The official opinions from Sony, Ubisoft, WB, BN, Apple, Riot, Google and more about the Activision Blizzard acquisition

[Gizmo_Duck]

Microsoft buys the publisher to secure content for their subscription service, but still allows the game, content, and marketing to exist as it has been.

@Sony stan’s: “Big bad microsoft fukking up the industry”

Yeah, can’t wait to play Starfield and Redfall on my Sony Playstation™ and Nintendo Switch™.

 

[MeachTheMonster]

Yeah, can’t wait to play Starfield and Redfall on my Sony Playstation™ and Nintendo Switch™.

Games that don’t really sell on playstation anyway.

Ether yourself brehs

You were just talking about COD.

Again. Sony was trying to buy all that.

 

[Gizmo_Duck]

You were just talking about COD.

Change the subject brehs

Again. Sony was trying to buy all that.

We’re literally talking about how sony and microsoft operate.

So far sony hasn’t taken anything off xbox, can’t say the same for microsoft . They will ruin gaming, mark my words

 

[MeachTheMonster]

We’re literally talking about how sony and microsoft operate.

So far sony hasn’t taken anything off xbox, can’t say the same for microsoft . They will ruin gaming, mark my words

Sony stans

 

[Instant Classic]

This is very tricky because on one hand its a lot of revenue to lose if you make COD Xbox/PC. On the other hand, this would be a massive move to gain back market share and get cod and sports game crowd back to xbox. You can't just make a COD overnight and other FPS games can't really topple it. However, If Microsoft I think having games launch on gamepass is huge and they can easily add perks and exclusive content to make some jump into ecosystem. Anyways, it's going to be interesting to see how this plays out because Sony losing COD will heavily damage their bottom line. and gamepass day one is huge.

 

[Gizmo_Duck]

This is very tricky because on one hand its a lot of revenue to lose if you make COD Xbox/PC. On the other hand, this would be a massive move to gain back market share and get cod and sports game crowd back to xbox. You can't just make a COD overnight and other FPS games can't really topple it. However, If Microsoft I think having games launch on gamepass is huge and they can easily add perks and exclusive content to make some jump into ecosystem. Anyways, it's going to be interesting to see how this plays out because Sony losing COD will heavily damage their bottom line. and gamepass day one is huge.

I honestly wouldn’t even be surprised if they don’t put it on gamepass.

People are talking about them taking it off playstation and making it ‘free’ on a service? Do yall have any idea how much revenue Call of Duty generates for activision. There was just a stat released saying that 82% of activision still earnings come from CoD, WoW, and Candy Crush.

Do people really think Microsoft will cut off it’s legs to get, what a 10k subs? Its not happening. They are not gonna touch Call of Duty in its current state outside of taking over marketing once Sonys contract is up in 2025

 

[Instant Classic]

I honestly wouldn’t even be surprised if they don’t put it on gamepass.

People are talking about them taking it off playstation and making it ‘free’ on a service? Do yall have any idea how much revenue Call of Duty generates for activision. There was just a stat released saying that 82% of activision still earnings come from CoD, WoW, and Candy Crush.

Do people really think Microsoft will cut off it’s legs to get, what a 10k subs? Its not happening. They are not gonna touch Call of Duty in its current state outside of taking over marketing once Sonys contract is up in 2025

I think Vanguard which is considered a disappointment shipped 15million copies, and that's not even accounting for digital sales and PC market. Microsoft is in a very interesting spot because they can legit not add to gamepass since it will sell anyways. The other option is they can add it to gamepass to make gamepass have a significant jump in subs.

edit: they can prob make gamepass ultimate exclusive and remove the gold conversion trick

 

[MeachTheMonster]

I honestly wouldn’t even be surprised if they don’t put it on gamepass.

People are talking about them taking it off playstation and making it ‘free’ on a service? Do yall have any idea how much revenue Call of Duty generates for activision. There was just a stat released saying that 82% of activision still earnings come from CoD, WoW, and Candy Crush.

Do people really think Microsoft will cut off it’s legs to get, what a 10k subs? Its not happening. They are not gonna touch Call of Duty in its current state outside of taking over marketing once Sonys contract is up in 2025

Majority of that money comes from in game purchases, dlc, etc.

Even COD has gone FTP recently.

And being on GP doesn’t mean people won’t buy the game.

 

[MeachTheMonster]

I think Vanguard which is considered a disappointment shipped 15million copies, and that's not even accounting for digital sales and PC market. Microsoft is in a very interesting spot because they can legit not add to gamepass since it will sell anyways. The other option is they can add it to gamepass to make gamepass have a significant jump in subs.

edit: they can prob make gamepass ultimate exclusive and remove the gold conversion trick

The money for subs adds up quick. If they were to get all 15 million of those people to buy an xbox and sub to GP for ~6 months, they would be making a lot more money than selling them as they are now.

 

[Gizmo_Duck]

The money for subs adds up quick. If they were to get all 15 million of those people to buy an xbox and sub to GP for ~6 months, they would be making a lot more money than selling them as they are now.

Which is the first issue. So many people only own a console for Call of Duty, almost all my friends only play call of duty exclusively (warzone) or FIFA or 2k. They really dont buy a bunch of games outside of that.

