Call of Duty to Remain on PlayStation After Microsoft and Sony’s Deal

Tech Research Online — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 15:12:25 +0000

After the proposed Activision Blizzard merger, Sony and Microsoft reached an agreement to preserve the Call of Duty series on PlayStation for 10 more years. Sony and Microsoft have reportedly reached a binding agreement to maintain Call of Duty on PlayStation, according to Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer.

This puts an end to the heated dispute between the two businesses that had been raging for the previous year, both in private and in public. Ever since Microsoft revealed its intentions to buy Activision Blizzard in January 2022.

Understanding the Revised Deal

Microsoft’s first agreement with Sony in January 2022 specified that all current Activision console titles on Sony, including future versions in the Call of Duty franchise or any other current Activision franchise through December 31st, 2027, will be maintained. The conditions of the agreement have altered since the initial offer, and the 10-year extension is only applicable to Call of Duty.

But during the FTC vs. Microsoft hearing, a shocking email from PlayStation CEO Ryan was read out in court. It suggested that he wasn’t truly concerned about Call of Duty exclusivity and was pretty sure we will continue to see Call of Duty on PlayStation for many years to come. Ryan had called Xbox CEO Phil Spencer in January 2022 to ask for assurances on Call of Duty, according to Microsoft’s lawyers, who argued Ryan didn’t initially have worries about the deal.

The agreement comes after months of discussions and counter-offers between Microsoft and Sony on the future of Activision content on PlayStation for the next 18 months. It was also disclosed at the FTC vs. Microsoft hearing that Xbox CEO Spencer sent PlayStation CEO Ryan an email on August 26. It included a list of Activision games that will continue to be available on PlayStation, and Ryan wasn’t pleased.

The email caused a breakdown in communication between Spencer and Ryan, leading to Spencer revealing Call of Duty’s continued presence on PlayStation beyond the current Sony contract. Ryan criticized Spencer’s public contract negotiations, stating they were inadequate and failed to consider the impact on gamers.

Escalating Tensions Between Microsoft and Sony

Tensions over Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal escalated when Jim Ryan spoke with Activision CEO Bobby Kotick on February 21st, 2023, during a meeting with EU regulators. Ryan expressed his desire to block the merger, claiming it was anti-competitive. Kotick hoped regulators would block the merger, while Microsoft attempted to tempt Sony into signing a deal.

Microsoft has consistently insisted that it will keep Call of Duty available on PlayStation, claiming that doing so would be financially unwise. Before testifying in court that Call of Duty will remain on PlayStation, Spencer attempted to resolve the dispute in November.

The UK’s regulatory situation is a focus as Microsoft and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) discuss a case management conference. Both parties agreed to pause legal battles to address CMA’s cloud gaming concerns and warned of potential merger investigations. The conference is expected to adjourn proceedings pending further discussions.

Despite this, the CMA later announced an extension of its general inquiry into the transaction, pushing back the deadline for a final ruling from July 18 to August 29. Microsoft wants to complete its Activision transaction by the deadline of July 18. But there may be a slight delay so that the UK situation can be rectified.

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Highlights of All Virtual CES 2021 Day 4

Tech Research Online — Fri, 15 Jan 2021 14:16:08 +0000

Day 4 of CES 2021 continues with new groundbreaking innovations. This year the summit is not in Las Vegas, but masses are tuning in from all over the world for the latest announcements. Some of the largest giants taking part are Samsung, Sony, LG, and other consumer-electronics manufacturers.

We have bought to your major highlights from the event on its day 4:

Samsung’s 110-inch MicroLED TV, Neo QLED TVs, and MicroLED sets

Samsung shared the first look and announced which will be coming later this year. Its MicroLED and Neo QLED promises gradations of luminance and more depth which comes with densely packed backlighting. The company also announced new features for its latest model of Samsung’s artsy The Frameset. Samsung’s Handy Bot is a robot butler, that can do all your work from loading your dishwasher to pouring a glass of wine.

