PS5: Sony badmouths Battlefield – Xbox makes Call of Duty small: “Neither special nor unique”

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The two gaming giants Sony and Microsoft each speak badly about large shooter series. Sony (PlayStation 5) takes on EA’s Battlefield, which can’t keep up with Call of Duty. Only have a fifth of the sales of CoD: On the other hand, Microsoft speaks a little badly about the “Call of Duty” series: It’s not all that unique. And CoD has little influence on which console you buy.

That’s what Sony says about Battlefield: Sony’s lawyers say in a statement (via pcgamer):

Other publishers don’t have the resources or experience to take part in the success [von Call of Duty] to approach To give a clear example: Electronic Arts (one of the largest developers alongside Activision) has been trying to establish a competitor to Call of Duty with the Battlefield series for years.

Despite the similarities between Call of Duty and Battlefield, and despite EA’s experience in establishing successful AAA franchises (like FIFA, Mass Effect, Need for Speed ​​and Star Wars: Battlefront) – the Battlefield franchise doesn’t quite match. As of August 2021, more than 400 million Call of Duty games have been sold and Battlefield has sold just 88.7 million copies.

What is striking here is the wording “just” 88.7 million – that sounds a bit disrespectful to the Battlefield series.

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Microsoft downplays Call of Duty

This is what Microsoft says about Call of Duty: Documents released by the UK Cartel Office can be read (via vg247):

Call of Duty games are not “special” or “unique” in the sense that they spend a lot of money or have a high level of user retention compared to players who prefer other popular series. […]

Call of Duty doesn’t drive gamers to choose a gaming platform. Xbox data shows that between 2016 and 2022 [XX] % of new Xbox players have never purchased Call of Duty content and only [XX] % of all players have played Call of Duty as their 1st game on the new Xbox. These numbers don’t square with the idea that Call of Duty decides which platform players play on.

The exact percentages are blacked out in the document.

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With the statement, Microsoft is apparently responding to a request from Sony in which Call of Duty is described as “there is no alternative” and that nobody can keep up with the shooter giant.

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Why are both companies doing this? It is about the planned purchase of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft for 69 billion euros. For the purchase to go through, regulators around the world have to give her the go-ahead.

That’s why Sony and Microsoft are not arguing according to PR guidelines, according to which everything has to be fantastic, but from a strategic point of view:

  • Microsoft wants to emphasize that Call of Duty isn’t that important, so it’s okay that Xbox and Call of Duty are in one hand – it would by no means have a decisive impact on the gaming market, which remains open, so the authorities can give the green light give
  • Sony, on the other hand, wants to point out that Call of Duty is totally unique and that even “its biggest competitor,” Battlefield, is only a fifth the size, hoping a regulator will ban its purchase to avoid a concentration of power in Activision Blizzard’s hands

For months we have been seeing the sometimes very strange statements from Microsoft and Sony, which sound very different from what the publishers usually say about games:

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Reference-mein-mmo.de