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MS's Response to Sony's "No AAA Studio Can Match CoD" Statement + Confirms Sony Pays To Blocks Games From Game Pass

hemo memo

Gold Member
Game Pass is a great value and it forced Sony to change their strategy and invest and push a game subscription model hard.

If it is not for Microsoft I would still be spoon fed 3 games a month from Sony.

Competition is good.
 

Infamy v1

Member
Yep. They also kept Bioshock and Mass Effect off PlayStation platforms. And while Epic probably can't quote much on it, they kept Gears of War off too.
You mean the BioShock and Mass Effect that they took a chance on and published? Sony had been doing that since Crash Bandicoot. FYI, Microsoft Game Studios or whatever the fuck was the name back then came up whenever you booted those games. Mentioning Gears being "kept off" of PS shows you don't know much of what you're talking about, anyway.

They said no to cross platform play and later decided it was only okay if users had an XBOX Live or Microsoft account.

Microsoft were massive dicks.

To be fair, PSN was a laughably bad service in the beginning. Imagine not wanting to get intertwined with it back then, as the premiere software company, only to watch PSN get hacked and shut down for a month. Microsoft was probably like:
508a4ca8fa850d42c968de141692f65f.jpg

To this day, I don't know how Splinter Cell: Conviction isn't on PlayStation platforms. It's owned by Ubisoft for christ sakes.
Imagine trying to equate an unknown such as this to what's going on now, lmao.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?

Infamy v1

Member
Sorry, had to remove the silly GIF.

I fixed that for you.

Perhaps you don't understand, but this money hatting business was started by Microsoft. Sony did it (and still are doing it) in response to Microsoft.

1) CoD is to remain multiplatform, so your entire logic is dismantled right there

2) LOL. Please tell me you're joking. Sony has been moneyhatting entire IP and sequels long before MS entered the race

Edit: you were serious, but seems like someone already beat me to it. Embarassing, haha.
 
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DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
Is there a chance this goes through this month so we can just enjoy the cod announcements next month and stop with the acquisition talk.

Sony being petty, Microsoft are probably petty in some way. I'm sure they will have an agreement to stop a game being on ps plus if it is on game pass? If they don't that pretty damn cool but I doubt that will be happening.
 
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SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
I find it so refreshing when they take direct shots at each other. Much better to debate what was said than what was implied / not-said.
lol Yeah. I never bought into the good guy act of these suits. Singing kumbaya while stabbing each other in the back with multi billion acquistions then saying hey we only spent billions to keep everything multiplatform. Nonsense.

This is a business. No one spends $70 billion to add the mere $2-3 billion profits to their portfolio. It would take 20-30 years to pay off this purchase. Nah, this deal was made to get Sony to fold or bring sony into gamepass. Plain and simple. It's console wars at its finest. Whether or not it is a monopoly or ethical is besides the point. I just dont care for the whole congratulating each other on twitter while going out there and fighting in court like a divorced couple. Be honest FFS.
 

SmokedMeat

Gamer™
Neither party is innocent of paying for exclusivity, or blocking the other from a game - so I can’t really get upset if Sony’s doing it.
I’d imagine for multi-platform owners, having the option to play a big release day one on Game Pass, kills any potential PlayStation purchase.
 
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mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
Didn’t they have a list that was redacted?

You have any information on why "those" games were redacted? Do you know why "those" games would be in that list? Without knowing the games, we gamers don't have much to talk about when it comes to that part of the argument.
 

Corndog

Banned
Starfield is planned as an Xbox/PC exclusive. That game would have been on Playstation if not for the Bethesda acquisition. Also judging by Spencer's comments (that have been hard to pin down) it sounds like Elder Scrolls 6 will also be Xbox/PC exclusive. These are massive games so I don't see how the logic changes for CoD or any of the other ActiBliz franchises. I would imagine the only reason Minecraft is still on everything is because that's what Microsoft's strategy was at the time and it would be weird now to remove Minecraft from Playstation in retrospect.
Cod is much bigger then elder scrolls
 

Corndog

Banned
It doesn't matter to me in all honesty as I play on all platforms and don't pledge my undying allegiance to one plastic box or the other because those companies don't really give a crap about me anyhow

Besides everything is up for sale even our favorite games
Have you not said you prefer PlayStation? Maybe I am misremembering.
 

