For strategic reasons, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is currently downplaying Microsoft’s gaming division, Xbox. And suddenly, Sony and its PlayStation are becoming very prominent. Ultimately, it all revolves around Call of Duty and billions of US dollars.
This is what the head of Microsoft says: In a statement to Bloomberg, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella discusses the size of Microsoft’s gaming division, Xbox. He states:
“Microsoft is either the number 4 or number 5 in the video game industry. It depends on how you count. Sony, on the other hand, is the ‘number 1 player.'”
Sony has recently “acquired several companies.” Nadella apparently refers to Destiny developer Bungie.
He says:
So when it comes to having competition, let’s have competition.
Microsoft CEO wants to avoid the impression of dominating the market
Why is he downplaying Xbox? There are strategic reasons behind this.
In January, Microsoft made an acquisition offer for the company “Activision Blizzard” for $69 billion.
Such a purchase must be approved by regulatory authorities worldwide. There is a risk that such a gigantic corporation could emerge, creating a monopoly and endangering free competition.
Currently, only Saudi Arabia has given the green light – authorities in the EU and the UK have announced that they will investigate the purchase more closely. They want to find out if the merger “would substantially lessen competition.”
Sony has expressly welcomed this investigation.
Microsoft boss is “very, very confident” that the purchase of Activision will go through
Will the deal go through? If it depends on the CEO of Microsoft, he feels very confident:
“Of course, every purchase of this size is thoroughly investigated, but I feel very, very confident that we will get through this.”
What problem does Sony have? Sony apparently fears that Microsoft could include the Activision brand “Call of Duty” in the Xbox Game Pass at no extra cost or remove the series from Sony’s PlayStation. This would be a significant disadvantage for players, in their view.
That’s why Nadella emphasizes so clearly that Microsoft is so small in gaming and Sony is so big, to underline: Hey, we need the purchase for competition to even exist.
