Japanese Internet Reacts To Microsoft's $70 Billion Proposal To Buy Activision

The biggest news this week—probably this year—is Microsoft’s proposed $70 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard. Online, people have opinions about this massive event and its ramifications, and in that regard, Japan is no different. The way Microsoft’s flagship console is viewed by many in Japan, however, is rather different.

In the U.S., Microsoft’s Xbox gaming platform is popular, but in Japan, it has traditionally been passed over or even ignored. Sony’s PlayStation has long overshadowed the Xbox in Japan and is the country’s default preference over Microsoft’s gaming machine. This perspective makes what folks online in Japan think about the proposed purchase especially interesting.

Below is a cross-section of the reaction on popular Japanese gaming blogs like My Game News Flash as well as on the country’s biggest internet bulletin boards, 2ch and 5ch.

“Woah, really?”

“This surprised me.”

“There are a bunch of games I’m not interested in, so this is good.”

“What the hell is Sony doing?”

“Well, that’s it for Diablo.”

“Microsoft! Give us back Diablo!!”

“An industry destroyer.”

“These are wild times.”

“Sony is finished.”

“This is a huge deal.”

It demolishes the PS5’s stronghold.
This is only the beginning of the end.
Get ready, Japan.”

“[Activision Blizzard] fell from grace due to the harassment situation, and Microsoft just bought them.”

“With this, the Box wins!!”

“So, Blizzard games are coming to Game Pass!”

“Well, this is fine.”

“The power of Microsoft’s money is awful.”

“They bought sexual harassment.”

“If PlayStation don’t get Call of Duty, it’s finished.”

“Thank you, Bill Gates.”

“Don’t you feel like Microsoft’s gaming branch has truly arrived? (They’re about twenty years late, though.)“

“They really want to monopolize the game industry.”

“Microsoft loves buying hallowed-out companies.”

“Bye bye Trash Station.”

“This is completely wiping out the Japanese game industry.”

“Fix the bugs in Halo.”

“Microsoft is gonna buy Sony Interactive Entertainment. Heck, they might even buy Sony proper.”

“It would’ve been better to buy Square Enix.”

“How much money do they have?”

“To be honest, it’s not worth $70 billion.”

“The PlayStation will lose to the Xbox?”

“Next up is EA? The power of their [Microsoft’s] money is amazing.”

“This is the death of the PlayStation.”

“Farewell Call of Duty.”

“And with this, the PlayStation has lost.”

“I guess this means Call of Duty fans will abandon the PlayStation?”

“It’s just a shell of itself as the talented game creators left due to the sexual harassment issue.”

“Blizzard just releases shitty games now. Their character design is stinks of the 1980s and looks creepy.”

“Saying that the Call of Duty is an Xbox exclusive is a powerful phrase.”

“Nice one Microsoft! I thought Blizzard was ruined, but this should result in some sort of games. Ah, this is good.”

“This leaves a better impression than Tencent [acquiring Activision Blizzard].”

“The PlayStation is finished? Well, the PC is fine, then.”

“If you buy Nintendo next, release Zelda on a next-gen console.”

“Who are they going to buy next?
Keep making Game Pass better!”

“Microsoft is collecting all the third-party studios.”

“The sexual harassment CEO is staying on? Microsoft, c’mon, do things properly.”

“Sony is done. I’m guessing the Xbox’s share will grow.”

“Is this the death of Call of Duty?”

“If you’re talking about Japan, then it’s the Switch.
If you are talking about the West, then it’s the Xbox.
If you are talking about trash, then it’s the Trash Station.”

“Don’t you have to be a moron to buy Blizzard now? lol”

“It would’ve been good to buy Square Enix and Capcom.”

“People said the same thing with Bethesda, but did something change?”

“This has no impact on Nintendo.”

“Sony is done. Their stock also dropped a lot.”

“Where did competition, the fundamental principle of capitalism, go?
Don’t monopolies make things worse?”

“The fate of those under the Microsoft umbrella is not good.”

“I feel like games have peaked.
The hardware battle has cooled.”

“For me, who doesn’t play first-person shooters, I do not care at all.”

“Is anyone with any talent left at Blizzard?”

“Next up, it seems they’d target From [Software].”

“This cuts the PS5’s lifespan short.”

“Diablo fans are most happy about this.”

“Those who are saying Sony is done ha ha”

“If things are going this way, then buy Kojima Productions and the rights to Metal Gear.”

“The power of Microsoft’s money sure is something.”

“It’s it okay to spend that much money on this?”

“Are you saying this is a huge victory for Xbox?!”

“PlayStation 5: ‘It’s…okay…because…we have… Gran Turismo…’”