For the ongoing race to acquire Activision Blizzard, Microsoft surely has faced criticisms which deemed the buyout to be unjust considering the scale of the purchase and number of owned talent already under the Xbox firm so far. In one statement from CEO Satya Nadella, the deal is not waived as a monopoly under the due process that Xbox following the deal will not outpace competitors in the market.
Additionally, continued stress from the U.K.’s CMA is ongoing with its continued investigation on the matter. One of the largest complaints is how Call of Duty will be handled. Ultimately, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer expressed that the series will remain on PlayStation as long as the platform is running. He even acknowledges bringing the franchise to Nintendo Switch as well.
Amid what is being thrown towards Microsoft, Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick shares to be in favor of the deal. He expressed in an interview with Yahoo Business that the acquisition would further fuel competition in the market.
Ultimately the consumer votes, and if we create great hits, which is our business, then consumers will show up, and no one can take that away from us. The entertainment business is the antithesis of a fungible commoditized business. Every title stands alone. So it sort of doesn’t compete with anything else and yet, it’s highly competitive in a way. In other words, we compete with everything and we compete with nothing. You can’t replace one of our titles with another title.
Elsewhere in a recent statement from Zelnick when speaking to CNBC News, he further reiterated on not being affected by the deal under Microsoft, Seeking Alpha transcribed. “Generally speaking I don’t think people are particularly concerned because it remains a fragmented business. […] Well there’s one big company that is, but apart from that no.” He continues, “We don’t really think the competitive landscape is meaningfully affected in the event that that merger goes through.”
“It’s hard to say what will happen at this point. If you asked me when it was first announced I would have said I thought it was about 90% chance it would be approved. It appears as though it’s less than that.” Considering how many view Zelnick is another story. Many do criticize his views on the industry since pioneering the price increase for titles come the 9th generation of systems.
On the matter of PlayStation’s stance on the acquisition, the firm had three expectations to meet if the deal was to go through. The list includes no marketing deals, hardware-exclusive advantages, and Xbox Game Pass perks from the acquisition. You can read the full report by heading here.
Are you surprised by Zelnick’s stance on the Activision deal?
Source: Yahoo Business