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[IFireflyl]

Everything every business does is about money. Making money doesn't mean that it can't be good for consumers and the overall business environment. It's stupid to be in denial about that. Your comments about euthanasia are absurd.

This is what you said:

Yup MS has done its best to be a good actor in the games' industry.

No, they haven't. They have done their best to acquire money. Full stop. They don't have anyone's best interests at heart. They don't care about gamers. They would turn the industry upside down and set it on fire if it would benefit them. Stop shilling for big tech. They don't like you.

 

[Dr. Claus]

Everything every business does is about money. Making money doesn't mean that it can't be good for consumers and the overall business environment. It's stupid to be in denial about that. Your comments about euthanasia are absurd.

Yes, please tell me how pushing DRM is good for consumers. Please tell me how pushing for digital only future is "good for consumers". PUshing for less rights for consumers? How is that good for them?

I like MS and will continue to buy great games if I can from them - but get your head out of your arse. They aren't good nor do they give a rats ass about consumers. They just want money. SOny and Nintendo are the same. exact. way.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

I cannot believe a deal for a fucking videogame producer has a chance to fail because of "competition" lol.

 

[Topher]

lol relevant content is the new term for shit posting huh we all know why red dragon is posting it. It fits your narrative so you support it. But you're telling another user he can't do the same thing.

That's a blatant false equivalency. The tweet from twilo99 wasn't even on topic. It was just some random guy on twitter posting some random warrior shit. The posts with red dragon tweets that I've seen actually had quotes from documents related to the acquisition. If you want to pretend those are the "same thing" then delude yourself all you want.

This isn't the first time you've contrived some nonsense like this. What was it last time? I liked anonymous sources when it suited my "narrative"? I called you out twice on that but you never replied because you knew you just made that shit up.

Dude you have a bottle of ky jelly with the word Sony on it. Your options matter nothing to me. Microsoft could do nothing right by you you're in every Xbox thread parroting the same things.

 

[Heisenberg007]

Don't plan to console warrying nor drive-by, but given the latest reports my gut feeling tells me that the deal will be killed in the UK

So far it seems like that. Or at the very least, I am expecting some really tough concessions/objections from the CMA. Before FTC jumped in, the CMA was the most vocal regulatory body against this acquisition. I'm expecting tough remarks from them.

There is also a circulating theory that the EC's statement of objections was tougher than what most (and MS) expected. Hence, the renewed social media campaign from Microsoft and Activision in favor of the acquisition.

Let's see. We'll likely see some noticeable development this week.

 

[DarkMage619]

Bad math.

Are you counting the original Xbox when it squeaked out a win over the Gamecube? I stand corrected then! Every generation minus the original Xbox generation Xbox was in 3rd place overall.

Yes, please tell me how pushing DRM is good for consumers. Please tell me how pushing for digital only future is "good for consumers". PUshing for less rights for consumers? How is that good for them?

I like MS and will continue to buy great games if I can from them - but get your head out of your arse. They aren't good nor do they give a rats ass about consumers. They just want money. SOny and Nintendo are the same. exact. way.

You realize MS didn't invent DRM right? Digital games also was not a MS invention nor is it inherently bad. Who is pushing for LESS rights for consumers. Isn't MS the company giving consumers more ways to play new games outside of traditional retail? Again every company wants money that in itself isn't a bad thing.

I don't play on mobile. and COD is free already on xbox. wats the point in spending that money

First off this acquisition wasn't made for you personally. MS as a company can spend their resources on any legal thing they desire. How does this acquisition affect you anyway no one is taking away your ability to play CoD. In fact MS plans on moving the title to more platforms post acquisition including Nintendo.

 

[Dr. Claus]

Are you counting the original Xbox when it squeaked out a win over the Gamecube? I stand corrected then! Every generation minus the original Xbox generation Xbox was in 3rd place overall.


You realize MS didn't invent DRM right? Digital games also was not a MS invention nor is it inherently bad. Who is pushing for LESS rights for consumers. Isn't MS the company giving consumers more ways to play new games outside of traditional retail? Again every company wants money that in itself isn't a bad thing.


First off this acquisition wasn't made for you personally. MS as a company can spend their resources on any legal thing they desire. How does this acquisition affect you anyway no one is taking away your ability to play CoD. In fact MS plans on moving the title to more platforms post acquisition including Nintendo.

