EU employee cheekily tweets about CoD on PlayStation, gets caught up in the console war

Ricardo Cardoso, deputy head of a department at the EU’s Publications Office, seems to enjoy playing Call of Duty on the PlayStation. A harmless tweet about his gaming platform brought him a shitstorm and a huge discussion. The thoughtless statement was made in the middle of the dispute over Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

What is the tweet about?

This is the reaction: Within a short time, hundreds of users responded to the tweet in over 1,800 comments, which often led to dozens of other comments. The argument about which console is the better one has been burning for years. Cardoso has caused more explosives with his tweet on a current topic.

PlayStation fans praise Cardoso for his statement and even see the Microsoft deal as a threat to the industry. They fear that the company behind the Xbox would remove a batch of games from the PlayStation after a takeover.

Big names are also joining the discussion. IGN editor Ryan McCaffey mentions in his response that Xbox boss Phil Spencer has already committed to CoD on PlayStation “as long as there’s a PlayStation.” (via Twitter).

There is also anger about the position that Cardoso seems to be taking here. They’re trying to keep CoD on the PlayStation, but aren’t doing anything about the many exclusives Sony is securing on its own console, criticizes Jez Corden, a WindowsCentral editor (via Twitter).

Fans believe the latest CoD installment, Modern Warfare 2, will be “one of the best Call of Duty games.” Here is the trailer for the campaign:

“I have nothing to do with the merger”

Some users even argue that such a statement could well jeopardize the integrity of the investigation. The EU is obviously not impartial and wants to protect Sony’s rights rather than looking for a fair solution.

Cardoso defends himself on the onslaught of messages with a statement. In another tweet a few days later he writes:

To be clear, I’m not involved in evaluating the merger and don’t even work in the department that deals with mergers. As clearly stated on my profile, my comments are personal and not a position of the Commission, which will base its decisions on facts and the law.

However, users are not completely satisfied with this. For example, one reply said: “Before throwing in your opinion on something as important as a $70 billion merger as a proxy speaking for the European Commission, you should choose your words wisely. Adding ‘My PlayStation’ to the same sentence sends the wrong message. Just saying.” (via Twitter)

The whole discussion about Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, Sony and the investigation keeps making waves on social media. Already in the UK investigation there was criticism of the arguments used in the negotiations:

Sony is making strange demands on Microsoft amid fears they’ll lose Call of Duty fans