Does Sony Need to Take Action?

[Regolyth]

Does Sony Need to Take Action After Microsoft's Activision Buyout?

Microsoft's jaw-dropping acquisition of Activision Blizzard earlier this week has fundamentally changed the gaming landscape as we know it. The reported $68 billion buyout shows just how ridiculously deep Microsoft's pockets are — and that financial bulk is something that Sony simply cannot compete with.

It leaves the PlayStation maker in an unenviable position. Especially with the rampant success of the PS4, Sony has led the industry for so long that this megaton acquisition almost feels surreal — it is quite literally Microsoft buying its way to a future of potential market domination, and at this point, it's unrealistic to think that this is the end of the Redmond firm's spending.

We can start by looking at the facts. First off, it's easy to forget that the PS5 is selling extremely well, breaking records at launch and charting a trajectory that suggests immense popularity for years to come. And this is against the backdrop of a global pandemic, which continues to strangle the current-gen console's production. It's no secret that even a year after its release, the PS5 remains an elusive product for the average consumer — but that's not really something that Sony can rectify right now.

It's also no secret that the PS5's release schedule looks very, very strong in 2022. Exclusive titles like Horizon Forbidden West and God of War Ragnarok are set to be critical and commercial hits, and will no doubt be yet more fine examples of Sony's first-party prowess. There's an argument to be made here that Sony should just stick to its guns and keep doing what it's doing — at least for now.

I'm thinking that Sony doesn't really have anything to worry about; not for a while at least. They're pretty strong and make a great product. Sure, Microsoft is going to have some awesome new games as their disposal, but Sony still has the better, quality experience in the console arena (although I'll always be a Nintendo fanboy).

Still, I'm wondering what this might mean for some of my all-time favorite games like Diablo and StarCraft. Also, how will this affect WoW?

[Morreion]

Sometime in the future, there will be one corporation that owns everything. Or maybe 2 if we're lucky :/

[Regolyth]

That's what the law against monopoly's is supposed to be for, but look at the wireless carrier and ISP markets to see how well that's going.

[Rakul]

Yep. If you have two major players, no monopoly. And above that you can have price-fixing or other agreements, which are illegal, but you can't tell me it doesn't happen (like with gas stations at certain times in history).

[Regolyth]

Jan 24, 2022 19:24:14 GMT -5 Rakul said:

And above that you can have price-fixing...

Yeah, that's what I was thinking of.