Microsoft says 10 years is sufficient for Sony to develop Call of Duty alternatives

Xbox tells UK regulator “there is no basis” for offering Sony a longer licensing agreement.

[lodossrage]

EA, Ubisoft, Sony, and Microsoft themselves have tried to match call of duty. So that statement rings hollow.

[Old McGroin]

Sony have Bungie now, given 10 years they could more than match Call of Duty I'm sure.

[Eonjay]

So is Microsoft expecting everyone who signed a 10 year deal with them to make their own Call of Duty Alternative. Is that what's happening here?

@Old McGroin
So are you implying that Sony should yank Destiny from other platforms in a few years because they should be able to make alternatives?

[lodossrage]

Old McGroin

That's not true. If that's the case, Halo would have reached the same level as Call of Duty when they were the ones making it.

The fact of the matter is, NOBODY was been able to come close to Call of Duty's mainstream appeal in the 15 plus years COD has been dominant. So what makes you think it can be done in 10 when multiple companies have tried?

[Old McGroin]

@Eonjay

"Sony should yank Destiny from other platforms in a few years because they should be able to make alternatives"

Probably not a good idea, not sure why you would want them to do that? Why would you think Sony should pull Destiny from other platforms??

Pretty grim to see that the general consensus here on N4G is that Sony is nowhere near up to the task of creating a good series even if they were given an entire decade.

[lodossrage]

Old McGroin

"Pretty grim to see that the general consensus here on N4G is that Sony is nowhere near up to the task of creating a good series even if they were given an entire decade. "

That's not the consensus, that's your own personal take.

The Consensus is that NOBODY in the industry has been able to replicate the level COD has in all the years companies have tried, including Microsoft among them. Sony has good series already. Hell, EVERY company has or has had at least one good serious. But NONE of them reach COD levels of mainstream appeal.

[outsider1624]

Reboot Killzone, Resistance? A new SOCOM?

[Old McGroin]

@lodossrage

"That's not the consensus, that's your own personal take."

Love how you say this and instantly go on to say you don't believe Sony can accomplish it 😅 Just look at my comment saying I think Sony and Bungie can pull it off given 10 years, look at the downvotes. This proves it is general consensus and not just a personal take.

[lodossrage]

@old McGroin

"Love how you say this and instantly go on to say you don't believe Sony can accomplish it 😅 Just look at my comment saying I think Sony and Bungie can pull it off given 10 years, look at the downvotes. It's not my personal take, those downvotes show it is general concensus, fact. "

I'm not saying anything. FACTUAL HISTORY shows it. How many series have tried to replicate COD success? I'll name some. Halo (even when Bungie made it), Homefront, Medal of Honor, Resistance, Killzone, Battlefield, etc. And those are ones off the top of my head. These are all things that have come within the past 16 years. So again, tell me how it's expected that COD can be replicated in 10 years when nobody (including Bungie that you like to bring up) could not?

And for the record, maybe people are downvoting you because they just believe you're wrong like I do? That doesn't speak to the consensus

[Profchaos]

Nope but they can block whatever Bungie builds from Microsoft to where as right now they are intended to be a multi plat studio for Sony and it's live service ambitions

[DefenderOfDoom2]

Destiny 2 is more fun the COD right now .

[Crows90]

Whats grim is that concensus is to buy up 3rd party IP and thats suddenly perfectly fine.

[1Victor]

@ old: “ Sony have Bungie now, given 10 years they could more than match Call of Duty I'm sure.”
I agree that they can have a match from bungie and surpass CoD in quality but not on revenue and yearly developers burned out 🤷🏿.
Remember killZone was better than CoD and it didn’t panned out Warhawk was better and didn’t take off Starhawk was better and same thing happened again MAG was better you get the point those that like CoD will follow it wherever it goes and that’s what Microsoft is banking on to take revenue and players from PlayStation

[babadivad]

Bungie is DEFINITELY capable.

[babadivad]

@lodossrage

Not sure where you've been but Halo WAS where CoD was before Bungie left.

The industry spent 10 years trying to come up with "Halo Killers".

Halo didn't crater until 343 took over.

People forget how massive Halo used to be. It was THE standard everyone was shooting for.

[lodossrage]

@babadivad

No, Halo was popular sure, but it was NEVER where COD is even at its height. The best Halo ever did was with Halo 3 at around 12 million. Call of Duty hits the 30 millions now. Even with Bungie, Halo was starting to lose it power. Think I'm Bsing, go look at the sales for Halo ODST and Halo Reach.

COD on the other is on the rise in sales on every platform. Again, Halo was popular, but it started losing draw power LONG before 343 took over. And the numbers back that up

[fr0sty]

TBH, I had more fun playing games like MAG on PS3, or Warhawk, than I ever did COD... though COD was never really my thing. I liked Modern Warfare, but after they kept milking that cash cow year after year, I got bored of it.

I honestly don't think COD is going to be very popular a decade from now, something else will come along that blows it out of the water. At this point, brand recognition is pretty much the only reason nobody else has been able to dethrone it. It isn't bringing anything revolutionary to the table anymore, just the same old game, over and over again.

[kayoss]

Microsoft had over 20 years to develop good studios and exclusives for their customers to find a Playstation alternative... look what happened.

[Army_of_Darkness]

I genuinely want to see how well ms does having COD as an exclusive. Very curious to see how much of an increase in sales their console will be, and will these sales be higher than the PlayStation 6??

[Army_of_Darkness]

Come on Sony! You can do it! Make "Call of Uncharted "!

[KillBill]

@Eonjay - nobody that signed the 10 year deal is worried about losing access to CoD. Sony the one that didn't sign is the only one worried about their future. Microsoft is simply voicing to Sony's own concern and claims of inability to compete while still leading the market. lol

And nobody is talking exclusivity at all except Sony. Microsoft has continued to claim CoD is going nowhere and the only people that imagine it is was Sony. The deals made were for Microsoft to show in writing their intentions to seek other areas to expand even with CoD. Steam even refused said deal because they said they don't need it in writing and are happy with acknowledgement from Microsoft of intentions.

[KaoticBrock]

@lodossrage

That's not accurate. Halo 3 was the most popular shooter on the Xbox console at the time it released. The only reason it didn't reach CoD numbers was because it wasn't cross platform. It was a console selling power house, and it helped to make the Xbox 360 the most popular console of that time. That was the last true Halo, others were just gap filler, until Halo 4 (343 Industries). It proves other companies can produce Call of Duty alternatives. They won't sell as much as CoD now but when CoD is only on one platform, it won't either.

[Extermin8or3_]

It's not about matching call of duty.... you can more than match it but that doesn't mean it will take off or take COD's player base. It isn't one of those rational things. People don't buy COD because its the best shooter - they buy COD because its COD. You could produce a carbon copy and people still wouldn't buy it because it's not COD. 10 years is a long time maybe things will change but fifa games have been going strong year in year out for far, far longer so I can't see it. Unless ofc Microsoft mismanaged the hell out of it. So much for "we couldn't make it exclusive if we wanted to- it wouldn't make economic sense and has no benefits "blah, blah, blah" at the first 8oppertunity that is exactly what they want todo- they are thinking long term and they are all in on spending alot of money to Tey and monopolise the game subscription and streaming market to then jack up prices and make it all back and far more in years to come.

[S2Killinit]

Call if duty is not a quality game, its a name, the name is what is hard to replace.

[Ashunderfire86]

I remember back then it was Goldeneye that was the best shooter of all time, and Sony can easily make a Call of Duty competitor! And offer the same battle pass! They always wanted games as a service for online, so why not make an annual game accessible like Microsoft is going to do with Gamepass for Call Of Duty?

Call of Duty has been the same exact game for years now! An we barely see any destructible event tech in those games man! Red Faction Guerrilla has one of the best destructible tech, and it should have been the standard in shooters like this! We all want a truly next Gen shooter with movement like Mirror Edge or Dying Light 2! Don’t have to be parkour though. Microsoft is already going to do this with Perfect Dark Remake, and I miss those games being the standards.

[AmUnRa]

Not the same, Bungie wil stay a third party developer, Activision wil be not. And when MS ownes them i fear the worst, cous MS can not de trusted...

[Ashunderfire86]

#lodossrage

The fact of the matter is, NOBODY was been able to come close to Call of Duty's mainstream appeal in the 15 plus years COD has been dominant. So what makes you think it can be done in 10 when multiple companies have tried?

