Nervous shareholders have reacted unfavourably to news of Microsoft’s outrageously overpriced acquisition of Activision Blizzard, with stock falling 13 per cent in Tokyo overnight.
This suggests that Microsoft would make Activision Blizzard’s marque gaming franchises Call Of Duty and World Of Warcraft exclusive to the XBox, which doesn’t mesh with the company’s previous actions.
“The headwinds for Sony [are] only going to get tougher,” Asymmetric Advisors strategist Amir Anvarzadeh said in a note.
As Naoki Fujiwara, a fund manager at Shinkin Asset Management, told the Wall Street Journal, gaming is only a small slice of Sony’s operations, along with their massive film studio (responsible for current blockbusters Sriderman: No Way Home), a slew of electronics products, and image-sensing semiconductors.
Gaming made up just over 25 per cent of Sony’s operating profit in the half-year ending December.