Ellery

Member
Interesting developments. I have got some reading up to do on this matter. Looks like a tense back and forth.

I haven't really looked at Call of Duty or it's importance in the gaming landscape much lately, because I don't play it, but it is indeed a big game in the industry especially in the more mainstream oriented console gaming customers and it has a lot of power and influence with it.

But from my personal opinion I'd probably like to see MS buy Activision Blizzard, because of the path Blizzard has taken in the last 10 years since being bought by Activision. Maybe Phil could do wonders there.
 

Kagey K

Banned
Sony being petty, Microsoft are probably petty in some way. I'm sure they will have an agreement to stop a game being on ps plus if it is on game pass? If they don't that pretty damn cool but I doubt that will be happening.
I don't know if they do. Look at the PS Extra drop this month and it's a mostly a bunch of games that are currently on Gamepass. That wouldn't happen if they had those types of agreements.
 

reksveks

Member
This is a business. No one spends $70 billion to add the mere $2-3 billion profits to their portfolio. It would take 20-30 years to pay off this purchase. Nah, this deal was made to get Sony to fold or bring sony into gamepass. Plain and simple. It's console wars at its finest. Whether or not it is a monopoly or ethical is besides the point. I just dont care for the whole congratulating each other on twitter while going out there and fighting in court like a divorced couple. Be honest FFS.
Again a misunderstand of the finances; you don't need to pay off the purchase cost. You need to make sure the value of the division doesn't drop and the ROI is better than the alternative one of which is keeping it in a bank or stock buybacks.
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
I don't know if they do. Look at the PS Extra drop this month and it's a mostly a bunch of games that are currently on Gamepass. That wouldn't happen if they had those types of agreements.
It's almost as if it's a game by game basis. Almost.
 

mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
I don't know if they do. Look at the PS Extra drop this month and it's a mostly a bunch of games that are currently on Gamepass. That wouldn't happen if they had those types of agreements.

I'm pretty sure MS had those agreements in there. Even if it's a timed release. As a matter of fact, we've seen games leave Gamepass and appear on Sony's sub service a month or so later.
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
That's twice you've called me obtuse and 0 times you've replied with anything substantial.
Bro, it's called gaming history and how marketing and other closed door deals work. I also did not call you obtuse, I said you are pretending to be. You know the game, but carry on.
 
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IntentionalPun

Ask me about my wife's perfect butthole
I think we already had about as close as it gets to "confirmation" that Sony blocks games from Gamepass. Or at least that they blocked one game which came from a confirmed data leak.
 

S0ULZB0URNE

Member
Sony clearly fears Game Pass and what putting CoD day and date will mean for them. But not wanting to compete with the Game Pass model is not the same as can't compete. They basically are crying and have no real argument.
Fears Gamepass?
More like concerned of the possibility of losing COD.

With all of this smoke... maybe MS is growing a pair and taking COD from Sony.
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
He knows that, he's pretending it's not real because the names aren't listed
That's not what he is saying.

He is asking for games that are specific to not be on GamePass, without it being a timed exclusive or marketing deal. Which Sony and others have had this language in their contracts before GamePass was even a thing. It just gets impacted because the language is broad by stating "subscription services."
 
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mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
It's right in the court filing in the OP. (Names of games seem to be redacted)

No, I'm talking about paying to keep them off WITHOUT a marketing deal. People are in here acting stupid. As if it makes sense for Sony to have a marketing deal for a 3rd party game, while allowing it on GamePass. That's stupid!

I'm confused.. how is the bold statement not Sony paying to keep games off of Gamepass?

They do it via those marketing deals.

