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 .
Status
Not open for further replies.
DenchDeckard said:
Would it affect the whole of Microsoft? Why would it affect Windows and office etc?
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It wouldn't. Imagine the chaos to the UK economy if government institutions and companies wouldn't be allowed to use Windows, Office, SQL Server, Azure, etc. The City without Excel. That scenario is ridiculous. If they reach that point, they would have to come to some kind of terms to avoid a disaster. Nobody is going to push things that far so that few millionaire executives sleep better.
 
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Ass of Can Whooping said:
Lol yes

It would be illegal for them to operate in the UK period. They can't pick and choose
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They can "sell off" ABK in the UK so it isnt a branch of Microsoft.
That wouldnt make much sense but it has been done in other business sectors when one region or country decides against a deal, the company or rather branches of that company in said country arent tied to their "parent".
 
MasterCornholio said:
People are getting very emotional over this it seems.

Like that guy that argued that Microsoft would get revenge on Sony by buying up all third parties. Things like that.
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Hey, please don't lump me in with the crazies that are losing their shit that this won't go through.

I don't have stock, I literally don't care and think MS have more than enough studios to do a good job in gaming.

Having more games on game pass would be nice though, outside of that I have absolutely no investment in this.
 
Black_Stride said:
They can "sell off" ABK in the UK so it isnt a branch of Microsoft.
That wouldnt make much sense but it has been done in other business sectors when one region or country decides against a deal, the company or rather branches of that company in said country arent tied to their "parent".
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Are you refering to just the UK fraction of ABK? That's not going to work here
 
MS can still get all of those games on gamepass.

The Netflix way would be to pay to get those games on gamepass while they invest and scale up in house production to the point when they no longer depend on third party games.

You know, actual competition.
 
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Thirty7ven said:
MS can still get all of those games on gamepass.

The Netflix way would be to pay to get those games on gamepass while they invest and scale up in house production to the point when they no longer depend on third party games.
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We have been waiting for them to do that for years already. The reality is game development does not map as cleanly as other media to the Netflix model. Especially as you scale up.
 
gothmog said:
We have been waiting for them to do that for years already. The reality is game development does not map as cleanly as other media to the Netflix model. Especially as you scale up.
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I agree.

They need to focus really really hard on A and AA games. The odd AAA should just be the cherry on top.

But obviously they rather destroy the market, because MS hello.
 
DenchDeckard said:
Imagine if the rest of the world passes this and MS did just fuck the UK off. How crazy would that be. 😳
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It has been stated in this thread and on external websites that the deal offered to ATVI shareholders has to pass in certain markets - UK, EU, US - otherwise the deal is off and the shareholders get a $2-3billion windfall from MSFT, AFAIK. To exclude the UK probably requires them to pay the windfall and reoffer with the UK excluded, and that would likely eliminate any use of ATVI content in the UK via any avenue including PC and PlayStation, which would put MSFT in front of competition regulators for killing a huge yearly income stream for a competitor in the UK (Sony/PlayStation UK are the 2nd biggest revenue bringer for CoD according to this thread).
 
knocksky said:
No way Amazon will be allowed to get their hands on acti. One of the concerns of the CMA was Microsofts cloud and Amazon has their own cloud service ( is Luna still a thing?).
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Amazon doesn't have a gaming console and their cloud gaming platform's marketshare is basically non-existent (anyone here knows anyone who uses Luna? Even Stadia had a relatively well-populated subreddit that was mocked to hell and back on Twitter). Their game publishing revenues are also basically incomparable to MS or Sony.

Based on all the above, they actually have a much, much better case for buying ABK than Sony or Microsoft do.
 
MasterCornholio said:
People are getting very emotional over this it seems.

Like that guy that argued that Microsoft would get revenge on Sony by buying up all third parties. Things like that.
Click to expand...

I actually think the opposite could happen. Sony hold all the strong cards. They have the marketshare, the mindshare of the public, the strength of the brand, the software etc... they could strangle Microsoft to death over the next few years. This year alone could be a pure bloodbath. We could be looking at 30m PS5s sold to 10m or under xbox series sold.
 
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aries_71 said:
It wouldn't. Imagine the chaos to the UK economy if government institutions and companies wouldn't be allowed to use Windows, Office, SQL Server, Azure, etc. The City without Excel. That scenario is ridiculous. If they reach that point, they would have to come to some kind of terms to avoid a disaster. Nobody is going to push things that far so that few millionaire executives sleep better.
Click to expand...
MSexit
No more depending on evil job stealing foreign MS for office/server/industry operaions.
A chance to develop fully national and sovereign software/OS!
(as long as the task doesn't end in the same hands that made the covid track and trace app).
 
Thirty7ven said:
I agree.

