Microsoft / Activision Deal Approval Watch |OT| (MS/ABK close)

Do you believe the deal will be approved?

  • Yes, will be approved without changes.

    Votes: 221 24.9%

  • Yes, will be approved but with structural changes to ABK.

    Votes: 102 11.5%

  • Yes, will be approved but only with behavioral concessions.

    Votes: 262 29.6%

  • No, will not be approved.

    Votes: 301 34.0%
  • Total voters
    886
  • Poll closed .
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gothmog said:
Microsoft's track record isn't exactly stellar on that front. They did stack ranking for years and I'm not sure if their hands off approach would actually change this practice?
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Actually, Microsoft would end the policy immediately because Microsoft doesn't support it company-wide. Corporate will call the shots on such policies.
 
jm89 said:
I swear some of these xbox execs are god damn embarrassments, but how is anyone surprised when they still have greenberg prancing around.
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I think it's deserved.
If Sony are doing what MS says they are then of course you make it public.
That puts pressure on the regulator to address it.
This tweet wasn't a rogue employee going off the reservation here, it would have been planned and approved by the higher ups.
 
Heisenberg007 said:
These are not Twitter guys, these are "journalists." Two of them write for Windows Central, a huge publication. PlayStation has no shill/fanboy who poses as journalists.

Anyway, it's best to leave this discussion here and get back on the thread.
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Playstation has no skills that pose as Journalists? Good grief. Jason Shrierer?
That Bloomberg dude?
There are a ton of fanboys in the media.
 
In Cold Blood said:
Playstation has no skills that pose as Journalists? Good grief. Jason Shrierer?
That Bloomberg dude?
There are a ton of fanboys in the media.
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Can you post something even remotely approaching fanboy lunacy from Jason Shrierer? The guy isn't a PS shill by any stretch and probably caused a lot of headaches for naughty dog to boot. You guys are really reaching here.
 
In Cold Blood said:
Playstation has no skills that pose as Journalists? Good grief. Jason Shrierer?
That Bloomberg dude?
There are a ton of fanboys in the media.
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This Jason Schreier? Who has done many anti-Sony and anti-PS articles?

kotaku.com

As Naughty Dog Crunches On The Last Of Us II, Developers Wonder How Much Longer This Approach Can Last

Some developers at Naughty Dog continue to ask themselves a question that has haunted the studio for years: Is it worth it?
kotaku.com kotaku.com

 
Pelta88 said:
This is fucking hilarious...

LhaiAXD.jpg
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meme-old-woman.gif
 
Heisenberg007 said:
This Jason Schreier? Who has done many anti-Sony and anti-PS articles?

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[/URL]
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The woke guy doing an anti crunch article?
How about the guy, who when it came out that the PS5 lost in the spec wars, went on a campaign to try and push the narrative that the PS5 was actually awesome and better than the specs suggest.

Or how about John L from Digital Foundry saying that he hates Microsoft and wishes they never got into the console buisness?

Or how about all the gaming media like Kotaku who smashed Microsoft for making Tomb Raider a 12 month exclusive game, while praising Sony for all their efforts in bringing exclusive games to the PS. An article so biased that they have apparently removed it from their website now.

There are plenty of Pro Sony in the media.
You mentioned Jez, but he makes no bones about the fact that he is pro Microsoft. I mean, he is the editor of "WINDOWS Central" after all. He is on a podcast called the Xbox Two. Can't get more open than that.
 
Big difference between keeping an existing IP that generates billions on a competing platform, to not putting new IP on a competing platform.

Both are logical and make business sense, because they represent profit goals over different time frames.

Nothing has been taken away from PlayStation if the games were never there in the first place. Plus they can just play on PC without ever buying an xbox, not something you can do with PlayStation exclusives, until someday, maybe, probably never.
 
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Pelta88 said:
This is fucking hilarious...

