Have you watched The Last of Us episode 3 on HBO? If so, chances are you were impressed with what you saw. It seems someone from Activision-Blizzard got so impressed that they are now using it to lobby for the still-in-investigation Activision-Blizzard acquisition.
Over on Twitter, Lulu Cheng Meservey, EVP of Corporate Affairs and CCO at Activision-Blizzard fired off a series of tweets tagging the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) on how TLOU episode 3 was so “incredible,” and made a point that it was produced by Sony Pictures Television and PlayStation Productions, and is based on a best-selling video game developed by a Sony-owned studio, and published as a PlayStation exclusive.
Hi @FTC — did you catch last night’s episode of The Last of Us? It was incredible.
No wonder the show is breaking records. It’s a true blockbuster, watched by tens of millions.
If you haven’t already, you should check it out. You may be particularly interested in the fact that pic.twitter.com/MhcT0DmOsM
— Lulu Cheng Meservey (@lulumeservey) January 30, 2023
We’ve compiled the series of tweets in text form for an easier read:
Hi @FTC — did you catch last night’s episode of The Last of Us? It was incredible.
No wonder the show is breaking records. It’s a true blockbuster, watched by tens of millions.
If you haven’t already, you should check it out. You may be particularly interested in the fact that
The Last of Us is produced by Sony Pictures Television and PlayStation Productions.
It’s based on a best-selling video game developed by a Sony-owned studio and published by Sony as a PlayStation exclusive.
Why does this matter?
The FTC has opposed the Microsoft – Activision Blizzard deal on the grounds that Microsoft could “suppress competition” from rival consoles by leveraging Activision games.
It sounds like there’s some worry that Sony’s position as market leader could be jeopardized by this deal.
But there’s no cause for concern.
Sony has an unrivaled warchest of IP, not just in gaming but TV, movies, and music — which can be developed into games, or can market existing games.
Case in point: the TV show The Last of Us is already generating renewed interest in that game.
Sony’s talent and IP across gaming, TV, movies, and music are formidable and truly impressive.
It’s no wonder they also continue to dominate as the market leader for consoles.
In gaming, Sony is “the first of us” – and they will be just fine without the FTC’s protection.
While I do see that Lulu has put the “personal views” disclaimer on her Twitter bio, it still seems odd to see this from a company exec.
In related news to this, Microsoft’s Communication Lead Frank Shaw mentioned that Sony has allegedly misled EU regulators on Call of Duty parity. As for The Last of Us episode 3, you can check our review of that here.