They need to focus really really hard on A and AA games. The odd AAA should just be the cherry on top.

But obviously they rather destroy the market, because MS hello.
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It should actually be the other way around. They need to focus on AAA games. Basically, adopt the sony model. Or a variation of it. Being a platform holder and publisher means they can afford to do things and take risks that not a to of companies can or would. A and AA games are the ones that could benefit from showing upon a service, they are the ones that wouldn't cost you a fortune to pay for.

But how you grow the service, is to have 3 to 4 AAA great games on it each year. Talking games that could have on their own sold at least 7 or 8M copies. Then have a good number of A and AA games dotted around every month. And then the odd third-party AAA game from a year or two ago.

That is what the sony model is, the only real difference is that sony does not do day 1 releases. But with the sony model, everything they make will eventually end up as part of their own service. Their focus on AAA grows their userbase, which in turn improves the sales of third-party software on their platform, which in turn makes it easier for them to secure deals with said third parties, increasing the chances for these third parties to even make their games available on their service as a way to promote upcoming releases....etc.
 
TheGodfather07 said:
I actually think the opposite could happen. Sony hold all the strong cards. They have the marketshare, the mindshare of the public, the strength of the brand, the software etc... they could strangle Microsoft to death over the next few years. This year alone could be a pure bloodbath. We could be looking at 30m PS5s sold to 10m or under xbox series sold.
Click to expand...

I definitely don't want that to happen. But if Sony doesn't do anything illegal I don't think anyone would stop them.

It's normal for competitors to fail and leave the market. Sure I don't want that to happen but as long as nobody is doing anything illegal it's the way a competitive market functions.
 
DenchDeckard said:
Hey, please don't lump me in with the crazies that are losing their shit that this won't go through.

I don't have stock, I literally don't care and think MS have more than enough studios to do a good job in gaming.

Having more games on game pass would be nice though, outside of that I have absolutely no investment in this.
Click to expand...

Don't worry it still can happen. But it will probably come with a price for Microsoft. Which is normal given how big rhe deal is and how important COD is for the market.
 
TheGodfather07 said:
I actually think the opposite could happen. Sony hold all the strong cards. They have the marketshare, the mindshare of the public, the strength of the brand, the software etc... they could strangle Microsoft to death over the next few years. This year alone could be a pure bloodbath. We could be looking at 30m PS5s sold to 10m or under xbox series sold.
Click to expand...

And from the perspective of the regulators that would be the markets working as intended.

Its not the regulators job to stop competition or slap down successful companies in a particular market.

Their job is to enable competition and ensure that consumers get to choose where to put their money - if consumers ultimately select a company enough that it dominates, that is acceptable. See MS in the OS and cubicle dwellers categories.

It's not acceptable for a corporation to come into domination through acquisition or through foreclosing of competitors - see MS trying to acquire ABK and bundling of Internet Explorer preciously.
 
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Mr.Phoenix said:
It should actually be the other way around. They need to focus on AAA games. Basically, adopt the sony model. Or a variation of it. Being a platform holder and publisher means they can afford to do things and take risks that not a to of companies can or would. A and AA games are the ones that could benefit from showing upon a service, they are the ones that wouldn't cost you a fortune to pay for.
Click to expand...

The Netflix models isn't to overload the sun with A level series. They throw a bunch of a C and B level on it. A lot of them end up being very successful.

The problem with gamepass is that MS can't possibly deliver AAA on it at the rate people want. It's a fools errand, because big games can take up to five or six years. New ip gets cancelled all the time also.

Much easier to control A and AA game development, and therefore much easier to launch them in a timely manner.

Obviously the problem here is that it takes time to set up the pipeline, and it takes a management that knows gaming and looks at gaming proper.

MS's way of gobbling established IP is the most uninteresting way to go about it, the least innovate, the most anti competitive. But they got people trained on a Forza/Gears/Halo diet for like fifteen years so no wonder their fanbase likes what they are doing.
 
ToadMan said:
And from the perspective of the regulators that would be the markets working as intended.

Its not the regulators job to stop competition or slap down successful companies in a particular market.

Their job is to enable competition and ensure that consumers get to choose where to put their money - if consumers ultimately select a company enough that it dominates, that is acceptable. See MS in the OS and cubicle dwellers categories.

It's not acceptable for a corporation to come into domination through acquisition or through foreclosing of competitors - see MS trying to acquite ABK and bundling of Internet Explorer preciously.
Click to expand...

The big three had their failures in the past. Nintendo failed with the Wii U and Sony failed with the PS3. The important thing here is that they learned from their mistakes and that made same more successful in the future.

Regulators are not going to protect failures nor are they going to stop companies from succeeding in a competitive market. They will however take measures if the competitive nature of the market us threatened by something. This applies to anything that Nintendo, Sony or Microsoft do to severely hurt competition in the market.