And this is why everyone considers you the second biggest MS clown on this site. You can't possibly imagine a world where your favorite plastic box company, who literally does not give a shit whether you live or die, they don't even know you exist on this planet, does something bad.

 

[adamsapple]

I don't play on mobile. and COD is free already on xbox. wats the point in spending that money

Warzone is free, mainline CoD and their MP modes aren't free.

What's the point of any company spending any money on any acquisition ever, right ?

 

[Talkin Hawkin]

First off this acquisition wasn't made for you personally. MS as a company can spend their resources on any legal thing they desire. How does this acquisition affect you anyway no one is taking away your ability to play CoD. In fact MS plans on moving the title to more platforms post acquisition including Nintendo.

Yeah, maybe. But i'm a xbox gamer, microsoft should do stuff to make gaming on xbox better, right? why else spend the money on xbox? my friend has a playstation and he's mad as hell saying he won't be able to play cod. I keep telling him he will be able to play cod fine, cause a company wouldn't spend money to take games away, right? how silly would that be

Warzone is free, mainline CoD and their MP modes aren't free.

and it will be free afterwards? that would be sweet

What's the point of any company spending any money on any acquisition ever, right ?

exactly. why buy money on places that make games already? spend money making more games. microsoft used to make loads of games but i suppose it makes no difference as cod is the best thing to play anyway.

 

[PharaoTutAnchAmun]

You really think Bungie's new IP will be coming out on Xbox consoles?

Always thought those comments meant kept support with current ips and future releases on Playstation and PC.

Yes cous Bungie is stil bringing theyr games on all platforms cous that was they'r condition for the deal. If that will be the chase is on Bungie. You can not say that al new games will be on PS-PC only. That decision on for Bungie to make.

 

[GHG]

Yup MS has done its best to be a good actor in the games' industry. They have to because its easy for them to be accused of being a monopoly. The funny thing that despite 20+ years in third place people are still trying to create a narrative they are 'dominating' games. Xbox the third place monopolist strikes again!

Reminder, this is the same company that:

• Shafted millions of gamers without a care in the world with GFWL
• Attempted to introduce system wide always online DRM in the console space
• Attempted to raise Xbox Live gold prices in order to artificially drive consumers towards gamepass
• Claimed that they wouldn't raise prices in the western press while quietly raising prices in less talked about countries and then later going on to raise the price of their games worldwide
• Has now removed the option of physical games for their customers in Brazil

Yeh, they're our best friends alright. Not just in it for the money at all.

 

[adamsapple]

and it will be free afterwards? that would be sweet

What will be ? The main CoD campaigns and MP ? If the deal goes through and MS starts putting them on GP, then yeah they'll be "free" for GP subscribers on PC and Console.

exactly. why buy money on places that make games already? spend money making more games. microsoft used to make loads of games but i suppose it makes no difference as cod is the best thing to play anyway.

I guess one of the reasons they want to acquire is to increase their portfolio but that's a whole another discussion. They (MS) are primed for a much better year compared to last, so Xbox-only gamers are in a much better state right now.

Also, it may be debatable but their main reason for the acquisition is not CoD, but getting a hold of King and get a foothold in the mobile gaming market, which makes a shit ton of revenue for a smaller entry point.

 

[Talkin Hawkin]

What will be ? The main CoD campaigns and MP ? If the deal goes through and MS starts putting them on GP, then yeah they'll be "free" for GP subscribers on PC and Console.

Sweet.

I guess one of the reasons they want to acquire is to increase their portfolio but that's a whole another discussion. They (MS) are primed for a much better year compared to last, so Xbox-only gamers are in a much better state right now.

sorry buddy i dont care about profits or anything like that. if activision dont make cod because theyre bankrupt, someone will make it. if ms don't make xbox, someone will. its the way of the world

Also, it may be debatable but their main reason for the acquisition is not CoD, but getting a hold of King and get a foothold in the mobile gaming market, which makes a shit ton of revenue for a smaller entry point.

mobile gaming isnt for me. screen is too small and theres no buttons

 

[Dane]

Your comment doesn't negate any of my points, though.

If you have to go back 30+ years all the way to before PS1, then that only proves my point that those studios have been working with Sony "for years."

