Through a very long document of 111 pages, Microsoft is trying to explain to the CMA (the UK anti-trust authority) that its gaming division is small compared to PlayStation and Nintendoin order to obtain once and for all the go-ahead for the purchase of Activision-Blizzard for the staggering sum of 68.7 billion dollars.
Redmond’s lawyers and representatives are trying everything they can, such as explaining that PlayStation exclusives are better, downplaying the spending power of Call of Duty players and correcting Xbox Game Pass subscriber estimates downwards. Sifting through the gargantuan document, something else also emerged: on pages 67 and 68, for example, Microsoft tries to explain that gamers tend to stick with their favorite brandsa trend that would hardly be changed by the acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, and that users with more than one console prefer PlayStation.
In section 3.78b, Microsoft writes: “Rival consoles (referring to Nintendo and PlayStation, nda) have built a strong reputation and enjoy a high level of loyalty from their players, as demonstrated by The Best SEO Companies survey. Sony, in particular, has established a loyal player base to its brand. For this reason, large numbers of PlayStation and Nintendo users are unlikely to abandon their trusted platform and switch entirely to Xbox consoles as a result of a hypothetical exclusive strategy involving Activision games.”
In footnote number 251, Microsoft also reports the results of a survey it conducted according to which cross-platform gamers tend to prefer PlayStation consoles. “Generally, gamers with more than one console reported preferring PlayStation to Xbox. More specifically, in response to the question ‘Of the consoles you play on, which is your favorite?’, 60-70% of Xbox and PlayStation gamers said their favorite console is the PlayStation”.
In the survey conducted by Microsoft, PlayStation also wins among users who own three consoles, also beating Nintendo. In this sample, 30-40% say they prefer PS5, 10-20% PS4, 10-20% Xbox Series X, 10-20% Nintendo Switch, 10-20% Nintendo Switch OLED, 0- 10% Xbox One and 0-10% Nintendo Switch Lite.
Microsoft, therefore, is trying in every way to demonstrate that even with Activision-Blizzard on its side it would not be able to move the balance in the console segment. Sony, predictably, is doing the exact opposite.
