Cases like those of the last Final Fantasy have been very famous.
We return once again with the soap opera of the year, since the purchase of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft does not stop giving us one headline after another, while the American company is now with the difficult task of convince regulatory bodies United States, United Kingdom and the European Union in order to clarify that this purchase would not imply any violation of antitrust laws. In fact, we have been able to see how one of the measures has been a historic agreement with Nintendo to launch its games on the consoles of the Japanese company.
Be that as it may, no one doubts at this point that Microsoft’s biggest opponent in this purchase is Sony, since it seems that instead of announcing new games, Jim Ryan seems more concerned about what might happen with Call of Dutywhich is causing according to some rumors that are delaying the expected PlayStation Showcase in order not to give Microsoft arguments that Sony can fend for itself without Activision Blizzard. In fact, PS5’s Wolverine could have given its first details in the most concise way even knowing that it will be released next year.
Microsoft has requested access to Sony’s internal documents to better build its case defense
Be that as it may, it seems that being the main opponent in this purchase with the claims about the damage that this could do in the video game industry could have to reveal sensitive datasince Xbox has requested access to many of PlayStation’s internal documents in order to build its defense in this case, whereas the US regulatory body has granted the majority of requests even with Sony’s attempts to nullify them.
And it must be said that, among all the agreements that Microsoft would have access to, include PlayStation Licensing Agreements for which some titles developed by third parties only reach PlayStation exclusively, the most notorious cases being Square Enix titles, including here the future Final Fantasy XVI of which to this day we do not know what is the graphic engine with which it is used. is running.
It should be noted that among all the information that those responsible for Xbox could extract from these documents, the most interesting is that linked to the cost that Sony had to pay for these exclusivity licensesas well as the incentives that exist to keep games out of Xbox Game Pass, Resident Evil Village being one of the most notorious cases despite the fact that it has never been fully demonstrated publicly.
Several Final Fantasy titles have been exclusive to Sony on console thanks to these agreements
Final Fantasy VII Remake Artwork with Cloud and Sephirot
In this way, it seems that Microsoft, whether to better build its defense or not, might finally get a clear and official answer around whether or not his claims about Sony paying to hurt Xbox Game Pass are real. And while it is quite unlikely that this will have any kind of effect on the image of PlayStation, since, like it more or less, it is a completely legal practicethe truth is that Microsoft would have the perfect argument to destroy Sony’s accusations regarding the damage that the purchase of Activision Blizzard would be causing.
And this is something that would have a lot of weight for regulatory bodies, since, if these payments are confirmed, it would have been Sony that would have created an imbalance in the video game industry. Be that as it may, we will have to wait to see the future that awaits this legal fight that seems to have no end in the short term.
Of course, within what is possible, it has been possible to know that the regulatory body of the European Union agrees with the Nintendo agreementSo if the international organization is taken out of the way, Microsoft would only have to convince the United Kingdom and the United States to approve the purchase, this being a task in which Sony’s papers could be very useful.