Support NeoGAF

[Mr Moose]

Again existing relationships are a factor. There is a risk involved going with the nonmarket leader. It's not just about who pays the most. When PS is stuck with the barebones version just know they did it to themselves.

Barebones version? Someone doesn't play CoD lol. That's every fucking version. We are getting 2 "new" 6v6 maps, one is old Dome map and the other is a map that was in the beta. You have no idea what you are talking about.

 

[Flutta]

He is right .. Sony should work from their strengths .. seems they are not confident of their own ability to create their future .

What Sony now does, is what losers do ..

Not very industry leader like .

The irony. Who's been the loser almost every gen?

Losers usually try to find the easiest path to victory. Xbox is like that rich kid who cries to his dad about being in last place every year and want daddy MS to handicap the whole race so his idiot son has a chance.

Being market leader is not easy to accomplish. It requires alot of dedication and smart decision making, clearly something MS and co are lacking for some reason.

I mean Notella said it himself. "Why invest in studios when we can buy up established ones". This is the type of attitude and the results you see from team Xbox.

That does not give them the right to destroy the industry and their competition because they themselves refuse to change and put in some effort because daddy is rich.

 

[demigod]

I still think CMA will rollback until April and will let the deal goes on.

If it was not the case MS and ABK would not be so confident.

Phil's body language says it all at the Game Awards. Heck he didn't even bother with the CBS/Fox news. Why haven't they came out to say anything after the CMA news broke? They are always the loudest yet they are silent. I highly doubt this goes to April.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

If that was the case then every 3rd party game would utilize the sense controllers, but they don't. Even Sony doesn't enforce it on those devs.

Most do, especially the big ones, the point is, an independent publisher here makes the choice to utilize each console and their strengths, but microsoft isn't promising to do that and they really can't promise that, no promise they make can be enforced, and thus the CMA isn't going to take a behavioral remedy.

 

[Nothing1234]

I don't have any idea of the relative values of the IP's tbh! COD is definitely the largest, but I'd say there's still some good value in Blizzard as well as a bunch of dormant IPs with a bit of recognition that would make new content easier to develop.

If it is all just COD and MS bail I'd probably be a bit disappointed in their commitment to their strategy but tbh

COD is the big subscription driver for game pass subs tbh. Take away COD from the deal and it's very underwhelming IMO.

 

[reksveks]

Microsoft refusing to utilize the sense controllers or VR or whatever in the future because their console doesn't have it despite all other publishers utilizing those features on PS6, would mean consumers aren't getting the best experience and you can't force them to utilize these features if all that is promised is parity. The offer itself in inadequate and in itself difficult to enforce.

We are really again talking about the definition of parity which I think is quite interesting given the consensus position about that definition re the Capcom.

What is the CMA going to do enlist Digital Foundry to analyze performance on the game, enlist reviewers to see if there is a consensus on features and content? That doesn't even cover subscription available and cost...

Content is easy to enforce.

The problem you guys are making is it's not the definition of parity to the regulators but from Microsoft.

The regulators will ultimately have a problem with any guarantees of parity because of the dynamic nature of the market. It's impossible to enforce parity, but also maintain a feature rich environment.

Yes, Microsoft will define the parity that they will commit to and the CMA will have to investigate when that definition makes sense especially in a industry that changes so much. It may not.

The lack of vr/sense controllers isnt going to be materially harming consumers or forcing them on Xbox.

I don't think I have much more to add so will leave it there.

 

[BeardGawd]

Bruh, the deal hasn't failed yet. They're not ousting him while he's engaging with that. A bit of common sense goes a long way

You are honestly a very narrow minded individual. The Kotick\Activision issues existed loooooong before this deal. Use your brain. There's a recent article saying he will stay the CEO. Use your brain. He is publically blaming Sony for sabotage. Use your brain.

And honestly your whole argument that companies can't be petty is fucking hogwash. Steve Jobs and Apple notoriously fucking petty. Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer with MS nototiously fucking petty. Google founders notoriously fucking petty. Facebook and Zuckerberg notoriously fucking petty. Even Nintendo and Sony have been notoriously fucking petty. If you do something they don't like they will come for you.