Because many of those companies was still copying the gun play style of Call of Duty in their games to catch attention, instead of innovating! Even that Goldeneye Remake with Daniel Craig as Bond, was a glorified Call of Duty spy game! Similar in gameplay. Battlefield for EA would have been that game, but they screw themselves up making FIFA game the priority, and development for the new Battlefield was a hit and miss with bugs!!! Battlefield 2042. A lot of companies were either playing it safe, or don’t want to lose quality pushing their games to come out every year like Call Of Duty, Assassin Creed, Madden, and so many annual games done to death 💀 Ubisoft games all have the same open world formula and gameplay with a new skin to them.

Bungie right now can truly be the one to challenge Activision with a better shooter! Halo 2 to this day was their best before 343 took over! So I won’t say all developers have tried, when many of them were playing it safe for those 15 years. Not everyone wanted quantity over quality like Activision does!

[DarXyde]

They want Bungie to remain independent and develop for multiple platforms. That's what they say, anyway, but we'll see.

I feel like I don't need to comment on these articles anymore and I don't like FPS titles, but can we pause for a moment and take in the potential madness of Microsoft owning Doom, Quake, Overwatch, Fallout, Call of Duty, Wolfenstein, Prey, Dishonored, and Halo? Not a single one of those is an original Xbox IP and were all bought. That's honestly bizarre to me.

As far as competition goes, I do hope the regulators are knowledgeable enough about the industry to understand that in itself is a budding monopoly.

I don't know what decision they'll make, but I certainly hope that is taken into account.

[-Foxtrot]

Yeah they’ve all tried but never been as successful as COD

Also isn’t MS basically saying after the 10 year deal, “tough shit, it’s gone”

I assumed that was Sonys point dismissing the deal as they knew they’d be dropped like a sack of shit as soon as the 10 years was up

[tbagmonster]

and so what, ms doesnt owe anyone cod if they buy it. 10 years is alot of time and they should be happy it was offered in the first place

[kayoss]

@tbagmonster
And Sony doesnt owe microsoft to agree with the purchase of these studios. MS had over 20 years to develop great studios and exclusive games... but they are too incompetent to do so. So this give them a right to buy all the successful studios?

[S2Killinit]

@tbagmonster
MS owes the gamers for taking it away from them.

[OptimusDK]

No that is not what MS is saying - they just say they will not comit to a longer contract.
That is not the same as they would not make a new deal when the time comes.

[myfathersbastard]

100%. They just admited all their talk of “wanting games to be everywhere” is all bullshit. But I mean, we all knew that. They did and said the exact same stuff when they bought zenimax. That didn’t even get a parity deal though.

[porkChop]

1) Sony already has a COD competitor now. They own Destiny which is CODs biggest competitor and the second largest FPS franchise. It's interesting that none of the regulators have even mentioned this.

2) With everything Sony's devs have learned to do, and the advancements in their in-house engines, Sony could certainly make another competitor. It doesn't have to sell as much as COD either. Sony only gets 20% from COD sales vs 100% from their own IP.

They also own Bungie now, so Bungie could collab with a studio. Imagine Guerilla using everything they learned from crafting Horizon, plus Bungie's expertise with Halo and Destiny. If those two got together and revisited Killzone we could see something really cool.

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

Destiny is multiplatform.

[porkChop]

And? It doesn't matter if it's multiplatform. It rakes in tons of money and has a massive playerbase. That's now Sony's IP. It's their game. Whether it's multiplat or not is irrelevant because they're making tons of cash from it.

[Extermin8or3_]

So destiny 2 sold a few million copies, literally a fraction of COD's yearly sales. Since going free to play with destiny 2 they apparently have a total of 37 million players but that's over like 7 years. They claim about 700k daily users and the title brings in about 200 million dollars a year.

https://progameguides.com/d...

Meanwhile call of duty last year was fastest title in gaming history to reach 1 billion dollars in sales. In it'd first 5 days warzone 2 hit more than 28 million players with a peak of half a million consecutive players on pc alone.It sold most on PlayStation and is suspected to have higher player counts on PlayStation.

Destiny 2 is the second bestselling game/franchise bar COD but the gulf is still massive and that is rather the point.

[OptimusDK]

@Outside_ofthe_Box
so is COD that is the point the next 10 years - what about Destiney how long is that - any garanties?

[porkChop]

@Extermin8or3_
COD makes all those billions for Activision, not for Sony. This is about Sony not having a competitor to replace the lost revenue. Based on how much Activision made on PS in 2021, and considering Sony only takes a 20% cut from Activision games, Sony's cut in 2021 would have been $330M. That's for all Activision games, including popular games like Overwatch that still pull in considerable cash. But even if we say COD accounts for 80%, that's $264M from COD. That $200M per year from Destiny would almost entirely cover Sony's lost revenue from COD. So my point stands.

[Seraphim]

and there it is.... all those 10 year deals were smoke and mirrors. Like I said when MS started offering 10 year deals to Nintendo, etc. Once those deals expire expect full exclusivity. Those deals were nothing more than to appease regulators short term because they're thinking long term.

Also, idk if anyone remembers, but it was well established over a decade ago that no one could compete with CoD, that it was a juggernaut no publisher, developer or game could touch. Even MS understood this which is why they were the first to sign a [5 year] CoD deal for early access to map packs. There is no competition and there will likely never be one. CoD is tried and true and even those who bemoan it annually still buy and it play each and every year.

Every time I think this can't get any worse, MS opens their mouths.

[InUrFoxHole]

@lodossrage
I call BS. Socom would smoke COD on PS

[lodossrage]

The sales from the Socom games on PS3 say otherwise. There's a reason those haven't been made anymore

[porkChop]

@lodoss

I don't necessarily agree that Socom would overtake COD, but that's not a fair comparison. Socom: Confrontation was made by a completely different dev and wasn't a good game. Socom 4 had pretty decent reviews but launched the day before the PS Network hack in 2011. PSN was offline for a month and no one was buying any online games on PS at that point. The game was DOA as a result.

[InUrFoxHole]

@lodo
Strictly from a gameplay standpoint. Let's be honest. Cod won't stay on top forever but if you have no choice, then stop crying and make socom again. Or killzone

[closed_account]

10 years wasn't enough for Microsoft to develop a Call of Duty alternative... or anything notable really. They were like "F--- this. We'll buy it."

The irony in this statement.

I think what annoys me more than anything about this is that Microsoft doesn't really try hard to build anything anymore. I liked and admired the old Microsoft that took risks and attempted new IPs on a regular basis. I loved my 360 actually. I'm not a big fan of Sea of Thieves, but at least it was something. I admire that more than just this attempt at nothing. Sea of Thieves turns 5 years old this week. The last notable new game was half a decade ago. Let that sink in.

[OptimusDK]

You are just forgetting the small detail that MS is buying a company for 68 billion USD - SONY IS NOT!!!

There is no real reason for putting this burden os MS it is up to them to decide what to do with the franchise - 10 years is much more than SONY would ever give the other way around.

[roadkillers]

To be fair, Battlefield was good competition until EA became greedy. Same with Medal of Honor. EA screwed themselves over.

Halo was bigger than Call of Duty before 2007.

Let’s be honest, Sony has never attempted. Killzone came out well before CoD was big. What other FPS have they leveraged in the same way?

[SullysCigar]

Okay Microsoft. And yet 10 years wasn't enough time for you to make another decent Halo game, despite owning the IP and the code from the - now ancient - good games. Strange take.

Microsoft is also ignoring the brand pull of COD with this snarky suggestion. How many devs and games have tried and failed at taking on COD over the years? "Just make a COD clone", yeah, good idea, nobody's ever thought of that one...

[darthv72]

All the halo games are decent... unless you have a different definition of decent than everyone else. Personally i don't get the allure of CoD. I much prefer fiction of things like resistance, killzone, and halo.

[SullysCigar]

Of course I have a different definition to everybody else - so do you, right? That's what an opinion is. 343i have missed every try, for me, and Halo lost it's magic. COD's not my bag either, so I guess we both differ from the masses on that one.

[InUrFoxHole]

@Sully
You're just wrong man.

[Old McGroin]

@SullysCigar

"Okay Microsoft. And yet 10 years wasn't enough time for you to make another decent Halo game"

Sony now own the developer responsible for Halo in its heyday, would love to see Bungie take on the challenge of toppling COD.

[Lightning Mr Bubbles]

Okay okay hold on... Can Sony make a legit Call of Duty alternative in 10 years? Of course not! But that's not even what's shocking about this article, what's really shocking is that they are pretty much admitting now that they plan to remove Call of Duty from Playstation after 10 years.

