The rivalry between Sony and Microsoft continues. At the heart of the discord this time, the takeover of Activision-Blizzard, the potential exclusivity of Call of Duty and especially the Xbox Game Pass.
Sony’s statements obviously did not please Microsoft. A few days ago, a report from a Brazilian regulator revealed what the parent company of PlayStation thought of the takeover of Activision-Blizzard by Xbox. Today, the Redmond firm brought its right of reply and it is scathing.
Microsoft strikes back
The rag is burning again between Sony and Microsoft. While PlayStation trembles at the thought of losing one of its golden egg hens, Xbox tempers its fears. The Administrative Council for Economic Defense of Brazil (CADE) recently made public the arguments of the various market players as part of its investigation. We learned that only Sony openly opposed this takeover, Microsoft wanted to defend its cause. As a reminder, Sony had insinuated that obtaining strong licenses from Activision-Blizzard would allow Microsoft to establish unattainable leadership in the subscription services sector.
The Redmond firm counterattacks and reminds the Japanese giant that it has a head start on them with 48 million PlayStation Plus subscribers, against 25 million Xbox Game Pass subscribers last January. ” Sony already offers a subscription service, PS Plus, which it was able to grow thanks to its existing user base, the size of the PlayStation platform and its exclusive content. In fact, Sony has overtaken Microsoft in terms of console sales and installed base. »
Sony tries to block Xbox Game Pass
For the green mark, Sony doesn’t want to resort to having to compete with Microsoft’s subscription service. It doesn’t want attractive subscription services to threaten its dominance in the digital console game distribution market. In other words, Sony is railing against the introduction of new monetization models that could challenge its business model that has centered on console sales and exclusives for years. “, firmly explain the lawyers of Microsoft.
The Redmond company also believes that Sony’s point of view is hypocritical and inconsistent. According to her, the Japanese company is worried about the exclusivity of Call of Duty when precisely the excluded were at the heart of its strategy to strengthen its presence in the industry. Result Sony is today the leader in the sale of digital games and content and Microsoft considers that its rival is not afraid of not being able to be competitive against Call of and its arrival on the Xbox Game Pass, but simply of losing its market leadership.
Further still, Microsoft accuses Sony of having taken anti-Game Pass measures in recent years to block development ” an innovative business model that delivers high-quality content at low cost to gamers “. ” Indeed, Microsoft’s ability to continue Game Pass expansion has been hampered by Sony’s desire to block that growth. Sony pays “blocking fees” to prevent developers from adding content to Xbox Game Pass and other competing subscription services “, can we read in the documents. Remember that this was indeed the case for Resident Evil Village for example. In any case, Sony should not look favorably on the arrival of a new, even more advantageous Xbox Game Pass subscription.