LhaiAXD.jpg
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I guess Microsoft were like, "we literally did a showcase after the purchase of Bethesda where phil clearly said .....the reason for the purchase of Bethesda was to bolster and improve our first party exclusive output. We listened to the fans and that's what THIS purchase was for"

Everyone on the "opposing side" of internet is doing selective reading and choosing quotes to shape their own personal narrative...which shouldn't surprise anyone.
 
DenchDeckard said:
I guess Microsoft were like, "we literally did a showcase after the purchase of Bethesda where phil clearly said .....the reason for the purchase of Bethesda was to bolster and improve our first party exclusive output. We listened to the fans and that's what THIS purchase was for"

Everyone on the "opposing side" of internet is doing selective reading and choosing quotes to shape their own personal narrative...which shouldn't surprise anyone.
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After the purchase was complete.

Before it

"This deal was not done to take games away from another player base like that. Nowhere in the documentation that we put together was: 'How do we keep other players from playing these games?' We want more people to be able to play games, not fewer people to be able to go play games." - Phil Spencer

They pitched this to regulators too suggesting there is no financial incentive to do so. Got through without concessions and then games were removed.
 
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In Cold Blood said:
The woke guy doing an anti crunch article?
How about the guy, who when it came out that the PS5 lost in the spec wars, went on a campaign to try and push the narrative that the PS5 was actually awesome and better than the specs suggest.
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Was Schreier wrong? He was right. PS5 (a 10 TF $399 console) performs the same as XSX (a 12 TF $499 console).

So either the XSX performs worse than its specs, or the PS5 performs better than its specs. Jason said the second thing, and it turned out to be true.
 
Heisenberg007 said:
Was Schreier wrong? He was right. PS5 (a 10 TF $399 console) performs the same as XSX (a 12 TF $499 console).

So either the XSX performs worse than its specs, or the PS5 performs better than its specs. Jason said the second thing, and it turned out to be true.
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What are you even talking about? Where exactly has the PS5 performed better with its specs? There is very clear parity between the two, outside of first parties but they have far more selective development proximity to the manufacturer. There is also a clear narrative of late that Xbox is apparently underperforming in its specs, which make no sense because they are so identical.

This whole purchase has made people go fucking batshit insane, throwing out logic all for the sake of pleasing some faceless company of either side. Seriously, who gives a shit? No one certainly cares that Sony has exclusivity locked down like a nun in church, so what if Microsoft is wanting to do the same? Is it suddenly going to destroy the industry that developers actually be given a chance to develop titles they want with financial security?

The thought that even a collection of supposed adults who have a handful of brain cells to rub together can be fooled by the sheer console war fanboyism is nuts. Sony is quite literally (appropriate use of it for once) claiming they'll be damaged by this, despite continually blocking games or access to content on a daily basis. There is no in-between shades of grey here, Sony are whining because they are on top and don't want to work for goodwill.

Also everything I've just said is purely my own thoughts on this whole debacle of embarassment that everyone should have expected from "gamers." I'm not right, I just think people are fucking dumb cunts who can't think beyond their own grovelling to a corporation who gives them some exclusive content to make them feel part of the "system" in exchange for ignorance.
 
Three said:
After the purchase was complete.

Before it

"This deal was not done to take games away from another player base like that. Nowhere in the documentation that we put together was: 'How do we keep other players from playing these games?' We want more people to be able to play games, not fewer people to be able to go play games." - Phil Spencer

They pitched this to regulators too suggesting there is no financial incentive to do so. Got through without concessions and then games were removed.
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"I don't want to be flip about that," he added. "This deal was not done to take games away from another player base like that. Nowhere in the documentation that we put together was: 'How do we keep other players from playing these games?' We want more people to be able to play games, not fewer people to be able to go play games. But I'll also say in the model—I'm just answering directly the question that you had—when I think about where people are going to be playing and the number of devices that we had, and we have xCloud and PC and Game Pass and our console base, I don't have to go ship those games on any other platform other than the platforms that we support in order to kind of make the deal work for us. Whatever that means."
 
