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Microsoft / Activision Deal Approval Watch |OT| (MS/ABK close)

Do you believe the deal will be approved?


  • Total voters
    886
  • Poll closed .
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Dick Jones

Gold Member
Insomniac had a game on Xbox befor being bought. So you could argue that stopped a sequel ever appearing but you could argue that none was ever planned for the game
At that same time Xbox had an offer for any Marvel IP and said no. So Xbox had the opportunity but rejected a Spider-Man game made by Insomniac. If they fucked up that, they were not ever making a SO sequel.

Edit: Sunset Overdrive released in 2014 and Insomniac was bought in 2020. If the sequel wasn't announced in 5 years that IP is dead
 
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yeah i guess it's such an odd thing to give Microsoft credit for, and certainly not an interesting assurance from Microsoft. is there any precedence for a game being removed from one store if has been purchased by a different publisher? Why would anyone have expected old Bethesda games to be removed from the playstation store? I think it's pretty clear MS has an incentive to make exclusive games and telling regulators that they did not was a blantant lie. Maybe they really meant they weren't going to remove games that have already been published or games sony already paid for, but I think we're stretching the words to the limits of what's reasonable.
It has nothing to do with a game being removed from people's hard drives or from the store after an acquisition. The question is why would anyone expect NEW content to be made? ESO is not a one and done release. It requires constant updates and MS could have easily made those expansions exclusive to Xbox similarly to how Sony made Destiny 1 expansions and strikes exclusive to PlayStation until Destiny 2 came out so let's not pretend this stuff was guaranteed or that exclusive expansions are unprecedented.

In the ESO/FO76 cases they decided to support PlayStation day and date with Xbox. They decided there was no incentive to stop releasing PlayStation updates and expansions. They also decided there was no incentive to not release Minecraft Dungeons and Legends on PlayStation as well as CoD, a game they have already promised to a myriad of other platforms. They never signed any contracts promising all Bethesda games to PlayStation or anywhere else unless I missed something.

Xbox has ALWAYS had exclusives and that is why they said games will be taken on a case by case basis. This has nothing to do with lying at all. As I keep saying no title is guaranteed to any platform. At least MS is willing to put their brand new games on non-Xbox platforms which is far more than others are willing to do. Calling them liars seems to be the unreasonable take. Give an inch people want a mile.
 
At that same time Xbox had an offer for any Marvel IP and said no. So Xbox had the opportunity but rejected a Spider-Man game made by Insomniac. If they fucked up that, they were not ever making a SO sequel.

Edit: Sunset Overdrive released in 2014 and Insomniac was bought in 2020. If the sequel wasn't announced in 5 years that IP is dead

Not exactly accurate. They did reject the IP offering however there's no evidence that they were even looking at Insomniac for this.

However Sony did approach Insomniac and let them choose the IP. That's the key difference.
 

Dick Jones

Gold Member
Not exactly accurate. They did reject the IP offering however there's no evidence that they were even looking at Insomniac for this.

However Sony did approach Insomniac and let them choose the IP. That's the key difference.
MS didn't even bother to ask anyone. They were working with Insomniac at the time and rejected it the same year as Sunset Overdrive's release. The opportunity was there for MS and they shat the bed. Now we have fucking doses on this site asking when is Spider-Man 2 coming on Xbox. Had Spencer been any use, they would have locked up the Spider-Man franchise and it wouldn't have been on Playstation. Anyone notice that Xbox haven't gone looking for another Marvel IP. Poor leadership = poor results.
 
MS didn't even bother to ask anyone. They were working with Insomniac at the time and rejected it the same year as Sunset Overdrive's release. The opportunity was there for MS and they shat the bed. Now we have fucking doses on this site asking when is Spider-Man 2 coming on Xbox. Had Spencer been any use, they would have locked up the Spider-Man franchise and it wouldn't have been on Playstation. Anyone notice that Xbox haven't gone looking for another Marvel IP. Poor leadership = poor results.

I don't believe Microsofts relationship with Insomniac was that close to begin with. Afterall Insomniac let Sony buy them instead of Microsoft.
 

