A loss of Sony's much larger market share would significantly cut into existing Call of Duty profits, and (as multiple executives have reminded us) the 'passion' this hypothetical would ignite in the gamer audience could result in meaningful harm to the brand. Right now, it's admittedly rather difficult to imagine a scenario where Xbox taking Call of Duty exclusive doesn't massively backfire on Xbox. Where he draws the line is, of course, at Call of Duty: a franchise so massive and successful that (the FTC and Sony argue) the very idea of it becoming exclusive would supposedly cause irreperable harm to PlayStation. Ryan is unable to climb up on a high horse about exclusives when Xbox has already shared data in the courtroom that PlayStation's own exclusives far outnumber Xbox's. He noted that while he 'didn't like' Redfall and Starfield going exclusive to Xbox post-Zenimax acquisition, he 'had no quarrel with it' and didn't view it as anti-competitive.

It's not shocking, either, that Sony Interactive Entertainment head Jim Ryan sang a distinctively different tune yesterday in his video deposition. If Sony would just stop paying for exclusives like Final Fantasy XVI, they argue Xbox wouldn't have to do deals like it has with Activision just to compete. Collectively, Xbox and its witnesses and lawyers appear to be making the argument that the entire idea of exclusivity is a loathesome one they play along with because Sony forced their hands. Nadella, for instance, mentioned that he had 'no love' for exclusives, while Kotick emphasized that taking Call of Duty exclusive to Xbox would be 'very detrimental' to business.Īll of this is in line with Spencer's comments. But to hear Xbox and friends tell it over the last few days, everyone in the industry just hates the idea.įigures like Microsoft head Satya Nadella and Activision CEO Bobby Kotick today made exclusivity seem less like a feature and more like a bug, ruining their ability to do business on certain platforms and reach larger markets of people. Exclusivity For Me, But Not For TheeĬonsole exclusivity has been a part of how video game releases work effectively since video games came into existence. We also got to see, briefly, Nadella and Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley bond over a mutual love for Candy Crush.

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