Also, these acquisitions by Sony did not remove or prevent any games from coming to Xbox. On the other hand, most Xbox acquisitions are like that and remove IPs and games from PlayStation, instead of adding anything new to Xbox.

Hence, it's not comparable at all.

Also, ABK has marketing agreements with Sony and are really close with them. They have the largest community on PlayStation. So was the case for Bethesda. You're referring to things that happened 15+ years ago.

Call of Duty high popularity was born with Xbox, not Playstation, Zenimax until yesterday was all Xbox marketing, in fact, Deathloop and Ghostwire Tokyo shouldn't have been even PS Exclusives by these standards but rather for Xbox. Sony bought studios and people accept the fact that the IP might be exclusive, I didn't see anyone screaming that Sunset Overdrive 2 will be PS Exclusive, they are even expecting Square to be bought and make it all PS Exclusives too.

 

[DenchDeckard]

I don't ain't to see anything to do with employee data but those exclusivity deals would be spicy!

Let's see em!

 

[Green Yoshi]

There was never a PS5 version in development for Hi-Fi Rush.

It wouldn't have been a big effort to do a PS5 port. Without the acquisition by Microsoft, the game would certainly have been released for PS5 and Xbox Series. Development of the game already began in 2017 (for PC).

 

[Edmund]

Phil's a better guy than me

This sentence is really worrying.

Imagine loving a plastic box so much you worship the ceo of said plastic box.

Love yourself more.

 

[ChuckeRearmed]

It wouldn't have been a big effort to do a PS5 port. Without the acquisition by Microsoft, the game would certainly have been released for PS5 and Xbox Series. Development of the game already began in 2017 (for PC).

So what? It wouldn't have been a big effort to do a Xbox port of FF16. If not moneyhatted, the game would certainly have been released for Xbox Series and PS5 And before people start saying "but but but it was Square Enix's decision not to release on Xbox", you can think of it that way - "it was Bethesda's decision not to release on Playstation"

 

[The_Mike]

Can anyone explain why this deal will make a difference to anything for Xbox?

COD is already f2p, what benefit will I see when the next COD comes out?

How can you know so little?

The only acceptable excuse is you just started gaming as a hobby today and happened to join here on the very first day.

 

[Talkin Hawkin]

How can you know so little?

The only acceptable excuse is you just started gaming as a hobby today and happened to join here on the very first day.

You sound like a guy in the know and who knows their shit, am i right?

Let's say it is my first day, learn me some stuff, teach. What's the deal with this acti deal?

 

[The_Mike]

You sound like a guy in the know and who knows their shit, am i right?

Let's say it is my first day, learn me some stuff, teach. What's the deal with this acti deal?

I ain't talking about the deal per say, I'm sure you know about that.

What I'm talking about is you only know about the cod spin off Warzone, and not the mastodont mainline game where Sony harvests the majority of their third party income.

And next to cod, we have Spyro, Diablo, Warcraft, Starcraft, and probably more I forgot to mention.

So there's much more in play than just a f2p spin off.

 

[Talkin Hawkin]

I ain't talking about the deal per say, I'm sure you know about that.

What I'm talking about is you only know about the cod spin off Warzone, and not the mastodont mainline game where Sony harvests the majority of their third party income.

And next to cod, we have Spyro, Diablo, Warcraft, Starcraft, and probably more I forgot to mention.

So there's much more in play than just a f2p spin off.

for real, for real. But what does microsoft buying them games mean to me as a xbox gamer? and will my friends on ps5 be able to play cod still? cos he is mad as hell at the moment saying he wont be able to play cos of them greedy fucks haha.

 

[The_Mike]

for real, for real. But what does microsoft buying them games mean to me as a xbox gamer? and will my friends on ps5 be able to play cod still? cos he is mad as hell at the moment saying he wont be able to play cos of them greedy fucks haha.

If im being honest, I do believe Microsoft will eventually making Call of Duty exclusive to PC and Xbox.

You would only really benefit by it if you use gamepass.

It's hard to say what would happen, since Minecraft and the spin off of that franchise still hits other platforms.

Microsoft have said they would still hand out games to Playstation if they accept GamePass.