These companies are ran by humans that can be fucking petty. And if you think both MS and Activision being pissed by what Sony is doing won't amount to repercussions you have your head so far up Sony's ass that your username fits perfectly.

 

[Drell]

And again misinformation. Mobile, handheld, console by Apple, Google, Nintendo and Sony with a smattering of linux etc too.

None of which run windows and absolutely dwarf PC gaming.

ANd? That's absolutely not a reason to demand for every Sony's game to be released day one on that other Microsoft plateform...

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

You are honestly a very narrow minded individual. The Kotick\Activision issues existed loooooong before this deal. Use your brain. There's a recent article saying he will stay the CEO. Use your brain. He is publically blaming Sony for sabotage. Use your brain.

And honestly your whole argument that companies can't be petty is fucking hogwash. Steve Jobs and Apple notoriously fucking petty. Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer with MS nototiously fucking petty. Google founders notoriously fucking petty. Facebook and Zuckerberg notoriously fucking petty. Even Nintendo and Sony have been notoriously fucking petty.

These companies are ran by humans that can be fucking petty. And if you think both MS and Activision being pissed by what Sony is doing won't amount to repercussions you have your head so far up Sony's ass that your username fits perfectly.

Please use more consistent arguments next time

 

[FBeeEye]

PlayStation fans are being so delusional. Microsoft isn't concerned with some Japanese niche company worth less than $100 billion. They're hedging against FAANG (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google).

Within ten years it's my belief that one of these four (Netflix less likely) will buy Sony. It's probably Microsoft's belief as well. Buying ABK would protect Microsoft against it's main rivals who have a serious presence in gaming.

Hell, if Amazon bought ABK and then ends up acquiring Sony, that's a huge threat to Xbox. I can see Facebook making a bid as well with Sony's investments in VR.

 

[TxKnight7]

SLB1904 said:
One took all the Bethesda away from Sony, the other kept bungie games on xbox.

Esay to see who's the sly here

I forgot the benevolent Sony is always to be trusted. What Bethesda games have been taken away so far btw?

None till now but New ip is a normal thing for microsoft to make them exclusive after the acquisition but why sony made a Known ip like SFV a permanently playstation Exclusive before and FF games etc etc?

 

[Markio128]

Whatever your stance, having Bobby Kotick fight your battles is not a good look for MS, especially when all he is interested in is a payout.

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

ANd? That's absolutely not a reason to demand for every Sony's game to be released day one on that other Microsoft plateform...

I never asked that, nor have MS/Xbox.

 

[jm89]

PlayStation fans are being so delusional. Microsoft isn't concerned with some Japanese niche company worth less than $100 billion. They're hedging against the Amazon, Apple and Google.

Phil spencer seems to care about that japanese niche company cause he can't stop crying about them.

https://www.eurogamer.net/xbox-boss-phil-spencer-says-sony-wants-to-grow-by-making-xbox-smaller

 

[Topher]

That's still a dumb argument when bethesda has released games on playstation. You guys keep claiming games that were never announced for playstation were taken away. Those games don't count.

Also ms never lied about bethesda. Nowhere did they claim they would keep everything multi platform after the purchase.

Bobby kotic is a piece of shit. He is a shrewd businessman. I despise him and activision. However he is right. There is zero chance they would intentionally do something to lose 60% - 70% of sales on playstation. They didn't do this with minecraft, they wont do it here.

Sony only wants to prevent COD hitting more platforms (consider switch and game pass as different platforms) , as that will potentially harm sales on playstation platforms. This is all they want to protect. Its a system seller.

Microsoft made plenty of comments suggesting Bethesda games would remain multiplatform. They said the games would be "first or best on Xbox" implying better versions or timed exclusivity. They said they would look at it "case by case". Post acquisition Phil Spencer made it clear these games would be exclusive. The narrative definitely changed.

