Microsoft compares Sony to Blockbuster, confirms 10-year CoD-PlayStation offer

midian182

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A hot potato: Microsoft's president and vice-chair Brad Smith says that the FTC suing the company to block its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard would hurt competition, consumers, and thousands of game developers. He also compared Sony's objections to the deal to Blockbuster complaining about the rise of Netflix.

In a Wall Street Journal guest post, Smith wrote that Microsoft faces huge challenges in the gaming industry. He noted that when it comes to console gaming, the Xbox sits behind the PlayStation and Nintendo Switch, and that Microsoft has no presence in the mobile game industry, which generated 50% of the overall global gaming revenue, or $92.2 billion, in 2022.

Smith noted that a significant portion of mobile gaming revenue goes to Google and Apple through app-store fees. Acquiring Activision would allow Microsoft, which has a market cap of $1.87 trillion, to compete against these companies through "innovation," apparently.

Much of Smith's argument for the acquisition involves adding more titles to the Xbox and PC Game Pass service, including World of Warcraft and Call of Duty. CoD has been a particularly contentious issue ever since news of the acquisition arrived back in January.

"Sony has emerged as the loudest objector. It's as excited about this deal as Blockbuster was about the rise of Netflix. The main supposed potential anti-competitive risk Sony raises is that Microsoft would stop making Call of Duty available on the PlayStation. But that would be economically irrational," Smith wrote.

The Microsoft exec reiterated that a vital part of CoD revenue comes from the PlayStation and that cross-play between consoles is very popular. He also confirmed the previously reported 10-year deal to keep the series on PlayStation that Microsoft offered Sony, adding that the Redmond firm is willing to offer the same deal to other platforms (including Nintendo consoles) and make the agreement legally enforceable in the US, EU, and UK. Furthermore, Microsoft has made repeated assurances that Call of Duty would stay on PlayStation "as long as there's a PlayStation out there."

"Think about how much better it is to stream a movie from your couch than drive to Blockbuster. We want to bring the same sort of innovation to the videogame industry," Smith concluded.

This week brought news that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is split on whether to launch an antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft to stop it from buying Activision. Rather than face a split vote, the FTC might approve the deal. Some countries, including Brazil and Saudi Arabia, have already given the acquisition the green light, but it still needs the go-ahead from the UK and EU.

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I've lost a bit of respect for sony, they own top tier studios so why not just use them and make their own fps title(with blackjack and hookers), ffs bungie is in their claws, give them cash, say the goal is to crush CoD and set them free to work.

why whine like this, it looks bad, I guess if its not a game that plays like a movie, they just dont know what to do.
 
Why can't these regulators stop Facebook from buying every new social media company? Or Google buying every tech company?

TBPH I just don't see how entertainment acquisitions even mean much. It's so easy to start a new video game studio and there are so many of them already. And it's just games. I'm not saying this to support MS, I do think they need to be looked at----at the OS level. But for game studios and on console? It's one of the only strongly competitive industries out there right now it feels like.

They need to look at breaking Nvidia up as well.

Also are they going to force Sony to make all their titles multi-plat too? Actual optimized PC releases? Maybe they should also make some rules on DRM (that would be a different department but someone needs to look at this stuff and protecting consumers).

Anyway it's probably like farting into the wind, none of this matters. End Rant.
 
The truth is hurts but mobile gaming is growing way faster than console and pc combined. I genuinely think MS wants the mobile market. Just look at Candy Crush, it’s still pulling in a billion annually and costs nothing to maintain. COD is 6 different development studios with hundreds of employees. Rockstar said it cost $600 million to make GTA5.
 
"Why can't these regulators stop Facebook from buying every new social media company? Or Google buying every tech company? "

It's' all about the money and getting control of the market. Unfortunately the regulators are also being directly influenced to the point they won't do the right thing and put the public first ....
 
The truth is hurts but mobile gaming is growing way faster than console and pc combined. I genuinely think MS wants the mobile market. Just look at Candy Crush, it’s still pulling in a billion annually and costs nothing to maintain. COD is 6 different development studios with hundreds of employees. Rockstar said it cost $600 million to make GTA5.

Rockstar Games makes $1.4 billion a year, from which, around 1b is from that same GTA V. If it costed 600 million, getting back ALL (and more) in just a year, seems brutally good.
 
Rockstar Games makes $1.4 billion a year, from which, around 1b is from that same GTA V. If it costed 600 million, getting back ALL (and more) in just a year, seems brutally good.

That's not the point they were making. Point is candy crush makes just as much with very little investment.
 
Why can't these regulators stop Facebook from buying every new social media company? Or Google buying every tech company?

