Microsoft Responds To Old Xbox Comment About 'Spending Sony Out Of Business'

I mean it’s like every big corporation buying up smaller talent .. Apple , Amazon , tencent all do it and can always kill competition in forms less funded companies can’t .. idk what’s so surprising here

Yeah, I don't think there is any way to spin this.

Even if it's from 2019, Microsoft is still in this position to do just that and can definitely be used to generate some heavy cross-examination questions from the FTC.

This is not just an oddly worded email as it simply follows the way they have approached every business in which they have wish to partake in in the past. The old anti trust memories get resurrected. This would appear to show that certainly at the time of this mail, they were more than prepared to consider acting in the way in which they always have in the past.
It's pretty small ammunition in this case imho, but it may cause a few MS executives to squirm a little...

Article image sums up perfectly my blocked comment on PS haha

Booty even says “a different view to the general view below might be” so it’s one person’s view out of a group of people discussing the topic. It was not Microsoft’s collective view.

You are absolutely right, @TheSimulator. Who knows what some companies have said internally in unguarded correspondence that they never thought would see the light of day? We are all guilty of this kind of thing; if my Mum were to see some of the things I say/send to my mates, she'd disown me! 🤣

And yet they have been doing just that the past 5 years. Talking 40 ish studios and 2 of the biggest players in the industry including the largest. Yeah, they totally arent doing this and not removing future release elsewhere

@Moonglow I disagree - if you trust google I think MS have 23 studios while Sony have 19, so they are pretty even at the moment. MS not having much market share is more to do with them underperforming currently. Wasn't an issue during the 360 days. Perhaps MS issue is buying the wrong studios? Who knows? But in theory they can increase their fortunes with hard work and decent games without the need to just buy everyone.

Back on topic though, its a bit of a 'if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck" scenario.
After saying to spend Sony out of business, buying Zenimax for billions then next buying ABK while having a long list of studios they planned (or still plan) to go after, then once getting caught say "we won't spend Sony out of business". I have a Series X and PS5 and am annoyed by thing Jim says and does and raise concerns on PS when justified, but the stuff coming out of MS at the moment is like they think we're idiots. No one is coming out looking good from this merger (once you take the blinkers off).
Just give MS ABK then say that's your lot. If you want to succeed then make some good games instead of just churning out everyone else's games and we can all move on finally - until the next acquisition anyway!

Not a great look when your telling the authorities your the Plucky underdog who's always last 😂

@Fiendish-Beaver The difference here is that it’s not funny texts to friends — it’s written correspondence on behalf of a corporation regarding official business.

I can’t stress this to anyone enough — always be careful with your email and IMs on company channels, even if you’re just the intern. But if you’re an executive, you’re trained to understand and treat e-mail in a serious manner; it’s not uncommon for companies as large as Microsoft to have their messages pulled for investigations and reviews, be they external or internal.

Matt Booty should have known better. Matt Booty does know better. And his actions have now made Microsoft look more suspicious in their intent/undercuts their corporate messaging.

Haha BS its pretty clear this was always the plan, hope this harms things.

There is a lot of overreacting to this quote. For one, it does not end with “we should actually do it”, instead he suggests spending 3 billion in acquisitions. I doubt he really thought 3 billions was going to drive Sony out of business.

Yea; they are now spending 69 billion acquiring ABK, but before doing it they sat with Sony’s President and with Jim Ryan reassuring them CoD (the only game that could hurt them if it became exclusive) would remain on the platform.

So, yea, they are not attempting to kill Sony with acquisitions.

Edit: this statement says something we all believe. Tell me who here, that is opposing the deal, has not been saying exactly the same, thad MS has the money to spend Sony out of business?

The fact that this is the only email used as evidence, despite the FTC having had access to the last 5 years of emails from MS, says that this was just that. They could not come up with any more emails on follow up, planning to actually do that, agreement, anything. If you can find this email and no follow up to bury MS, it’s likely because there is nothing there.

Even fans of xbox have to know Microsoft lies constantly. It is okay to like their game machines but fully understand that they are a immoral corporate machine. They have always been the worst - I suspect they always will be.

Ouch! Very poor choice of words there from Matt Booty and its something that relates to Microsoft's past history. There were no shortages of people taking a dim view about the takeover - this will definitely not help.

It doesn't change the fact that ABK or their other deals do not come close to jeopardizing Sony being forced out of the gaming market.

@Cashews

Even fans of xbox have to know Microsoft lies "occasionally".

There, I've fixed that for you . Let's not pretend that Microsoft are the only corporation telling porkies.

Of course they have the ability to spend Sony out of business. They have the cash to buy Sony. What is the news here? That Matt Booty said it out loud?

