Gaming news has to be pretty big or pretty anime related for me to put it on the Doujins blog, and lately we’ve been bombarded with news that satisfies that first condition and somewhat kinda touches upon the second. In case you’ve been living under a rock next to my dumbass, Microsoft made a very big dick play a few weeks ago when they announced the purchase of Activision Blizzard for approximately $68 billion dollars. Considering the popular franchises under Activision Blizzard including Diablo, Call of Duty, Overwatch, and who could forget Candy Crush, this was a humongous move that made quakes in the industry. People immediately began to talk about possible exclusivity plays and how this move could put pressure on Sony.

And Sony did indeed feel the pressure. So much so that they fired back earlier this week with the purchase of developer studio Bungie. Bungie had a couple small hits back in the day, they worked on the cult classic Halo series (1-3) that you may have heard of at some point ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°). Nowadays the group is mainly known for the Destiny series and I have no idea if it’s any good because you talk to one person and Destiny is the best grind ever and then the next says it’s the worst mistake they ever made. Regardless, Bungie still holds a large player base and it was a momentous purchase even if it was only $3.6 billion. 

Now I know what you’re thinking: damn Sony clapped back in seconds, are we about to see a long list of purchases as the two giants fight back and forth to claim studios and fight for exclusive supremacy? Maybe, but maybe not. Bungie repeatedly said that while they were being officially purchased into the Sony team, they will retain authority on their products and will be able to develop games for whatever platforms they choose. So while I’m sure that means more money for Sony than Microsoft, it may not be signaling the exclusivity hellhole that many consumers fear. Microsoft so far is more of a concern in that department as they’ve been acquiring multiple studios since 2021 as they try to build up their arsenal of dev studios while strengthening the appeal of the Xbox Game Pass. Only time will tell how exclusive or non-exclusive these studio purchases end up being, and if Sony feels the pressure enough to keep adding to their network too with more big dev studio buyouts.

The power of the credit card is truly formidable.

Unfortunately for me, I’m a certified Sony cuck. You see, Playstation pretty much already has exclusives on the major anime fighting games like Guilty Gear and Blazblue. That’s the majority of what I play on a console anyway so Xbox is a no go for me no matter how much better the hardware or Game Pass is. Until I can play as Ramlethal on Xbox, I’m stuck where I am. Still, it’s interesting to read about how the competition between the two leaders is shaping up for 2022. Are you rooting for Microsoft, Sony, or someone else? Do you have a preferred console or do you play on PC? Will these back and forth purchases continue into the year and beyond? Boot up your machine, launch a game, and share your thoughts in the comments below!