TBPH I just don't see how entertainment acquisitions even mean much. It's so easy to start a new video game studio and there are so many of them already. And it's just games. I'm not saying this to support MS, I do think they need to be looked at----at the OS level. But for game studios and on console? It's one of the only strongly competitive industries out there right now it feels like.

They need to look at breaking Nvidia up as well.

Also are they going to force Sony to make all their titles multi-plat too? Actual optimized PC releases? Maybe they should also make some rules on DRM (that would be a different department but someone needs to look at this stuff and protecting consumers).

Anyway it's probably like farting into the wind, none of this matters. End Rant.

Democrats voiced in 2020 breaking up the big boys - but that's communism , anti-American - huge lobby money.
Plus think the average American will think - yeah but they are our guys making money all over the world for us ( well Apple is Irish like we all know )
 
"Poor little Microsoft need every advantage they can get to remain in business". That's what I got from their own statements.
 
I've lost a bit of respect for sony, they own top tier studios so why not just use them and make their own fps title(with blackjack and hookers), ffs bungie is in their claws, give them cash, say the goal is to crush CoD and set them free to work.

why whine like this, it looks bad, I guess if its not a game that plays like a movie, they just dont know what to do.
They HAD it. killzone, resistance, SWAT, all left to rot to make more hairy dad games. Hell, they own bungie, make a new marathon game!
 
Sony should simply abandon making consoles and just become a developer/publisher like sega. The ps4 pro and now ps5 are junk devices lacking software features compared to brilliant designs of One X and Series X.
 
<p>"Think about how much better it is to stream a movie from your couch than drive to Blockbuster. We want to bring the same sort of innovation to the videogame industry," Smith concluded.</p>
We already have that in gaming with digital downloads. And downloads are much better than streaming. Anybody pushing streaming games is evil.
 
Sony should simply abandon making consoles and just become a developer/publisher like sega. The ps4 pro and now ps5 are junk devices lacking software features compared to brilliant designs of One X and Series X.
they also outsell the xbox, so.......
 
Sony should simply abandon making consoles and just become a developer/publisher like sega. The ps4 pro and now ps5 are junk devices lacking software features compared to brilliant designs of One X and Series X.
such as homepage ads.

looooove those.
 
Name one 69 billion dollar acquisition that ended well for the consumer.... Exactly - - this in no way can end well for the people and Microsoft is trying so hard to convince the public its for their own good - you have to be an ***** to believe that's the case...
 
We already have that in gaming with digital downloads. And downloads are much better than streaming. Anybody pushing streaming games is evil.
Seriously - - has anyone seen Netflix lately? It has horrible horrible content... That's exactly what's going to happen to the quality of their games and were already seeing it...
 
Seriously - - has anyone seen Netflix lately? It has horrible horrible content... That's exactly what's going to happen to the quality of their games and were already seeing it...
I hate to break this to you, but Activision/Blizzard games are already crap and have been for years.
 

Haha nice one

Let those Sony tears drop. What a bunch of greedy people. I guess they only love exclusives when it's on their platform.

Maybe Microsoft’s non game making butts should have used their vast fortune, and made some exclusives or thrown around their money to secure exclusive deals. Tough lmao.
 
I agree that they should be able to buy a company with no problem. What I don't agree with, is using that purchase to lock products to their own gaming platform, so as to try funnel consumers into buying their own hardware, with the aim of then having full control. You know damn well if microsoft had total control of everything and all consumers locked to their platform it would not end well for the consumers.
I would have bought some of their games in recent years on pc, but don't want another delivery platform with xbox live.
So yeah, these companies can lock down games, but expect some of us to not buy them any more.
COD is shite anyway. I only bought the first one way back on PC when it came out. The single player was good, if I remember right, but multiplayer was the most boring deathmatch crap that seemed antiquated, even at that time.
 
I've lost a bit of respect for sony, they own top tier studios so why not just use them and make their own fps title(with blackjack and hookers), ffs bungie is in their claws, give them cash, say the goal is to crush CoD and set them free to work.

why whine like this, it looks bad, I guess if its not a game that plays like a movie, they just dont know what to do.
I had to reply to this Microsoft tears. What top tier studios did Sony buy? Name them? Who were they before they were associated with Sony? What AAA games were these studios putting out? It’s almost as if people conveniently forget that Sony put in work with these studios before acquiring them. What Microsoft is doing is not the same. But like Steve Jobs said, and for a valid reason, Microsoft has no imagination.

They had the entire 360 era, where they had the lead, and 360 era to do exactly what Sony did. But instead they chose to be the home entertainment hub, while Sony focused on being a consumer product company that makes video game consoles, and put in the work for it to be an attractive environment to have your games on. That’s not saying they don’t have any crappy business practices. But like with Apple, Microsoft has to cheat to succeed.
 
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