DrFigs

Member
I don't believe Microsofts relationship with Insomniac was that close to begin with. Afterall Insomniac let Sony buy them instead of Microsoft.
You're definitely right. Sony owned the rights to Insomniac's most well known games.
There's zero reason to think MS would have gone to Insomniac as a first choice for a Marvel IP over one of their own studios.
 
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Dick Jones

Gold Member
I don't believe Microsofts relationship with Insomniac was that close to begin with. Afterall Insomniac let Sony buy them instead of Microsoft.
Sony bought them 5 years on. There was scope for Xbox to do something and chose not to. You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink.
 
someone should make a list of the ip that was acquired by sony and microsoft over the last 5 years. nobody can argue such facts and can see the obvious difference between how both handle acquisitions. sony mostly buy shit that they helped to build and make successful or completely new studios built ground up. microsoft mostly buy shit that they had nothing to do with at all. if anyone disagrees, make the list and we'll see.
 
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DR3AM

Member
Is the deal goes through and Sony doesn't sign the 10 year CoD deal, can MS just stop making CoD for PlayStation?
 

Heisenberg007

Gold Journalism
Is the deal goes through and Sony doesn't sign the 10 year CoD deal, can MS just stop making CoD for PlayStation?
No. They will still have to make COD available on PlayStation for 10 years, as the CMA may pass the acquisition based on that promise.
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
Yes it is a crazy conspiracy theory. None of those purchases prevent the other console manufacturers from competing in the market. MS is also far more likely to put their IP on other platforms which we know Sony and Nintendo do not do. This particular deal has MS putting CoD all over the place even places it isn't currently. None of this shows that MS is trying to extinguish the other competitors. You don't kill the competition by providing the platform with CoD.
I see that your new script update is "conspiracy theory." Truly is a political playbook.

🤖
 

Heisenberg007

Gold Journalism
I don't believe Microsofts relationship with Insomniac was that close to begin with. Afterall Insomniac let Sony buy them instead of Microsoft.
Microsoft's argument for denying that Marvel deal was that "they have limited first-party studios and wanted them to focus on their own IPs."

But even Sony didn't use a first-party studio. Insomniac was independent back then. So MS could accept the Marvel deal and ask Insomniac if they are interested in making a Marvel / Spider-Man game? If Insomniac was interested in Spider-Man when Sony asked them, chances are they'd also be interested if Microsoft asked.
 

gladdys

Member
Dial back the console war vitriol and bait.
Looking at some of the comments on this thread made by either Sony acolytes….. or maybe they are Microsoft haters? Microsoft said they will take Bethesda games on a case by case basis. Essentially games like ESO or Fallout 76 would be supported, but upcoming single player experiences will be games pass only. Also look how Minecraft has grown for everyone some acquisition. So, a few things.
1) you can’t say Sony have been great for all players, the street fighter v, final fantasy and silent hill 2 permanent exclusive deals are not nice and hurt gamers.
2) Would you be happy for Sony to put COD in their subscription service? Sony wouldn’t they want you to pay more.
3) If Microsoft could they would have games pass on PlayStation consoles.
4) Sony used financial muscle to get into the video game industry in and effectively killed my beloved sega as we knew it.
5) I hope Microsoft go after every Sony deal out there after this and cry to every regulatory body the way Sony have. What’s good for the goose hey.
Either way, I don’t have enough time to play every game I own, let alone all the ones from activision.
I like the Microsoft service and value proposition and I am not leaving that ecosystem come what May and happy for everyone else to have their own different favourite places to play as well.
 

Warablo

Member
Aside from Bungie they haven’t acquired studios with multiplatform IP.
Ah, so only new IP's. Like Redfall and Starfield.

Don't get me wrong, both companies want exclusives. Eventually they want CoD to be exclusive.

MS didn't even bother to ask anyone. They were working with Insomniac at the time and rejected it the same year as Sunset Overdrive's release. The opportunity was there for MS and they shat the bed. Now we have fucking doses on this site asking when is Spider-Man 2 coming on Xbox. Had Spencer been any use, they would have locked up the Spider-Man franchise and it wouldn't have been on Playstation. Anyone notice that Xbox haven't gone looking for another Marvel IP. Poor leadership = poor results.
I don't even think it was Spiderman specifically, It was just a Marvel "game". Which they kinda were focused on Sunset Overdrive at the time.
 