I wouldnt personally accept gamepass if I was Sony, but Microsoft could use that to make Sony look like the evil part and say "we offered them Call of Duty, together with all our first party franchises, to Sony, but they refused.

 

[Talkin Hawkin]

If im being honest, I do believe Microsoft will eventually making Call of Duty exclusive to PC and Xbox.

You would only really benefit by it if you use gamepass.

It's hard to say what would happen, since Minecraft and the spin off of that franchise still hits other platforms.

Microsoft have said they would still hand out games to Playstation if they accept GamePass.

I wouldnt personally accept gamepass if I was Sony, but Microsoft could use that to make Sony look like the evil part and say "we offered them Call of Duty, together with all our first party franchises, to Sony, but they refused.

So what you're saying is microsoft are going to spend money to stop playstation players from playing cod? hahaha, my friend is going to be pissed, damn!

it's kinda whack tho. why not spend that money making the console free and handing them out to everyone, then everyone would play cod on xbox anyway. seems kind of stupid to buy a company to stop another company and be the bad dude, when you could hand out shit for free like saint nick on LSD and be seen as a hero

 

[MasterCornholio]

So what you're saying is microsoft are going to spend money to stop playstation players from playing cod? hahaha, my friend is going to be pissed, damn!

it's kinda whack tho. why not spend that money making the console free and handing them out to everyone, then everyone would play cod on xbox anyway. seems kind of stupid to buy a company to stop another company and be the bad dude, when you could hand out shit for free like saint nick on LSD and be seen as a hero

That would be called dumping and its illegal. Microsoft doesn't have that option.

 

[Talkin Hawkin]

That would be called dumping and its illegal. Microsoft doesn't have that option.

It's illegal to hand shit out for free? da fuck kinda world we living in. Damn son, santa can't even get a break.

what if microsoft sold the console for like a nickel? or gave it for free if you paid for gamepass or some shit?

 

[The_Mike]

So what you're saying is microsoft are going to spend money to stop playstation players from playing cod? hahaha, my friend is going to be pissed, damn!

it's kinda whack tho. why not spend that money making the console free and handing them out to everyone, then everyone would play cod on xbox anyway. seems kind of stupid to buy a company to stop another company and be the bad dude, when you could hand out shit for free like saint nick on LSD and be seen as a hero

I'm not working for Microsoft despite my title in here stating so.

My post was 100 percent subjective and I have a 50/50 chance on being either right or wrong.

 

[Talkin Hawkin]

I'm not working for Microsoft despite my title in here stating so.

My post was 100 percent subjective and I have a 50/50 chance on being either right or wrong.

It's cool, we just chattin n shit. I'm still telling my friend he best buy an xbox though haha.

 

[MasterCornholio]

It's illegal to hand shit out for free? da fuck kinda world we living in. Damn son, santa can't even get a break.

what if microsoft sold the console for like a nickel? or gave it for free if you paid for gamepass or some shit?

Santa isn't real FYI.

A corporation giving away a product for free in massive quantities to gain market share is illegal. That's called product dumping.

To make it easier for you to understand. Microsoft can't give away products for free to eliminate competition.

 

[Eddie-Griffin]

Are you counting the original Xbox when it squeaked out a win over the Gamecube?

Xbox can't squeak out anything when it was dead 2 years early and the Gamecube still didn't catch up, people constantly look at that the wrong way. Xbox entered and left early and still won.

2nd, we don't know final 360 sales.

3rd, Wii U was third place to Xbox One and PS4.

 

[Talkin Hawkin]

Santa isn't real FYI.

Then how them gifts get under my tree?

A corporation giving away a product for free in massive quantities to gain market share is illegal. That's called product dumping.

To make it easier for you to understand. Microsoft can't give away products for free to eliminate competition.

So they can't give it away for free, but they can spend that money to stop their competition from getting games and eliminate them that way?

That aint right, we gettin fucked over.

 

[ToadMan]

Making multi-platform games is more expensive than developing for a single platform. Using your logic titles like Street Fighter 5 and Final Fantasy 7 remake would have hit Xbox along with PlayStation but we know how that turned out. Sometimes games do not hit every platform. Xbox owners know this very well.

Fact still remains the titles mentioned earlier had no official announcement of being PlayStation games. Games that were officially announced for PlayStation, released on PlayStation as planned regardless of a MS acquisition. Again Ghostwire and Deathloop are clear examples.

