Sony Still Worried Microsoft Could Release Worse Version of Call of Duty on PlayStation

by
William D’Angelo
, posted 57 minutes ago / 419 Views

Sony Interactive Entertainment in its response to the UK regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Addendum dropping concerns that the Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition won’t significantly lessen competition in the video game console market in the UK is still worried Microsoft could still release a worse version of Call of Duty on PlayStation consoles than Xbox consoles.

“Today, Activision goes to great lengths to promote console competition by releasing an equally high-quality Call of Duty game on PlayStation and Xbox while making use of their somewhat different technical capabilities,” reads the response from Sony Interactive Entertainment.

“Post-Transaction, Microsoft would have different incentives because degrading the experience on PlayStation would benefit Xbox, PlayStation’s ‘closest rival.’ Microsoft would have no incentive to make use of the advanced features in PlayStation not found in Xbox. Yet the Addendum claims that Microsoft would not have the ability to engage in partial foreclosure. It does so despite its recognition that Call of Duty is critically important for console competition and that fully withholding Call of Duty would foreclose PlayStation.

“The Addendum’s implication is that Microsoft could degrade Call of Duty on PlayStation (including simply by not making it as good as it could be), raise its price, release the game at a later date, or make it available only on Game Pass without harming competition between PlayStation and Xbox.

“This finding is unsubstantiated and inconsistent with the evidence. It appears to be based on speculation that the ‘deterioration’ in Call of Duty would be ‘modest’ and, as a result, that the CMA ‘would expect only a fraction of gamers would switch to Xbox.’ Yet it is difficult to conceive of an industry where consumers are more attuned to quality and where quality affects purchasing decisions.

“Call of Duty gamers are passionate, knowledgeable, and sophisticated. Gamers engage with each title in the franchise immediately after its release, are keenly aware of a game’s price, quality, and features, and regularly compare the quality, performance, and features of their favourite games across PlayStation and Xbox.”

Sony stated that within a week of release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II that analyst group Digital Foundry released a comparison of the game between PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, while VG Tech compared the frame rates of the game on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Sony says ” these types of comparisons are highly influential.”

Sony added “Conversations in forums, chatrooms and public gaming sessions confirm that gamers are
very conscious of the slightest changes in a game’s performance.”

A life-long and avid gamer, William D’Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.

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