Did Microsoft do enough to convince Europe to let them buy Activision Blizzard? | Opinion

gamesindustry.biz:

This article has been updated for clarity, plus a correction over the timing of a tweet.

During Microsoft's press briefing this week, the firm’s Brad Smith pulled out an envelope with a contract in it.

“I walk around with an envelope that contains the definitive agreement that we sent to Sony two days before Christmas, I am ready to sign it at any time.”

It was a theatrical flourish which he also did within the closed European Commission hearing earlier. And it was one of many carefully planned PR moves that Microsoft made that day.

There was the statement from the US trade union, Communication Workers of America. There was the news that Nintendo has signed its contract that would bring Call of Duty to its consoles for ten years. There was the similar news about Nvidia. And there were other public statements that went out during the same time.

Some of it was irrelevant to what was going on that day. But it was all collectively designed to complete Microsoft’s argument as it went into the European Commission to present its case as to why it should be allowed to buy Activision Blizzard.

Beneath the noise and the PR messages, there were two key announcements that were important to Microsoft’s argument. The first is this Nintendo contract, and that unsigned contract sitting in Brad Smith’s pocket. These are moves that Microsoft hopes will counter the regulators’ concerns that it might make Call of Duty, in some way, exclusive to Xbox, which would mean PlayStation is unable to compete.

Of course, it’s going to be difficult to create a contract that can take into account all the directions the games industry might head in over the next ten years. But regardless, Microsoft will hope it is enough to head off that