EDIT: I don't even know if Microsoft is helping their case at all with this. I figured they would try to lie more and come up with some excuse as to why they won't extend it past 10 years. But to me, them saying that Sony should be able to come up with a replacement by 10 years, pretty much sounds like they're admitting their true intentions.

[SullysCigar]

Bingo! Which is what Sony have claimed they would do all along. The only responses to such suggestions from the MS mouthpiece skirted around the issue, flipped and flopped, leaving the interviewers either bamboozled, exhausted or plain past caring.

[blackblades]

Basically yeah, 10 years they taking CoD off every platform cause everyone should have a alt by then apparently. Thats what i got from it and was obvious from the beginning. They probably wanna cap on the $ coming in for the 10year to recoup the cost of buying them. Afterwards everyone is on there own.

[kayoss]

I just hope MS drive COD into the ground and bury it deep before 10 years comes around.

[gangsta_red]

Absolutely agreed. This site alone swears by the talents of Sony's first party studios, why can't it be possible for them to make an equivalent or above alternative to CoD for Playstation gamers?

People are mistaken that a game has to beat CoD to be relevant, you just have to make a game that is just as popular and draws in as many players as CoD does. That is not impossible to do.

[LabRat]

No one is saying that they have to beat CoDs numbers.... making a game that is even in the ballpark is very difficult to do. If it was easy each company would have one by now.

CoD has such a foothold, that even if it was a fantastic shooter/multiplayer game (example: titanfall 2) it isn't enough to pull people away from what they are already invested in (CoD).

[gangsta_red]

"...making a game that is even in the ballpark is very difficult to do."

That can be applied to everything and anything and it definitely doesn't mean it's impossible. Furthermore it shouldn't stop Sony from still coming up with a game on par with CoD

There are games today that are in that ballpark, Fortnight instantly comes to mind as a game that has the players, makes just as much money and is just as popular as CoD.

"...it isn't enough to pull people away from what they are already invested in (CoD)"

The goal shouldn't be to pull players away from CoD, as we both stated you don't have to beat CoD numbers. Both games can be just as popular as one another and could exist together on the Playstation console.

[headshotfrosty]

Stop it. You can't be the "they make the best exclusives" "MS is trash" crowd and when the time really comes where it matters for you to ball up you get scared. Lean into the challenge head up and do what you do best then.

[kayoss]

@gangsta_red
Then why cant MS make games in par with PS exclusives instead buying well established and successful studios?

[Vengeance1138]

Call of Duty has been building its brand and iterating on its gameplay for 19yrs to get to where it is today, and also has countless thousands of devs involved making each one. Are you saying Sony can devote several thousand devs and condense 19yrs into 10 or less?

[gangsta_red]

"Are you saying Sony can devote several thousand devs and condense 19yrs into 10 or less?"

Lol, well then Sony better start now, they have 10 years to do so. More than enough time.

[Vengeance1138]

@gangsta_red
Or you know, just take the best rout and have the deal blocked and MS can try themselves.

[Asplundh]

Except COD has been big for awhile now, it didn't just happen recently.

[badz149]

@gangsta_red

Name 1 FPS game since 2007 (the year CoD4 came out) that has able to do what CoD does and is still going strong to this day.

[gangsta_red]

Again, missing the point.

There have been many games that have released since CoD that have gained just as much popularity, going just as strong, has made just as much money and have a accumulated a huge following right along side with CoD.

Sony's goal shouldn't be to beat or dethrone CoD, That probably and realistically won't happen.

Sony's goal should be to create a game that can match CoD with players, popularity and revenue. If other developers can makes games that can do it, so can Sony ...unless Sony's first party studios are incapable of making popular games that have the potential of becoming beloved classics ....

[badz149]

"There have been many games that have released since CoD that have gained just as much popularity, going just as strong, has made just as much money and have a accumulated a huge following right along side with CoD."

And yet you can't even name ONE of them?

"Sony's goal shouldn't be to beat or dethrone CoD,"

I think Sony has given up trying to do that and that is why they are putting so much effort to lock on to exclusive marketing rights for the damn thing! Why the hell do you think they are so against this buyout? Candy Crush?

[IRetrouk]

If its so easy why didn't ms just do it then? Be far cheaper than buying up publishers surely?
Unless....its not as easy as they make out? Which sony already explained.....

[gangsta_red]

"If its so easy why didn't ms just do it then? Be far cheaper than buying up publishers surely?"

Who said it was easy to do? And you're getting a lot more IPs when buying this publisher.

It won't be easy, but this is going to be unique for Sony and it's up to them to be tasked with having to do so. They rested easy thinking CoD would be a third party multiplatform game forever, they never tried or attempted to make an alternative to the game. No one's fault but their own.

Sony is just now getting into Live Service games because their late to that party also. Which is why they bought Bungie for Destiny. And I'm sure they're going to try and create their own Live Service games to compete against other popular Live Service games that are already on the market. Is there a reason they can't do the same against CoD?

[Vengeance1138]

@gangsta_red
"they never tried or attempted to make an alternative to the game. No one's fault but their own."

Proof? receipts? Are you a Sony insider? Killzone was a thing you know where Killzone 3 literally changed alot in order to be more like CoD and it failed horribly. Socom also changed alot in Socom 4 but failed in the end. You should really stop just saying any random thing that comes to your mind to suit your narrative.
Also how is Sony "late to the party" in GaaS? Do you know how much data is required and how many failed projects need to happen before a quality one is made? Look at the counless GaaS we've had that weren't "late to the party" and what happened to them? All dead.
Sitting back on Live service and learning from others mistakes is pro move on Sony's part. Good chance we see atleast 1-2 hits out of the 10 incoming.

[IRetrouk]

"Who said it was easy to do? And you're getting a lot more IPs when buying this publisher."

Missing the point, if its possible why hasn't ms done it? And why are the ips important if they can make their own versions of them?

"It won't be easy, but this is going to be unique for Sony and it's up to them to be tasked with having to do so. They rested easy thinking CoD would be a third party multiplatform game forever, they never tried or attempted to make an alternative to the game. No one's fault but their own."

It's their fault for doing what they've always done? Their fault a trillion dollar company wants to buy up ip that was multi? Not sure that computes to be honest, they tried with a few fps franchises, none took off to cods level, its kinda how sony knows its not so easy....

"Sony is just now getting into Live Service games because their late to that party also. Which is why they bought Bungie for Destiny. And I'm sure they're going to try and create their own Live Service games to compete against other popular Live Service games that are already on the market. Is there a reason they can't do the same against CoD?"

Sony has done live service since the ps3 days....

[gangsta_red]

@Vengeance

"Killzone was a thing you know where Killzone 3 literally changed alot in order to be more like CoD and it failed horribly."

Killzone was Sony's answer to Halo, not CoD. Who's fault was it that it failed?

"Socom also changed alot in Socom 4 but failed in the end."

Socom was never a direct competitor to CoD (if i'm not mistaken Socom came out before CoD) as it was more a team based strategic shooter, where as CoD leaned heavy into the arcade type shooter and again, if it failed and Sony decided to completely kill the IP and close the studio, then who's fault is that?

"You should really stop just saying any random thing that comes to your mind to suit your narrative."

Too funny, this is literally what you're doing right now.

"Do you know how much data is required and how many failed projects need to happen before a quality one is made?"

And yet Sony is still developing their own live service games, exactly what point are you even making here? That no one should try to make a game because there will always be a more popular one on the market already? So absolutely no one should make a GTA, GoW, Fortnite, Elden Ring, Gears of War, Devil May Cry or any other game that other games are compared to because the originals are more popular?

"Sitting back on Live service and learning from others mistakes is pro move on Sony's part. Good chance we see atleast 1-2 hits out of the 10 incoming."

Okay...so why can't this same logic be applied to a CoD type game from Sony? I mean according to your logic, Sony can learn from not only their own mistakes (killzone and Socom as you mentioned) but others who tried to go against CoD and failed and we can have at least 1 or 2 hits down the line right?

@iretrouk

"Missing the point, if its possible why hasn't ms done it? And why are the ips important if they can make their own versions of them?"

No, I'm not missing the point, because this isn't up to MS anymore, they bought Activision.

"..none took off to cods level, its kinda how sony knows its not so easy...."

So give up and never try, that's the answer?...because look where they're at now, struggling to block the deal. Because they never tried, because they gave up, now they're fighting to keep CoD on their system. You're not making very good points here.

"Sony has done live service since the ps3 days...."

