Sony’s PlayStation chief says publishers hate Xbox Game Pass
Sony’s fears about Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal kicked into gear in August 2022 after Xbox chief Phil Spencer sent PlayStation chief Jim Ryan a list of Activision games Microsoft would be willing to keep on PlayStation. Overwatch was on that list, but Overwatch 2 was not. According to Ryan, this “sent alarm bells ringing.”
On day three of FTC v. Microsoft,we heard a lot more about Sony’s reaction months after Microsoft’s industry-changing announcement of its proposed Activision Blizzard deal. Ryan’s prerecorded video deposition also offered a defense of PlayStation exclusives, Sony’s fears about sharing PS6 information with Microsoft, and why Sony is hedging against an Xbox Game Pass that Ryan describes as “value destructive” to publishers.
Oh, and if you’re really into math and quantitative analysis, then maybe you can help decipher some of the testimony from Robin Lee, PhD, the FTC’s economic advisor. It was a big part of day three that I think left everyone feeling a little dazed and confused.
We started off day three with a warning from Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley about people livestreaming witness testimony to YouTube and other sites. It’s strictly prohibited, and Judge Corley warned YouTubers are jeopardizing the ability for potentially all US court proceedings to be officially streamed to the public via Zoom. “You are welcome to live blog; that is fine, but no recording or streaming.”
The court only has a Zoom license for 1,000 people to listen in, which, in this case, regularly hits capacity. That’s probably the main reason people are streaming the hearing on YouTube: to provide better access for people who want to listen in. But it’s 2023, and courts clearly aren’t prepared for the thousands of gamers
Read more on theverge.com
