Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has accused Sony of "trying to sabotage" the Microsoft-Activision deal, claiming Sony's leadership team stopped talking to anyone at Microsoft.
Porkchop you made your comment contradict itself 🤣 by saying Sony isn't part of the lawsuit but ABK is sending them information they have been told to stop doing? Sound like harassment to me 😂😂😂 28514;
Give something repeatedly to someone in the mail or in person after they've told you to stop and see what happens to your ass lol.
@poopmaster are you saying the ftc should use all Sony's hearsay as evidence without proof. If sonys making the complaint they need to back it up Microsoft is demanding the proof, Sony's being non compliant. Sony are making accusations without wanting to provide evidence. Microsoft are saying Sony are not telling the truth and also they can't compete because of 3rd party deals(blocking gamepass, 3rd party exclusives)by market leader go take a look at the deals, but Sony's wants to hide all this from the authorities.
@CrimsonWing69 Discovery is a phase during which the parties in a litigation seek information that is reasonable likely to result in RELEVANT and ADMISSIBLE evidence.
This MOFO Kotick is acting like MS and Activision are even allowed to talk to Sony.
MS is in litigation with the FTC, and MS is bringing Sony in as an adverse witness, and then this Kotick guy acting like they expect their competition to come in to help them… wtf.
Im 100% sure the deal will go through because the FTC has never been able to stop these large acquisitions, but I hope they can at least put some restraints on them.
@Porkchop Sony isn’t a party in the lawsuit but is the most vocal out of everyone that’s in it .. how does that even work ? Every year people complain how COD is corny and is still that same game every year , but making this big a fuss over that one franchise. I’m so confused at this point
Whether you like the deal or not Sony definitely did their best to sabotage it. They literally claimed their whole gaming business is doomed WITHOUT COD. smh Sony has been playing dirty their entire existence you just cant admit your favorite company is no Saint.
There is nothing TO negotiate until the FTC lawsuit is over. There is literally zero reason for Sony to negotiate with MS or Activision before that because the outcome of this determines far too much. Also, Sony owes nothing to the courts that the COURT doesn't ask for. The court agreed with Sony that MS was out of line with some of their requests (largely because Sony is not part of the lawsuit). You need to keep up man.
If the deal doesn't go through, Kotick will be out the door (as he should have been ages ago) and then Sony will talk to Activision.
I think it's fairly clear that Sony doesn't want it to happen and they are actively trying to prevent it. I would call that sabotage, but I also agree with them doing it.
At the end of this article, it mentions the CMA recommending large-scale divestment in Call of Duty and/or parts of ABK to allow the deal to go through. If the acquisition was not about control or restricting access to their ecosystem, I suspect Microsoft would have already signed on to that. The fact that they haven't is a pretty clear sign they have every intention of pulling the rug out under Sony.
So... Are they trying to sabotage the deal? Umm... Yes. Clearly. But again, I agree with them at least trying to fight this. Realistically, Call of Duty is probably all Sony really cares about here. The fact that Microsoft hasn't been willing to declare divestment for this single franchise is very telling about their intentions.
I should add: if the deal fails, there needs to be no more buying exclusive/timed exclusive content, full stop. It's such a BS practice.
That's the silver lining here.. Having Kotick crawl out of his hole and go on such an offensive never happens, to see him seemingly sweating brings a little joy to my cold black heart.
He was awfully quiet when all the allegations against sexual harrassment was around. Guess it never benefited him compared to this deal where he will make millions
I couldn't care any less one way or the other . For one, I don't play cod or have an xbox. I also don't see the big deal since sony has had the rights to timed exclusive dlc and marketing for an entire generation. On top of that MS has offered Sony a 10 year deal .
And if someone offered you a million dollar check, how would you react to others trying to prevent it from happening? Probably in a very similar fashion. Going to do what you can to protect the offer and make it happen. Hate Kotick all you want for whatever he's done, but don't act like you wouldn't do the same thing if someone offered you a substantial amount of money.
Not quite - it's a very different issue here. Activition's board would likely have booted Kotick long before now if it wasn't for the need for stability during this deal. His position was untenable after all the abuse allegations came out and it was publicised that he knew about them and did nothing. Kotick knows his days are numbered. He knows he has no place in Acti after the deal, but will be getting a sweet payment out of it. The alternative is that the deal doesn't go through and he is let go with a much smaller settlement.
Which has nothing to do with the current situation of him trying to get the deal through nor anything I said at all. So not sure why you even brought any of that up.
Even so, he would have gotten a huge payday if ousted.
