Sony Claims Microsoft Did Not Allow PlayStation Plus On Xbox

Sony has pushed back on Microsoft’s claim they want to bring Game Pass to PlayStation, by asserting that they would not do tit for tat.

What I mean, of course, is that Microsoft allegedly won’t allow Sony to bring their own subscription service, PlayStation Plus, to the Xbox platform.

This, once again, emanates from the UK CMA investigation of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard.  This back and forth between the industry’s big gaming console platform owners comes from Sony’s own document informing the CMA of their own position on the pending acquisition.

This is the direct quote from Sony’s document, edited for clarity:

“Third, Microsoft argues that demand for multi-game subscription services would not tip towards Game Pass because Microsoft would also make Game Pass available on PlayStation. But the wider availability of the leading provider (Game Pass), now endowed with exclusive irreplaceable content, and protected by direct and indirect network effects, would makes it harder – not easier – for rival multi-game subscription services to compete. Microsoft’s stance that Game Pass availability on PlayStation would be a panacea for the harm from this Transaction rings particularly hollow given that Microsoft does not permit PlayStation Plus to be available on Xbox.”

This comes from an interesting section of the document, where Sony points out that even though Microsoft is behind them in the current generation of consoles, this does not change the fact that Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard would be anti-competitive.

Sony does not provide evidence for their claim that their competitor Microsoft did not allow PlayStation Plus to be available on Xbox’s platforms. They focus on the greater argument that this gives Microsoft an advantage in the industry. This is because Microsoft made the claim that they wanted to bring Game Pass to be available on as many platforms as possible. This includes the Nintendo Switch, as well as, what is relevant to this case, the PlayStation.

However, if Microsoft will only bring their subscription service to other platforms, but not allow other companies’ subscriptions to their own platform, this puts Microsoft in an advantage, as they can sell their products and services in more places.

To be clear, all this talk of the console companies bringing their subscription services to their competitors’ platforms is hypothetical to this day. Strangely enough, the Epic vs Apple lawsuit from not too long ago brought up documents suggesting Microsoft had real talks with Nintendo about Game Pass coming to the Nintendo Switch.

That never went through, and these statements from Sony seem mainly more about arguing vs Microsoft getting their way, than actual negotiations for such a thing happening.

But then again, maybe we shouldn’t rule out the possibility of something like this happening in the future. But if it ever does, it’s unlikely to be part of the outcome of this antitrust investigation.

Source: Aroged