I don't want to see anyone fail but it's up to these companies to not make those mistakes or to learn from them.
 
Thirty7ven said:
The Netflix models isn't to overload the sun with A level series. They throw a bunch of a C and B level on it. A lot of them end up being very successful.

The problem with gamepass is that MS can't possibly deliver AAA on it at the rate people want. It's a fools errand, because big games can take up to five or six years. New ip gets cancelled all the time also.

Much easier to control A and AA game development, and therefore much easier to launch them in a timely manner.

Obviously the problem here is that it takes time to set up the pipeline, and it takes a management that knows gaming and looks at gaming proper.

MS's way of gobbling established IP is the most uninteresting way to go about it, the least innovate, the most anti competitive. But they got people trained on a Forza/Gears/Halo diet for like fifteen years so no wonder their fanbase likes what they are doing.
Click to expand...
The reason I feel it should be the other way around is bookmarked by what sony has managed to do.

Emphasis on the word, `should`. Cause if MS had done it we won't be having this conversation today.

Yes, AAA games can take 2-4+ years to make. But that's why you don't have only one studio. You have like 14 - 16 studios. Wit 3-4 of them releasing a game every 4-5 years. But have everything staggered in such a way that every year you are getting at least 3-4 games from your studios. This is what sony has been doing for over 10 years now.

Not many publishers can boast of having 3-4 AAA games released each year. But that is something that a platform holder can accomplish. They needn't focus on A and AA-type games, cause its not stuff like that that would grow their platform. It could keep them on it, but it's not what would make them flock to it. They need to focus on the stuff that only them can provide.

And yes, this is something MS should have put in place over a decade ago, but they didn't. So they are trying to make up for a decade's worth of lack of foresight by just acquiring studios and IPs.
 
Ar¢tos said:
MSexit
No more depending on evil job stealing foreign MS for office/server/industry operaions.
A chance to develop fully national and sovereign software/OS!
(as long as the task doesn't end in the same hands that made the covid track and trace app).
Click to expand...
Better yet, have Sony replace the evil scheming MS.
 
aries_71 said:
Better yet, have Sony replace the evil scheming MS.
Click to expand...

I'm not saying Microsoft is evil or anyrhing.

But Sony can't really replace them especially given the size of the company. They can't afford to take losses like Microsoft can. There are just some things that Sony can't afford to do. Like have all their 1st party titles day one on PlayStation Plus Extra.
 
Thirty7ven said:
The Netflix models isn't to overload the sun with A level series. They throw a bunch of a C and B level on it. A lot of them end up being very successful.

The problem with gamepass is that MS can't possibly deliver AAA on it at the rate people want. It's a fools errand, because big games can take up to five or six years. New ip gets cancelled all the time also.

Much easier to control A and AA game development, and therefore much easier to launch them in a timely manner.

Obviously the problem here is that it takes time to set up the pipeline, and it takes a management that knows gaming and looks at gaming proper.

MS's way of gobbling established IP is the most uninteresting way to go about it, the least innovate, the most anti competitive. But they got people trained on a Forza/Gears/Halo diet for like fifteen years so no wonder their fanbase likes what they are doing.
Click to expand...

so disappointed that this is the route microsoft decided to take to try and compete. we can see that they can still throw money around when they want, so why didnt they invest money into areas that really needed it? now they want to take a shortcut and buy some of the biggest ips and call them their own. its just shoddy and lazy. reeks of arrogance.
 
PaintTinJr said:
It has been stated in this thread and on external websites that the deal offered to ATVI shareholders has to pass in certain markets - UK, EU, US - otherwise the deal is off and the shareholders get a $2-3billion windfall from MSFT, AFAIK. To exclude the UK probably requires them to pay the windfall and reoffer with the UK excluded, and that would likely eliminate any use of ATVI content in the UK via any avenue including PC and PlayStation, which would put MSFT in front of competition regulators for killing a huge yearly income stream for a competitor in the UK (Sony/PlayStation UK are the 2nd biggest revenue bringer for CoD according to this thread).
Click to expand...

How does that revenue compare to markets like Asia with call of duty mobile and king products?

I bet playstation uk is like a spit in the wind compared to what call of duty online and king generates in the rest of the world vs the UK.

it's an absolute extreme hypertherical and one that no one at MS would want but something I just found interesting when it came up as a slim possibility.
 
DenchDeckard said:
How does that revenue compare to markets like Asia with call of duty mobile and king products?

I bet playstation uk is like a spit in the wind compared to what call of duty online and king generates in the rest of the world vs the UK.

it's an absolute extreme hypertherical and one that no one at MS would want but something I just found interesting when it came up as a slim possibility.
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I really don't know about that. It really seems illogical to me that they would cut Xbox out from those regions.
 