The only games Bethesda has released on PlayStation are the games they were obligated to through existing contracts. Everything else is and will be Xbox exclusive. That's Microsoft's prerogative and there is nothing wrong with that. But Sony has every right to fight this deal and obviously they do not believe all the promises made by Microsoft.

You are honestly a very narrow minded individual. The Kotick\Activision issues existed loooooong before this deal. Use your brain. There's a recent article saying he will stay the CEO. Use your brain. He is publically blaming Sony for sabotage. Use your brain.

The allegations levied against Kotick (that he knew about the sexual harassment complaints and ignored them) are very recent and resulted in both Microsoft and Sony announcing that their relationship with Activision would be reviewed as a result. Those are the events that led Kotick to offering up Activision to Microsoft. Shrewd move by him really. Kotick can say he will be staying CEO all he wants, but that isn't his choice so who gives a shit what he says?

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

Was that not what happened?

Edit: I'll add I don't necessarily think this case will go to the Supreme Court. I was discussing possibility of appealing CMA decision

It will only go to the court if the CMA takes it to the court.

 

[Methos#1975]

PlayStation fans are being so delusional. Microsoft isn't concerned with some Japanese niche company worth less than $100 billion. They're hedging against FAANG (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google).

Within ten years it's my belief that one of these four (Netflix less likely) will buy Sony. It's probably Microsoft's belief as well. Buying ABK would protect Microsoft against it's main rivals who have a serious presence in gaming.

Hell, if Amazon bought ABK and then ends up acquiring Sony, that's a huge threat to Xbox. I can see Facebook making a bid as well with Sony's investments in VR.

MS is more likely to die if Apple or Amazon seriously pushed into gaming than Sony. Sony just has a much more concrete and holdable position within the industry and owns the mindshare globally, MS has failed generation after generation to really compete and is desperate to buy studios because it knows it cannot compete with Sony and Nintendo on its own merits since it lacks the cultural mindset needed to produce notable IPs and it knows it will be the first causality if bigger fish jump into the pond.

 

[Mahavastu]

Activision put all its eggs in one basket.

What they should have done is what Ea did at the start of the 360 ps3 gen. They decided to put more weight behind xbox to level the playing field and prevent one platform from getting too big. It could have been easy for them to simply stick with sony after ps2, which would have had a similar effect like it did with the dreamcast.

Wasn't "Call of Duty Ghost" the only major game shown at the famous "TV TV TV" XBox One reveal?

 

[FBeeEye]

Phil spencer seems to care about that japanese niche company cause he can't stop crying about them.

https://www.eurogamer.net/xbox-boss-phil-spencer-says-sony-wants-to-grow-by-making-xbox-smaller

Phil Spencer is the CEO of Xbox, Microsoft's gaming niche. It's his job to be concerned.

Satya Nadella, however, doesn't lose sleep over Sony. He's concerned with four out of five members of FAANG. These are serious threats to MS because they threaten MS high margin, bread and butter businesses. Allowing them to get a serious foothold on gaming is against MS best interests.

 

[NickFire]

He hasn't known this for a year already? Did he think Jim was flying all over to push it through for some reason? Or is this just the acceptance phase in grief playing out before our eyes?

 

[Topher]

PlayStation fans are being so delusional. Microsoft isn't concerned with some Japanese niche company worth less than $100 billion. They're hedging against FAANG (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google).

Within ten years it's my belief that one of these four (Netflix less likely) will buy Sony. It's probably Microsoft's belief as well. Buying ABK would protect Microsoft against it's main rivals who have a serious presence in gaming.

Hell, if Amazon bought ABK and then ends up acquiring Sony, that's a huge threat to Xbox. I can see Facebook making a bid as well with Sony's investments in VR.

If Microsoft were only concerned with (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google) then they wouldn't be in the console business at all. But they are and Sony is their primary competitor.

Sony being acquired by any of those companies is just a pipedream. Even if Sony were open to being acquired, regulators wouldn't squash any such transaction in a heartbeat.