Setting aside the whataboutisms - those are irrelevant for obvious reasons - you have no evidence these previously multiplatform developers were contemplating MS only games prior to the acquisition.

Not an announcement of exclusivity, not a preview with an MS platform, not a rumor or an insider tidbit. Nothing at all? This would have been huge news and yet …. Crickets.


So yes - MS has indeed taken content that would have been available on their platforms anyway, and through acquisition removed it from alternative platforms to the detriment of the market as a whole.

I can even go further and say that normal business practice would be to acquire the content, and then publish it everywhere on all platforms to maximise ROI - the fact MS isn't doing that is exactly what the regulators should consider.

I think we all finally are beginning to acknowledge that MS acquiring ABK without significant scrutiny would not be in the best interests of consumers.

 

[Heisenberg007]

Santa isn't real FYI.

 

[MasterCornholio]

Then how them gifts get under my tree?

So they can't give it away for free, but they can spend that money to stop their competition from getting games and eliminate them that way?

That aint right, we gettin fucked over.

Well that's why the legal system exists. If Microsoft is trying to establish a monopoly the anti trust bodies will stop that from happening.

And again just giving away products for free to eliminate the competition isn't legal.

 

[MasterCornholio]

Honestly I think it's some weird parody/troll account. Given that it's a neomember it doesn't surprise me.

 

[Pelta88]

What?

Microsoft is reportedly expecting the UK to oppose its Activision Blizzard deal | VGC

The EU issued its own antitrust warning this week…

www.videogameschronicle.com

That's according to a report in the New York Times, which states that "Microsoft's legal team also expects the antitrust authority in Britain to oppose the transaction".

 

[Ronin_7]

That's not what what report is saying stop spreading fud. It's your wishful thinking just wait till next week when they publish their provisional findings which isn't a final decision btw.

Lmao that's exactly what it says.

Stay mad

 

[feynoob]

R reksveks

 

[Bergoglio]

What?

Microsoft is reportedly expecting the UK to oppose its Activision Blizzard deal | VGC

The EU issued its own antitrust warning this week…

www.videogameschronicle.com

That's according to a report in the New York Times, which states that "Microsoft's legal team also expects the antitrust authority in Britain to oppose the transaction".

 

[IFireflyl]

T Talkin Hawkin , how old are you? Because I remember talking on forums like you are when I was in high school. Too much unnecessary swearing, and too many "lol" and "haha" comments. Welcome to the forum, but try and class up your posts a bit.

 

[feynoob]

T Talkin Hawkin , how old are you? Because I remember talking on forums like you are when I was in high school. Too much unnecessary swearing, and too many "lol" and "haha" comments. Welcome to the forum, but try and class up your posts a bit.

I dont see him surviving the hammer, if he doesnt cool himself down.

 

[Roxkis_ii]

Xbox's Activision-Blizzard Merger Spurs Formal Antitrust Warning From EU - IGN

In another potential blow against Xbox's Activision Blizzard merger, Microsoft's $69 billion deal has reportedly drawn a formal antitrust warning from the European Union.

www.ign.com

In another potential blow to Xbox's Activision Blizzard merger, the European Union has reportedly hit Microsoft with a formal antitrust warning as it tries to get approval on its nascent $69 billion deal.

 

[Kilau]

Wat

FTFY

 

[SneakersSO]

Yeah, there really was no way of knowing what the word out of the two regulators in Europe would be on this right now. I think MS' marketing and legal team did wonders spurring up their public defenders to really put pressure there, and a part of me thought it may be working, but these early leaks coming out indicate they are still very negative on the deal.

I really don't see MS pursuing this deal if either the EU or UK move to suggest blocking it or giving them an anti-trust warning. The story of 2023-2033 is very clearly going to be the AI revolution, and MS taking $60b+ and moving it into that space is probably what they'd rather be doing at this juncture. We'll see! Solid development nonetheless.

 

[adamsapple]

Xbox's Activision-Blizzard Merger Spurs Formal Antitrust Warning From EU - IGN

In another potential blow against Xbox's Activision Blizzard merger, Microsoft's $69 billion deal has reportedly drawn a formal antitrust warning from the European Union.

www.ign.com

This has been posted at least half a dozen times already.

