— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) October 12, 2022
As Tom Warren (The Verge) rightly points out, the Redmond firm is deliberately trying to degrade its image in the gaming industry, in particular by claiming that cloud gaming (on which it relies heavily) remains marginal, that Xbox occupies the last place in the console rankings, and that they still lag behind the mobile sector. Finally, to drive the point home, Microsoft ensures that continuing to distribute Call of Duty on PlayStation is commercially and economically imperative, and that it therefore has no valid reason to assume such exclusivity.
It is recalled that unlike the United Kingdom, nations such as Brazil or Saudi Arabia have validated the operation. Strauss-Zelnick, the boss of Take Two Intractive, recently let it be known that he was also in favor of this rapprochement between the two parties, and that it was even healthy for the competition.
