Many times we’ve spoken privately in the newsroom about Microsoft’s motivations for making these big purchases. One was clear, with First Party having more strength to have more exclusives on their platforms. And in the realm of networks and console wars, also to force against Sony and its “PlayStation only” titles, but we were unaware of this facet that Phil Spencer confessed in the FTC lawsuit: Either they bought or they stayed out, It’s so easy.
This morning we informed you of the stratagem of Kotick and Activision by practically forcing Microsoft to reduce its margins to have an optimized version of Call of Duty Xbox Series. PlayStation’s larger market share and exclusivity deals have all but given Activision the upper hand in this regard. And it seems that with Bethesda, the same thing happened. First it was Deathloop, then Ghostwire Tokyo and finally Starfield. And, they were all going to be exclusive to PlayStation.
Phil Spencer admits: Either they bought it or they stayed out
The Microsoft Gaming CEO took advantage of questions from the FTC to confirm that Sony was consistently buying up a slew of exclusives in which he specifically prevented their release or further announcement for Xbox. But his statement is even easier to understand:
When we acquire ZeniMax, one of the benefits of doing so is that Sony had a deal for Deathloop and Ghostwire…paying Bethesda not to release those games on Xbox. Así que la discusión sobre Starfield cuando escuchamos que Starfield corría el riesgo también de no lanzarse en Xbox, no podíamos estar en una tercera posición en consoles donde cayéramos incluso más abajo en nuestro contenido propio, así que tuvimos que asegurar contenido para continuar siendo viable en trade.
Phil Spencer has spent hours reporting and a lot of important data can be gleaned from his responses to FTC and Microsoft attorneys, so we recommend you stay tuned to our page or the networks so you don’t miss a thing. However, the US Federal Trade Commission seems to make a fair case for defending Sony’s leadership, if you ask our humble opinion. It’s not a circus, but it’s starting to look like one.
