The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) of the UK is concerned by Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. While the announcement of the purchase was made in January, the deal hasn't been allowed to finalize, as various regulators voice their objections and worries about monopolization in the gaming industry. Currently, the CMA rejected the Microsoft-Activision buyout, and the process has progressed to a "second phase" of investigation. While this is ongoing, Microsoft is defending its decision by making a claim that PlayStation would not be put at risk by the purchase.

The CMA is concerned that having full control over this powerful catalogue, especially in light of Microsoft's already strong position in gaming consoles, operating systems, and cloud infrastructure, could result in Microsoft harming consumers by impairing Sony's – Microsoft's closest gaming rival – ability to compete as well as that of other existing rivals and potential new entrants who could otherwise bring healthy competition through innovative multi-game subscriptions and cloud gaming services.

The CMA believes that PlayStation would be put "at risk" by Microsoft owning the Call of Duty, Overwatch, and Crash Bandicoot publisher, but Microsoft says otherwise, to the point of stating that even if every single Call of Duty player on PlayStation consoles "defected" to the Xbox platform, PlayStation's userbase would still be "significantly" larger. However, Microsoft did not share any proof of its claim, but simply said that PlayStation has a 150-million-strong player base, while Xbox has an install base of about 64 million. They also mentioned that PlayStation has a definitive stranglehold on the market, because they have the ability to raise prices on their hardware, while still remaining competitive with Xbox.

Despite Microsoft's claims that they won't make Call of Duty, or any of Activision's franchises Xbox exclusives, at least for the time being, the CMA says that there's no evidence that Microsoft wouldn't backpedal on that decision, and that they have a history of doing that exact thing in the past. For now, the investigation will continue until its final report, which will take place in March 2023.

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[MikaDubbz]

While that may be true, I think it's important to recognize that's also affected by chip shortages and heavy demand for PS5 especially - it is much easier to get a Series X than a PS5.
That, and the fact that many people are still on last-gen- where PS4 has sold more than double Xbox One.

Oh I know, I was factoring in chip shortages into my view here. You just see an overall greater interest in the Series X than the Xbone ever saw. Microsoft seems to genuinely be making up some lost ground here. Of course they kinda had to cheat and buy up some major devs to help get them here, but keep doing what they're doing and by the time this gen is over I wouldn't be shocked if the numbers between the Series X and PS5 are similar.

 

[YoureALoser]

I'm curious what the numbers are this gen, because it feels like it's a much closer race between the Series X and the PS5 than it was between the Xbone and PS4.

It is only a closer race at the moment because of shortages. Sony will beat Microsoft like they always do because Microsoft consoles have no exclusives what so ever.

 

[MikaDubbz]

It is only a closer race at the moment because of shortages. Sony will beat Microsoft like they always do because Microsoft consoles have no exclusives what so ever.

See my other post right above this one, I'm factoring in shortages and still recognizing an overall greater interest in the Series X than the Xbone ever saw.

 

[CeeDee]

Oh I know, I was factoring in chip shortages into my view here. You just see an overall greater interest in the Series X than the Xbone ever saw. Microsoft seems to genuinely be making up some lost ground here. Of course they kinda had to cheat and buy up some major devs to help get them here, but keep doing what they're doing and by the time this gen is over I wouldn't be shocked if the numbers between the Series X and PS5 are similar.

Oh no doubt they're doing tons better than Xbone ever did.
I think Game Pass is probably biggest draw for them at the moment, given I don't think Bethesda's even released an Xbox exclusive yet. Game Pass is a damn solid deal honestly.

 

[Lazyboss]

Who the hell cares about CoD seriously.

 

[nikeymikey]

While that may be true, I think it's important to recognize that's also affected by chip shortages and heavy demand for PS5 especially - it is much easier to get a Series X than a PS5.
That, and the fact that many people are still on last-gen- where PS4 has sold more than double Xbox One.

I managed to get both consoles at my first attempt, no drama whatsoever. Had both for about a year now but still haven't opened the PS5 yet... Too many exclusives I don't want to play

Oh I've seen how people are willing to defend Sony every chance they have. I will not be surprised. Disappointed for sure, but that would have been expected, as I still hold some little hope that people aren't such fans of a brand they just can't imagine buying something else even if it's doing the same thing but better

The force is strong with the Sony fanboys, they will defend every Sony decision good or bad and they will always buy a PlayStation even if it was released as an actual turd with a PS logo on it.

It is only a closer race at the moment because of shortages. Sony will beat Microsoft like they always do because Microsoft consoles have no exclusives what so ever.

Isn't the fact the MS may make some Activision Blizzard games exclusive kinda the whole point of Sony's argument??
Btw your comment makes you sound ever so much like a Sony fanboy.... Just saying....

 

[CeeDee]

I managed to get both consoles at my first attempt, no drama whatsoever. Had both for about a year now but still haven't opened the PS5 yet... Too many exclusives I don't want to play

I'll take it off your hands free of charge!

 

[Maq47]

I always find this posts hilarious.

When a console is gaining the upper hand that generation, its always because of the blind follower and fanbase...

Lets check with nintendo up until snes, nintendo was undefeated everyone complained about them saying they were only selling more due to fanbase, they controlled everything and whatnot. then came the n64/gc and no one said anything again they ere loosing so they couldnt pull the fanbase card to diss them, then came the wii selling alot and people complained again bout nintendo sheeps and whatnot, came the wiiu and it was a flop no one said anything about the loyal fanbase(because if it was true they wouldnt ever had a flopped console...)...Now there is the switch and its a sucess again and again nintendo only sells because of fanbase and blind sheep again...


