Stepping up: Sony struggles with the Microsoft-Activivision deal

by time news

Sony has not given up on Microsoft since the company’s announcement that it will acquire the gaming giant Activision (Billiard), for an astronomical amount of almost 70 billion dollars. The only game under Activision that caused everything is of course Call of Duty. Sony sees this agreement as a potential disaster for the PlayStation console and the company itself, with a popular and attractive title like Call of Duty, will only be available on Xbox products and in general on Microsoft platforms.

PlayStation chief Jim Ryan reportedly flew to Brussels last month to meet with EU regulators, who are currently reviewing the proposed acquisition. According to various sources, Ryan personally visited the EU headquarters on September 8 to express his concerns. With whom Ryan met and talked and what he said, is not exactly revealed. However, that Ryan took the time to respond personally shows how seriously Sony is taking the situation, even if its priorities are slightly skewed.

It is not clear at this stage if there is any particular threat to the transaction or if the regulatory bodies are simply doing their normal work. Even while Sony is against the deal, you can find companies and important people in the industry who see no problem with the deal. While Xbox is not the world’s leading video game platform, Microsoft is one of the largest corporations in the world. It does make sense to ask whether such a large acquisition prevents competition, whether Microsoft is using its size and wealth to dominate an industry.

To curb Sony’s efforts, last month Xbox CEO Phil Spencer said Microsoft had decided to make Call of Duty games available on PlayStation for several more years, even after Sony’s current marketing agreement with Activision expires. satisfactory or reliable.

Although there is no debate that the Call of Duty franchise – as well as all the Activision-Blizzard games that for some reason Sony completely ignores them – are very profitable for the PlayStation and this loss will significantly hurt, but exclusivity is not a new issue in the field of consoles, after all Sony and Microsoft devices They are the reason why exclusivity has become such a hot name in the industry. It’s a bit hypocritical that Sony or Microsoft decide to complain about the other party’s “unfair” moves. Sony spent years making exclusive deals with Activision for content for Call of Duty to gain an advantage over the Xbox. Microsoft buys development studios or giant companies in this case to increase the amount of future ammunition of their products.

In the end, we the consumers will decide who is to blame. From an ethical point of view both companies are guilty of not exactly nice moves throughout the years. So all that remains to be seen is whether the Activision acquisition agreement will be further damaged by Sony’s efforts. We as consumers can only watch from the sidelines. Xbox players will be happy, PlayStation players will be pissed, and PC players don’t care because they get everything.

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