[UPDATE: A Microsoft spokesperson has issued the following statement on today’s proceedings: “Microsoft wants to take gaming into the future by meeting gamers where they are across platforms, while Sony wants to protect its dominant position. That’s why our leaders have shown up in person to testify about how this merger benefits gamers.” Original Story Follows.]
During the third day of the US Federal Trade Commission vs. Microsoft court proceedings, Sony’s Jim Ryan spoke via recorded deposition and, among other things, criticizedXbox Game Passand claimed publishers did not like it. Though the court case is tied toXbox’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, everything from Microsoft’s Game Pass model to the Nintendo Switch’s relevancy on the market had all come up as various talking points.
Specifically, Ryan’s comments come as part of a video deposition where Microsoft’s lawyer asked about a meeting that took place after Microsoft announced its intent to buy Activision Blizzard. Said meeting was about a month afterward, where Ryan was speaking to PlayStation Investors.
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As reported by VGC, Microsoft’s lawyer relayed that Ryan told the investors that he spoke with “all publishers” and that “they unanimously do not likeGame Passbecause it’s value destructive.” Microsoft’s lawyer asked if this was true, to which Ryan responded by saying he believes it to have been true, and then the lawyer followed up by asking if Ryan did, indeed, speak to all the publishers. Ryan’s response was simple, stating that he talks to publishers all the time and that “this is a very commonly held view over many years by the publishers.”
There have been a number of previously kept secrets gone public, though, because of these court proceedings. These include, but are not limited to, Microsoft’s considerations of purchasing gaming giants like Sega and Bungie, Sony’s wariness about putting PlayStation dev kits in Activision’s hands for futureCall of Dutygames,Bethesda’s concern when it learnedCall of Dutywould be multiplatform, the confirmation that IO Interactive’s Project Dragon would be Xbox exclusive, and much, much more. It’ll likely continue for the next couple of days, as well.
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