The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has received documents from Microsoft and Sony following a second round of investigation into Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Sony points to the weakening of competition and failed other games that are not so important for the PlayStation. Microsoft continues its position, stating that Call of Duty is not so important, since in 9 years it has never won the game of the year in the voting of PlayStation users.
– According to Microsoft, Sony is the dominant console supplier as well as a strong game publisher.. It is expected to be about twice the size of Microsoft’s game publisher. This acquisition brings Xbox closer to Sony.
– Microsoft admits Sony has more higher quality exclusive games. Sony exclusives such as God of War, The Last of Us and Destiny have been hailed as iconic by the American company.
– Over 280 exclusive games from in-house and third-party developers were released on PlayStation in 2021, almost five times more than on Xbox.
Microsoft defends the concerns by saying that the merger with Activision Blizzard will not have any anti-competitive implications.
– Sony has more games than Microsoft, many of which are better. Exclusive in-house games from Sony and Nintendo are among the best sellers in Europe and worldwidesays the document, which mentions major games from developers such as The Last of Us, Ghost of Tsushima, God of War, and Spider-Man.
Source: ActivisionMicrosoft offers PlayStation a ten-year contract for Call of Duty
– Microsoft points to Sony’s agreement with other publishers to remove Xbox from their platforms. He cites Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Bloodborne, Final Fantasy 16, and Silent Hill 2 Remake as examples.
– On the other hand, working with Activision Blizzard should allow Microsoft to offer Call of Duty to more players.. He wants to get closer to Ke as Minecraft in many ways and keep releasing parts on the PlayStation where they will be of the same quality.
– PlayStation users have not voted Call of Duty as the best game of the year in the last 9 years. Call of Duty doesn’t even win Game of the Year awards.
– Additional exclusive content for Call of Duty that Sony has been paying for for years does not affect the number of players and does not affect the user’s choice of consoles.
– Both Steam and Nintendo managed to survive without Call of Duty.
– Microsoft can’t imagine PlayStation going bankrupt due to lack of access to one series when half as many consoles.
SONY DIVES BATTLEFIELD
In this case, players begin to see the Japanese company as the bad guy and Microsoft as the good guy. Sony, of course, could not resist another statement criticizing Battlefield from Electronic Arts.
According to Sony, other publishers don’t have the resources or experience to match the success of Call of Duty.. Despite EA’s success in other AAA series (such as FIFA, Mass Effect, Need for Speed, and Star Wars: Battlefront), Battlefield hasn’t kept up.
According to Sony, over 400 million Call of Duty games had been sold by August 2021, compared to “only” 88.7 million copies of Battlefield.
Sony doesn’t trust Microsoft to keep publishing Call of Duty for PlayStation. At the same time, he points to other acquisitions as the studios began making games exclusively for Xbox and PC.
“Microsoft will have control over irreplaceable content that leads to user engagement. Once the deal is closed, she will control the Activision content she creates on the PlayStation. [vyjmuto] times more user views than all the top-selling books in the SIE catalog combined.” says Sony.
Source: SonyGod of War Ragnarok breaks Sony records with sales of over 5 million copies
GAME PASS VS. PLAYSTATION PLUS
It’s not just about Call of Duty, it’s also about subscriptions. Sony has been pointing to Microsoft’s dominance in this segment from the beginning, while the other side is pointing out the number of PS Plus users. Here, Sony claims that only the two more expensive PS Plus plans have Game Pass-like features. But they have fewer users than Game Pass.
If games from Activision Blizzard (mainly Call of Duty) are on Game Pass and don’t make it to PS Plus, then the Game Pass benefit will increase and competition in the market will weaken. This may lead to higher prices for games, consoles and subscriptions, as well as declining innovation and quality in the video game industrybecause independent studios would have their hands tied.
Source :Indian TV