Why would they buy an xbox and pay 180 dollars a year to play a 70 dollar game?


Just had this conversation with one of my boys, just told him to try the Matrix demo before they take if off. This guy will not turn on his console for anything but warzone

 

[NotAnFBIagent]

Didn't read. Their behind the scenes take

 

[MeachTheMonster]

Which is the first issue. So many people only own a console for Call of Duty, almost all my friends only play call of duty exclusively (warzone) or FIFA or 2k. They really dont buy a bunch of games outside of that.

Why would they buy an xbox and pay 180 dollars a year to play a 70 dollar game?

It won’t be the best deal for everyone.

But you are forgetting that XBL gold is included in that price. So you aren’t comparing $70 to $180. It would actually cost more to buy COD and a year online subscription to play it.

Then you start adding in the other games, at least some of them will appeal to everyone.

People may not “buy” many other games, but they will damn sure play them if they come for “free”

Also consider EA games are on there and the value starts looking really good

 

[trap101-ETHout-Allegri-In]

THE ANSWERS

They include lots of redacted info, so I just did a recap of the most interesting bits from the rest of the info:

SONY: They say that from a development/publication perspective, game development typically involves an early stage that is neutral in relation to the platform, before the game is adapted for one or more specific platforms.

They believe that all games compete for engagement of the player. Players choose their gaming platform based on pricing, technical features, and available game types. The available content is the main factor for the player to choose a platform.

They say that there are few barriers to entry in game development and publishing for PC. That only one developer can create an "indie" game and distribute it online, but creating a high-end AAA game (like Activision's Call of Duty) requires a budget of hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands of employees.

They say that apart from Activision there are few developers/publishers capable of producing AAA games, such as EA (FIFA), Take-Two/Rockstar (Grand Theft Auto) and Epic Games (Fortnite). These games tend to be long-running franchises with big budgets, multi-year development cycles and very supportive followers.

Despite all of that, Sony believes that none of these developers could create a franchise to rival Activision's Call of Duty, which stands out as a gaming category on its own. That's why they believe that Call of Duty is so popular that it influences users' choice of console. In fact, their network of loyal users is so ingrained that even if a competitor had the budget to develop a similar product, it would not be able to create a rival.

They talk about the time, money, number of employees, millions of followers, sales and other data points related to Call of Duty to show how it's a very unique franchise that cannot be replaced.

They agree that subscription services compete with games purchased for a one-time fee. But they think that the lowest upfront costs of subscription services could be anti competitive in relation to publishers who recoup the significant investments in games by selling them for an upfront fee. They also think that this could harm consumers by reducing the quality of the games.

They say that over the past five years, Game Pass has grown to capture approximately 60-70% of the global subscription services market (that marketshare is even greater in Brazil, where Game Pass represents approximately 70-80% of the PC subscription services market).

They believe that it would take several years for a competitor – even with substantial investments – to create a rival effective for Game Pass.

Call of Duty represents an important revenue stream for the PlayStation (they provided data but it's redacted), and it is one of SIE's biggest sources of revenue from third parties.

WARNER BROS: Developing and publishing PC and console games may require investment in terms of value, time and resources. However, the existence of several companies that develop and publish games for PCs and consoles demonstrates that such barriers are not high enough to prevent entry – especially by companies that operate in somehow related sectors, such as electronics or software – and/or robust competition. Entering the mobile market has even lower barriers.

They don't have specific comments or concerns at this time regarding the transaction.

In any case, lots of redacted answers in this case.

UBISOFT: For them the PC and Console markets are the same, but mobile is totally different.

There is no justification for a market distinction based on their genres and types. Many games cross genres, and players typically are not limited to a single game genre.

They don't think that ABK has unique games because there is no such a video game title that doesn't have close competition. All publishers and games compete for available playtime, and none title stands alone in its own genre.

Battlefield, PUBG, Apex or Rainbow Six are competitors for COD. Candy Crush has multiple similar games and ESO Online or Blade & Soul are alternatives to WoW.

They talk about Ubisoft+ Classics for PS Plus or how they are also releasing their games on Gamepass, beyond Ubisoft+.

They think that subscription services are a constant trend in the sector and its importance it's growing up. However, at least for the time being, it should not be considered a different market as it is just a different way of accessing the content, which remains available through other channels (eg "buy-to-play").

NUUVEM: They are a digital games store for PC, Mac and Linux from LATAM.

They say that there is an obvious difference between physical distribution and digital. it is increasingly common to have independent games that are only distributed digitally.

Yes, subscription gaming services compete directly with individual sale of games, even though they may not be perceived as a complete replacement. Players who subscribe to these services tend to avoid purchasing games available or that could come to these services (even though lots of games are only available for 1 year).

In Brazil it's easier to enter the PC and mobile markets for someone new, specially in comparison to the console market.

All the games from ABK have close competitors in their categories, like Battlefield, Free Fire, Final Fantasy XIV or Bejeweled.

The ABK games we already removed from their platform 1 year ago.

They understand Gamepass as something positive for consumers right now but that in the future it could generate a lot of concentration and exclusive content not being available on other platforms.

