You will have noticed that regulators around the world are currently trying to figure out whether or not to block the acquisition of Activision-Blizzard by Microsoft. The FTC in the United States seems to be in favor of such a block, but all eyes are now on European and British bodies, which had raised some concerns about such an operation. A few months ago, the CMA (Competition and Markets Authority), the British body in charge of the case, decided to ask the public for their opinion on this subject and the first results have been published.
The British people have delivered their verdict
The CMA has posted an initial public opinion report on the Activision-Blizzard case online after receiving more than 2,600 emails. Once all these messages had been peeled off one by one, only 2,100 emails were finally taken into account, the other 500 not being admissible due to insults.incomprehensible remarks or of foreign origin (while only the British people were authorized to answer).
Of these 2,100 emails, the CMA indicates that approximately 75% of the public consider themselves in favor of the acquisition of Activision-Blizzard. The CMA failed to identify any real valid views in the responses that were against the operation.
The organization stresses that the points put forward by the respondents who approve of this takeover are first of all the fact that Microsoft is in a weak position against Sony or Nintendo on the video game market, but also the fact that Microsoft s is publicly committed to not making certain games exclusive, such as call of duty. This is where we measure the extent to which the small and large public declarations of Phil Spencer and his teams were not only intended to reverse the opinion of regulators, but also to obtain public approval.
Moreover, according to the public surveyed, such an acquisition is a response to the model operated by PlayStation which has many exclusives. It is specified that if the takeover were to be effective, this would perhaps push Sony to have to innovatewhich would therefore be a good thing for the public.
It remains to be seen whether the opinion of the public will have any weight in the position of the CMA, or whether the FTC will serve as an example.