The purchase of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft is still up in the air, and the truth is that it is at a difficult stage due to three big reasons. One of them is the scrutiny to which it is being subjected in Europe, the second reason is found in the strong opposition from Sony, which has not hesitated to resort to arguments that have exceeded the limit of the absurd, and finally we also have the attempt of the FTC to block said operation.
Microsoft has defended itself in many ways, and has come to offer great concessions so that the operation can come to fruition, but in the end nothing is enough for sony, a company that despite comfortably leading the game console market has disguised itself as if it were a weak party, when in fact the opposite is true. In case anyone doubts this, I remind you that said company doubles Microsoft in sales.
Last October the competition authority in the United Kingdom, the Competition and Markets Authority, known as CMA, invited the public to comment on the possible purchase of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft, and today we have could discover that a total of 2,100 opinions 75% (1,575 opinions) were very positive, and almost a quarter were against said acquisition. Only a very small part of the opinions did not express a point of view neither against nor in favor.
To better illustrate the case, the CMA listed 14 opinions in favor and 11 opinions against. Among those who expressed their opinion in favor of Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard, there were very clear arguments, such as that this purchase would allow the company to better compete with Sony and Nintendo, which are ultimately “bigger” players within the video game industry. This completely breaks that idea of a weak party that Sony has tried to transmit actively and passively, and that, as I have told you before, was nothing more than a fallacy.
Other interesting arguments from those who are in favor of the purchase say that it will not hurt the competition because, in the end, Microsoft has committed to not make the Call of Duty saga exclusive, and that the company’s decision to bring said saga to Game Pass is not only good for free competition, but it will also help lower prices and favor consumers, who will be able to enjoy this franchise for a small monthly subscription.
Those who speak against the purchase operation say that it could be used by Microsoft to dominate the gaming sector, something that it already does with the sector of operating systems for PCs. Arguments have also been seen that say that this operation could pave the way for the purchase of other big players in the sector, such as EA, Ubisoft and Take Two. As expected, there was no shortage of other arguments that Microsoft would take the opportunity to make Call of Duty an exclusive, or to reduce its quality and/or its value on PlayStation. What things, the latter is what Sony has been doing for years with the “first on PlayStation.”
The CMA is still unclear on its decision. You are concerned about the impact that this purchase may have on Sony’s ability to compete in the video game console market, but I think that concern is keeping you from seeing all the good that it could come out of said acquisition, and that Microsoft is even willing to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo Switch.
