— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) December 7, 2022 Analysts said Xbox boss Phil Spencer‘s statement was an attempt to reassure consumers that the acquisition would not hurt competition. Spencer stated that the ten-year term specified in the agreement between Nintendo and Microsoft was chosen to reassure players that both companies will be partners in the industry for the foreseeable future. Spencer stated that they had informed Activision Blizzard of the partnership and that the two companies were currently in the planning stages. Company leaders are also eyeing ways to improve their cloud gaming service, which lets customers play games via internet connection rather than buying them. Brad Smith, Microsoft’s vice chairman and president, wrote a short piece for The Wall Street Journal yesterday, alleging the company is trying to disrupt the gaming industry in the same way that Netflix challenged traditional video rental companies like Blockbuster. Obviously, this is referring to Game Pass, which is a service that offers both cloud streaming and a subscription business model. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has even said publicly that he envisions Game Pass acting as Netflix does, but for video games. Call of Duty: Ghosts, released on the Wii U in 2013, was the last major entry in the series to appear on a Nintendo console. In the seven years after its debut, not a single Call of Duty game has appeared on the Nintendo Switch. When it comes to the Nintendo Switch, it remains to be seen if Call of Duty will be introduced as a new game for the system or whether it will be cloud-based in an effort to break free of the hardware restrictions of the system. On the other hand, one alternative to transferring the console or PC version of Call of Duty would be to port the mobile version of the game. If the Activision acquisition goes through, Microsoft will have access to its extensive library of games, which will expand the company’s gaming library for the service. However, nobody can say for sure, and it seems like Microsoft is pulling out all the stops to make sure nobody will be hurt by this deal. Let us know what you think of the company’s action in the comments.