Eotheod said:
What are you even talking about? Where exactly has the PS5 performed better with its specs? There is very clear parity between the two, outside of first parties but they have far more selective development proximity to the manufacturer. There is also a clear narrative of late that Xbox is apparently underperforming in its specs, which make no sense because they are so identical.

This whole purchase has made people go fucking batshit insane, throwing out logic all for the sake of pleasing some faceless company of either side. Seriously, who gives a shit? No one certainly cares that Sony has exclusivity locked down like a nun in church, so what if Microsoft is wanting to do the same? Is it suddenly going to destroy the industry that developers actually be given a chance to develop titles they want with financial security?

The thought that even a collection of supposed adults who have a handful of brain cells to rub together can be fooled by the sheer console war fanboyism is nuts. Sony is quite literally (appropriate use of it for once) claiming they'll be damaged by this, despite continually blocking games or access to content on a daily basis. There is no in-between shades of grey here, Sony are whining because they are on top and don't want to work for goodwill.

Also everything I've just said is purely my own thoughts on this whole debacle of embarassment that everyone should have expected from "gamers." I'm not right, I just think people are fucking dumb cunts who can't think beyond their own grovelling to a corporation who gives them some exclusive content to make them feel part of the "system" in exchange for ignorance.
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Tom Cruise What GIF
Girl What GIF by MOODMAN
Excuse Me Reaction GIF by One Chicago
 
DenchDeckard said:
"I don't want to be flip about that," he added. "This deal was not done to take games away from another player base like that. Nowhere in the documentation that we put together was: 'How do we keep other players from playing these games?' We want more people to be able to play games, not fewer people to be able to go play games. But I'll also say in the model—I'm just answering directly the question that you had—when I think about where people are going to be playing and the number of devices that we had, and we have xCloud and PC and Game Pass and our console base, I don't have to go ship those games on any other platform other than the platforms that we support in order to kind of make the deal work for us. Whatever that means."
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It's important to see this entire quote along with the question that the interviewer asked. Here is the full transcript:

"Is it possible to recoup a $7.5 billion investment if you don't sell Elder Scrolls VI on the PlayStation?" asked Kotaku's Stephen Totilo.

"Yes," Spencer quickly replied. Then he paused.

"I don't want to be flip about that," Spencer added. "This deal was not done to take games away from another player base like that. Nowhere in the documentation that we put together was: 'How do we keep other players from playing these games?' We want more people to be able to play games, not fewer people to be able to go play games."

"When I think about where people are going to be playing and the number of devices that we had, and we have xCloud and PC and Game Pass and our console base, I don't have to go ship those games on any other platform other than the platforms that we support in order to kind of make the deal work for us. Whatever that means."
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So he said two things:
  • Is it possible to recoup the investment without shipping Zenimax games on PlayStation? >> Phil said, yes it's possible because we'd be shipping on PC, Xbox, and xCloud.
  • But he also clearly said that they won't be taking Zenimax games away from PlayStation, despite the fact that they don't need PlayStation to recoup the cost.
The EU regulators used exactly this to say that there was some misleading from Microsoft before the Zenimax acquisition. The FTC also references this. And this is one of the big reasons why the ABK acquisition is being investigated so thoroughly.
 
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Heisenberg007 said:
The EU regulators used exactly this to say that there was some misleading from Microsoft before the Zenimax acquisition. The FTC also references this. And this is one of the big reasons why the ABK acquisition is being investigated so thoroughly.
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But did they say that?

They only said that MS didn't make commitments re Zenimax once the FTC referenced the EU in their ABK decision.

MS might have misled in their documents but afaik the EU DGCOMP didn't call them out on it.
 
