Sony Use the gods Undoubtedly harsh tones To justify its opposition to the takeover Activision Blizzard By Microsoft, as can be read in the text published by the English antitrust authority, CMA, on its official website.
The contents of the document have already been revealed by various press accounts. but now, document in handWhat seemed to some to be exaggerations in the story of Sonny’s situation, instead found subtle confirmation.
After he applauded CMA’s choice to launch the second phase of investigations to decide on an acquisition, the Japanese multinational’s tones have grown quite harsh. Sony is considering acquiring Activision Blizzard Harmful For competition, for industry players, for innovation and for consumers. On page 2 we can read: “The deal is a game-changer that threatens an industry loved by hundreds of millions of consumers.” Sony then turns to the success of the Call of Duty series, describing it as “irreplaceable” for gaming platforms, that is, “important for attracting players to a platform,” so much so that its role cannot be determined solely by market shares: “The deal will put this content under the control of Microsoft, giving it an unprecedented advantage.”
Sony fears that after the acquisition, Microsoft will exclude PlayStation and PlayStation Plus users from Call of Duty (Microsoft has repeatedly denied that this is its goal). To prove this, Sony describes Microsoft’s modus operandi with five other acquisitions and cites the fact that Microsoft has not denied its desire to bring the Call of Duty series to the next level. game arcade Not on PlayStation Plus.
Sony shows in particular violent When he talked about the damage that might result from the acquisition of competition. In particular, he stated that the biggest harm would be suffered: consumers, because they are forced to spend $450 on Xbox to play Call of Duty, which results in a move from PlayStation to the competing platform; The competition, namely Sony itself, which has lost the Call of Duty series, will reduce its investments, because it is unable to reach a large percentage of consumers; And independent developers, who can now target different services to publish their games, but after the acquisition will find themselves monopolizing Game Pass, which will overtake PlayStation Plus.
To suffer damage would also be Cloud gaminggiven that with Call of Duty Microsoft would have a huge advantage, which would block investments in the sector by other companies.
In short, upon closer examination, the entire text revolves around the Call of Duty series and its role in the video game industry, such that Sony considers it more important than its exclusives to the success of its consoles, since it defines it as “unrepeatable”. Will Kratos, who has just sold 5.1 million copies, agree?