As long as a PS console exists, I don't see Sony allowing games to go straight to PC right away. They'll likely always have some sort of launch date separation between platforms. As long as the wait isn't too long, then I don't see the problem if the games are ported well and are worth it.

I think this actually works, because even when it comes to who owns what prior third parties, they all will have to play relatively nicely with sharing games between platforms and how much they charge each other or it could get messy quick.

It would also force MS to get serious for once about new in house IP. They've been seriously lacking that for a long time. There wouldn't be much Sony could buy and keep as exclusive either.

As for Sony, sure, they probably had idea's about what they might acquire in the future, but what MS is doing will no doubt change who, how many, and how much for Sony.

Sony's only somewhat large buy was Bungie and that was fairly recent. Other than that they make much smaller purchases and grow those studios.

Sony will have little choice but to buy as much as they can asap if MS keeps buying as well, especially the massive acquisitions that Sony would struggle to be able to make.

The more competitive MS becomes, the more Sony will try to keep ahead, and MS is dictating the speed and how that happens right now, which will be much more consolidation.

These announcements aren't any different to how Sony has handled things. I fail to see how what Microsoft is doing is worse than anything Sony has done.

It's just that we've been coming off a period where the funding had been cut for the Xbox division and the vast majority of third party deals had been made by Sony, and now that the playing field has been leveled, it's somehow worse.

The current trajectory is that both PS and Xbox will become redundant consoles, because both console manufacturers will put their games on the PC. Microsoft all of them day 1, Sony with delays of varying degrees. That's why I don't see a real problem for gamers here. The weaponising you speak of would first and foremost be against Sony, but not so much gamers.

What are the negative consequences you see for gamers?

I think it will and ill tell you why

1 Sony isnt doing cross gen Ms is = Sony has have more cross gen exclusives then ms have.

2 Sony will never release their first party games on Pc like MS = sony started releasing their first party games on Pc.

3 Sony will never release their games before 2-4 years on Pc = Sony have started releasing their games on PC within 6 to 12 months.

4 Sony will never have day and date = thats still up in the air but i think they will.

Honestly i dont think this changes anything Sony was planning on buying. Whatever they where going to buy they will still do it.

I think Sony is only doing what they must to compete with what MS is trying with XB on PC and Game Pass.

If Game Pass doesn't end up successful enough, Sony will back off on services and PC, but likely won't ditch PC.

If Game Pass looks like it's going to truly succeed, Sony very well will transition super quickly to a similar offering.

I'd say it's way to early to tell still.

Not if there's a bigger better buy that takes up too much of the budget.

If you're up by 2 games in a 7 game series, to then find out that the other team has caught on to your strategy and is now on coming back 1 game and then a potential 2nd, you don't keep the same strategy. You adjust or completely change your strategy as necessary.

If MS keeps buying and buying big, Sony would be idiots to ignore it and not adjust.

What about the XB One TV trajectory? What about Kinect? Which led to XB One X. Which led to Game Pass. Which led to XB Series S and X at once. Looks like MS just keeps trying new things until hopefully something catches on. 

Game Pass isn't anywhere near successful enough to clearly be the final direction MS will definitely end up going and not anytime soon. It's the general direction they look to want now, but what they wanted in 2013 didn't work out. With Game Pass now, even Zenimax and AB won't be near enough.

This is where the problem continues. Will MS really push new in house studios and IP if they have decided to just buy everything asap? The more MS consolidates within Game Pass, the more it'll make sense for Sony to acquire and make exclusive, because why else go to PS if it's all available on XB anyway? This will also make MS want to continue to acquire because they'll end up in a similar situation as they've been in, behind PS in content and exclusives.

You wouldn't see this leading to Sony buying up whatever they can and locking it down, especially IP that XB players now have access to or would enjoy? It would be XB's doing by forcing their hand. Even more so for anyone else trying to get into the gaming arena. They'll need exclusives to bring people in so they'll have to buy sooner than later and lock that IP down so they don't end up like Stadia (which had other problems as well).

Sony didn't start making really big acquisitions until MS did. Prior, Sony was making smaller, much more reasonable purchases, and building slowly from there in house. MS is tossing $10B here, $70B there, and Sony can't come close to competing with that. Maybe Sony could make 1 really large somewhat competitive purchase, but that would drain their entire PS budget for years.

There's the fact that MS will make more money next year than Sony will over the next decade, so if XB is allowed to keep buying, they can buy till it becomes a major monopoly problem, and then money hat almost everything else third party as exclusive so nobody else can have it unless they outright purchase it, if they can.

Also, even if you're correct, and XB and PS only offer their services on PC eventually, who owns Azure and Windows? Don't see that ever being a problem if not a serious concern for other competitors?

1. Why would Sony the "Market leader" as long as you dont include Nintendo like sony and the FTC have been doing have to follow Ms?.

2. Nintendo have been doing their own things for years and have had some failures but great Success and will keep doing that as long as they keep doing their own thing. But now Sony needs to follow Ms and if Ms fails Sony will back away .

3. Sony wont wait to see how GP is they already started to follow the next step is going all in.

But this is what Ms have already done since Sony have been buying and money hatting devs already so Ms have done exactly what you said. Doesnt mean this will change Sony's plans as they have already said they plan on buying more companys anyways.