I can't stand it, I know you planned it I'm gonna set it straight, this Watergate I can't stand rocking when I'm in here 'Cause your crystal ball ain't so crystal clear So while you sit back and wonder why I got this fucking thorn in my side Oh my God, it's a mirage I'm tellin' y'all, it's a sabotage
Both companies are kind of annoying at this point for different reasons. Many of us don't care about Call of Duty to this degree. The games are stale. Activision was shopping for deals especially after controversy. If Microsoft could truly lead to their best games ever and on game pass that would be dope. Would the games being exclusive ever be worthwhile? No not really because if it comes with pc and xbox game pass people will want to play in that ecosystem either way. 10 years is a good amount of time to still come to playstation and I want Sony to make a multiplayer game that last. Hope Factions is that. Hope Battlefield bounces back too. Ideally neither company would buy Activision but if this deal doesn't go through I see major layoffs to Activision staff. It feels like a lose lose situation all around because both of them are holding back announcements or their slate reveals so they don't look too strong. However if Microsoft gets Activision and it keeps them alive in the console competition then its better than just Sony Nintendo existing and Microsoft getting phased out of console market. Sony needs Microsoft they balance each other out challenge each other. If Microsoft doesn't get momentum move like an Activision then how do they stay alive.
Who remembers that this "deal" only happened because of multiple levels of publicized HR issues? That with growing calls for investigations Phil swooped in.
....I mean, was this a secret? They obviously don't want it to go through. I truly didn't think this needed to be said as some gasp inducing point of the finger lol.
Sony is looking out for themselves, just like the board of Activision didn't give damn when signing on to this deal with Microsoft. You can feel the sense of desperation and frustration coming from these execs.
Bobby really isn’t helping the case for the deal to go through.
Sony did start throwing their weight around at first but since then they’ve sat idly by and just been attacked by big bad Bobby and the latest threat that he’ll remain at Acti if the deal doesn’t go through is such a weird angle.
Mofo you are in litigation with the FTC, you are bringing Sony in as an adverse witness, what do you expect? That your competitors would come to your defense?
I’ve been coming on to this site since 2008. While I don’t log in and comment that much anymore I do have to say. This is quite pathetic.
You imagine if Sony tried doing something like this when the 360 was dominating the PS3. I certainly can’t. All you heard back then was how 3rd party games were better on the 360 because developers were having a hard time with the Cell technology. GameFly was the Netflix of gaming. Aaron Greenberg constantly running his mouth. 360 sales this, 360 that.
N4G comment section was like, no pun intended, a war zone.
It also seems like everyone forgot those days when MS had the lockdown on content exclusively. ( I think the reason for that may have been because well, the 360 was running hot. ) Kinda like when PlayStation owners had to wait a year or so just to play Bioshock.
Yet Sony just kept moving forward doing what they do best and that was creating new franchises. Working with what they had. Laying the groundwork for the next generation of consoles and more importantly. Confidence in their product and studios.
Now. All these years later. PS4/5 dominating X1/Series X. GamePass wants to be the Netflix of gaming. Phil Spencer constantly spouting his PHILosophy.
MS is getting a taste of their own medicine and they don’t like it. They seem to think that by purchasing Activision this will solve whatever problems they may have and be a great benefit for gamers. Sorry. The problem lies with who is running the Xbox division.
Yeah, he's gonna make Sony pay. He wants that Microsoft money and if it doesn't happen, he's gonna see to it Microsoft has exclusive content forever.
I'm not saying I want the merger to happen, cause I don't, but no matter what, this isn't gonna end well for Sony. Sony also should've been making deals with Squaresoft and Capcom to combat this. Call of Duty still makes a crap ton of money, but so does Resident Evil, Street Fighter, Mega Man, Devil May Cry, Final Fantasy and any other RPG that Squaresoft produces. They had Street Fighter V and bought Evo, why is Street Fighter 6 seeing Microsoft shores? Maybe they already asked Capcom and Square and they shut Sony down but, this isn't going to end well for Sony either way. If the merger doesn't happen, then great! But Microsoft are gonna end up with all the exclusive DLC, Activision will forever favor Microsoft no matter what.
I guess it also shows what Call of Duty does for Sony, it's their lifeblood even though they're only making royalties off of and licensing off of sales for Call of Duty alone. Ouch
So if this deal falls through, Activision are going to drop 70% of their console revenue for a petty revenge move? Lmao, don't think shareholders and investors would be too pleased.
Kotick has more problems brewing for him that are based outside of the us, that he and other blizzardians need ‘splanin to do on. Bobby is dirty. This is “that guy”that slimed his way all the way up. He’s defiantly not the guy to opening his yap during their whiney bs and mostly-one sided negotiations.
Obviously they are trying to stop it. So call a spade a spade why be upset? More so if they stop making CoD I’d like to think the gaming industry wouldn’t crash this coming from a person who last play warzone over a year and the actual CoD black ops. Let MS have it tank it then ppl look to new ips or better coming out if it’s an open space. It all seems simple if I yell somebody doing something that will end me and they ask me to show how and I say I don’t want to either put up or shut up.
Bobby how is Sony trying to sabotage this awful deal ?
This man is very desperate. I bet many heads will roll when this deal is officially blocked.
People must understand kotick... He is getting from Microsoft the golden check. He will say and try everything he can to make deal be approved.
Sounds like Bobby is trying to protect the golden parachute payment he would be in line to receive if Activision were to be sold...