It has never been their main focus as it is now.

[IRetrouk]

You are and have continually missed the point, if it were easy to do, ms would have done it without the need to buy the most popular ip on the planet, yet they haven't, because again, its not all that easy to do.

Who says they gave up? Nobody said they have, what everyone is saying is its not a simple as "make your own" which you don't seem to be understanding.....

Struggling to block the deal? It's not their job to block it or not, their job was to answer questions given to them by the commissions, which they did.

Fighting to keep cod on playstation, you mean how they went from 3 years to 10, and has ms handing deals out to every no name streaming service?...

It's not their main focus now either, they have more of a focus on it than before, no doubt, but to say they are late to a party they were already at is a bit disingenuous...

It's your points that are lacking bro, no mine.

[gangsta_red]

@iretrouk

Seriously, absolutely no one said it was easy to do. I already said this in my reply to you, so why do you keep asking me if it was easy to do why didn't MS do it.

Again, it's not up to MS to do so anymore. So that is a pointless question to ask. The burden of this task rests solely on Sony's shoulders now.

"...make your own" which you don't seem to be understanding....."

You're literally proving my point, by already declaring it's not easy to do means they stopped trying to do it, they gave up.

They were fine with thinking that CoD would never go anywhere and would always remain multiplatform. They were comfortable spending money on timed DLC and timed content. Now they're scrambling to just keep CoD on PS for an extended amount of time.

"...their job was to answer questions given to them by the commissions, which they did."

You seem to not know that it was Sony who gave their complaints to these government officials which made them investigate the deal. Sony has admitted to actively wanting to block the deal. You actually think these officials are knowledgeable with the gaming industry, especially and specifically CoD?

"..but to say they are late to a party they were already at is a bit disingenuous."

You're confused, I never said Sony never made live service games.
And they are late to that party, is Sony benefiting from those PS3 live service games now?

My points are much more clear than yours as you keep reiterating things I never said.

[IRetrouk]

Stop arguing semantics man, so fucking disingenuous 🤣
You made points, I disputed them or asked questions🤷🏻‍♂️

So because ms bought a company, questions don't need answered or are pointless? That's silly and not a real answer.

We know they haven't gave up though, your claim holds no weight at all, they already confirmed they are working on similar style games with multiple studios.

The commissions ask for the input of others in the industry of the deal they are looking at... and reading through all the paperwork that's been made available? Yes, they know the industry lol.

How is that any different to how they have always operated with third party devs and pubs? Ms does it too, not sure what point you are making, do massive 3rd party publishers often get bought to gobble up ip? Scrambling? They got ms to go from a 3 year deal to a 10, offer it to multiple companies and give a load of no name streaming companies access.....

Again, they can't be late to a party they have continually been at...

You do a lot of twisting and turning instead of just being straight, you should fix that.

[gangsta_red]

"Stop arguing semantics man,..."

Stop arguing semantics...wow, that's funny to read.

"So because ms bought a company, questions don't need answered or are pointless? That's silly and not a real answer."

You do know what the word 'irrelevant" means right? It's not enough to ask questions, it's about asking the right questions. You should understand the difference.

But I guess i'll explain the obviousness of the obvious. The reason MS didn't do it is the same reason Sony didn't do it. Both rested on knowing CoD was a third party multiplatform game. If the situation were reversed the same would then be applied to MS. But that isn't the case now is it? So why even ask why didn't MS do it?

So now do you understand why your question is irrelevant?

"...they already confirmed they are working on similar style games with multiple studios."

Oh, so Sony has multiple games in the works now? Meaning, not released yet to compete with the already saturated Live Service market available and has been since the 360/PS3 days. Where are all the ones from Sony you mentioned since the PS3 days? Closed? Sold off? All the ones besides Bungie, a studio they bought with an already popular live service game that's filling the void...Or is that just more 'semantics'?

"The commissions ask for the input of others in the industry of the deal they are looking at... and reading through all the paperwork that's been made available? Yes, they know the industry lol."

It's obvious you have no idea how this case came about and this statement shows exactly that.

"...do massive 3rd party publishers often get bought to gobble up ip?"

LMAO! Which is exactly why Sony is in this position it is now, because Sony including all of us never thought this would happen and yet here we are.

"Ms does it too.."

Yes, they do, did I ever say they didn't?

"They got ms to go from a 3 year deal to a 10, offer it to multiple companies and give a load of no name streaming companies access....."

So Sony's strategy was to make MS put CoD on as many platforms as possible, therefore increasing their user base and profits and having complete parity with one another all the while not accepting the deal themselves? Great plan!

"You do a lot of twisting and turning instead of just being straight, you should fix that."

I've maintained my point from the very beginning. The fact you speak on points no one made, put words in other people's mouth and can't stay coherent seems to be the real issue here.

[IRetrouk]

Ms hasn't actually got cod yet lol, so the question is relevant, and you've answered it, which is progress I suppose.

You think Sony statements started the commisions work?🤣🤦‍♂️

Gt sport is still going, gt 7 is here, plenty have died, nature of the beast, but again, they are in the space and never left, you statement is bs.

What words did I put in your mouth? again, being disingenuous. I asked questions and made statements. I didnt claim you said anything you didn't, I inferred you ment easy on your first point, which was the only thing i originaly questioned, you went on a spiel that i then adressed, but that still isn't putting words in your mouth.

I've answered every point you brought up, while waiting for you to stop dancing, behave yourself🤣🤦‍♂️

[Hofstaderman]

Must really burn that Sony is putting such a fight up hey?

[darthv72]

Well... to be fair it's their own fault. Sony gave up on their own in house IP's like SOCOM and Resistance and even Killzone. They tasked those studios with other projects because they opted to back something that wasn't even theirs. Cozying up to CoD like they were hoping it would become theirs one day.

Sony should never have closed down Zipper as they were certainly capable of making big multiplayer military games that could have dethroned CoD just on their own platform alone. They made the mistake of putting their eggs not even their own basket but someone elses. And now that basket is going to be owned by another party. They really have no one else to blame but themselves. Instead of owning their mistakes, they try to play victim.

They are a victim alright... of their own volition.

[IRetrouk]

They shut those studios or moved them over to other ip for a very specific reasons though dearth, they wernt selling very well, you can only invest in losses for so long, they have always backed 3rd party games, they aint doing anything different to how they have been since ps1.

[anast]

This is a clumsy way of thinking. I am sure you are aware that being talented at one thing does not necessarily mean being talented at everything. Not to be rude, but there is a lot of stuff out there to help you with this issue.

[Asplundh]

The thing is COD wouldn't be as successful if it wasn't multiplaform, Sony will never make a game as big as COD unless it's also multiplaform.

[purple101]

That's a fair point.

[tay8701]

Sonys studios certainly have the ability to make a better game than COD, but they will never have the popularity of COD. Everyone has tried to make a COD killer, and Noone has succeeded. Do you think sony has the time, money and resources to invest into a game like COD. actvision had 3000 devs working on the new game on it for 3yrs. They have 3 different studios that alternate yrs, it's just a MASSIVE game. The closest that anyone has really come is battlefield and that game is dwarfed by COD.

[ChasterMies]

It’s not just making a good game. Lots of games have been better than Call of Duty games over the years. The problem for upstarts is brand recognition and reaching a critical mass of players. Just look at Microsoft’s own Halo franchise and its moribund population on Steam. If Halo isn’t a system seller anymore, what chance does a new IP have?

[gangsta_red]

I'm reading a lot of defeatist type of comments. Just know this, Sony is already investing in 10(!!) Live Service games, so yes, Sony does have the time and resources to compete against a game like CoD.

If they have a road map of 10 Live Service games in the pipeline then it's obvious they are trying to compete with games that are already established, more popular and already available to the public. Games like Fortnite, Apex Legends, Warframe, etc, I don't see why CoD wouldn't be among the games Sony wants to compete with and be apart of from the competitive gaming community.

As I said before, the goal for any developer shouldn't be to beat CoD, just be as popular as CoD, the same way Sony did with their own games like GoW.

[kayoss]

Battlefield in my opinion was the only franchise that came "close". But even that was still far away from what COD is.

[Extermin8or3_]

A game doesn't have to beat cod to be relevant but this is about a competitor buying your biggest income revenue stream with a view to cutting it off. THAT IS like the definition of an ANTI-TRUST case snd ehf the deal shouldn't go through.

