by The last of us inspired no shortage of takes when it was first released in 2013. HBO’s TV adaptation was no different. Like a huge stimulus EpiPen for the plug economy mid-winter, it garnered both over-the-top praise, scornful dismissals and everything in between. But what is potentially the worst take of all was not born until today.
“Hi FTC – did you see last night’s episode of The last of us?” tweeted Lulu Cheng Meservey, Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Chief Communications Officer of Activision Blizzard. “It was amazing.” What followed from the Call of Duty from the editor recently hired series poster was a cranky thread about how The last of us show that Microsoft should be allowed to acquire the company for $69 billion.
For those who might live under a rock and don’t know: The last of us is a poignant story about love, loss and redemption in a world brought to its knees by a pandemic. This week particularly intimate and emotional episode moved a lot to tears. That prompted Meservey to post about how the biggest acquisition in tech history raises no red flags.
Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have been on the offensive since the Federal Trade Commission launched a lawsuit against them, apparently with the intention of wringing out a few more concessions before finally letting the deal go through. It’s a multi-faceted, omnidirectional campaign that Microsoft repeatedly talks about how much it sucks compared to Sony, both in terms of play games and now in terms of creating TV shows. That was certainly the sentiment that Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer expressed last week. when asked to compare The last of us tv show at the Halo TV show.
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“Sony’s talent and intellectual property in games, TV, movies and music is tremendous and truly impressive,” Meservey tweeted today. “It’s no wonder they continue to dominate the console market as well. In gaming, Sony is “the first of us” – and they’ll be fine without FTC protection.”
Let the Cordyceps take me now.