I wish that Xbox had spent more money down that route (buying exclusive content which Sony had a 5:1 advantage over Xbox in 2021) and not on the ABK purchase, which as an Xbox console owner is mostly a massive waste of money (most likely driven by Amy Hood to get King), but that's another story.

@ChromeMud "It is okay to like their game machines" - that is why I said it okay to be here. I'm here simply for the video games. But Microsoft has always been a leader in anti-consumer practice.

Anyone who doesn't understand this has their head in the sand or they are stupid or they work for Microsoft.

@Jenkinss MS does not have the cash to buy Sony. Activision is eating up half MS's cash (what a waste). Japan would also protect Sony if MS were to make a move. They are Japan's 3rd largest company.

@Sol4ris I am not talking about other companies. I am talking about Microsoft.

Why do Sony/MS fans insist on doing this? I know X does this but so does Y so it is okay.

@themightyant
As I said at the time they are ALL at it and 'don't throw stones in glass houses'.
That is it in a nutshell mate. Anyone of a certain age knows full well that Microsoft have always been aggressive with their marketing and business strategies, so I guess it is what it is.
The only folks who defend this are 'plastic praisers'. And this site like it's sister site are full of them.

Almost makes Sony's pursuit of timed exclusivity justifiable in order to survive Microsoft attempts to spend them out of the industry. Without competition we've seen what Microsoft can be capable of.

@Cashews "MS does not have the cash to buy Sony."

They very often do, and if they don't today they will tomorrow (figuratively). Yes, they burn cash on acquisitions. However, they will not be burning "half" their cash on hand on Activision, as Phil Spencer explained to FTC's lawyer.

"Japan would also protect Sony if MS were to make a move."

Completely irrelevant, the point is Microsoft's finances dwarf that of Sony. You're off on a tangent. No one thinks Microsoft is buying Sony.

@TheSimulator Who's surprised? No one is suprised here. The point is that this exposes Microsoft's true intentions to monopolize the industry and eliminate choice & competition. Because, well, they said it themselves.

@eagletrippin it’s what every big business does wake up Sony is just not fortunate to have deep pockets as they wish

Okay, @EvenStephen7, you are absolutely right. We should all be mindful that there is always a chance that someone other than those we are conversing with might see our comments. I absolutely agree that this should be borne in mind.

However, have you actually read the comment?

So, if you take this: "we (Microsoft) are in a very unique position to be able to go spend Sony out of business..." as the entirety of what was said, then it is a particularly bad thing to say, and certainly something you should not commit to a document that might later be read.

However, the actual comment is prefaced by something that completely changes the narrative. This is what Booty actually said: "A different view to the general view below might be that we (Microsoft) are in a very unique position to be able to go spend Sony out of business..."

Those words, ""A different view to the general view below might be that" completely change the meaning of what was said. He is not saying that Microsoft should or could spend Sony out of business. He is saying that some might hold that view given the circumstances.

As an example, if I were to say, "My intention is to kill everyone in a game of Call of Duty" then the comment is exceptionally innocuous.

However, if you omit the last part, and just leave it at: "My intention is to kill everyone." My comment suddenly becomes extremely threatening. Upshot is that context matters, as does everything that was said, not just snippets to support your narrative.

So right now, the echo-chambers of the internet are blowing up about the last part of the comment, mostly without knowing the first part of the comment, which completely changes the context in which it was said. That obviously suits very many as they wouldn't want facts to stand in the way of throwing shade at Microsoft. However, in this instance, it is only right that this comment is read in full and the context is understood...

@Moonglow I would agree with this if they acted as a publisher and went multi platform. I was gutted when Sony got Bungie thinking they would take future Destiny games exclusive but alas they did not. Other than that the only bad thing about MS taking ABK is their approach to studios and not giving them the love and care they need. I can only hope that if this goes through that they then focus on the quality of content delivery over the next few years.

This is meaningless. Even if MS were acting on that quote right now, there is absolutely nothing illegal in saying such a thing or actually trying to make it a reality. It only becomes an issue if/when MS gets to the point with such a strategy that any additional moves would start to threaten competition in the market or start to encroach on anti-trust laws and they have not done so yet and will have not done so even after ABK goes through.

People might look a bit down on Booty for saying it, but it should have no relevance in this case given MS’s overall position in the market.

@Cashews my friend is a technology strategist at MS and he thinks the same thing. MS don’t go about hiding it really either. This has been their strategy for many years, they were proud of it at one point until it started to have a negative impact on their reputation. The strategy has proven to work though they are all about building ecosystems so it is hard for you to leave it. They are also great at building strong ties with influential people and organisations - especially those dependant on their expertise. They are very good at what they do make no mistake.

@themightyant Video streaming service, yes but not video game streaming service. He's quite right too as the video streaming market is saturated with so many competitors and choices. That is most certainly not the case with video game streaming services, as yet.

