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[ToadMan]

Finally see the first glimpse of a failure of strategy on Sony's part.

They should have "unleashed its executives and high-priced hookers to petition the Commission, as well as regulators around the world, to block the transaction".
That would have been more effective.

Ah hate fucking the missus in the name of Sony. I've not done that since Joel died.

Well give the missus a break - Sony is deploying hookers

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

The cloud infrastructure wasn't free. MS invested in the tech. Sony had game streaming before MS did. Difference is MS invested in it much more heavily and now appear to be penalized for that investment even though it isn't a stand alone product and doesn't generate any money on its own. Cloud on Xbox isn't anything close to being a market.

I feel like you've lost your enthusiasm. Want me to come to Brazil with you so we can get a little personal reassurance from CADE?

 

[ToadMan]

What good would divesture in Blizzard serve to the regulators? Blizzard doesn't really seem like the component of this which has been discussed much.

CMA referred to WoW on PC a lot.

Means Diablo stays in the clear too.

 

[Yoboman]

Almost at the season finale, we need a season recap

 

[FriulHado]

It's still funny to me how people thought this deal would be done no concessions.

It's more funny how people thought this deal will be blocked.

 

[ToadMan]

Not necessarily a bad deal. CoD on Game Pass day 1 is a major selling point for the service, even if the games are still on PlayStation. And access to the litany of developers and tech they use on CoD would be a good thing for all over Xbox studios I would imagine.

I believe the deal also gave Sony COD on PS Plus day one…

To be honest all this makes me want COD even less. Warzone wasn't interesting but I'd dip into the IW iterations because the single player was usually some "western guys win" feel good fun, and the multiplayer would grab me for a while.

But warzone and those bloated installs have put me off now. And I guess sub service presence just means more of the mtx stuff and less of what I enjoyed from COD before.

Wish they'd just spin warzone off to it's own thing tbh.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

It's more funny how people thought this deal will be blocked.

It's definitely funny how it's become more of a reality now

 

[Elios83]

It's more funny how people thought this deal will be blocked.

How it's funny if that scenario is becoming reality?

 

[ToadMan]

Lmao this shit gets more insane by the day.

Microsoft has to be desperate to accept this shit.

The thing is, look at what's happening here.

People will cheer "the deal" - but without COD or Blizzard its not "the deal" anymore.

I mean back when it was announced it was big news because ABK goes exclusive - bye bye COD and whatever else on anything other than an MS platform.

Here we are contemplating a deal that includes neither COD or Blizzard (WOW, Diablo) - the only things anyone cares about in this. And yet it's still being hailed as "the deal" going ahead. It's clearly not.

If a year ago MS announced they were buying King - that's what this is in effect - it would've been mostly a shrug.

But this does suit MS - they can claim "the deal" closed (clearly inaccurate but something to cling to) and everyone else gets COD and Blizzard stuff so they're happy the deal as originally specced didn't close.

Is it a climb down or master stroke by MS? That's based on which fan bucket you inhabit and then its back to laughing at Forspoken or Starfield.

MS may be desperate but if this is what gets them over the line, they have to take it.

The fallout from "the deal" being totally dead - even this neutered form of deal - is a PR nightmare.

 

[xHunter]

It's still funny to me how people thought this deal would be done no concessions.

I remember when it was said we would be able to play MW2 for free with a 250$ next gen console by christmas past year. Some of the threads are really fun to read now.

 

[Thirty7ven]

I actually don't want the deal to be blocked or for MS to back away anymore. Give those remedies and open a path forward. That way not much changes at all in the medium to long term and Sony will be pushed to be even more aggressive as they no doubt will have all the incentive in the world to go hard to the paint and come up with their own big acquisition and investments.

Let's go.

 

[Heisenberg007]

Almost at the season finale, we need a season recap

Inb4 someone comments, "Microsoft anticipated all this, and this is all going according to plan."