Because the narrative is made up by Microsoft lawyers. You're smarter than this dude. That's a lawyer's spin on what those Sony dollars are for. The MS lawyers are making everything about them (smartly I'd say), when it's money that Sony is spending to market a game so that it's attached to their brand first and foremost. People seem to be acting as if Sony is forcing a company like Capcom to accept the deal. Obviously, Capcom felt like it was better to accept Sony's marketing money or MS' money to be on GamePass Day-and-Date.

We've seen the capcom contracts stopping re village and also Microsoft can't say this stuff without it being true. That's literally breaking the law so Sony has to do it.

That's not the context of the conversation in this thread. That's not paying to keep a game off of GamePass. That's paying to market a 3rd party game. We've seen these deals 40,000 times! It's not new. Why would Sony pay to market a game that's going to be on GamePass on Day 1?
 

Kagey K

Banned
No, I'm talking about paying to keep them off WITHOUT a marketing deal. People are in here acting stupid. As if it makes sense for Sony to have a marketing deal for a 3rd party game, while allowing it on GamePass. That's stupid!
If they pay to keep them off, that becomes a marketing deal. So I guess your answer will always be 0 based on your dumb set of parameters.

Doesn't change anything though.
 
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StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
Not surprised at any marketing tactic platforms holder do. I guess the money is so good, small studios and all the way up to giants like Activision or EA cant help but grab from whichever golden goose offers more gold encrusted dollar bills. Anything for a buck.

- Game exclusivity
- DLC exclusivity
- Sub plan exclusivity

Multiply the deals x2 to cover forever deals or timed deals.
 

mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
If they pay to keep them off, that becomes a marketing deal. So I guess your answer will always be 0 based on your dumb set of parameters.

Doesn't change anything though.

Or..........................

Sony paid money to a developer for a marketing deal, and then it can't be on GamePass.


It's stupid to think it happened the way you are labeling it though. Extra stupid actually. One has happened for decades, whereas subscription services are new. Companies have paid for marketing rights for so long......and all Sony probably did here is add "and no releases on any subscription services".
 

RoboFu

One of the green rats
Sony has money hatted many exclusive deals for cod content exclusives so of course they do.
 

Louay

Member
If these statements are true, then it pretty much confirms that COD and other major Activision franchises will continue releasing on PlayStation for the foreseeable future...or at least until the money MS is wiling to sacrifice by not releasing on PlayStation is offset by some other area such as substantial GamePass revenue/adoption (which may very well happen if all future COD games became GamePass accessible from Day-1 going forward).
nah only COD and OW2, they can make games like Diablo 4 exclusive, most of this game IP audience on PC anyways. pretty much any games outside COD and OW2 can become exclusive because they can take loss for these other IP to grow platform and GP. also you have a game like WOW not even on consoles so they can make it exclusive if they decided to make new big game from WOW IP
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
No, I'm talking about paying to keep them off WITHOUT a marketing deal. People are in here acting stupid. As if it makes sense for Sony to have a marketing deal for a 3rd party game, while allowing it on GamePass. That's stupid!
neogaf25rugz.gif


Well, one of the main reasons Sony even entered into a marketing deal might be that they wanted to prevent the game to come to Gamepass.
That language has been in there for their deals before Gamepass was ever conceived. But we get it, new ammo for the console war. Gafs favorite game.
 
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adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
No, I'm talking about paying to keep them off WITHOUT a marketing deal. People are in here acting stupid. As if it makes sense for Sony to have a marketing deal for a 3rd party game, while allowing it on GamePass. That's stupid!

There might be some translator addendums but the wording directly implies that Sony enters into "blocking deals" with game companies.

Sony pays for "blocking rights" to prevent developers from adding content to Game Pass and other competing subscription services (then there is a bunch of redacted content).

A hypothetical

"Hey Capcom, we will pay you XXX amount of money to make sure you don't put RE Village on Game Pass, like how REVII has been there and seems to get a lot of traction"
"Ok"
"While you're at it, we'll add more money if you let us put ads on TV with our branding at the end"
"Ok"

and scene.
 
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