Games like COD and Fortnite etc take off in a way no one expected theybwould when they made them or released them. Even to this day no one really knows why COD remains so popular a brand bur it does. There have been, are and will be plenty of higher quality better games around and yet none will come close tk COD's YEARLY sales figures. This will remain the same unless MS manages to kill the franchise and its appeal over the next next decade.

[LucasRuinedChildhood]

Making their intents of eventual COD exclusivity very obvious.

[Welshy]

It's insultingly oversimplified too, boiling it down to "you've got 10 years, just make your own COD lol" when literally every platform holder and 3rd party publishers (including MS themselves btw) have been trying for alot longer than that and failed.

COD is like FIFA, Mario etc, it's a whole entity into itself and has pulling power that simply overpowers a mere clone. Someone could and probably has made an FPS that's technically superior across the board than COD, but the casual pull of the COD brand alone will basically always have it outsell it's rivals no matter what.

[Vengeance1138]

Same concept for Smash Bros, look at the pile of failed clones that did the same as the original and in some areas improved upon it but died horribly because they're all just labelled as shameless "Smash clones".

[shinoff2183]

Lucas

But more gamers right. It's pretty obvious ms originally intent was to try to put the desth blow to Sony. Buying one of the largest publishers. Why couldn't they make anything on par to sonys exclusives. I'll never understand that.

[jznrpg]

They don’t try they think they can buy instead

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

Lol there goes the "It's not in Microsoft's best interest to make CoD exclusive" retort.

I've been saying all along that MS is playing the long game. They are doing everything short of promising permanent multiplat release to make the deal go through because they know once they have ownership, that's that, game over, they can do whatever they want. They are only doing forever deals with cloud platforms that will eventually go the way of Stadia.

"It's not about at some point I pull the rug underneath PlayStation 7's legs and it's ah ha you just didn't write the contract long enough. There's no contract that could be written that says forever"

Lol Phil Spencer

[Snookies12]

Wait what? Oh sure, just make another #1 best-selling franchise of all-time. No other game series has beaten it in sales ever. It shouldn't be THAT hard, lol. Come on Microsoft. I've been enjoying MS this gen quite a bit, but this is laughable.

[RpgSama]

LOL, Best answer so far, an entirely new game from scratch (not existing IP) takes up to 4 or even 5 years to make, but MS be like "here you go Sony, you have 2 chances in the next 10 years to make an entirely new franchise that can beat of at least compete against your highest selling games for each of the past 10 years in a row, individually"

[DogJosha]

It is popular but it isn't the best selling franchise or game. There is a reason they paid so much for Minecraft. Maybe you meant the best selling shooter?

[RpgSama]

@DogJosha

There literally was an article a few days ago saying exactly that, LOL.

"Call of Duty Was Top-Selling PS5 and PS4 Game for Last 10 Years"

https://www.yahoo.com/enter...

So, yes, it is the best selling franchise AND games on the PS ecosystem, and not only that, it has been that way for at least 10 years.

[DogJosha]

It isn't the best selling franchise or game. That article covers Playstation game sales during each year. In other words you are jumping through hoops to lie out your teeth. Minecraft and Pokémon outsold COD. It isn't even worth bringing up the sale of individual games because each game doesn't sell much compared to best sellers. Do you feel happy twisting info around to fit your narrative? Did you think all of us were too uneducated to do a simple Google search to see that you are lying?

[RpgSama]

@DogJosha

Whatever makes you sleep better at night.

[Bemi]

Pokémon

[RpgSama]

Pokemon is most likely a candidate to have sold more, but I guess we are talking about a franchise within the PlayStation Ecosystem

[Bemi]

Indeed. In the PlayStation ecosystem I doubt anything could touch COD. Maybe GTA but I'm not sure even that.

[RpgSama]

@Bemi

The thing with COD is that it's a yearly franchise, GTA is a once in a generation game, if that, GTA V was launched originally on PS3 in 2013, as a single game it has for sure sold more than any COD game individually, but not more than the last 10 years of COD games.

[Workshyskiver]

The whole filling is very interesting reading. CMA don't seem to have an issue with Microsofts impact on Sony here, agreeing that the remedy suggested is sufficient and holding up examples of other 10 year or lesser deals that were deemed sufficient in past cases;

https://assets.publishing.s...

[IRetrouk]

This is microsofts response, not the cmas.

[Workshyskiver]

It contains written comments from the CMA that are quoted by M$.

[IRetrouk]

Can you point them out please, I'm struggling to see em.

[Flakegriffin]

I think he is struggling too.

[Hofstaderman]

They want structural changes. Structural being the key word.

[bunt-custardly]

A new Killzone game on PS5 would murder COD as the better game. But the sales numbers might not match it unless it was on PS4 and PS5 with PSVR 2 support. It's certainly a system seller.

[Workshyskiver]

COD wasn't always the king, Sony has all the tools at its disposal to make the best shooter and system seller in the industry.

[lodossrage]

It's been over 15 years and nobody has been able to match call of duty's popularity. It's not that easy or it would have been done already. EA, Ubisoft, Sony, and Microsoft themselves have all tried.

Microsoft has more money and resources than Sony being a 2 trillion + dollar company. They have all the tools at their disposal to do exactly what you're saying. But instead, they'd rather buy up major players in the industry.

[jznrpg]

So MS doesn’t with more studios and money ?

[KicksnSnares]

If Sony does a Killzone 2 remaster/remake, that would be insane. Killzone 2 multiplayer is the best FPS of all time.

[Vengeance1138]

It certainly was better than Killzone 3 which went the CoD rout.

[P_Bomb]

I’ve been barking up that Killzone tree for years! Would buy day one. It’s time, Sony!

[343_Guilty_Spark]

Are Sony fans suggesting a 20 year deal?

[Hofstaderman]

No. We don’t want the acquisition. We with Jim Ryan…we just don’t want it.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

Well it'll get approved anyway

[Hofstaderman]

While you crossing thumbs over that I’m playing proper current gen games and prepping for Spider-Man 2 and FF16. No acquisition is going to change MS. See BioWare, rare and others.

[anast]

I would say 30 + since MS has shown they can't even develop a comparable IP in 20 years.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

@Hofstaderman

I have a PS5 for exclusives. An Xbox for everything else because once I'm done with those wonderful single-player experiences on PS5...Well more than likely I'm not replaying them.

[AmUnRa]

No, whe want a no deal ore that MS makes COD multiplatform and must let the developers in Activison who are making CoD be independed, so that they can CoD make third party like it is now.
MS talkes like they own Activision Blizzard, but they own nothing, and they could lose this case.

[darthv72]

It seems the timing is right for a return to SOCOM.

[Vengeance1138]

$69 Billion could have also be used to develop a brand new CoD alternative, but creativity and effort is tough isnt it Microsoft?
Call of Duty doesnt sell year after year because its some revolutionary FPS that does anything different that hasn't been done a thousand times before, it sells on brand name. People buy CoD because its CoD, it has the name.

[MIDGETonSTILTS17]

Lol, ten years wasn’t enough time for M$ to develop ANY system selling games…. So how da fuq would they know?

[MrDead]

Scum sucking tax dodging mega corp that wants to monopolise another industry doesn't see the hypocrisy in it's own statements, what a surprise! One of the wealthiest companies in history that couldn't be arsed to make any games of merit in a generation and a half is saying just make games...

When this deal goes through, which it will because money always wins will all the fanboys that are cheering a company spending 80 billion on no new games but to remove gaming's biggest ips from competition will they finally be happy? They're get nothing new, but others losing out really gets them going.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

Every Corp tax dodges. You are being emotional. It’ll be okay. Imagine how Sega and Nintendo fans felt in 1994-95.

[MrDead]

Aww, the you're being emotional retort, highly used by anyone that can't justify s****y actions that they support so they try to belittle the comment.

Try harder.

[GamingSinceForever]

MS would know exactly what it takes to develop a game wouldn’t they?

[rippermcrip]

Microsoft had 20 years and multitudes times more money than Sony and they couldn't come up with their own IPs.

[masterfox]

haha I have to give credit to MS of forcing Sony to embrace their roots and so Sony remembers what makes Playstation the best in the industry , cause sadly with Jim I think they forgot what makes Playstation so great, and I can tell you right now it wasnt CoD or any other third party game that put PS In number one spot in this game game industry, it seems Sony will learn the hard way.

[BrainSyphoned]

Or Microsoft could do the same instead of being intellectually bankrupt.

[thesoftware730]

I said this same thing in one of my posts!

10 years is way long enough for Sony to prepare for possibly not having the one game they are bitching about. I get it. it's not easy to beat sales numbers of CoD, but who the hell knows what 10 years from now could bring especially with how fast tech is advancing.