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reinking

Gold Member
Looking at some of the comments on this thread made by either Sony acolytes….. or maybe they are Microsoft haters? Microsoft said they will take Bethesda games on a case by case basis. Essentially games like ESO or Fallout 76 would be supported, but upcoming single player experiences will be games pass only. Also look how Minecraft has grown for everyone some acquisition. So, a few things.
1) you can’t say Sony have been great for all players, the street fighter v, final fantasy and silent hill 2 permanent exclusive deals are not nice and hurt gamers.
2) Would you be happy for Sony to put COD in their subscription service? Sony wouldn’t they want you to pay more.
3) If Microsoft could they would have games pass on PlayStation consoles.
4) Sony used financial muscle to get into the video game industry in and effectively killed my beloved sega as we knew it.
5) I hope Microsoft go after every Sony deal out there after this and cry to every regulatory body the way Sony have. What’s good for the goose hey.
Either way, I don’t have enough time to play every game I own, let alone all the ones from activision.
I like the Microsoft service and value proposition and I am not leaving that ecosystem come what May and happy for everyone else to have their own different favourite places to play as well.
Your hate boner is showing....

toy story cup GIF


Sony did not kill Sega. Sega killed Sega.
 
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Topher

Gold Member
Looking at some of the comments on this thread made by either Sony acolytes….. or maybe they are Microsoft haters? Microsoft said they will take Bethesda games on a case by case basis. Essentially games like ESO or Fallout 76 would be supported, but upcoming single player experiences will be games pass only. Also look how Minecraft has grown for everyone some acquisition. So, a few things.
1) you can’t say Sony have been great for all players, the street fighter v, final fantasy and silent hill 2 permanent exclusive deals are not nice and hurt gamers.
2) Would you be happy for Sony to put COD in their subscription service? Sony wouldn’t they want you to pay more.
3) If Microsoft could they would have games pass on PlayStation consoles.
4) Sony used financial muscle to get into the video game industry in and effectively killed my beloved sega as we knew it.
5) I hope Microsoft go after every Sony deal out there after this and cry to every regulatory body the way Sony have. What’s good for the goose hey.
Either way, I don’t have enough time to play every game I own, let alone all the ones from activision.
I like the Microsoft service and value proposition and I am not leaving that ecosystem come what May and happy for everyone else to have their own different favourite places to play as well.

what is this wtf GIF by Andrea


Just looks like a summary of Xbox "acolyte" talking points that have been regurgitated a hundred times too many. Really need some new material or, better yet, just leave the warrior takes on twitter.
 

ulantan

Member
Looking at some of the comments on this thread made by either Sony acolytes….. or maybe they are Microsoft haters? Microsoft said they will take Bethesda games on a case by case basis. Essentially games like ESO or Fallout 76 would be supported, but upcoming single player experiences will be games pass only. Also look how Minecraft has grown for everyone some acquisition. So, a few things.
1) you can’t say Sony have been great for all players, the street fighter v, final fantasy and silent hill 2 permanent exclusive deals are not nice and hurt gamers.
2) Would you be happy for Sony to put COD in their subscription service? Sony wouldn’t they want you to pay more.
3) If Microsoft could they would have games pass on PlayStation consoles.
4) Sony used financial muscle to get into the video game industry in and effectively killed my beloved sega as we knew it.
5) I hope Microsoft go after every Sony deal out there after this and cry to every regulatory body the way Sony have. What’s good for the goose hey.
Either way, I don’t have enough time to play every game I own, let alone all the ones from activision.
I like the Microsoft service and value proposition and I am not leaving that ecosystem come what May and happy for everyone else to have their own different favourite places to play as well.
One of my favorite things is that Microsoft would never money hat or support third party games instead, they they approach third parties with love. That's why Crossfire x, stalker 2, high on life, ect all come to xbox first because they are kind. Even little sega was kind enough to make sure the next gen version of Yakuza 7 came out on Xbox first for no other reason than that they are good... no other reasons though.
 