Phil Spencer is the CEO of Xbox, Microsoft's gaming niche. It's his job to be concerned.

Satya Nadella, however, doesn't lose sleep over Sony. He's concerned with four out of five members of FAANG. These are serious threats to MS because they threaten MS high margin, bread and butter businesses. Allowing them to get a serious foothold on gaming is against MS best interests.

And? Sony doesn't lose sleep over Microsoft's non-gaming segments either so what is your point?

 

[FBeeEye]

MS is more likely to die if Apple or Amazon seriously pushed into gaming than Sony. Sony just has a much more concrete and holdable position within the industry and owns the mindshare globally, MS has failed generation after generation to really compete and is desperate to buy studios because it knows it cannot compete with Sony and Nintendo on its own merits since it lacks the cultural mindset needed to produce notable IPs and it knows it will be the first causality if bigger fish jump into the pond.

The "bigger fish" will likely acquire Sony (or the PlayStation business) within ten years. Again, this isn't about competing with Sony and Nintendo. I doubt MS sees Nintendo as competition.

I actually believe the feeling is mutual between Xbox and Nintendo and see GamePass streaming on Switch in the near future.

 

[Methos#1975]

He hasn't known this for a year already? Did he think Jim was flying all over to push it through for some reason? Or is this just the acceptance phase in grief playing out before our eyes?

I mean lol, why wouldn't Sony be trying to prevent this from occurring? Activision being bought not only hurts them but also hurts their consumers. Activision is a huge publisher that has over the decades released some of playstation's biggest selling games like COD and Destiny and owns important franchises like Diablo. They learned just how pointless Spencer's and MS promises and dialog was after they bought Bethseda without any real pushback and now here they sit without access to juggernaut franchises like Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Doom. Allowing this to happen again is not in their or anyone's best interest if your not suckling on MS's nipple and invested in their ecosystem and honestly looking at how badly they have fucked up previously bought studios, I'm not convinced it is even then.

 

[NickFire]

Phil Spencer is the CEO of Xbox, Microsoft's gaming niche. It's his job to be concerned.

Satya Nadella, however, doesn't lose sleep over Sony. He's concerned with four out of five members of FAANG. These are serious threats to MS because they threaten MS high margin, bread and butter businesses. Allowing them to get a serious foothold on gaming is against MS best interests.

Oh, I think he's losing at least a little sleep thanks to Sony right now. Anyone who might have to tell the board they spent 2.5 - 3 billion to buy nothing is always a little on edge I bet. Based on the desperation arguments, I think Sony has him feeling like

 

[Mikey Jr.]

/Hides Bethesda games under a carpet

 

[Heisenberg007]

I'm honestly a business genius arguing with you is beneath me.

 

[Methos#1975]

The "bigger fish" will likely acquire Sony (or the PlayStation business) within ten years. Again, this isn't about competing with Sony and Nintendo. I doubt MS sees Nintendo as competition.

I actually believe the feeling is mutual between Xbox and Nintendo and see GamePass streaming on Switch in the near future.

Sony is not going to be purchased by a outside company like Amazon, the Japanese government would never allow it. It's more likely IMO that Amazon buys the Xbox branding and gamepass from MS than it is anyone purchasing Sony or Playstation branding. I think another failed generation and the stockholders at MS will be more than ready too ship off Xbox, hell they tried before.

 

[feynoob]

Stop yapping brother.

That doesnt account player sales. Both ManU and arsenal player sales were attrocious.
Chelsea and Man city did sell very well.

Not to mention chelsea managed to spend that much in 1 season through amortization.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

The "bigger fish" will likely acquire Sony (or the PlayStation business) within ten years. Again, this isn't about competing with Sony and Nintendo. I doubt MS sees Nintendo as competition.

I actually believe the feeling is mutual between Xbox and Nintendo and see GamePass streaming on Switch in the near future.

Good lord lol

Sony is a protected company in Japan, and PlayStation is a core component of them. Neither of them are getting sold

 

[Topher]

I'm honestly a business genius arguing with you is beneath me.