P.S. We also need an NSFW version of this recap. "Microsoft asks Sony not to be a pussy and accept the 10-year deal." Sony says, "fuck off, mate! Go eat a bag of dick" to Phil Spencer. Ass of Can Whooping , please start working on the NSFW recap.

 

[baphomet]

It's more funny how people thought this deal will be blocked.

Even funnier are the people who are so completely oblivious to reality that even at this point in the proceedings, think Microsoft is even able to complete the original deal.

 

[Drell]

I actually don't want the deal to be blocked or for MS to back away anymore. Give those remedies and open a path forward. That way not much changes at all in the medium to long term and Sony will be pushed to be even more aggressive as they no doubt will have all the incentive in the world to go hard to the paint and come up with their own big acquisition and investments.

Let's go.

Why is Sony's dominance over the console market always a problem while Microsoft's absolute monopoly over the PC operating system "market" since the 90s is never mentionned? Windows is the only optimal way to play games on PC so it should be adressed when people think Sony is in a too comfortable situation. Especially when these people are in favor of MS taking this spot...

Also, should we really wish the answer from Sony to that big acquisition attempt to be a big acquisition attempt from themselves? I know it's an economic reality and that these big publishers want to be acquired. But should we really wish for that as consumers?

 

[Thirty7ven]

I don't wish for it but the race has already started anyway.

You won't get me defending MS on windows or almost anything really, their history of practices speaks for itself. Trash company that had a great product in Xbox 360 when none of the MS higher ups were paying attention to the lowly console business.

 

[Ar¢tos]

They won't get rid of daddy Spencer. Imagine winning legend of the world awards and then getting fired, he will be promoted into daddy of the gaming gods by MS and shuffled off like kutaragi.

Chapter 1

Phil Spencer, the famous wartime General looked out of the window with concern on his face. He sat with his oiled muscles glistening under the sunlight and his thick veiny arms resting on his defined legs.
DenchDeckard entered the room in a sexy red silk short dress that caressed every curve of his body.
"What troubles your mind?" he said, "I can make all your worries go away, even if just for a couple of hours" and walked slowly and sensually towards the worried General while dropping the dress on the floor.
Phil jumped out of the chair, grabs DenchDeckard with his strong arms and throws him on the bed...

End of free preview.
The latest Harlequin novel, "The Love Tides of Activision", is now available in all the major retailers for only 10.99$.
Get yours now before they sell out!

 

[Drell]

I don't wish for it but the race has already started anyway.

You won't get me defending MS on windows or almost anything really, their history of practices speaks for itself. Trash company that had a great product in Xbox 360 when none of the MS higher ups were paying attention to the lowly console business.

Mmh ok thanks I get your point now.

 

[SoloKingRobert]

Even funnier are the people who are so completely oblivious to reality that even at this point in the proceedings, think Microsoft is even able to complete the original deal.

What original Deal? Last time I've checked Microsoft has stated since day one they had no reason to take Call of Duty off PlayStation, it wouldn't make financial sense.

 

[baphomet]

What original Deal? Last time I've checked Microsoft has stated since day one they had no reason to take Call of Duty off PlayStation, it wouldn't make financial sense.

Well, they're not going to own CoD to be able to make that decision.

 

[intheinbetween]

Azure costs 10s of billions of dollars to build. There's a reason why only the trillion dollar companies are the big players in this space.

Even if cloud gaming and cloud infrastructure are related, Sony acquired Gaikai years before MS entered the cloud gaming market and they didn't invested properly in developing so it could lead the cloud gaming area as Gaikai did, since they were one of the pioneers on this.

When it comes to cloud infrastructure, Sony never cared about that, they preferred back in the day to use Azure instead of investing in their own environment, and they certainly could've done that since not only Amazon and Google have a cloud infrastructure but also Oracle, as well as other "smaller" companies, heck even VMware tried their own, Sony could've teamed up with any joint venture for this.