Sony has so many talented studios, and with the 10-year deal and billions of $$ they rake in, they could task those wonderful dev teams they have with producing a multiplayer game that they own, stop banking on a 3rd party game that is fair game to be had by anyone with enough money to buy it.

I thought that was the strength of what people say about Sony. Nurturing devs, and making them great, well 10 years is way more than enough time to get to nurturing!

Btw, before people start comparing what I said to MS, just stop, I am talking about Sony specifically and the prowess of their devs to actually make something better than CoD multiplayer-wise. They need to stop bellyaching and show why they are the best...right?

[Gamer_Dude]

Sony wants to sell 25 hr single player games at 70 bucks a pop and use cod to fill their player bases need for multiplayer so they don't have to shell out the dough for servers and such. I think that's why they killed off all their multiplayer shooters in the first place.

[anast]

MS is saying 10 years is sufficient to develop an new and successful IP that is comparable to CoD when they can't even to do it in 20 years. This is why they are trying to buy it in the first place.

[thesoftware730]

Yes, yes we know.

But remember, Sony has the best devs in the world...am I right?

[pitythefool]

Stop being intentionally stupid, COD has been bettered multiple times by both critic and user scores.

It sells on brand recognition at this point, but you obviously know that.

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

^^^
Yeah all he cares about is what is good for Microsoft. That much is obvious.

[anast]

There are plenty of resources out there to help you with your issue.

[thesoftware730]

@Outside, anast & Pitty

No, no, no my friend, I don't give a shit about MS trillions of dollars, or Sony's.

Anast, I assure you I am of sound body and mind brother lol.

Pitty, I would say snarky, not stupid...it is just funny to me that you guys are acting as if Sony will collapse without one game lol.

I care about consumers, which I am a part of, I buy CoD, other games, and sub to GP and PS +, and as a consumer, if I can save $70 or any money I am for it. People like to call people poor or cheap if they like saving money on games, but I think those people don't realize gaming is a hobby, not a way of life. I have a sound career, a wife, and kids, and if I can save money on something that is not essential, I will. We are not forcing Sony or MS to give us deals, or cheaper games, they are megacorps that have their business under control, people on message boards often act as if they are a part of these companies, instead of a consumer.

We get into all the semantics of these corps, which one is making money, which is more honest, we hang onto any and every comment they make, we follow their court cases, all these things, at times it seems that we care more about the mega corps than ourselves. So many people on N4G talk about how trash A/B are and how bad CoD is, but yet fervently fight against the acquisition, not because they love CoD, but to defend Sony, people can pretend that they are championing other players who play the game, but let's be honest, you don't really care about little johnny who now has to buy an Xbox or PC, you care about Sony and PS brand losing some sort of console war foothold, which is silly.

Then we get to the fact that they are being offered 10 years of CoD, 10 years! Sony has no claim on CoD, to begin with, but you guys act as if Sony somehow has a say in what A/B does as a company, why, because the games sell best on that system? and there is the point, Sony is not out to help you play CoD, they are out to keep getting the billions of dollars they get, MS is no different, they are trying to get them billions! This is business and nothing they are doing is illegal, yeah it's under review, but anything this big usually is.

[pitythefool]

Never said anything like that whatsoever, merely pointed out your logic is piss poor and extremely flawed.

[darkrider]

Microsoft keeps shooting their own feet. So why can't Microsoft create a single blockbuster game since Halo, forza and gears? How many years since those games were launched?

But Sony can make the biggest seller in the world of videogaming without any problems.. We are not talking just about a game that sell millions, no, no, no every single year. We are talking about the that sold more in the last 10 or more years...

What a ridiculous company. Just go to mobile and leave the rest. What shame Sega isn't still making consoles and game. They in a single gen were able to make more and better games then all gens combined of Microsoft....

[thesoftware730]

But Sony devs are nurtured to be the best, am I right? Maybe it's time for them nurture being the best in Multiplayer games...they are making 10 of them aren't they?

Remember MS sucks right? so how could you except them to do what Sony can't?

As the best, according to the large majority of N4G and gamers, they probably should stop relying on a 3rd party game they don't own.

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

But Sony sucks at multiplayer and shooting games am I right? All Sony does is make one and done single player games with no reply value, right? According to the large majority of N4G and gamers, MS is the dude bro shooter console, so they should be able to create a CoD of their own instead of relying on buying up the industry where games are already releasing on their system and taking them away from other gamers.

[SurgicalMenace]

There is no point in attempting to speak reason with a community so desperate to be on the winning side. Those without talent always resort to stealing or cheating hence how MS was built to begin with. We can't expect those supporting an empty refrigerator to care about starving other because they've not eaten in so long. The homeless mentality is enough to justify any act that can produce an opportunity to eat. GP alone is equivalent to a shelter to feed those in need with little to no investment required.

[UltimateRacer]

So what MS is basically saying is Sony develop a COD rival because after 10 years we are pulling COD from the PS ecosystem.

[red2tango]

Sony had Socom 2 which beat every Xbox game combined for online numbers. And what did they do? They killed the franchise. They already had the golden goose. It won the contest for favorite game on PS2, it won Making The List, and yet Sony is silent. I know this site isn't into the game, but it was Sony's best shooter franchise and at one point, it was the best shooter franchise, excluding Counter Strike 1.6 maybe.

[lodossrage]

Sony MADE Socom. It wasn't something that was multiplatform that they decided to buy.

Did Microsoft make Call of Duty?

[AmUnRa]

Yeah you are spot on, all xboxfans do is deflect, and talking about apples and oranges here to proof theyr point.....

[masterfox]

indeed Socom 2 was the top multiplayer game, COD wasnt even a damn thing back then, I said in one past comment in another article that Sony should stop feeding the monster before is too late, by that I mean Sony should stop making famous COD, Sony created the income monster that COD is today, and imo Sony still have the chance to kill it. Activision are some ungrateful greedy bast@#%rds, if it werent by Sony Playstation Brand COD wouldn't be as big as it is today, remember the 360 era it was all about online gaming specially COD but the 360 and xbox live wasnt enough to catapult CoD sales, that change when COD main platform was the PS4.

[FPS_D3TH]

Yeah… because Killzone, Medal of Honor, Battlefield and Homefront have all been working out so well

[Andrew336]

The deal is going to go through. You idiots on here need to stop pretending like it isn't going too. All Sony has to do is make MAG 2 but have it not be shit ;)

[thesoftware730]

At this point wouldn't it be better for Sony to have a plan, and accept the 10 year deal that they gotta know will go through? It's almost silly for them to fight the power at this point, instead they should be making moves to soften the blow.

Yes yes, we know, MS sucks...so now Sony should show and prove why they are the Market leaders...is it simply because of Cod?

[Mr_cheese]

I personally wish Sony would delve into their FPS ipslike resistance and killzone then pull out all the stops so they aren't reliant on COD however, it's easier said than done

[derek]

Whether or not 10 years is enough time to develop a cod alternative is irrelevant and shows what little respect Microsoft has for the CMA or this entire process. CMA provisional findings have already stated that this type of imagined contract does not address their concerns of foreclosure. I'm of the opinion that unless the decision day is delayed the cma will block this deal.

Remember in a scenario where this deal is approved Microsoft can decide when to terminate that contract before that 10 year term expires and simply pay the penalty whatever that is and the cma or any other regulator would have very little recourse. This has happened before with other transactions where the subject company has determined after running the numbers that such a move would benefit shareholders in the medium and long term. Even the composition of the decision makers at these regulators changes which can lead to more corporate friendly decisions if a company plays their cards right.

[Stanjara]

Microsoft: We can't make a game... So you Sony can make a game in 10 years that has equivalent success.

Seems fair /s

[FallenAngel1984]

If it’s so easy why can’t Microsoft make Halo as successful as CoD

[XiNatsuDragnel]

Microsoft no that's a dumb statement because COD has such a strong identity, sales and more that'll be very hard to make a competitor.

[Andrew336]

Sucks for Sony then.

[YourMommySpoils]

At this point, who cares what Microsoft does. It's a dying breed.

[isarai]

So then why didnt you MS?

[Bathyj]

20 years with sufficient for you to develop good franchises but you didn't

God I wish they'd stop talking.

[derek]

@Bathyj At least they're for once being closer to honest. I'm much more sick of the "we're here to save the gamer" propaganda they've been spinning.

[Binarycode]

I do think it's entirely possible for Sony to make an Alternative to COD. But it would basically be a replica of COD.