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Jemm

Member
someone should make a list of the ip that was acquired by sony and microsoft over the last 5 years. nobody can argue such facts and can see the obvious difference between how both handle acquisitions. sony mostly buy shit that they helped to build and make successful or completely new studios built ground up. microsoft mostly buy shit that they had nothing to do with at all. if anyone disagrees, make the list and we'll see.
Are there even any Xbox-only studios that Microsoft could buy? Asobo Studio (Flight Sim) is close, but they do multiplats, too.
 


Jim Ryan

Happy Alec Baldwin GIF by The Boss Baby


Nope. Agree with the points this guy made. Sony is just trying to protect themselves with this. I'm sure if the situation was flipped Microsoft would do the same.

Are there even any Xbox-only studios that Microsoft could buy? Asobo Studio (Flight Sim) is close, but they do multiplats, too.

Asobo is just one studio if I'm not wrong. It would be like them buying another Ninja Theory. I don't believe regulators would have issues with that since its small. Buying a big multiplatform publisher is a different story.
 
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Baki

Member
They can't just do what they want though. MS is a publicly traded company. They can't just pull COD from other systems when that represents most of the revenue stream. Maybe things will be different in 10 years, but right now it would be now and if they said he guys (shareholders) we are going to sacrifice billions each year on the risky move that this is going to make enough people switch from Sony to our platform. Those 10 years of revenue will be on earnings reports for 40 fucking quarters with huge bumps in the fall quarter each year. That anyone doesn't see that as a major deterrent from making COD exclusive is beyond me.

Except ABK revenue represents a tiny tiny portion of MS overall revenue and PlayStation revenue only represents 13% of ABK revenue. They could pull COD off PS and no one would really notice the shift in revenue as ABK revenue is almost negligible to overall MS revenue. Even Bing brings in more revenue than ABK 😂.
 

Topher

Gold Member


Makes good points, but Jim Ryan and Sony are not "legally obligated" to fight this deal. It is Jim Ryan's job to fight this deal, but doing so isn't required by law.

Neither of us can speak for everyone, but I think a lot of PC players would be for the deal or poor individuals with only a phone.

The ones against it are just for political reasons.

Then perhaps just speak for yourself? Personally, I game on every platform and I'm against this deal because I do not think consolidation like this is good for the industry at all. I know there are others here like Banjo64 Banjo64 who do not "exclusively play on Sony devices" and feels the same way.

What "political reasons" are you referring to? And why the need to put people in such strict categories? You seem to want to look at this in very distinct terms. I don't think it is that simple.
 

Dick Jones

Gold Member
I don't even think it was Spiderman specifically, It was just a Marvel "game". Which they kinda were focused on Sunset Overdrive at the time.
If you have a choice of Marvel IP, Spider-Man is king. If you are not picking Spider-Man first you are fucking dense as fuck. Sunset Overdrive was due to come out the same year so a quick question is what is that team doing next. They didn't even try to get another project out of Insomniac in 5 years before Sony's acquisition. Sony couldn't have met with Insomniac about Spider-Man until Xbox Division said no first. Being focused on a game coming out and not thinking about the dev team's future was shockingly stupid.
 

Jemm

Member
Asobo is just one studio if I'm not wrong. It would be like them buying another Ninja Theory. I don't believe regulators would have issues with that since its small. Buying a big multiplatform publisher is a different story.
I know and wasn't comparing to this deal. Just that MS really can't buy multiple Xbox-only studios, like Sony could do in the past, if there aren't any. Maybe they considered Remedy, but could not come into agreement or they wanted to go multiplatform (like they did).

I agree that ABK is completely in different league, though.
 
I know and wasn't comparing to this deal. Just that MS really can't buy multiple Xbox-only studios, like Sony could do in the past, if there aren't any. Maybe they considered Remedy, but could not come into agreement or they wanted to go multiplatform (like they did).

I agree that ABK is completely in different league, though.