Sony never cared or believed in cloud gaming, or cloud infrastructure, that's a fact.

 

[knocksky]

It's more funny how people thought this deal will be blocked.

The deal is fucking dead man! The CMA are just lining up the pall bearers!

I think that it will get through everywhere else though. Which in the grand scheme of things means absolutely fuck all.

As I said before though, for good or bad, I think that it means that big publishers are off the table, so Sony and Microsoft are going to hoover up as many independent studios as possible over the next few years.

 

[Pelta88]

COD in perpetuity on PS is a concept that was laughed at in the beginning of this thread.

Today, not so much.

 

[Sanepar]

Cod and Blizzard out of the deal make this fair for the industry and Microsoft takes what they said they want(King)

 

[ArcaneNLSC]

Well give the missus a break - Sony is deploying hookers

 

[Dane]

Delivered by Azure, which is probably what they're concerned about. Hard to compete in game streaming when the tech giant both provides free infrastructure for streaming as well as uses their money to buy up whole publishers and their catalogs.

I recall Google citing this as one of the reasons Stadia was shutting down.

Google has all the money in the world and their content investiment in Stadia probably didn't even reach 100 million.

Did you read the provisional findings by the CMA?

People keep asking these questions and raising concerns about things but never read the documents It's all in there.

xCloud has a 60-70% share in the UK cloud gaming market. PlayStation has a 10-20% share in the UK Cloud gaming market. This is according to the CMA after assessing Microsoft's and Sony's internal documents.

So xCloud is already a monopoly in the UK and will become an even bigger one if MS acquires ABK.

PS cloud services are way older than Xcloud, it exists since PS3, why they haven't increased their marketshare? What were they doing all this time?

Imagine that you enter into a market, does it well and now its called monopoly because everyone else who also had good financials for it decided to give up without having even tried.

 

[PharaoTutAnchAmun]

But it got approved in Chile

And in Brazil and i believe South Africa, so the CMA and EU and the FTC wil follow suit....so no problems for MS.

 

[Topher]

Even if cloud gaming and cloud infrastructure are related, Sony acquired Gaikai years before MS entered the cloud gaming market and they didn't invested properly in developing so it could lead the cloud gaming area as Gaikai did, since they were one of the pioneers on this.

When it comes to cloud infrastructure, Sony never cared about that, they preferred back in the day to use Azure instead of investing in their own environment, and they certainly could've done that since not only Amazon and Google have a cloud infrastructure but also Oracle, as well as other "smaller" companies, heck even VMware tried their own, Sony could've teamed up with any joint venture for this.

Sony never cared or believed in cloud gaming, or cloud infrastructure, that's a fact.

No, it isn't. If Sony did not "care" about cloud gaming then PS Now would have been shut down a long time ago. And the companies that built cloud infrastructure did so because it aligned with their overall business. Sony has never had a business segment that relied on applications having worldwide coverage. For companies like that it makes more sense to utilize cloud infrastructures that others have already built. Just like Sony and Microsoft rely on AMD for processors rather than build their own.

 

[splattered]

Well you guys be happy if Microsoft gives Sony a perpetual call of duty license and that's it deal done? No other concessions?

 

[Heisenberg007]

PS cloud services are way older than Xcloud, it exists since PS3, why they haven't increased their marketshare? What were they doing all this time?

Imagine that you enter into a market, does it well and now its called monopoly because everyone else who also had good financials for it decided to give up without having even tried.

Ironic, isn't it?

Xbox has been around for 20 years. Why haven't they increased their market share? What were they doing all this time? And why do they now need ABK so they can compete?

See, works both ways.

xCloud has 70% market share in the UK. Sony is a 20x smaller company than Microsoft and cannot invest and build a cloud service like Azure. If Microsoft continues to make anti-competitive acquisitions, they will choke out their competitors because of the nearly infinite amount of money they have.

