Now Call of Duty is just a pretext for the fight between PlayStation and Xbox for control of the Activision brand, given the tones reached by Sony’s latest statement.
The possibility that the shooter saga could become an exclusive Xbox Game Pass, to which you can subscribe via Amazon, was the pivot of the fight between the two giants.
Everything obviously stems from the massive acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Xbox, which is being examined by all international supervisory bodies.
And within hours of news that Sony would refuse a ten-year contract offered from Xbox, new attacks emerge from the Japanese house.
In fact, a 22-page document has emerged in these hours (you can consult it in its entirety at this address), in which Sony exposes all its concerns to the regulatory bodies on the Xbox-Activision Blizzard acquisition.
Even if “perplexity” in some situations is a pale understatement since, as VGC, in some passages there are real direct attacks.
Sony points out that a “significant number” of PlayStation users could switch to Xbox platforms, due to the titles that will become exclusive, adding:
“Faced with weaker competition, Microsoft would be able to: Raise the prices of consoles and games for Xbox users (including those who have switched from PlayStation); increase the price of the Game Pass; and reduce innovation and quality.”
A real trial of intentions by Sony, which has already operated on the subject of price increases by increasing the list price of PlayStation 5.
And, as if that weren’t enough, there is another passage (reported by VGC) in which Sony launches into a bold prediction and a comparison with Nintendo:
“Microsoft says Nintendo’s differentiated model demonstrates that PlayStation doesn’t need Call of Duty to compete effectively. But this reveals the real strategy. […] Microsoft wants PlayStation to become like Nintendo, so that it is a less close and effective competitor to Xbox. After the transaction, Xbox would become the one-stop shop for all of the best-selling shooter franchises on consoles (Call of Duty, Halo, Gears of War, +Doom, Overwatch).”
It is now truly open warfare between Sony and Microsoft, in a confrontation between the PlayStation and Xbox brands that transcends the question of acquisition.
Xbox and PlayStation will have to find a definitive solution to the matter, while Spencer continues to say that he will make a long-term commitment.
