The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

The regulators determined: the gamers are in favor of Microsoft's giant deal - voila! The gaming channel

2022-12-22T14:12:13.940Z


A survey published by the UK Competition Authority asked players what they thought of the Activision-Blizzard acquisition. About 75% responded positively. The reasons for and against are before you


During the last months, the acquisition of Activision-Blizzard-King by Microsoft is being examined by the regulatory bodies around the world.

At a time when countries such as Saudi Arabia, Brazil and Serbia had already given their approval, the Markets and Competition Authority in Great Britain entered into more in-depth testing stages in order to examine whether the approval of the purchase might harm competition in the industry.



One of the steps that the competition authority decided to take was to publish an open survey addressed to consumers, asking what they thought about the union between Microsoft and Activision-Blizzard-King.

During the two weeks, the users responded and the results were unequivocal: the majority of respondents were in favor of approving the purchase.

Of the 2,100 people who answered the survey,

about 75% of them answered that they were interested in the union being approved

.

The report also noted the various claims that the users provided.

Click here to read the original document>>>

microsoft atcivision-blizzard (photo: official website, Microsoft)

The arguments in favor of the approval of the purchase

Some users argued that Sony and Nintendo are doing better than Microsoft in the console market, and the merger would help it compete against them.

They also claimed that Microsoft has publicly pledged not to make Call of Duty exclusive to consoles, and as proof you can see Minecraft, which is still available on Sony's consoles, despite being owned by Microsoft.

So exclusivity is not Microsoft's way.



It is also argued that since Call of Duty is a cross-platform multiplayer game, making it exclusive to Xbox consoles will only create a void in the industry, which competitors (like Sony) will be able to exploit to develop their own exclusive game.

Microsoft wanted Voice of Duty to maintain its place in the industry.

The players also argued that approving the purchase would push Sony to further improve its subscription model, and perhaps even develop its own Call of Duty competitor - a move that encourages real competition.



Another claim was that this purchase is Microsoft's response to Sony, which is known to grant temporary exclusivity on the PlayStation to brands such as Final Fantasy or Silent Hill, and arrive late to the other competitors.

Another interesting point is that adding Call of Duty to Microsoft's Game Pass service will actually lower costs for players who want to play it, rather than paying full price for it.



The players argued that Microsoft would not make more Activision titles exclusive because then it would lose profits that could come to it from players who purchase the games in the digital stores through PlayStation.

If Microsoft raises the prices of the Game Pass service, players will still be able to purchase each game individually at full price.



The players also think that the corporate culture and management at Microsoft will only benefit Activision-Blizzard, which is known for scandals and scandals within the company itself, and not only in its games recently.

According to them, the union will lead to a wider financing of games by the company, and the leadership at Microsoft will be able to help them develop new games and brands.

The latest arguments that have come up are that the approval of the purchase will allow Microsoft to open their own mobile store and compete with Apple and Google - which are currently considered the leaders in the market.

Microsoft has pledged several times that it will not make Call of Duty exclusive to Xbox (photo: official website, Activision)

The claims against the purchase approval

Later in the report, it was also possible to find the arguments against the acquisition: the first argument was that Microsoft already has maximum control over the PC operating system market, and this merger will allow it to gain similar control over the gaming market. Another reason was that Microsoft has the necessary resources to create its own exclusive games and brands without acquiring Activision-Blizzard.



This is the largest acquisition in the gaming industry, and its approval could pave the way for acquisitions by other giant distributors such as EA, Take-Two, and Ubisoft. The respondents claimed that Microsoft would make Call of Duty exclusive to Xbox, Just like it did with Bethesda, it will create a situation where people are forced to buy a second console, and end up switching to the competing console.



It is also claimed that after the merger, Microsoft will be able to dilute the content that PlayStation players will receive.

This is another step that will drag the players towards the competitor.

Microsoft will also be able to dominate the market for game subscription services because it will be able to upload new games to the service even though it will actually suffer losses from the move.



The latest claims that have come up are that Microsoft is already dominant in the cloud technology market, and this union will prevent new competitors from emerging in the future.

This union will also prevent small distributors and new indie developers from emerging and will increase Microsoft's bargaining power against the other major distributors in the market.



In addition to the survey, the Competition Authority in Great Britain took additional steps in order to reach a decision.

She held a round of meetings with all relevant parties in the industry, and after hearing what the average consumer has to say, she will continue her tests in January as well.

The final decision is expected to be made towards the beginning of March 2023, and it will be very significant for Microsoft, as it may stop the entire acquisition.

Gamers have claimed that Bethesda games like Redfall and Starfield will be exclusive to Xbox, and this is a sign of things to come with Call of Duty (photo: official website, Bethesda)

If the UK Competition Authority relies on the survey, it seems that the acquisition is on its way to getting the green light, at least from its side.

The one who decided to toughen positions is the Federal Trade Authority in the US, which recently filed an antitrust lawsuit over the purchase. It was also joined by a group of gamers who decided to sue Microsoft on behalf of them.

  • The gaming channel

  • the magazine

Tags

  • Gaming

  • Activision

  • Blizzard

  • Activision Blizzard

  • XBox

  • Sony

  • PlayStation

Source: walla

All news articles on 2022-12-22

You may like

Life/Entertain 2024-02-07T17:16:04.211Z
Life/Entertain 2024-03-07T19:27:30.646Z
Life/Entertain 2024-03-28T17:17:20.523Z

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.