Industry
Sony admits "Game Pass is far ahead of PlayStation Plus"
Sony continues to admit weaknesses that make Microsoft look too dominant to consent to in order to slow down the acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
The CMA (Competition and Markets Authority), the organization that regulates the UK market and monitors the practice of competitive activities, has published the response of up to nine different developers to its initial findings on Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard. And among them is Sony. The remarks of the Japanese company are once again embarrassing, and in order to stop the process, Sony is capable of throwing stones on its own roof with statements such as the following: "When it comes to MGS (multi-game subscription services), it is beyond doubt that Game Pass is far ahead of PlayStation Plus."
With this statement, Sony is trying to admit its mistakes, show some weakness in certain areas, and thus undermine Microsoft's claims that the Japanese are the ones who really dominate the market and prevent it from being competitive. But the plot goes even further, suggesting that if the company buys Activision Blizzard, its great rival could take revenge in the following ways:
- Raising the price of Call of Duty on PlayStation
- Degrading the quality and performance of Call of Duty on PlayStation compared to Xbox
- Restricting, degrading or no prioritising investment in the multiplayer experience on PlayStation; or
- Making Call of Duty available on multi-game subscription services (“MGS”) only on Game pass or providing Call of Duty on PlayStation plus at commercially unviable price, thereby making it de facto exclusive.
We'll see how it all turns out, but the agreement between Microsoft and Sony looks very complicated. Both companies are already in a period where beyond showing new strategies on how they could improve and grow in the industry, they have only shown their weaknesses as if this is the only strategy they can show.
A few days ago we reported that Jim Ryan, Sony's CEO, said the following in one of the last meetings between the two companies: "I don't want a new Call of Duty deal. I just want to block your merger.” Is there a resolution to something like that?
Source | CMA