 

[Banjo64]

Microsoft are a good actor this thread is now plummeting to absurd levels. Please CMA, end my misery.

Dude you have a bottle of ky jelly with the word Sony on it. Your options matter nothing to me. Microsoft could do nothing right by you you're in every Xbox thread parroting the same things.

 

[Kilau]

Microsoft are a good actor this thread is now plummeting to absurd levels. Please CMA, end my misery.

 

[DarkMage619]

And this is why everyone considers you the second biggest MS clown on this site. You can't possibly imagine a world where your favorite plastic box company, who literally does not give a shit whether you live or die, they don't even know you exist on this planet, does something bad.

Whew. You have to love internet tough guys who call people names over making coherent arguments. I said MS has done good things in this industry. How that has anything to do with life and death or love of 'plastic boxes' I'll never know and don't care. My mistake was engaging with you in first place.

Yeah, maybe. But i'm a xbox gamer, microsoft should do stuff to make gaming on xbox better, right? why else spend the money on xbox? my friend has a playstation and he's mad as hell saying he won't be able to play cod. I keep telling him he will be able to play cod fine, cause a company wouldn't spend money to take games away, right? how silly would that be

The acquisition of Activision does make Xbox better. It will add a new list of experienced first party studios and IP to the brand. Game pass will get a whole host of new titles. CoD will be there like it always was. If you play Xbox as you claim you should be used to games being 'taken away'. There is a lengthy list of titles that hit Xbox that had sequels that did not. It is business but let's not act like it is Xbox taking anything from anyone. No other platform has more IP they own on platforms they do not.

Setting aside the whataboutisms - those are irrelevant for obvious reasons - you have no evidence these previously multiplatform developers were contemplating MS only games prior to the acquisition.

Not an announcement of exclusivity, not a preview with an MS platform, not a rumor or an insider tidbit. Nothing at all? This would have been huge news and yet …. Crickets.


So yes - MS has indeed taken content that would have been available on their platforms anyway, and through acquisition removed it from alternative platforms to the detriment of the market as a whole.

I can even go further and say that normal business practice would be to acquire the content, and then publish it everywhere on all platforms to maximise ROI - the fact MS isn't doing that is exactly what the regulators should consider.

I think we all finally are beginning to acknowledge that MS acquiring ABK without significant scrutiny would not be in the best interests of consumers.

You claim 'whataboutisms' after I give specific examples of titles that should have hit Xbox but did not AND gave examples of announced PlayStation games that hit that system after a MS acquisition. You just made a statement with no evidence at all.

Interestingly enough MS ALSO has another example of IP they acquired and made available to 'maximize ROI' like Minecraft and plans with CoD too so again your argument is unsubstantiated.

My previous examples of Street Fighter and Final Fantasy could also be included in a way to 'maximize revenue' but yet they still skipped the Xbox so it's obvious that not all games hit all platforms as I've stated before.

You have no proof the games mentioned were coming to PlayStation and there are plenty of games that 'were coming to Xbox anyway' that did not. Nothing is guaranteed when it comes to games hitting certain systems.

There are plenty of benefits to consumers from this deal especially people who prefer to pay for game access with a subscription over traditional retail. Nintendo will get additional support they currently are not getting (ROI maximum investment right?) and Activision employees are getting new leadership after years of being unhappy with Kotick. Regulators should be able to scrutinize the deal like all others but it's obvious that Xbox is in third place, far from a monopoly and hasn't hurt consumers at all.

Xbox can't squeak out anything when it was dead 2 years early and the Gamecube still didn't catch up, people constantly look at that the wrong way. Xbox entered and left early and still won.

2nd, we don't know final 360 sales.

3rd, Wii U was third place to Xbox One and PS4.

I appreciate your positive spin man. Gamecube and WiiU were certainly victories to the Xbox brand. This article indicates PS3 outsold X360. Still doesn't really change the fact that Xbox is in third right now as they try and complete this acquisition and talk about how they beat Gamecube fifteen years ago isn't a good indicator of their market strength.

 

[feynoob]

Microsoft are a good actor this thread is now plummeting to absurd levels. Please CMA, end my misery.

 

[Dr. Claus]

Uh-huh. Thanks for proving my point.