 

[hemo memo]

Of course they will try to sabotage the deal. It hurts their business so that's a given.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

A business genius who thinks poor relations improves risk tolerance

 

[Methos#1975]

Good lord lol

Sony is a protected company in Japan, and PlayStation is a core component of them. Neither of them are getting sold

Right, so many tend to forget this.

 

[MasterCornholio]

Oh, I think he's losing at least a little sleep thanks to Sony right now. Anyone who might have to tell the board they spent 2.5 - 3 billion to buy nothing is always a little on edge I bet. Based on the desperation arguments, I think Sony has him feeling like

Makes me wonder why he thought a simple 10 year deal would be enough to appease the regulators.

 

[Flutta]

PlayStation fans are being so delusional. Microsoft isn't concerned with some Japanese niche company worth less than $100 billion. They're hedging against FAANG (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google).

Within ten years it's my belief that one of these four (Netflix less likely) will buy Sony. It's probably Microsoft's belief as well. Buying ABK would protect Microsoft against it's main rivals who have a serious presence in gaming.

Hell, if Amazon bought ABK and then ends up acquiring Sony, that's a huge threat to Xbox. I can see Facebook making a bid as well with Sony's investments in VR.

So much wrong in one post that i truly believe you guys are trolling at this point.

 

[Fess]

Imagine believing deals amount to anything other than outbidding the other player. You're on some type of hopium

Going by the tone they're already cuddling in bed and has made wedding plans, assuming that's why the reactions are so feisty. We've seen things dramatically change in this industry from crashed plans in the past so who knows what could happen, I'd say it's highly unlikely that things will just go back to normal at least if Kotick is still around, seems to take this too personal.

 

[BlitzerRadic]

I think we need to include a definition of what a monopoly actually is as a sticky post on Gaf.

MS is a monopolist.

 

[Bo_Hazem]

Stop yapping brother.

Cya in League 2.

 

[Punished Miku]

If the CMA is metacritic, Sony is giving them a 1/10 review full of misleading and one sided information.

 

[Drell]

I never asked that, nor have MS/Xbox.

No, you conveniently assume ownership of any and all new IPs deserve to be on Sony outright.

If your point was valid Sony don't get to gimp PC parity, deny crossplay, not dev Strert Fighter for Xbox, Minecraft on all platforms for a decade etc.

Again, you're just cherry picking.

Asking for parity when they have no obligation at all to release any of their games on windows is all the same.

 

[F0rneus]

They won't be taking CMA too court, so you can put that crackpot theory in the trash where it belongs.

The best they can do is appeal which will end up with the CMA to review. If CMA still aren't happy ms will be told to fuck off.

With FTC sure they can take them to court, but won't matter if CMA kill it.

I think that many people, including even analysts like Michael Pachter don't realize what the CMA is or how they actually operate. You cannot at all, take them to court. They aren't like the FTC. Their decisions are the final word, no exceptions. And right now they are blocking the deal. While they did offer MS ways to appease them they historically have much a 100% track record of saying no to even their own concessions.

 

[FBeeEye]

If Microsoft were only concerned with (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google) then they wouldn't be in the console business at all. But they are and Sony is their primary competitor.

Sony being acquired by any of those companies is just a pipedream. Even if Sony were open to being acquired, regulators wouldn't squash any such transaction in a heartbeat.



And? Sony doesn't lose sleep over Microsoft's non-gaming segments either so what is your point?

Microsoft got in the console business when Amazon was still selling books, Facebook didn't exist, Apple was selling iPods and Google was some Ask Jeeves and Yahoo competitor.

Their goal at that time was to prevent Sony from taking over the living room and have Windows there instead. Since then, MS has built a profitable business in a large market. Xbox is now a serious Microsoft business.

