Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan has recently stated that the company will no longer be able to share information about its upcoming console hardware with Activision if Microsoft’s deal will push through.
Sony Cannot Risk Sharing Sensitive Info
Ryan recently spoke to the US Federal Trade Commission, which was currently involved in the legal proceedings to block the deal. He revealed that Sony cannot risk giving information to a company that is owned by a direct competitor.
The FTC recently questioned Ryan on the statements that the company submitted which were designed to give the perspective on the deal and these were the comments that popped up. One of the big highlights was this one that made Sony not share confidential details about its next console in development with Activision anymore if the deal pushes through.
Much Has Been Redacted
Ryan was asked about the impact of sharing information and what might change if Sony was not able to closely collaborate with Activision on games like Call of Duty as part of the follow-up questions. Unfortunately, most of his responses were largely redacted from the public version of the court documentation.
Based on what was left on the documentation that can be read publicly, Ryan said that Microsoft would have less incentive to develop PlayStation-specific features for Activision games if the deal is a success.
“I believe that [Microsoft]’s incentives – their primary incentive will, at post-acquisition, would be to optimize its overall Xbox business, not the business of Activision,” Ryan said.
Ryan was asked to describe the level of sensitivity of the information on the features in development for PlayStation consoles. His reply was short, which was “Immensely sensitive.”
What We Understand
Based on Ryan’s statements, it seems Sony is desperately trying to stop this deal from happening as it will result in “catastrophic” results. He is trying to say that SIE will not be able to share details with Activision about its upcoming new console in the future, which will be problematic for Activision when they are trying to develop a new game that they want to be playable on possibly the PS6. This might even result in becoming an exclusive for the Xbox consoles if Activision is not able to know the exact details of the PS6 ahead of time.