Microsoft-Activision game deal will 'damage' PlayStation, Sony executive says - BNN Bloomberg

“I believe this transaction is bad for competition,” said James Ryan, the head of Sony Interactive Entertainment. His pre-recorded video deposition was played Tuesday in San Francisco federal court for a judge who must decide whether to pause the deal while the FTC’s legal challenge to the transaction plays out.

That will lead to “some kind of degraded experience” for PlayStation gamers who play Call of Duty, Ryan said. Microsoft would use the game to “disadvantage” Sony and drive PlayStation gamers to Xbox services like Microsoft’s game-subscription program Game Pass, he added. The case represents a major test for the FTC’s ability to block tech deals in court after the agency lost a challenge to an acquisition by Meta Platforms Inc. earlier this year.

Before Microsoft’s US$7.5 billion purchase of ZeniMax Media Inc. in 2020, Sony hoped ZeniMax role-playing games like the Starfield and the upcoming ElderScrolls 6 would be available on PlayStation, Ryan said. The FTC is presenting Ryan’s testimony, recorded in April this year, to counter Microsoft’s move last week of sharing an email from January last year where Ryan acknowledged in an email that the deal wasn’t “an exclusivity play” to hurt the PlayStation gaming console.

Source: News Formal (newsformal.com)

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