Microsoft has begun defending its plan to acquire Activision Blizzard in front of the Federal Trade Commission. As part of its strategy, the company says that it has lost the “console war” against Sony and Nintendo. While the industry is dominated by the big three, Microsoft claims to be in a very distant third place when compared to its rivals.
“Xbox has lost the console wars, and its rivals are positioned to continue to dominate” Microsoft argued in its court filing (via The Verge), adding that Xbox had 16% of console sales in 2021, and overall, a console install base of 21%.
“In 2001, Microsoft entered the gaming industry with the launch of its first Xbox video game console, in competition with established incumbents Sony and Nintendo. In that ‘generation,’ Sony and Nintendo outsold Xbox by a significant margin. With every succeeding generation over the 20 years since, Sony, Nintendo, and Xbox have remained the three major console producers, and have been engaged in what the industry refers to as the ‘console wars.'”