OK i understand what your saying. Sure Microsoft doesn't have many options when it comes to Xbox exclusive 3rd party studios. But there are plenty of smaller studios that regulators won't complain about. When it comes to a huge multiplatforn publisher that's when the problem starts.
 

Topher

Gold Member
Not like they would be in trouble with the law but it could be argued they have a legal obligation to the shareholders to protect investments.

Not sure. I would think that would fall under job duties rather than a legal obligation. When I think of legal obligations of corporate executives then I think of financial reporting to the government, things related to insider trading, etc.
 

Three

Member
I know and wasn't comparing to this deal. Just that MS really can't buy multiple Xbox-only studios, like Sony could do in the past, if there aren't any. Maybe they considered Remedy, but could not come into agreement or they wanted to go multiplatform (like they did).

I agree that ABK is completely in different league, though.
They already did fairly recently, Undead Labs and Playground games. They are doing that while still buying the multiplatform publishers Zenimax and Activision Blizzard King. They can still do 4J and could have done Moon Studios.
 
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Gobjuduck

Banned

Missing the part of the comparison where McDonalds(Sony) cried that Burger King(Xbox) would spit in every McDonalds Coke(CoD). Saying that exclusive Coke cups would be unfair, when McDonalds has had exclusive Coke cups for a decade. McDonalds(Sony) is hard refusing any agreement or talks, then telling regulators that Burger King(Xbox) and Coke (ABK) are the difficult ones.

Not many are saying Sony’s motives/reasons to challenge the deal are wrong. It’s how they conduct themselves and the bullshit concerns they’ve had.
 
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Are there even any Xbox-only studios that Microsoft could buy? Asobo Studio (Flight Sim) is close, but they do multiplats, too.

Thats the problem. Microsoft screwed up as usual with bad management. They didn't help smaller studios grow and have as many close partnerships the way sony did. That's how sony got their 1st party to begin with and they still do it the same way. They grow the partnership first by working on a few projects together and helping the studio grow before going for the acquisition. Bungie is the only time where they straight up bought a big multiplatform ip.
 

Warablo

Member
Makes good points, but Jim Ryan and Sony are not "legally obligated" to fight this deal. It is Jim Ryan's job to fight this deal, but doing so isn't required by law.



Then perhaps just speak for yourself? Personally, I game on every platform and I'm against this deal because I do not think consolidation like this is good for the industry at all. I know there are others here like Banjo64 Banjo64 who do not "exclusively play on Sony devices" and feels the same way.

What "political reasons" are you referring to? And why the need to put people in such strict categories? You seem to want to look at this in very distinct terms. I don't think it is that simple.
I am speaking for myself, just like you are speaking for yourself. My friends and I are for the deal. Just like you and your friends are against it.

What exactly is bad about this consolidation? It was bound to happen sooner or later, and its already happened and you didn't even know it yet. That is how these big publishers got to where they are right now in the first place.
 
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Topher

Gold Member
I am speaking for myself, just like you are speaking for yourself. My friends and I are for the deal. Just like you and your friends are against it.

"Anyone who doesn't exclusively play on Sony devices does"
"The ones against it are just for political reasons."
 
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b6a6es

Banned
Guys, i know what im about to say might sound stupid (but tbf, everyone would call me that if i predicted the ABK deal years ago), but please hear me out.



If we assume that the deal’s approved somehow, in longterm can MS attempt to acquire SIE from Sony (with Sony’s approval) in 70-80B$ deal 🤔 (or amazon-apple-tencent in case MS or Sony rejects), becoming Xbox/Playstation with all their games available on both platforms day/date and Gamepass Absorbing PS+ )

I mean yeah it’s their competitor, but so is Nintendo & Steam, and i can see Brad smith & Sony execs adding Apple appstore, Google Play, and possibly Tencent sizewise into the discussion with the regulators.


To me it would be a win-win for both, sony gets a 70-80B$ pay and free itself from the headache of competing with a 3 trillion+ dollar company (who might acquire T2 right after ABK) while focusing on their main ventures like Movies, Music & Anime (i can see them buying Namco bandai with that money, as anime is becoming their main pillar nowadays)
 
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ulantan

Member
Guys, i know what im about to say might sound stupid (but tbf, everyone would call me that if i predicted the ABK deal years ago), but please hear me out.



