Since the begining of this year, there have been to and fro discussions between Activision Blizzard and Microsoft. While both companies have an agreement in principle, a takeover is not as simple as we may expect it to be. For this and other reasons, both Sony and Microsoft has been placing
Microsoft: Sony Has Better Exclusives!
The inquiry into the deal between Microsoft and ut the cases that are being submitted in this context could not be more absurd. Above all, there seems to be a competition between the two gaming greats. Both brands are not trying to make themselves look big, in fact, they are trying to be the smaller brand.
has been on going for months. BMicrosoft recently said that they had no choice but to take over . The company claims that Sony’s exclusive games were much better and they would be forced to buy the publisher. The Redmond company had previously announced that the flagship, Call of Duty is actually not that important.
Sony Game Pass is better than PlayStation Plus!
Now it was Sony’s turn again and the company is gladly taking the reverse cock route (“Who has the small brand?”). Because the PS brand complained to the British competition authority that Microsoft had not allowed PlayStation Plus to be brought to the Xbox. Sony is also responding to Microsoft’s claim that the Japanese have excluded Xbox Game Pass from the PlayStation. Sony said
“Microsoft argues that the demand for multi game subscription services would not tip in favor of Game Pass because Microsoft would also make Game Pass available on PlayStation. But the wider availability of the leading provider (Game Pass), now loaded with exclusive, irreplaceable content and protected by direct and indirect network effects would make it harder – not easier – for other multi game subscription services to compete. Microsoft’s claim that Game Pass’s availability on the PlayStation would be a panacea for the damage from this transaction sounds particularly hollow given that Microsoft is not allowing PlayStation Plus to be available on Xbox.”
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As early as the summer, Sony essentially announced that Microsoft had the better subscription service. It belives that the deal with will hurt Sony all the more. It’s all bordering on comical, as DualShockers aptly notes: “Whatever happens with the whole Microsoft-Activision-Blizzard thing, it’s amusing to watch these two video game giants grudgingly praise each other.”
deal: Microsoft wants to press ahead with concessions
Microsoft had already confirmed the takeover in January. Various processes have been running since then – in particular reviews by various competition authorities. The background to this is, among other things, complaints from competitor Sony. Sony does not like the fact that a large console brand is given control of one of the most important game providers for its own platform.
In this respect, it can be expected that the competition authorities will only allow the purchase of under certain conditions. According to the regulations, the EU Commission has until January to draw up a list of conditions to which Microsoft could then react. However, according to a report by the Reuters, the Redmond company wants don’t wait that long.
License agreement is in the drawer
In order to shorten the process, they want to submit proposals on their own initiative. This will arrive in the coming weeks. The company will spell out the conditions that it is willing to obey for the takeover to pull through. “Ultimately, such a move could secure early approval from the European Commission and subsequently be used by the parties before other antitrust authorities,” Stephane Dionnet, a partner at law firm McDermott Will & Emery, told Reuters.
In particular, Sony has strong concerns that after the acquisition, Microsoft could ensure that various important games no longer appear on the Playstation platform. This includes the Call of Duty series, which comes from . That would represent a huge competitive minus for Sony. However, Microsoft had already stated that the series will continue to appear on the PlayStation. Also, a 10-year contract with Sony for various licenses should be included in the edition package for the EU.
The CEO of the deal would not trigger antitrust scrutiny. But this is not the case at the moment. He also claims that Microsoft would not need to make any concessions to gain regulatory approval. However, it appears that the company is now willing to make them. Satya N. believes that regulators may have concerns about the impact of the deal on the future gaming market.
, Satya N. wants the deal to pull through. He claims that the deal will be at the heart of future online games. Satya N. also argues that