The thing is, they shouldn't have to tbh. It's a multiplatform game. Has crossplay for everyone. There should be no need for another game like it.

I was given a code for my copy for free and I barely play it, same old thing year after year. But youngsters love it.

I get with BF2042, dice tried something different on their side of things. But it came off worse in many respects and the community taught them a harsh lesson with it.

That's why when games in a good sales position, don't change too much.

That's why Iphones barely look any different, they are scared they will lose the customers that love that design. yet others want it to change.

I hope it stays a 3rd party title for ppl that love it.

[Nightcyberspud]

People saying Sony could not make a competing product and make it as popular as COD in 10 years obviously haven’t been paying attention to the industry. Fortnite came out in 2017 and has arguably become more popular than COD. It’s possible. They own Bungie, Guerrilla and Insomniac. All of whom have had success in the genre.

[lodossrage]

And none of them have reached COD level of popularity or profit. Not even close. Plus companies have already tried to make competing products. Microsoft, Sony, EA, Ubisoft, THQ and others all tried and none got remotely close.

Halo (even when Bungie was making it) didn't do it. Killzone didn't do it. Resistance didn't do it.

Success and mainstream appeal aren't the same thing. In fact, they're so successful that Resistance nor Killzone are even being made anymore. And Halo is a shell of what it once was.

[Smellsforfree]

Comment voting on this site is so worthless. Overly voted up comment: favorable to Sony. Overly down voted comment: not favorable to Sony. Should just be disabled at this point.

[Shepskywalker]

Nailed it

[masterfox]

I kinda disgusted of this idea , that N4G Sony this and that, and it favors Sony Playstation , and not MS, well news flash for everyone Sony has done more effort in this gaming industry than any other damn console maker combined and that deserves every praise it can get, of course they are arent perfect and done too kinda nonsense things but not the scale of the nonsense MS is doing, now why MS doesnt get the same apreciation ?, well take for example all the nonsense MS is creating right now and all the hypocrisy is displaying, and you want me to up vote comments that favors that? , well no sir, I have principles and morale.

Not all people are being brainwashed and they can be honest about something if you dislike go for it, if you like go for it, but sadly in this crystal society everyone can be offended pretty easely even with a simple downvote number. When MS and Ninty create a proper next gen console I might go back and support them and you will be happy, so until then you Ninty and MS you suck both lol. :D

[derek]

@Smells, I just voted you down twice for that comment. Lol

[343_Guilty_Spark]

You should have been here when N4G had the bubble system.

Sony fans 20 bubbles

Xbox 2 bubbles

You disagree you get downvoted to hell

Fun times

[AmUnRa]

No you are just hurt that a lot of people on this site what going on and what MS is trying to pull. The only thing what xboxfansdo is defending MS with the fingers in they'r ears saying lalalala....but but Sony. The instances are not putting this deal under a magnifing glass for no reason....

[Ray J]

Common sense comments = Up Vote
Bullcrap comments = Down Vote

I can see how that is bothersome for low IQ people here.

[DefenderOfDoom2]

Funny thing is I think Destiny 2 since they added Legendary difficulty setting since WITCH QUEEN is way more fun and creative then COD games released in the last 10 years. I do have my complaints about Destiny 2 but at least they are trying to innovate and improve why COD always stays pretty much the same .

[Oner]

Sony should work on getting Counter-Strike 2 established on Consoles as an option...I think it would help mitigate some of this in the long run.

[TheColbertinator]

Sony couldn't develop their way out of irrelevance

[Crows90]

So which is it? You making it exclusive or not? More gamers or less gamers? Get your own facts straight.

[Spenok]

As much as I dislike this deal for various reason, MS isn't wrong here, and Sony have had FAR more than 10 years already.

Not to mention they have Bungie now.

Also, this does sort of hint that MS wants to take CoD from the competition, eventually.

[shaenoide]

What about "bringing CoD to more gamers then ?"

[FPS_D3TH]

Meanwhile it’s been 22 years of Halo and what a meme that franchise has become. If anything, with the help of Microsoft, it should be pretty easy for Sony to make a better game.

[FallenAngel1984]

It’s not really about making a game as great as CoD as that’s already been done numerous times

It’s about having a franchise that can annually bring as much revenue as CoD

[FPS_D3TH]

Exactly. Wild but nothing else like it exists lol

[Petebloodyonion]

I just love that all the blame is easily put on MS for only 10 years, when nobody has seen, heard of, or tried the PlayStation 6.
Who in the right mind would sign a contract that binds you to release your product on something you have no info on?
Do you have a guarantee that the next PlayStation console won't be a Wiiu, a Vita, a Stadia, or a Virtuaboy?

Just remember Final Fantasy 7 and how it would have been if such deals existed in the past.

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

"It's not about at some point I pull the rug underneath PlayStation 7's legs and it's ah ha you just didn't write the contract long enough."

Lol Phil Spencer

[Viljong]

This is good news becouse sony will just do that. Exclusive goty fps is what playstation misses. Dont care about online adhd shooters or cod 5hr campaign.

[jwillj2k4]

Lmfao that’s great!! I love the challenge. If Sony pulls it off microshit needs to bow the f out of this industry.

[BLAKHOODe]

I have faith that Sony will do just that. Just as I have faith Microsoft will ruin COD. And my main reasons for thinking this is because Microsoft managed to ruin Halo and because Sony actually works with, takes chances, and puts money into it's studios

[tbagmonster]

you all talking as if microsoft owes anyone anything by purchasing activision. 10 years or not they should be happy they are even getting that

[Profchaos]

Since cod4 mw in 2007 so many studios that makes fps games has been trying to top it Sony tried with mag and SOCOM, EA used bf and medal of honor and even changed crysis 2 to a cod style game online. Ubi drags out tom Clancy game after tom Clancy game (not the ones we want though)

It's at the point of COD being like grand theft auto only more saturated Rockstar make gta better than anyone else trying to recreate the formula it's pretty much now accepted that if a crime game goes open world you're competing against gta watch dogs and saints row as examples.

[headshotfrosty]

All games should be available on all platforms IMO. However, since that's not possible I think SONY backed themselves in a corner with such a huge focus on exclusives. It creates a great core base for sure but it will never meet the financial expectations needed to grow a company to the heights where it can be in a position like MS. Say what you want but if SONY would have brought games like Spiderman, GOW, etc. to MS ,streaming, and other systems they would be in a much more enviable position.

I would never wish failure on any employer however I feel like they may be going the way of SEGA. Holding the cards so close to the chest that they miss the big picture, which is always economics. These armchair lawyers and fanatic gamers are going to sink that ship if they can't be more unified in their approach. Exclusives mean shite if you sink the company. Cross-play resistance, whining, hypocrisy, etc. is a recipe for disaster despite the quality of a first party game. Gamers tend to be late bloomers. Won't learn until it's too late.

Hate me if you want. I'll be happy enjoying whatever system I choose as I can afford any system or pc build I could ever desire.

[__SteakDeck__]

“I think SONY backed themselves in a corner with such a huge focus on exclusives”. What? LMAO So what is MS doing then? They’re spending almost 100B on publishers. Do you want to know why? Because they want EXCLUSIVES for GAME PASS!. This industry is built on Exclusives my man, what are you talking about!

[343_Guilty_Spark]

Nobody said it had to be built on exclusives

[headshotfrosty]

Then why is Sony b#%*ching so much about multi-plats? The odds should be even then according to your logic. MS is literally allowing these games to still be on other platforms. Minimum a decade genius.

It’s about economies of scale not passion projects. Period. See MS creates a mobile X Box gaming store. They are thinking much bigger picture than just console exclusives. They are thinking wide net. All forms of digital gaming. Get real. Minecraft was a clear example.

[headshotfrosty]

Back in the day, late 70’s early 80’s game systems had few exclusives. They had marquee titles such as Mario, sonic, altered beast etc but most games were multiplat and you chose to play a game on your favorite system. Whichever had better graphics. Same games.

It’s about ecosystem now. Whoever has the best overall ecosystem.

[__SteakDeck__]

@headshotfrosty They’re “b#%*ching” because MS can make COD exclusive in the future, what about that don’t you get. Also you’re wrong! If it was about ecosystem, then why didn’t MS just sell their’s to people? Why couldn’t they convince people that their’s was better? Why are they spending almost 100B for exclusives and why are they making Bethesda games exclusive, when they were once multi plat? Ya’ll Xbox fanboys can keep coping all you want about the value of exclusives and how they “don’t matter”. But Sony and Nintendo are ahead of MS with much more consoles sold and revenue/profit, and those two have much more higher quality exclusive games than MS. The facts speak for themselves.