Looking at that email I think there is nothing new. This is a proven strategy that works for MS if this email can be taken to mean they plan to buy the market and force Sony out. I don’t necessarily think this email says that though and what Booty does say is actually true. They could just buy up chunks of the premium gaming market and force many gamers into their ecosystem. It would be much better if they just delivered quality content.

I think the response from MS about the email being sent a couple of years before means nothing though. It’s not like you would build a strategy to buy out publishers to push out the competition and then buy something within a short space of time. It takes a while to make these kind of decisions.

Either way I don’t really think this means anything but I also don’t think it helps them.

@Cashews

I am not talking about other companies. I am talking about Microsoft

So why pretend like Microsoft operates in a vacuum?
You are the one claiming: Even fans of xbox have to know Microsoft lies constantly. A claim clearly not true, no?. And I didn't mention Sony here....

This is a very serious comment section. I personally like how the email mentions Mixer, showing it's age 😂

Off topic, I miss Mixer. I used to love slapping on a PUBG or Warzone Hypezone stream while I was taking a break from gaming to eat.

@somnambulance I'm not a fan of Booty, myself (why do I feel this comment will haunt me out of context in the future? 😂) But it doesn't sound like he was taking about acquisitions here. It sounds more like content securing at a loss, basically copying Sony's exclusives strategy and just outspending them by billions of needed. He even defended day and date, probably at a loss as critics have said, being part of this as though this was in response to talk of ending that.

This whole out of context media storm is damaging in the court if public opinion but it's also very revealing how the media and public opinion operate on half quotes and replies without questions.

It was very bad wording from Matt Booty. I don’t take it literally either though. When you’re going after the top player, you sometimes say one thing, but mean something else. It’s very obvious Sony isn’t going anywhere. Neither company is totally innocent and going forward, Booty should choose his words more carefully.

@Jenkinss No they don't. MS has roughly 110B in cash. Sony is worth about 120B in cash. MS is not going to spend their entire kitty for god**** video games. Video games are practically worthless for Microsoft. A loss leader in the most real sense of terms. A tiny fraction of their real business. Business, OS, Cloud and possibly AI in the near term.

@NEStalgia on other gaming site i just read an article that say’s Xbox wants to double its gaming revenue by 2030. Was a decent read. In the comments however, and i quote from some non apologetic Sony fan “ i would rather eat diarrhea than buy a Xbox “
And this is why i think the industry is doomed from ever being mainstream like movies. No one i know say’s that about movies. They would casually make fun of it or say they don’t intend to watch it. But the games industry while much bigger in terms of engagement hours and money say’s things like this and somehow i know it shouldn’t but it makes me like Sony a little less when i read it. Even tho Sony has nothing to do with it and it was just such a dumb comment i am surprised the site allowed it. Aren’t you happy i shared that with you ? 🙄

@HonestHick This story filled me with determination 😂

Yeah, I think I used to say years ago here that the PS fandom makes me dislike Sony more than anything Sony actually does. Heck, even Jim is coming across as more reasonable and he makes millions speaking from both sides of his mouth. Same with the ff fandom recently. It's not everyone but it's prominent enough to just taint the whole view of the product.

I really don't know why gaming is like this. Gaming, comics, apple, maybe kpop fans? IDK what breeds it.

@NEStalgia i only share the best with you buddy. Jeez that was bad. Yeah you said it better than me. Those fan’s are just to much about Sony can do whatever and no one else can do anything. To say he would rather eat you know what than buy a Xbox is just so wrong on so many levels. Makes the industry just look pathetic and juvenile. Wish the site would have taken it down so i wouldn’t have even seen it. I didn’t reply but i would have just said not even the Edge’s price and battery life left that bad of a taste in my mouth.

@HonestHick Now that you mention Edge battery life though, I feel like their challenge may be acceptable....

Sony has the video game market cornered and still pays 3rd party developers not to put their games on Xbox. Sony left Microsoft and Xbox no other choice. Sony is worth $100 billion and Microsoft wants to buy Activision for $70 billion. Sony wishes they could buy Activision and put Xbox out of business but they can't.

All Sony really has in this world for the past 2 decades is Playstation, Apple took away the entire portal music business (the Walkman) from Sony with the iPod. If Playstation ever turns out to be unsuccessful, then Sony would go bankrupt.

People in this world watch the news, see others doing unethical things and look down upon them. But if were put in the same position, we would probably do the same thing.

@Cashews " MS has roughly 110B in cash. Sony is worth about 120B in cash. "

Lmfao, my entire point, thanks. And fyi, they've recently had over 130B.

He’s apologised for his shocking competitive attitude at the start of this gen.

https://youtu.be/Uhfz1VegV90

They did buy a bunch of studios after this email though, including Bethesda