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Eotheod said:
What are you even talking about? Where exactly has the PS5 performed better with its specs? There is very clear parity between the two, outside of first parties but they have far more selective development proximity to the manufacturer. There is also a clear narrative of late that Xbox is apparently underperforming in its specs, which make no sense because they are so identical.
Click to expand...

You misread. He did not say "PS5 performed better with its specs". He said "PS5 performed better THAN its specs".
 
In Cold Blood said:
The woke guy doing an anti crunch article?
How about the guy, who when it came out that the PS5 lost in the spec wars, went on a campaign to try and push the narrative that the PS5 was actually awesome and better than the specs suggest.

Or how about John L from Digital Foundry saying that he hates Microsoft and wishes they never got into the console buisness?

Or how about all the gaming media like Kotaku who smashed Microsoft for making Tomb Raider a 12 month exclusive game, while praising Sony for all their efforts in bringing exclusive games to the PS. An article so biased that they have apparently removed it from their website now.

There are plenty of Pro Sony in the media.
You mentioned Jez, but he makes no bones about the fact that he is pro Microsoft. I mean, he is the editor of "WINDOWS Central" after all. He is on a podcast called the Xbox Two. Can't get more open than that.
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What's sad is you posted that first one unironically. I mean, I'd like receipts for all your claims, but if the first one's true, Jason was right. As were a lot of the people saying that back then. Remember, Xbox fans and shills were constantly talking about how much of a beast the XSX was going to. Was going to outperform the PS5 on every game by a minimum of 25%. Minimum. A lot claiming it would be more like 50%+.

Realize how no one is boasting about that anymore? Know why? Cause it didn't happen. For the first year, the PS5 was actually beating the XSX on most games. And now that the devs have gotten a handle on both systems, the games are basically on par with each other. With one slightly outperforming the other on one game and the reverse on another game.
 
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Eotheod said:
This whole purchase has made people go fucking batshit insane, throwing out logic all for the sake of pleasing some faceless company of either side. Seriously, who gives a shit? No one certainly cares that Sony has exclusivity locked down like a nun in church, so what if Microsoft is wanting to do the same? Is it suddenly going to destroy the industry that developers actually be given a chance to develop titles they want with financial security?
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Will MS fanboys ever stop justifying buying a whole company (the biggest publisher and something like 30+ licenses) for an outrageous price just because they're butthurt that Sony bought SOME (temporary or not) exclusives? Wasn't MS doing that a lot at the time of the 360 too? Oh but I forget they're the good guys so it doesn't matter. All Hail MS!
 
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Lulu losing her mind. She personally will make out like a bandit if the sale goes through for $95 per share. Which as many of you know is $45 more than the shares were actually worth.



 
Pelta88 said:
Lulu losing her mind. She personally will make out like a bandit if the sale goes through for $95 per share. Which as many of you know is $45 more than the shares were actually worth.



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It's a leap, but I get it. They'll use anything to say Sony will be fine when this deal closes.
 
Pelta88 said:
Lulu losing her mind. She personally will make out like a bandit if the sale goes through for $95 per share. Which as many of you know is $45 more than the shares were actually worth.



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What on earth did she buy when the deal was announced? Was it a car, a house, a boat, a plane? How much financial burden has she put herself under?

That's the only way her behaviour can be explained.
 
Pelta88 said:
Lulu losing her mind. She personally will make out like a bandit if the sale goes through for $95 per share. Which as many of you know is $45 more than the shares were actually worth.



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It's not about being first, it's about lost revenue and losing out on future act/blizz games you cunt Lulu.
 
Pelta88 said:
Lulu losing her mind. She personally will make out like a bandit if the sale goes through for $95 per share. Which as many of you know is $45 more than the shares were actually worth.



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Makes no sense. MS can literally do the same with their IPs. Just because the Last of Us TV show turned out to be good, doesnt mean that only Sony has this power.
I can see them easily do a tv show based on TES that would do just fine.

The fact that even the console warriors on ERA think that she must be trolling tells a lot.
 
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