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Xbox Microsoft refutes Sony’s claims that its Activision acquisition is anti-competitive

Microsoft just launched an official website dedicated to the merger with Activision-Blizzard.

Our vision for gaming: More choice and more games for people everywhere

news.microsoft.com news.microsoft.com

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Of course Sony is going to say its anti-competitive and Microsoft is going to say it's not, lol. There are too many game studios and developers, I think consolidation is a good thing.
 
Read from VGC:

Brazil’s regulatory body has become among the first to approve Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

On Wednesday, the country’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) said it had approved the merger with no restrictions.

“Considering the huge popularity of Call of Duty , it is reasonable to infer that if Activision Blizzard games were no longer available on Sony consoles, PlayStation users could decide to migrate to Xbox, or even a PC, to continue having access to franchise games,” part of CADE’s summary reads.

“On the other hand, it’s also reasonable to assume that if upcoming Call of Duty games became exclusive to the Microsoft ecosystem, players loyal to the PlayStation brand could simply abandon the series, migrating their demand to other games available on their favourite console.”

It continues: “Despite this, one cannot rule out the possibility that Microsoft may deem potentially profitable to adopt an exclusivity strategy on Activision Blizzard games, even if a decision in this direction could result in the sacrifice of a relevant part of sales, users and even the Call of Duty popularity.

“This is because, in theory, such a strategy could contribute to boosting Xbox sales, expanding the Game Pass subscriber base and strengthening the network effects on the Microsoft ecosystem, in order to offset any loss of revenue from the sale of games on the short term.”

The CADE verdict goes on to state that it believes exclusive content has been “very important” for competition in the console market, and one of the main factors responsible for PlayStation and Nintendo‘s positions as market leaders.
 
GTA publisher approves the merger, read from tweaktown:

"We're certainly of the belief that it's a good thing for Microsoft and the industry. We're in favor," Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick told TheWrap.

"This is a highly fragmented business. There's plenty of room for creativity to grow around. Microsoft is an ally of ours and if this makes their business more powerful, we think that is good for us."

Case in point: Grand Theft Auto revenues jumped to $210 million in Q1'2020 following GTA V's release on Game Pass.

As Xbox grows, so too does the platform, and that gives Microsoft a bigger budget to make some big deals. Remember that Take-Two Interactive has expanded rapidly after acquiring Zynga for $12.7 billion (the second-largest acquisition in gaming history). The publisher is no longer fully dependent on hits like Grand Theft Auto and is diversifying its slate of games.
 
Read from VGC:

the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) stated that everyone will now be able to give their opinion on whether the deal should go ahead.

The CMA recently publised its Issues Statement, listing its ‘theories of harm’ – the issues it believes are potential concerns. According to its process, once the Issues Statement is published the next step is to open the issue up to the public.

“At this point we invite anyone, including members of the public, to share their views with us,” it states.

According to the CMA, the ‘issues of harm’ it’s investigating include:

  • The impact of the merger on other console gaming platforms, including:
    • Activision games being made Xbox exclusives
    • Activision games being made timed Xbox exclusives
    • Microsoft making Activision games lower quality on other systems (such as missing features)
    • Microsoft making Activision games more expensive on other systems
  • The impact of the merger on multi-game subscriptions that rival Game Pass
  • The impact of the merger on the future of cloud gaming
The public can submit their views and evidence regarding the issue now, though the CMA says it may not be able to acknowledge and respond to every submission due to the anticipated volume of submissions.
 
Read from Tweaktown:

The FTC has officially sued to block Microsoft's $68.7 billion buyout of Activision-Blizzard.

The Federal Trade Commission is seeking to block technology giant Microsoft Corp. from acquiring leading video game developer Activision Blizzard, Inc. and its blockbuster gaming franchises such as Call of Duty, alleging that the $69 billion deal, Microsoft's largest ever and the largest ever in the video gaming industry, would enable Microsoft to suppress competitors to its Xbox gaming consoles and its rapidly growing subscription content and cloud-gaming business.

In a complaint issued today, the FTC pointed to Microsoft's record of acquiring and using valuable gaming content to suppress competition from rival consoles, including its acquisition of ZeniMax, parent company of Bethesda Softworks (a well-known game developer). Microsoft decided to make several of Bethesda's titles including Starfield and Redfall Microsoft exclusives despite assurances it had given to European antitrust authorities that it had no incentive to withhold games from rival consoles.

"Microsoft has already shown that it can and will withhold content from its gaming rivals," said Holly Vedova, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Competition. "Today we seek to stop Microsoft from gaining control over a leading independent game studio and using it to harm competition in multiple dynamic and fast-growing gaming markets."

Microsoft's Xbox Series S and Series X are one of only two types of high performance video game consoles. Importantly, Microsoft also offers a leading video game content subscription service called Xbox Game Pass, as well as a cutting-edge cloud-based video game streaming service, according to the complaint.
 
cm2 said:
Read from Tweaktown:

The FTC has officially sued to block Microsoft's $68.7 billion buyout of Activision-Blizzard.

The Federal Trade Commission is seeking to block technology giant Microsoft Corp. from acquiring leading video game developer Activision Blizzard, Inc. and its blockbuster gaming franchises such as Call of Duty, alleging that the $69 billion deal, Microsoft's largest ever and the largest ever in the video gaming industry, would enable Microsoft to suppress competitors to its Xbox gaming consoles and its rapidly growing subscription content and cloud-gaming business.

In a complaint issued today, the FTC pointed to Microsoft's record of acquiring and using valuable gaming content to suppress competition from rival consoles, including its acquisition of ZeniMax, parent company of Bethesda Softworks (a well-known game developer). Microsoft decided to make several of Bethesda's titles including Starfield and Redfall Microsoft exclusives despite assurances it had given to European antitrust authorities that it had no incentive to withhold games from rival consoles.

"Microsoft has already shown that it can and will withhold content from its gaming rivals," said Holly Vedova, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Competition. "Today we seek to stop Microsoft from gaining control over a leading independent game studio and using it to harm competition in multiple dynamic and fast-growing gaming markets."

Microsoft's Xbox Series S and Series X are one of only two types of high performance video game consoles. Importantly, Microsoft also offers a leading video game content subscription service called Xbox Game Pass, as well as a cutting-edge cloud-based video game streaming service, according to the complaint.
Click to expand...
Yeah. Our government isn't at its best and doesn't listen to us.
 
If it's all up to Sony, they will do everything humanly possible for Microsoft's acquisition for Activision Blizzard to crash because it's definitely going to affect them big time.
 
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