If we assume that the deal’s approved somehow, in longterm can MS attempt to acquire SIE from Sony (with Sony’s approval) in 70-80B$ deal 🤔 (or amazon-apple-tencent in case MS or Sony rejects)

I mean yeah it’s their competitor, but so is Nintendo & Steam, and i can see Brad smith & Sony execs adding Apple appstore, Google Play, and possibly Tencent sizewise into the discussion with the regulators.


To me it would be a win-win for both, sony gets a 70-80B$ pay and free itself from the headache of competing with a 3 trillion+ dollar company while focusing on their main ventures like Movies, Music & Anime (i can see them buying Namco bandai with that money, as anime is becoming their main pillar nowadays)
...that's not...that's just not
 

Topher

Gold Member
Guys, i know what im about to say might sound stupid (but tbf, everyone would call me that if i predicted the ABK deal years ago), but please hear me out.



If we assume that the deal’s approved somehow, in longterm can MS attempt to acquire SIE from Sony (with Sony’s approval) in 70-80B$ deal 🤔 (or amazon-apple-tencent in case MS or Sony rejects)

I mean yeah it’s their competitor, but so is Nintendo & Steam, and i can see Brad smith & Sony execs adding Apple appstore, Google Play, and possibly Tencent sizewise into the discussion with the regulators.


To me it would be a win-win for both, sony gets a 70-80B$ pay and free itself from the headache of competing with a 3 trillion+ dollar company while focusing on their main ventures like Movies, Music & Anime (i can see them buying Namco bandai with that money, as anime is becoming their main pillar nowadays)

GIF by Steve Harvey TV
 
Guys, i know what im about to say might sound stupid (but tbf, everyone would call me that if i predicted the ABK deal years ago), but please hear me out.



If we assume that the deal’s approved somehow, in longterm can MS attempt to acquire SIE from Sony (with Sony’s approval) in 70-80B$ deal 🤔 (or amazon-apple-tencent in case MS or Sony rejects), becoming Xbox/Playstation with all their games available on both consoles day/date and Gamepass Absorbing PS+ )

I mean yeah it’s their competitor, but so is Nintendo & Steam, and i can see Brad smith & Sony execs adding Apple appstore, Google Play, and possibly Tencent sizewise into the discussion with the regulators.


To me it would be a win-win for both, sony gets a 70-80B$ pay and free itself from the headache of competing with a 3 trillion+ dollar company while focusing on their main ventures like Movies, Music & Anime (i can see them buying Namco bandai with that money, as anime is becoming their main pillar nowadays)
bmHySxq.gif
 

Warablo

Member
If you have a choice of Marvel IP, Spider-Man is king. If you are not picking Spider-Man first you are fucking dense as fuck. Sunset Overdrive was due to come out the same year so a quick question is what is that team doing next. They didn't even try to get another project out of Insomniac in 5 years before Sony's acquisition. Sony couldn't have met with Insomniac about Spider-Man until Xbox Division said no first. Being focused on a game coming out and not thinking about the dev team's future was shockingly stupid.
This is true, but Sony had more foresight because they are the ones producing the movies.
 

ironmang

Member

I get why Sony is doing it. They know every time a new game pops up on GP it makes their own service look even worse. They want to protect that "great thing going with COD" which is exclusive content and blocking it from GP.

What I don't get is why the Sony fanboys in this thread and elsewhere care so much that they're spending hundreds of hours of their lives on it. Not much will change for them when the deal goes through. COD and every other new game will be full price for PS+ subs like it's always been. If anything they'll benefit when Sony has to improve their own service if they start losing subscribers.
 
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Topher

Gold Member
He asked who would be for the deal.

I guess I shouldn't have tried to answer the question?

I should have said "most" people who don't game on Sony platforms. That is my opinion, your opinion may differ.

Reread his question: "does any actual gamer want this to go through"

The question wasn't about platforms at all.

You are just arguing to argue with me at this point.

No, I'm arguing with you because you are making massive generalizations that are just not true.
 
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