Microsoft Just Threw Sony Under The Bus Over Activision Blizzard Lawsuit
Earlier this year, Microsoft announced that it would be purchasing Activision Blizzard and had the internet going wild. Sony, while playing it cool at the beginning, quickly felt the impact of the news as its stock immediately dipped down. The competitor hasn't taken legal action against Microsoft, but PlayStation has shown its concerns over the future of Activision Blizzard-owned games and argued that the merger would be unfair. Legal teams are investigating the problem worldwide, and now Microsoft is hitting back, arguing that Sony's exclusive content is not different from what it could do with Activision Blizzard.
Twitter user @KoreaXboxnews shared Microsoft's response to the CMA and highlighted one specific part that discusses other industry exclusives. Part of the reason why some are so against Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard is because of the potential exclusives, like "Call of Duty." Microsoft addressed this issue by pointing out massive exclusive titles for Sony and Nintendo, like "Mario" and "God of War."
However, things went a bit further, as Xbox called out Sony for creating agreements with third-party developers to exclude Xbox from game releases, including "Bloodborne" and the "Final Fantasy 7" remake. The agreement simply said that these things were console exclusives and didn't interpret what that meant for Xbox-exclusive content, but it seemed like the situation highlighted a problem that already exists around the industry.
Fans were on the fence
Following Microsoft's pointed words, fans were split about how to feel about the situation. Some called Sony hypocrites and shady for not wanting the deal to go through while hoarding third-party titles for itself. Interestingly, Twitter user @LozCorp pointed to these deals and argued that this had major impacts on Xbox in the past as the system struggled with accessible titles. Now, with Game Pass and multiple acquisitions, this problem is arguably developing on the other side at Microsoft.
Many weren't convinced by Microsoft's argument for several reasons. Fans explained that the sales numbers for the third-party exclusive titles didn't come near the numbers of "Call of Duty" games, which is just one of the franchises that Microsoft could make exclusive. There was also some argument that several of the titles mentioned — like the "Final Fantasy 7" remake and "Silent Hill" remaster — are supposed to be timed exclusives, which means that Xbox players will see the games eventually.
Still, Microsoft had no qualms pointing out how Sony is hoarding exclusives in ways that don't include the acquisition of a developer. With the fight for exclusives going strong, many fans wondered when it would finally be over, a time when people could play whatever games they wanted on whatever platform they wanted.