The war of words between PlayStation and Xbox rumbles on. At stake is the biggest merger ever seen in video games: Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard. Sony is firmly opposed to the deal and has made sure its case is heard by regulators in the UK, EU, and US. Now, in the latest skirmish, the boss of Xbox gaming has some choice words over PlayStation's objections.
Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer was on the Second Request podcast (via VGC), where he seemed a little looser with his tongue as he spoke up about the "one major opposer to the [Microsoft Activision] deal". The podcast focused on monopoly issues and Spencer was interviewed over what he thought of the proposed deal, letting the Xbox chief elaborate on the issues such as regulators seeming opposition to the merger.
Spencer believes Xbox's philosophy and approach towards gaming is very different from its Japanese rival. While Nintendo remains in the lead in multiple markets, in terms of consoles sold, regulators around the world have identified PlayStation and Xbox as the main rivals in the console space since the two compete more directly than the more family-orientated Nintendo.
"Sony is trying to protect its dominance on the console and the way they grow is by making Xbox smaller," were Spencer's most arresting words. He continued by saying that Sony has a "very different view of the industry than we do".
"They don't ship their games day and date on PC, they don't put their games into their subscription when they launch their games," he continued.
This comes at a time when Microsoft and Activision Blizzard faces serious opposition to their merger from the US' Federal Trade Commission. The market regulator is suing the parties over the proposed acquisition and believes the deal would "suppress competitors" while Sony has been making its case to these watchdogs.
"Sony is leading all the dialogue around why this deal shouldn't go through to protect its dominant position on console," Spencer said. "The thing they grab onto is Call of Duty."
"The largest console maker in the world is raising an objection about the one franchise that we've said will continue to ship on the platform, it's a deal that benefits customers through choice and access," Spencer argued.
The Xbox gaming boss has repeatedly said that it intends to keep Call of Duty on other platforms and has offered Sony 10-year deals to keep the popular shooter on PlayStation, while also emphasising that the merger is also about Activision Blizzard King, revealing how important Microsoft considers the mobile gaming space. Meanwhile, the proposed merger remains up in the air as UK, US, and EU regulators continue to closely scrutinise the deal.