Sony and Microsoft have been going back and forth over the proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, and now Sony seems to be concerned that Microsoft will reduce the performance of Call of Duty on PlayStation consoles if the deal is approved.
The concern over dropping Call of Duty performance on PlayStation is part of Sony’s latest statement to the UK’s Competition Market Authority. Where it mentions that Microsoft “might release a PlayStation version of Call of Duty where bugs and errors emerge only on the game’s final level or after later updates.” Ok, so it’s certainly normal to be concerned about bugs or errors popping up in games post launch.
But, it would appear that Sony is concerned Microsoft may do this intentionally. Which could result in PlayStation players switching to Xbox to avoid said errors. Either that, or that Microsoft may unintentionally release a copy for PlayStation that is riddled with bugs. Which sounds like Sony doesn’t feel Microsoft is competent enough to handle the game’s distribution to PlayStation consoles without errors.
Call of Duty performance on PlayStation already suffers from time to time
The funny thing is, the current version of Call of Duty on PlayStation, Modern Warfare II, already has bugs and errors. As do the PC and Xbox versions of the game. Bugs and errors are unfortunately a part of modern game releases. Even if they do get fixed after the fact. Microsoft buying Activision Blizzard isn’t going to magically make these errors arise because they’re already there.
Nevertheless, Sony is adamant that its concerns are valid. Noting in its statement that “Even if such degradations could be swiftly detected, any remedy would likely come too late, by which time the gaming community would have lost confidence in PlayStation as a go-to venue to play Call of Duty.”
This irrational concern, feels more like another argument Sony is making to intentionally derail Microsoft’s approval chances than it does an actual concern. Most consumers who already own a PlayStation console probably wouldn’t spend hundreds more on an Xbox for this reason. Not just to get Call of Duty working with better performance.
Some might, sure. But the majority, likely not. Because that’s not a wise use of money and doing so wouldn’t exactly be a cheap option. Players would probably instead be vocal with Microsoft and Activision. Complaining about the state of the game’s performance, and call for immediate fixes.
You can read more about Sony’s latest statement to the CMA regarding this deal here.
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