As of today, it appears Microsoft’s $69 billion deal to buy Microsoft from Activision Blizzard King It seems closer than ever, after a few months of uncertainty and back-and-forth between regulators, Microsoft and Sony have culminated in informative gibberish where the arguments dwindle to astonishing levels. And if this is not the case, pay attention to the official Sony documentation which is in the possession of the CMA.
According to The Verge, Sony fears a hypothetical situation where the deal is done under current terms and PlayStation consoles receive bug-ridden or broken Call of Duty titles in favor of those released on Xbox consoles. A nightmare which, according to Sony, would encourage its players to migrate to this platform and to consider the PlayStation as a “second-rate” console. We leave you the text quote translated into Spanish:
Microsoft could release a PlayStation version of Call of Duty where crashes and bugs only appear in the game’s latest level or after later updates. Even if these downgrades could be detected quickly, any remedy would likely come too late, and by then the gaming community would have lost faith in PlayStation as the go-to place to play Call of Duty. Indeed, as Modern Warfare II attests, Call of Duty is most often purchased only in the first weeks of its release. If game performance on PlayStation is known to lag behind Xbox, Call of Duty gamers might decide to switch to Xbox for fear of playing their favorite game in a second-rate or less competitive venue.
While there are no doubt nuances and points where the two companies need to agree on terms, this type of argument reflects in the public eye that Sony is not able to provide a solid position on which defend its total or partial opposition to the purchase agreement.
The deal has fluctuated over time in favor of the Call of Duty series continuing on Sony consoles. First with the 10-year agreement, then with the equal treatment for PlayStation Plusin which Microsoft notes that “Any CoD game included in a Microsoft Multi-Game Subscription may be included in Sony’s Multi-Game Subscription Service at the same time and for the same duration.”
The CMA continues to study the file, but the final resolution must be taken by before April 26when the extension he requested last year expires.