Who has got to read the answer of Microsoft to the document of the CMA (the body English antitrust) that kicked off Phase 2 of the Activision Blizzard acquisition evaluation process, defined it simply brutal in noting some nonsense, such as the fact that Sony is cited 57 times, compared to 10 times in which consumers are cited.
This is obviously a jarring situation, because it almost seems that the document was drafted for please Sony and reiterate his point of view on the matter, rather than to motivate further investigations on the deal, to protect consumers.
The first problem with the CMA document would be that it cited only the Xbox data, without comparing it with others. By only taking into account franchise numbers like Halo, Forza, and Gears, Xbox has been made to appear stronger on the market than it actually is.
Other issues, such as the questionability of the attractiveness of the COD series to Xbox players and the force majeure over other franchises, such as GTA, Fortnite, NBA 2K, Minecraft, Rocket League and FIFA, have been put on the scales and challenged. However, it is very interesting that Microsoft has denied the CMA’s assertion on the existence of documents that would demonstrate the will to steal the Call of Duty franchise to PlayStation, essentially accusing the British body of having told a falsehood.
Indeed, if these documents did not exist, it would be a big hit for the CMA. Microsoft’s response continues with veiled accusations against Sony of having falsified some data, to get to denounce the prejudice in favor of the Japanese company. Here check the number of times Sony is mentioned in the CMA document, which as already mentioned is enormous compared to that of consumer citations. In fact, one wonders who is trying to protect the entity at this point, since it seems to have fully embraced the point of view of only one company.
However, we will see if Microsoft’s response will prove effective or if the British antitrust will continue on its way.
