https://www.ign.com/articles/microsoft-admits-xbox-has-lost-the-console-wars-as-it-battles-for-69-billion-activision-blizzard-buyout

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Nintendo SwitchPlayStation 5PolicyXbox Series SXbox Series X

Microsoft Admits Xbox Has 'Lost the Console Wars' as It Battles for
$69 Billion Activision Blizzard Buyout

Xbox "in third place" behind PlayStation and Nintendo, with a sales
market share of 16%.

Rebekah Valentine
By Rebekah Valentine
Updated: Jun 22, 2023 5:11 pm
Posted: Jun 22, 2023 3:45 pm

In its proposing findings of fact submitted on the first day of
Microsoft's court battle with the FTC over the $69 billion
acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft has claimed Xbox has
officially "lost the console wars".

A section of the document, submitted by Microsoft, describes its
entry into the gaming industry in 2001, when its original Xbox
console was outsold by both Sony and Nintendo by a "significant
margin". And, per Xbox, it hasn't stopped "losing" the "console wars"
ever since.

"Xbox's console has consistently ranked third (of three) behind
PlayStation and Nintendo in sales. In 2021, Xbox had a share of 16%
while Nintendo and PlayStation had shares of [redacted] and
[redacted], respectively. Likewise for console revenues and share of
consoles currently in use by gamers ('installed base'), Xbox trails
with 21% while PlayStation and Nintendo have shares of [redacted] and
[redacted], respectively."

"Xbox's console has consistently ranked third (of three) behind
PlayStation and Nintendo in sales."
---------------------------------------------------------------------
"

Microsoft goes on to argue that as a result, it is "betting on a
different strategy" by generating profit through game sales rather
than console sales and selling its consoles at a loss, "effectively
subsidizing gamers' purchase of the hardware in hopes of making up
the revenue through sales of games and accessories."

All of these arguments are part of a much larger set-up in
Microsoft's defense against the FTC, which seeks to pause its $69
billion acquisition of Activision with a preliminary injunction,
which Microsoft is battling against in court this week. If the
injunction passes, it would halt the deal until an evidentiary
hearing on August 2, which falls after the set date for the deal to
close on July 18, 2023 and would potentially allow the parties to
renegotiate the merger.

The FTC seeks to stop the merger due to concerns it would allow Xbox
to dominate the games market in part by making games such as Call of
Duty Xbox-exclusive, something Microsoft has vehemently denied it
would do.

Microsoft, meanwhile, is arguing its status as the third-place gaming
console makes the merger necessary to cement itself as a viable
competitor at all with rivals such as Sony and Nintendo.

We'll be covering the trial here on IGN to its conclusion, including
daily recaps and news from all the newly-released documentation.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her on
Twitter @duckvalentine.

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