However, the landscape in 2023 is much different than 2001. Windows is now a Microsoft side-business like Xbox. No one cares about the living room anymore. The goal now is to have your products and services on multiple platforms. Microsoft's competitors have strong ecosystems and have their eyes on gaming with significant investments in it. Apple is probably one of the most profitable companies in gaming. Amazon Luna is a serious competitor to Xbox cloud streaming. Facebook is a leader in VR gaming. If any of those companies got a hold of ABK, Microsoft would be in trouble. Apple worries me. If they got ABK, Sony would be next for them. With that ecosystem MS would be toast.

People who can see the big picture see this instead of some petty console war that will be irrelevant in 10 years.

In some respects, Sony's still in 2001. Running the same business model that Nintendo pioneered in the 1980s. Microsoft is in the here and now with bigger fish to fry.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

Going by the tone they're already cuddling in bed and has made wedding plans, assuming that's why the reactions are so feisty. We've seen things dramatically change in this industry from crashed plans in the past so who knows what could happen, I'd say it's highly unlikely that things will just go back to normal at least if Kotick is still around, seems to take this too personal.

I'm not claiming that Microsoft won't swipe COD's marketing deal from Sony, but it's not going to happen because Bobby's put on a diaper and gave Microsoft a 50% discount. That's a nonsense narrative

 

[Hero of Spielberg]

MS is a monopolist.

Which markets do they monopolise?

 

[mansoor1980]

Living tissue over a metal endoskeleton , perfect for a sabotage

Bad to the Bone

 

[F0rneus]

I forgot the benevolent Sony is always to be trusted. What Bethesda games have been taken away so far btw?

Did you read the CMA documents? I know it's 277 pages but as of now there are 6 upcoming Bethesda games (which you know includes Elder Scrolls) that MS will not release on Playstation, despite Phil saying otherwise before.

 

[PaintTinJr]

Sony is not going to be purchased by a outside company like Amazon, the Japanese government would never allow it. It's more likely IMO that Amazon buys the Xbox branding and gamepass from MS than it is anyone purchasing Sony or Playstation branding. I think another failed generation and the stockholders at MS will be more than ready too ship off Xbox, hell they tried before.

I don't see a situation where Microsoft can exit the console market - which they've said they have subsidized hardware by $100-200 per unit since the very beginning - because Xbox is the vanguard that gives their Windows OS 95% of all PC gaming as the de facto platform.
Losses on Xbox are nothing compared to the win on Windows' dominance in gaming on PC, which is what keeps Windows as the de facto OS for business because it has the largest audience familiar with its UI.

 

[NickFire]

Microsoft got in the console business when Amazon was still selling books, Facebook didn't exist, Apple was selling iPods and Google was some Ask Jeeves and Yahoo competitor.

Their goal at that time was to prevent Sony from taking over the living room and have Windows there instead. Since then, MS has built a profitable business in a large market. Xbox is now a serious Microsoft business.

However, the landscape in 2023 is much different than 2001. Windows is now a Microsoft side-business like Xbox. No one cares about the living room anymore. Microsoft's competitors have strong ecosystems and have their eyes on gaming with significant investments in it. Apple is probably one of the most profitable companies in gaming. Amazon Luna is a serious competitor to Xbox cloud streaming. Facebook is a leader in VR gaming. If any of those companies got a hold of ABK, Microsoft would be in trouble. Apple worries me. If they got ABK, Sony would be next for them. With that ecosystem MS would be toast.

People who can see the big picture see this instead of some petty console war that will be irrelevant in 10 years.

Whatever argument you are making would have been better than the claim this was really about Candy Crush and not Duty narrative they tried at one point. Of course, that doesn't say much. But no way yours is worse. That is for sure.

 

[Banjo64]

That doesnt account player sales. Both ManU and arsenal player sales were attrocious.
Chelsea and Man city did sell very well.

Not to mention chelsea managed to spend that much in 1 season through amortization.

It's net spend so it does account for player sales.

 

[Hero of Spielberg]

Did you read the CMA documents? I know it's 277 pages but as of now there are 6 upcoming Bethesda games (which you know includes Elder Scrolls) that MS will not release on Playstation, despite Phil saying otherwise before.

So it hasn't happened?