[headshotfrosty]

Fanboy? Lolololl you are delusional. I call it like I see it. They don’t all have to share the same business model. Done chatting with you ragers.

[JayRyu]

If Sony focuses their efforts with Bungie, a consistent FPS developer, It is definitely possible to create a great alternative to COD.
The game doesn't have to dethrone COD to be a great game

[headshotfrosty]

Finally some sense

[FallenAngel1984]

Sony’s more worried about the monetary gain that CoD annually brings in than anything else

[headshotfrosty]

Fear is the root of all problems. They are scared it will cost them their position in the market at a time they can’t afford to compete. This is why MS is not investing in peripherals like VR. Literal money pits to play the same games over again in a new way. Save that money and invest in a better ecosystem.

[__SteakDeck__]

@JayRyu Bungie is only making multi plat games. Sony already said this. Bungie wants to make games that can be played anywhere. Read the article https://www.videogameschron...

[JayRyu]

@SteakDeck
Yes the games that Bungie will make going forward are multiplat but, that still means that Sony will reaps the benefits of creating a great alternative to COD. A new IP that they will own.

[jznrpg]

And can’t MS do the same without needing to buy every 3rd party publisher they can to say hey we have games ?

[AnotherGamer]

I mean, they got Killzone and Resistance still.

[rlow1]

People are smoking something if they think a Call of Duty competitor can’t be made in ten years. Hell we don’t have a clue where gaming will be in ten years. Think about we’re games were ten years ago? Things will have changed by ten.

[FallenAngel1984]

Haven’t had one consistently in the past 20 years

Medal of Honor died off, Battlefield is trash, Halo has an identity crisis, Doom has sporadic releases, etc

[rlow1]

Yeah, you’re right in stating that as of today they’re is nothing yet that has the legs of Call of Duty. I don’t pretend that this won’t hurt Sony to a degree but nowhere the impact of what they are claiming.
Between now and the ten year mark, there will be new blood, companies, and tech innovations that will most certainly change the industry. I predict that games like a Call of Duty will not be as dominant nor important as they are today. With the advent of AI now becoming way more interactive, in a kind of scary way. This will not only become part of gaming but also help with development of games. Making it easier for small teams to hang with the bigger teams. Which means something is going to get made that will be the next big thing. Just my thoughts

[FallenAngel1984]

No small company can keep up with CoD. Activision has 3 major studios that ensure a new title releases every year. Individually it’d take a development team at least 3 years to produce a sequel

No other major publisher is going to devote 3 big developers to produce new installments in the same franchise

[Dandizzle]

No one is saying this but MS has the death touch and will end up killing the COD IP for everyone with their ineptitude. MS has been mismanaging games and franchises for the past 8 years. MS is full of know it all execs who have no idea how the game industry works and end up running any potential or good franchises into the ground. None of their recent games that where even decent made anywhere what they should have given the investment.

[Ryuk_2007]

10 years gives Sony just enough time to make a COD replacement, remaster it, then sell a remake for $90 lmao

[Youngindy21]

Sony is terrified. They know they haven't released a decent multi-player game in years. Why do you think it's taking so long for TLOU multi-player to come out?

[gold_drake]

so MS is like
"after 10 years ... well tough shit"

god, the more i read about them idiots, the more i despise them.

[DynDasE]

Giving the records of successful IP that Sony creates, Sony might could do that.
Microsoft just bought everything and did nothing positive for many of their exclusive.
They ruined Halo.

[Bronbron92]

COD getting pulled would suck yes, but PlayStation is always delivering solid exclusives one military shooter gone is no big deal, if that’s the case Sony really needs to bring back socom, I think a socom return would be a great contender against cod

[Good-Smurf]

Hah like you can Microsoft, you can't even make a good alternative to Halo that came out two decades ago let alone an alternative to CoD.
If you can then you wouldn't resorted to Pay to Win tactics, F***in' Assholes.

[DeadlyFire]

Sounds like they just admitted to not planning to keep cod multiplatform. Anyone can make a cod clone. call of duty basically started as a clone of counter strike. it's not impossible to make a shooter game with 3 pathways and small to mid range maps.

[KillBill]

Sony can create an alternative. With that said no guarantee is ever given that an alternative is going to exceed or match what is on the market now or in the future. And for sure if Sony expects to do any ki8nd of numbers as CoD they would have to be multiplatform like CoD is. That is a part of how CoD has lasted so long. But if Sony chose to go smaller with an exclusive competitor looking at only Sony console market earnings then it could do that too. But it would never reach CoD levels and that would be on Sony and nobody else for that business move.

With all of that in mind games like Fortnite are surpassing CoD in earnings. Not so much for the consoles but for Epic itself. So Sony could fully create a game to replace CoD in their market strategy in earnings. But again... Sony is hardly going to do anything with the mentality of a single closed eco system.

[kingnick]

I am not a fan of COD so I'd like to see Sony make a better shooter but that's probably not likely and extremely unlikely they could create anything that comes close to COD in terms of revenue generated.

If the Microsoft ABK takeover is blocked I won't shed a tear as I could see a successful takeover make Microsoft lazy and complacent with other potential negative effects.

[EvertonFC]

Coming from MS who have basically ONLY had "hi Res" in 3 years to talk about or how about gears, halo and Forza for the last 20 years and nothing else AAA at all.

[S2Killinit]

MS is full of shit. How quickly they change their stories is intense. Honestly fu€k them for doing this…

[TheTony316]

Microsoft had 20 years to develop good games and failed.

[Rhythmattic]

Well, no matter whom you support.... There it is.

[talocaca]

I love how Microsoft, a company that has tried (and mostly failed) for more than a decade to have decent exclusives says "just make your own competitor to the most popular shooter in the market".

And let's not forget how they bought Halo, one of the few games that actually had a chance against COD and let it implode.

Maybe they can spend those $70BN over the next 10 years creating their own IPs instead of just trying to monopolize existing ones?

That would actually benefit the gaming industry 🤷‍♂️

[Mikeyy]

Dear Microsoft, you've had 20 years to make your own games, stop trying to steal them from everyone else.

Block this deal already.

[gerbintosh]

Honestly, these Xbox fanboys are just as brainwashed as the Apple ones.

In the beginning Sony said MS would take away COD and MS said they wouldn't. MS fanboys stated that there is no way MS would remove COD and miss out on a ton of revenue. Now, with this recent stance, MS has shown that Sony was right and the fanboys were wrong. Not a good look for MS, they have shot themselves in the foot. However, kudos for finally being honest about their intentions

[GooGobbler]

how many years for MS to develop an FFVII Remake alternatives

[SurgicalMenace]

You guys advocating for COD to go exclusive are aware that COD is the Amazon/Walmart of shooters, right? My family wealth was built on the back of Walmart understanding that their inclusion in any retail environment kills anything smaller than them. Look at all the communities who's small business sector was abolished by Wal-Mart's presence. Much like this outcome MS is knowing that is the end result of their acquisition. Bill Gates is currently buying all the farmland along with Warren Buffet buying all the real-estate, what do you gather their end goals are? Are you blinded by your need to FEEL accomplished for choosing XB that you can't see the end game? I guess your feelings and entertainment trumps the sustainability of sovereignty in the industry. Perhaps the selfish nature of MS should be expected to rub off on those aiming to benefit from it. These types of deals never net well in the long run, history has shown. As long as you guys don't have to pay for it all is well, huh?

[cthulhucultist]

This is a weak argument by all accounts by MS.

Acquiring Activision does not make sense nor does it benefit the gamer for reasons already analyzed exhaustively in this site.

It would be preferable to use the money to hire talent, correctly manage existing studios (which are more than enough by the way, and increase developer count in order to increase game output per studio for creating new IPs.

[Pego]

MS is being a bully! I hate them so much. My dear CoD...I sob, I sob. *sad music*

[refocusedman]

it's a business transaction plain and simple. it's a huge gamble on MS behalf as CoD sells significantly more on Sonys consoles than it does on the Xbox so by making it a console exclusive will significantly diminish their sales numbers as I doubt people will buy an Xbox just to play CoD.

[CantThinkOfAUsername]

If EA with Battlefield, Medal of Honor, and Titanfall failed to do it, no one else could. I don't think Halo or Destiny are even close.

[YourMommySpoils]

Probably, for the case of Microsoft to buy them too lol