See the trend? i see it same for Sony
They were undefeated on ps1,ps2. the ps3 took a long time to get started and everyone was saying shit to Sony and xbox360 was king for most of the generation. then came ps4 and Sony took over the throne again, of course Sony became "toxic" and fanbase followers were the only reason it was gaining momentum.


Serious this is a cycle when everyone complains over who is winning because they couldn't possibly be winning because of any other facts except rabid and toxic fanbases...

this apply s to anything not just the video game industry, every single time, if a company is on top they are the "evil" ones...

PC Master Race FTW!

...

Anyway, I'm one of those people who only plays games they enjoy, regardless of the console they are sold on. I could care less about any particular 'faction', For example, although Nintendo consoles give me a nostalgia boost, I have softmodded almost all possible easily softmoddable consoles before (except PS3 and Vita, although I would love to mod one of those), be it 3DS, Wii, Wii U, Switch, OG Xbox, XBOX 360, or PSP. I used the hotswap method to unlock OG XBOX HDDs and softmod them, and I was pretty good at it, too! Those were the first consoles I ever softmodded as well. I then softmodded my first PSP, then my Wii. I was soon able to mod 3DS, and then I magically found a 360 on an ANCIENT dashboard, so I used a save game exploit to mod it, but I merely decked it out and sold it for a ridiculous amount online, since finding a 360 on an old dashboard is a gaming gem, and I didn't want to risk a RROD and losing something so valuable. Then Haxchi came out, so I bought a Wii U to mod it, although that took me a year, and Mocha was released by the time I installed CFW on it, so I decided to use it instead of a plain IOSU exploit. The most recent never-modded-before console I've done is my first Switch, but that got broken, and I've been unable to get another one with a low serial number since.
As you can see, I've played on so many different consoles, and I really don't affiliate myself with the 'console wars' that are constantly going on. I just merely play what I enjoy, and don't worry about what other people think.

 

[HarveyHouston]

I think Microsoft is just eager to get Activision. While the Redmond company's statement may be true, the CMA is not entirely wrong in their thinking, either.

 

[Bluer]

the fact this legal debate has literally come down to "but Sony needs COD!" is ridiculous.

I know, right? It looks like Sony is not interested in the integrity of the console market and healthy competition, they just need that sweet, sweet CoD money and exclusivity deals. After the enormous Microsoft's flop with the Xbox One launch, they've dominated the market with the PS4. Now the times have changed and Sony has issues with the PS5 availability, price hikes and other stupid decisions. However Xbox gains new customers due to Game Pass and such. So losing an infinite cash cow (and other titles which they don't care about) is another bad situation for Sony and they will try to block the acquisition with everything they can.

 

[Giga_Gaia]

Sony needs to go kick rocks! How long have they been blocking Final Fantasy VII Remake from coming to Xbox now?

They probably haven't for a long time. The fact that people on Xbox side can't seem to accept is that Square-Enix just won't do it because it wouldn't make them enough money for them to care. It's pretty obvious they don't care.

 

[_47iscool]

Microsoft is the new EA. Not that I care about COD either.

Not much different from Disney buying up IP like Star Wars and ruining it.
But that fault also lies on Lucas. What a sellout.

 

[RedColoredStars]

The force is strong with the Sony fanboys, they will defend every Sony decision good or bad and they will always buy a PlayStation even if it was released as an actual turd with a PS logo on it.

Btw your comment makes you sound ever so much like a Sony fanboy.... Just saying....

The force is strong with the MS fanboys, they will defend every MS decision good or bad and they will always buy an Xbox even if it was released as an actual turd with a Xbox logo on it.

Btw your comments make you sound ever so much like a MS fanboy.... Just saying....

 

[subcon959]

Oh I know, I was factoring in chip shortages into my view here. You just see an overall greater interest in the Series X than the Xbone ever saw. Microsoft seems to genuinely be making up some lost ground here. Of course they kinda had to cheat and buy up some major devs to help get them here, but keep doing what they're doing and by the time this gen is over I wouldn't be shocked if the numbers between the Series X and PS5 are similar.

The shortages were an issue early on, but in the UK the PS5 has now outsold both the Xbox consoles and even the Switch in 2022. It'll be interesting to see what happens over the coming year and if the gap closes or widens.

 

[Viri]

This shit is getting sad on all sides. lol

 

[tech3475]

The shortages were an issue early on, but in the UK the PS5 has now outsold both the Xbox consoles and even the Switch in 2022. It'll be interesting to see what happens over the coming year and if the gap closes or widens.

Speaking anecdotally, the issue is that right now they still operate on batches and it's also a popular console. Sometimes we go for months at work without stock, but then we get a load in and they're literally on a shelf with people looking and ignoring them.

So there are still shortages but it's not impossible, just more difficult than you'd expect by now.

The Series X for a long time was actually harder to get hold of, although we've had a better stream of stock recently.

 

[guisadop]

I do hope CoD goes XBOX/PC only, sony needs to get some creativity and stop investing in gray tps

 

[LeyendaV]

Back in the PS3 days we already used to joke how a PS is a console you only buy or trash like FIFA and CoD. Interesting how Sony managed to came out with the fact that we, without knowing, weren't joking at all.

 

[squeakycleanswine]

Do people still play cod? Wasn't aware

 

[dragonblood9999]

Honestly I'm happy with my ps5 and sometimes I think about getting a series x, but then I remember they don't have any games I want to play. I mean I might get one if they release a good Fable for the system but rn I'm fine without one.