BANDAI NAMCO: PC and Console markets are very similar, but the PC market is almost fully digital, so the separation makes sense. Mobile is very different. They don't think the 3 markets should be grouped.

Every game is unique. The are concurrent competitors to Call of Duty, such as Battlefield, Valorant or Destiny. The same in relation to World of Warcraft.

APPLE: They don't answer almost any question, the ones that have an answer are redacted but they say that they are aware of public statements made by Microsoft and Activision regarding its post-operation plans (keeping some games multiplatform).

They also consider Apple Arcade as a relevant entry into the digital distribution market in the last 5 years.

I don't think they spend more than 1 hour answering the questionnaire xD

RIOT GAMES: PC, console and mobile have to be considered different platforms.

They consider Naughty Dog as a potential competitor to ABK - Microsoft for the creation of AAA games. The thing is that they also mention Sony as an option. :p xD

Call of Duty, WoW and Candy Crush have real competitors, according to them. Battlefield, Apex, Counter Strike, Valorant or Rainbow Six for COD; Cookie Jam or Bejeweled in relation to Candy Crush and Rift, Runescape, FF XIV or TERA in relation to WoW.

They also talk about the collaboration with MS.

In Riot Games' view, subscription game services are part of a market for broader distribution of digital games and consumers are unlikely to perceive them as competitors of games bought individually, but as alternatives that can fit better in the preferences of players who don't mind keeping a digital copy of the game and who are happy with the subscription service game library offers.

They also think that MS will honor the public statements made about keeping multiplatform some franchises.

They don't expect any anticompetitive effect on the market post acquisition.

AMAZON: They say that doesn't have enough information to assess the importance of Microsoft and Activision-Blizzard on game publishing.

In any case, the majority of their answers are redacted. They only say that they have published two games and that Luna is only available so far in US.

GOOGLE: They highlight all their different initiatives (mini games, VR, Play Pass, developing exclusive games for Stadia until 2021, etc).

Alternatives to COD could be Battlefield, Counterstrike or Rainbow Six. Alternatives to WoW would be Lost Ark, ESO Online or Guild Wars 2. And alternatives to Candy Crush would be Puzzle Quest or Bejeweled.

They also highlight other important franchises from ABK such as Overwatch, Diablo or Hearthstone, including possible alternatives (according to Google, Fallout is an alternative to Diablo).

They understand that there will be a significant number of game developers/publishers on the market after the acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft.

META: The only question not redacted is the one where they say that they only offer games through Quest (VR) and Facebook Gaming.

Everything else is redacted. xD

SUMMARY

- Obviously, Sony is the most negative one. They believe that Call of Duty is its own game category and almost irreplaceable. They also consider that Gamepass can harm consumers and traditional publishers.

- The BigTech (Google, Meta, Amazon, and Apple) doesn't seem to care too much about it (at least from the public info). Google is the only one who says that there will still be lots of developers/publishers post transaction.

- The rest of publishers/developers (Warner Bros, Bandai Namco, Ubisoft and Riot Games) seem pretty OK with it: they don't think that the games from ABK are unique, almost all of them list competitors to the big franchises (COD, WoW and Candy Crush) and don't expect any anti competitive effect post transaction.

- Nuuvem offers a unique perspective as a digital games store from LATAM.

- Epic was the usual answer about a distribution market of digital gaming created in the last 5 years.

- I think no one mentions SEGA as a possible creator a AAA games like the ones created by ABK, what I think is weird.

Sounds like Ubisoft is trying to stay neutral as possible so they can get that nice aqcuisition money eventually too...

Ah pero vos hablas el buen español.... el castellano intellectual..eh?....la mia es barabaro, lo aprendi cuando era joven entonces mi abilidad de poner acentuaciones correctas es hecho mierda. Lo unico que hago es adivinar donde tienen que ir... lol

 

[Gizmo_Duck]

It won’t be the best deal for everyone.

But you are forgetting that XBL gold is included in that price. So you aren’t comparing $70 to $180. It would actually cost more to buy COD and a year online subscription to play it.

Then you start adding in the other games, at least some of them will appeal to everyone.

People may not “buy” many other games, but they will damn sure play them if they come for “free”

Also consider EA games are on there and the value starts looking really good

A year of ps plus essential is only 60 dollars, usuallly 40 on sale every year. So at best you’re paying the 70 + 40, which is still a lot cheaper.

And naw a lot of people really don’t even play the ‘free’ games on the service. A lot of casual gamers are not shopping around for what else to play, they literally turn on their system and play the one game everyday. Everyone has casual gamer friends that do this.

 

[MeachTheMonster]

A year of ps plus essential is only 60 dollars, usuallly 40 on sale every year. So at best you’re paying the 70 + 40, which is still a lot cheaper.

If we going with sales you can get GP for $1

And naw a lot of people really don’t even play the ‘free’ games on the service. A lot of casual gamers are not shopping around for what else to play, they literally turn on their system and play the one game everyday. Everyone has casual gamer friends that do this.

That’s fine, as i said people will still consume games how they want to. My point was, for microsoft a GP sub is more valuable than any single or even a couple games sales.