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Microsoft takes aim at Sony in response to UK Activision probe (NASDAQ:MSFT)


Activision Presents The Ultimate Fan Experience, Call Of Duty XP 2016

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Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is complaining about the influence of video game console rival Sony (NYSE:SONY) on UK regulators, as published by the country’s competition watchdog the full text of its decision to give a exploratory phase 2 of Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition proposal for Call of Duty producer Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI).

That decision was “based on Sony’s self-service statements that are inaccurate, which greatly exaggerate the importance of Call of Duty to it and without taking into account Sony’s apparent ability to respond to competition, “Microsoft speak.

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority simply accepted Sony’s complaints without a “proper” critical assessment, Microsoft said, adding that Sony’s PlayStation was more dominant. 20 years and it’s unbelievable that that dominance will be challenged by losing access to a title.

(That title, however, is a perennial bestseller with an annual holiday release. Call of Duty (ATVI) became the most successful video game franchise in the United States after selling hundreds of millions of copies; and the best selling game of 2021 is Call of Duty: Vanguard, right before the 2020 release Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.)

“After reviewing a wide range of evidence, the CMA believes that Merger meets the reference threshold for a phase 2 in-depth investigation, leading to a realistic prospect of significantly reducing competition in gaming consoles.” , multi-game subscription services, and game cloud services,” the CMA concluded in its decision.

Videogaming is the UK’s biggest revenue-generating form of entertainment, the CMA says – bigger than pay TV, home video/streaming, cinema, music or books – and the combination Microsoft with Activision Blizzard is a “game-changing merger” that also encapsulates World of Warcraft and Candy Crush Saga.

“The CMA is concerned that having full control of this powerful category, especially given that Microsoft already has a strong position in gaming consoles, operating systems and cloud infrastructure, could make Microsoft harm consumers by undermining the ability of Sony – Microsoft’s closest gaming rival – to compete as well as to compete with other existing competitors and potential new entrants who have can bring about healthy competition through subscriptions to many innovative games and cloud gaming services,” the watchdog said.

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