3 posts were merged into an existing topic: XboxEra Community Hangout |OT10| Insert Catchy Quip Here
Ted talk wall of text, click if you dare!
Ok just for a minute letâs just agree with CMA/FTC/EC that this deal has the potential to close foreclose PlayStation/Sony and Call of Duty going exclusive will be the catalyst for this to happen.
We have the foundation set, now as a regulator how could that be fixed, it could be fixed by blocking the deal or making the scenario of Call of Duty leaving the system not a possible scenario for a long time period or even forever.
Call of Duty the main culprit of Sonys foreclosure, but how can it foreclose Sony if Microsoft agrees to keep it on the platform in the exact same manner it is now minus marketing. If Microsoft offers the remedy of Call of Duty staying as is on the platform for 10 years with maybe an extension for a further 10 years then it is almost impossible for Microsoft to foreclose Sony with Call of Duty.
If Call of Duty is as is then how could Microsoft possibly use it to foreclose Sony as the status would be as is now. Sony cannot try and used marketing as a reason that could cause foreclosure, as that is silly because both companies have been on the receiving end and both are here today. (This honestly feels like Microsoft is PS3 era Sony who are building up and next gen Xbox is going to be much better)
Letâs say the regulators are so scared of Call of Duty being exclusive that even that is not enough, I would think Microsoft takes this deal so seriously that they will sign a remedy package that makes Call of Duty on all platforms forever within reason of course and the only reason why I think Microsoft would accept that is because they are probably going to do it anyway.
So at the end of the day I think Microsoft had actually pushed for this Call of Duty talk just as much as Sony because it is the thing Microsoft wants everyone to focus on because getting Sony to say things like they did and then Microsoft doing 10 year deals was probably part of the plan. Saying all the things about the game saying itâs so important and so on coming from Sony makes the Microsoft remedies look like wonderful fixes because if Sony is only worried about it being on their console that deal fixes that completely.
I think Azure, Windows and the other things were added by Sony and Google because Sony realised what Microsoft was doing and had to push another narrative to try and get multiple vectors for Microsoft to defend from and thatâs how the GeForce Now deal become to be which again blocks off the same sort of argument Sony has for console.
In summery I think the remedies are probably going to be enough because if you look at the issues, Microsoft agreeing to place it everywhere on all competitors platforms and services it really knocks down every single one of the concerns. I think whatâs really happening is there probably was no way the deal would just fly through phase 1 and all of this was always going to happen.
Thanks for coming to my Ted talk and no matter how the deal goes blocked or passed Xbox be fine, they will just go at it in a different way.
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Iâm not your buddy, bro.
And I donât know why youâre replying to me. Go back and read what I said slowly. Thereâs nothing wrong, in general with the concept. There absolutely can be a problem with how they come about though. And Sony being unwilling to share that info should be a big red flag for everyone.
No, hereâs the data from Statista: âFirst released in November 2005 as a successor to the original Xbox, the Xbox 360 is a video game console produced by Microsoft. As of July 2022, it had sold 85.8 million units across the world, including over 47 million units in North America.â
More than half of the sales cames fro North America, and I wouldnât be surprised a lot of those are double sales due to the RROD to be honest.
Outisde of NA, while they didnât do to bad, they were definitely not as strong. PS3 did do 87.41 million units though, releasing 1 year late and at a much higher MSRPâŚ
PS3 versus Xbox 360 is entirely irrelevant to this acquisition.
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So many off-topic discussions people⌠read the name of the thread and keep the personal back and forth to DMs.
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I think PlayStation fans are more likely to give up playing COD than switch to Xbox.
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Exactly what Microsoft wants everyone to think. But it ainât so. Its less about stealing PS5 owners and more about CoD becoming bigger without them. Between gamepass and the cloud, you could ditch the Playstation version and still be bigger.
Either way, even 10% of Playstation gamers total leaving Playstation for Xbox would not be a significant lessening of competition. Theres no chance that even CAT would agree with their SLC being the undisputed market leader losing less than 5% of its gamers. Thats literally what you want lol.
I have stood by cloud gaming being their only valid SLC and primary concern.
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Exactly
It doesnât matter which poll you use, both numbers are far too low to be considered significant
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On no! Sony would only have a 70-75% marketshare in the high-performance console market in the UK. How will they survive? 
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You want a balanced market with multiple relevant participants, but Iâm not sure limiting consumer choice by offering COD on just one platform, thus forcing devoted COD to purchase that platform (even if they consider a competing platform as better otherwise) is âwhat you wantâ.
Still:
- the most likely outcome of the acquisition is that COD remains a multiplatform property in perpetuity
- if not then COD will have an increased presence on more platforms for the next 10 years before going exclusive to Microsoftâs ecosystem. Other market participants and COD players are being given ample time to prepare for this scenario
This, I also disagree with. Cloud gaming market is a nonexistent market and weâve had failed attempts to make it happen for a decade at this point (OnLive, Gaikai, Playstation Now, Stadia, Luna). Actively throttling efforts of the only company trying to create a service that would meet consumersâ needs and expectations is not what regulators should be doing.
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I dont really think we disagree much on that. While I state that it is a valid SLC, I dont mean that I agree with their market definitions or regulation of nascent markets. I merely believe that as they defines it that Xbox is significantly advantaged and competition disadvantaged in said market. Thats in contrast to their insane opinion that a 4% switching rate in console is an SLC.
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Some are saying MS brought this survey to take to CAT, but they would only go to CAT if the CMA blocked correct? Fosspatents on Twitter believes the CMA will approve. If it did go to CAT then wouldnât it just go back to the CMA even if the CMA arguments are faulty and overturned? Whatâs to stop the CMA from just coming up with another bad argument?
They havnât brought it to CAT, that would only be done if the CMA block it and if MS dont want to drop it
What iâve seen people say is that this will be something MS will use with the CAT if it goes that far, as it shows the CMAâs dumbassery
You should read what OBM already wrote as it gives better details abou CAT/CMA :
I wonder why Facebook didnât fight to save their Giphy deal?
Maybe they realized it wasnât a good acquisition. 
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It also sounds like there is misinformation about the CMA but I wonder why more companies donât fight it,