Banjo64 said:
Greatest heel turn in history?

Incoming coltsonywood?
Click to expand...

The reverse adamsapple adamsapple

DenchDeckard said:
It's gonna get crazy if Apple decides to step into the gaming arena.

If they bring a console out...that would be "disruptive" to say the least.
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If apple were to get involved I don't see them doing so in a way that would be deemed to be "traditional", that's not their style. When they get involved in industries they tend to do so in a way that's disruptive with a focus on innovation for the future.

My guess is that whatever VR/AR device they are cooking up will be that.

DenchDeckard said:
How does that revenue compare to markets like Asia with call of duty mobile and king products?

I bet playstation uk is like a spit in the wind compared to what call of duty online and king generates in the rest of the world vs the UK.

it's an absolute extreme hypertherical and one that no one at MS would want but something I just found interesting when it came up as a slim possibility.
Click to expand...

Not a possibility in the slightest.
 
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Astray said:
Amazon doesn't have a gaming console and their cloud gaming platform's marketshare is basically non-existent (anyone here knows anyone who uses Luna? Even Stadia had a relatively well-populated subreddit that was mocked to hell and back on Twitter). Their game publishing revenues are also basically incomparable to MS or Sony.

Based on all the above, they actually have a much, much better case for buying ABK than Sony or Microsoft do.
Click to expand...
Whether their market share is tiny or not , they still have their own cloud and could "potentially" withhold access to cod. Which is a no-go.
 
knocksky said:
No way Amazon will be allowed to get their hands on acti. One of the concerns of the CMA was Microsofts cloud and Amazon has their own cloud service ( is Luna still a thing?).
Click to expand...
It was, but it was combined with their existing gaming brand recognition and strong portfolio of shooters.

Amazon don't tick every box like Microsoft.
 



Phil Spencer kissing goodbye to the dream of getting PlayStation's studio management documents.

crying-doctor-who.gif
 
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DenchDeckard said:
It's gonna get crazy if Apple decides to step into the gaming arena.

If they bring a console out...that would be "disruptive" to say the least.
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Apple does things their own way. I think if they do decide to go console it will be in a way that opens up new sectors of the market. Maybe a way to funnel mobile gamers towards their TVs. It will compete but probably not do much to the traditional console gamer market.
 
Banjo64 said:
It was, but it was combined with their existing gaming brand recognition and strong portfolio of shooters.

Amazon don't tick every box like Microsoft.
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Ticking every box or not, the CMA were specific in regards to access to cod. I don't see them being allowed to buy acti.
 
MasterCornholio said:
Just curious. What concessions does the EC want?

As for the FTC they just blocked it if I'm understanding the situation correctly.
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The FTC hasn't blocked anything yet. Microsoft has already said that they will complete the deal if it is approved everywhere else. The FTC needs to file in a federal court and win in order for the deal to be blocked.

It's pretty much the CMA who is the most concerning for Microsoft
 
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GHG said:
The reverse adamsapple adamsapple



If apple were to get involved I don't see them doing so in a way that would be deemed to be "traditional", that's not their style. When they get involved in industries they tend to do so in a way that's disruptive with a focus on innovation for the future.

My guess is that whatever VR/AR device they are cooking up will be that.



Not a possibility in the slightest.
Click to expand...

In the slightest? Like no possibility at all?

Why would that be?

I mean in an absolute extreme. Why wouldn't it be a possibility? I'm just interested because I'm clueless and the lawyer I was speaking to said it was a possibility....as a last resort. But who really knows lol
 
knocksky said:
The FTC hasn't blocked anything yet. Microsoft has already said that they will complete the deal if it is approved everywhere else. The FTC needs to file in a federal court and win in order for the deal to be blocked.

It's pretty much the CMA who is the most concerning for Microsoft
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Thought they already did but Microsoft had to go through the courts to rescind that decision.

As for the EC we don't have any information on what the concessions are.
 
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MasterCornholio said:
Thought they already did but Microsoft had to go through the courts to rescind that decision.

As for the EC we don't have any information on what the concessions are.
Click to expand...

Does anyone know if and when the EU will publish their concerns? If they don't I'm really surprised by that lack of transparency.
 
MasterCornholio said:
Thought they already did but Microsoft had to go through the courts to rescind that decision.

As for the EC we don't have any information on what the concessions are.
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No the FTC are just stalling things by going through an internal judge. The same judge who Microsoft informed that they would consummate the deal should it be approved elsewhere before it even goes before him.

The FTC needs to go to a federal court and win to block anything. They were just stalling in the hope that other regulators block it so that they wouldn't even need to go to a federal court.
 
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