Samsung also unveiled a soundbar lineup with AirPlay 2 for Apple devices and Dolby Atmos surround sound. Finally, Samsung has also slyly teased a peek at the Galaxy Note 21 in a promo video about their new recycling program.

LG Announced Rollable Phone

After its rollable TV, the company has released a teaser for the LG Rollable phone where the screen can expand and contract. And we could be seeing it as early as March.

The company also showed off a 55-inch Transparent OLED Smart Bed that rises to different heights depending on what you see.

Finally, the company announced LG’s own OLED “Evo” technology that will boost the brightness and color of OLED screens. Evo will have 55-, 65- and 77-inch screens in the Gallery G1 range.

Sony Unveiled new TV lineup

Sony unveiled its TV lineup for the year 2021. It included OLED displays, 8K sets, and 4K LED sets with acoustic multi-audio technology. Additionally, the company is transitioning its sets from Android TV to the Google TV platform to make them more competitive with LG.

Lenovo unveiled LaVie Mini

Lenovo unveiled LaVie Mini, the Nintendo Switch, with a small 8-inch display that can be easily paired with a keyboard or controller.

The company has also rolled out an all-in-one Yoga desktop, Lenovo Yoga AIO 7, and two new monitors. The yoga desktop has a 27-inch 4K rotating screen for portrait mode. It comes with AMD Ryzen 7 4800H CPU and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 graphics card.

HP introduced the Dragonfly laptop line

HP has introduced new additions to its Elite Dragonfly laptop line, HP Elite Dragonfly Max and HP Elite Dragonfly G2. The first one has a 5MP webcam with 16GB of RAM and the other one has a 720p webcam with 8GB of RAM.

Both will boast an 11th-Gen Intel Core processor with 13.3-inch screens and up to 2TB in SSD storage.

The company has also introduced shared HP’s new Envy 14 and the latest HP Elite Folio. Pricing for both laptops will be announced later this month.

Other laptops announced in the event include Dell’s Alienware m15 and m17, the Alienware Aurora Ryzen Edition R11, Acer’s Chromebook Spin 514, Nitro 275 Hz gaming monitors, Acer Predator Helios 300, and Acer Aspire 7 and Aspire 5.

Nvidia Announced GeForce RTX 3060 Graphics Card

Nvidia has finally launched its most awaited GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card. It is a powerhouse for more than 70 laptops and has mobile versions of the 30-series GPUs. That added power means higher screen-refresh rates and more ray-tracing and DLSS support.

Intel, Panasonic, Asus, Dell, and LG Showcased their New Wares

In the press conference, Intel announced a wrap and its Rocket Lake 11th Gen Core H Series processors. The Core H Series chips promise speeds of 5GHz and gaming in 4K.

They have also announced its Rocket Lake-S chips for desktops with a promise of improved graphics performance of up to 50%.

Also Read: Nvidia Launches Cyberpunk 2077 NVIDIA DLSS with Immersive Graphics and Realistic Visuals

TV makers that showed off their products include Panasonic which introduced the JZ2000 flagship set. It comes with Dolby Atmos sound, HDR10+, dual Bluetooth connections, and an AI-driven CPU.

CES 2021 also saw the debut of monitors that includes the Asus ROG Strix XG43UQ, Dell’s 40-inch curved monitor, and LG’s UltraFine OLED Pro 32EP950.

JBL, Panasonic, Amazfit, Oneplus along with other Vendors Showed Off Smart wearables

JBL has announced Bar 5.0 MultiBeam which is only $400. On the other side, LG also announced six separate soundbars for an undisclosed price. Panasonic debuted with a Final Fantasy-themed Sound Slayer soundbar developed with FF studio Square Enix.

As wearables were a big part of CES 2021, Vuzix introduced smart glasses, Amazfit introduced Amazfit GTR 2e and Amazfit GTS 2e smartwatches, OnePlus introduced a fitness band, Honor introduced its Band 6, and Fossil announced the new Fossil Gen 5 LTE Touchscreen Smartwatch.

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