Activision Blizzard Thinks Sony's 'The Last Of Us' Can Help Justify The Xbox Acquisition
Image: HBO

The talk of the TV world right now is undoubtedly Sony and HBO's The Last Of Us series, which has drawn massive attention through its first few episodes — and even Xbox's Phil Spencer has been loving it!

However, Activision Blizzard seems to think this success could actually work against Sony when it comes to Xbox's attempted takeover of the company behind Call of Duty. Lulu Cheng Meservey, EVP of Corporate Affairs and CCO at Activision Blizzard, had some interesting comments to share about this on social media yesterday.

In a Twitter thread, Meservey explained that the FTC appears to be worried that "Sony’s position as market leader could be jeopardized by this deal", but she thinks there's no reason for concern because "Sony has an unrivaled warchest of IP, not just in gaming but TV, movies, and music", as evidenced by The Last Of Us.

Here's the full set of comments from yesterday:

"Hi FTC — did you catch last night’s episode of The Last of Us? It was incredible. No wonder the show is breaking records. It’s a true blockbuster, watched by tens of millions. If you haven’t already, you should check it out. You may be particularly interested in the fact that The Last of Us is produced by Sony Pictures Television and PlayStation Productions. It’s based on a best-selling video game developed by a Sony-owned studio and published by Sony as a PlayStation exclusive."

"Why does this matter? The FTC has opposed the Microsoft - Activision Blizzard deal on the grounds that Microsoft could “suppress competition” from rival consoles by leveraging Activision games. It sounds like there’s some worry that Sony’s position as market leader could be jeopardized by this deal."

"But there’s no cause for concern. Sony has an unrivaled warchest of IP, not just in gaming but TV, movies, and music — which can be developed into games, or can market existing games. Case in point: the TV show The Last of Us is already generating renewed interest in that game."

"Sony’s talent and IP across gaming, TV, movies, and music are formidable and truly impressive. It’s no wonder they also continue to dominate as the market leader for consoles. In gaming, Sony is 'the first of us' - and they will be just fine without the FTC’s protection."

Meservey's comments are in direct response to the US Federal Trade Commission, which has filed a lawsuit against Microsoft's attempt takeover of Activision Blizzard. The FTC's decision drew a lot of criticism from Activision Blizzard late last year, with the company stating the FTC had "lost sight of realities of the competitive gaming industry".

There's seemingly a long road ahead for Microsoft, Xbox, Activision Blizzard and the FTC, but we're still hopeful a resolution can be found in 2023 (maybe even in the first half of the year), but expect a bumpy ride until we get there.

What are your thoughts on these comments? Let us know down below.

[source twitter.com]