According to Xbox boss Phil Spencer, Sony’s strategy for growth is to make Xbox “smaller.”
In a recent interview spotted by EuroGamer, the Microsoft Gaming CEO touched on the Activision Blizzard acquisition and Sony’s attempts to block the deal. The Xbox boss said that “Sony is trying to protect its dominance on the console. The way they grow is by making Xbox smaller.”
Spencer pointed the finger at Sony for being anti-competitive with their games, focusing on the fact that Sony titles are rarely available outside of the PlayStation console and that titles are not available at launch through its subscription service.
“[Sony] has a very different view of the industry than we do. They don’t ship their games day and date on PC, they do not put their games into their subscription when they launch their games.”
According to Spencer, “Sony is leading the dialogue around why the deal shouldn’t go through” by “grabbing onto Call of Duty.” Spencer, in contrast, said that the deal is more about trying to stay competitive with PlayStation and, more than anything, mobile gaming.
The Xbox boss also argued that Sony’s complaint about Call of Duty doesn’t make sense considering that Xbox has offered a deal that would keep the franchise on the platform for the next ten years.
The largest console maker in the world raising an objection about the one franchise that we’ve said will continue to ship on the platform. It’s a deal that benefits customers through choice and access.”
At the time of writing, Sony has not commented on Spencer’s statements. It remains to be seen how the company will respond to the criticism and whether it will alter its strategy to block the deal.
Sony isn’t the only opponent that Microsoft has when it comes to the acquisition. The FTC in the United States has sued to block the deal as well, seemingly taking Sony’s side in the argument.