Sony, as a competitor, is incapable of doing this because they are not rich enough. The CMA sees that.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

Well you guys be happy if Microsoft gives Sony a perpetual call of duty license and that's it deal done? No other concessions?

I don't give a fuck about COD I just want to see you rats squeal

 

[splattered]

I don't give a fuck about COD I just want to see you rats squeal

You rats? I don't care how this stupid thing goes one way or another haha

 

[Topher]

Well you guys be happy if Microsoft gives Sony a perpetual call of duty license and that's it deal done? No other concessions?

The question is will that be enough for the CMA, FTC and EU. Seems clear that their objections are not just about Call of Duty.

 

[Team Andromeda]

Money talks

Google has all the money in the world and their content investiment in Stadia probably didn't even reach 100 million.

PS cloud services are way older than Xcloud, it exists since PS3, why they haven't increased their marketshare? What were they doing all this time?

Imagine that you enter into a market, does it well and now its called monopoly because everyone else who also had good financials for it decided to give up without having even tried.

Cloud was on the 360. Ok it was mainly just for save data but it was still the cloud and called the cloud.

 

[Varteras]

COD in perpetuity on PS is a concept that was laughed at in the beginning of this thread.

Today, not so much.

 

[Thirty7ven]

You rats? I don't care how this stupid thing goes one way or another haha

 

[aries_71]

Wow at the sudden change of narratives in the last 24 hours. This thread delivers!

 

[Drell]

Well you guys be happy if Microsoft gives Sony a perpetual call of duty license and that's it deal done? No other concessions?

You know, some of us don't even own a Sony console and never gave a shit about that dudebro fps. We just don't want MS to be able to do anything they want simply because they're rich as fuck.

 

[Dane]

Ironic, isn't it?

Xbox has been around for 20 years. Why haven't they increased their market share? What were they doing all this time? And why do they now need ABK so they can compete?

See, works both ways.

xCloud has 70% market share in the UK. Sony is a 20x smaller company than Microsoft and cannot invest and build a cloud service like Azure. If Microsoft continues to make anti-competitive acquisitions, they will choke out their competitors because of the nearly infinite amount of money they have.

Sony, as a competitor, is incapable of doing this because they are not rich enough. The CMA sees that.

But that's the irony against Sony too, what were they doing and why CMA wants to chime in a nascent platform that is cloud gaming? And what were they doing as a corporation as a whole with many of their classics business operations being shut down or downsized? No one complained that in 94-95 Sony had invested far bigger money than Sega and Nintendo to introduce themselves in the market.

 

[MasterCornholio]

What original Deal? Last time I've checked Microsoft has stated since day one they had no reason to take Call of Duty off PlayStation, it wouldn't make financial sense.

Yeah what baphomet said. I believe they are doing this because they can't trust Microsoft to keep their word.

Well, they're not going to own CoD to be able to make that decision.

 

[aries_71]

xCloud has 70% market share in the UK. Sony is a 20x smaller company than Microsoft and cannot invest and build a cloud service like Azure. If Microsoft continues to make anti-competitive acquisitions, they will choke out their competitors because of the nearly infinite amount of money they have.

But xCloud is not azure, right? Or is it?

 

[Topher]

Wow at the sudden change of narratives in the last 24 hours. This thread delivers!

What changed in the last 24 hours again?

 

[MasterCornholio]

What changed in the last 24 hours again?

The rumor from the guy that said Sony flew over there?

 

[Topher]

The rumor from the guy that said Sony flew over there?

lol.....people are actually believing that "Joost" guy?

 

[MasterCornholio]

lol.....people are actually believing that "Joost" guy?

I'm guessing that's where all this talk of Microsoft keeping COD is coming from.

 

[mansoor1980]

DUDE USED TO BE AN ICON

 

[Elios83]

The rumor from the guy that said Sony flew over there?

So basically whatever inconclusive bullshit can be found

 

[MasterCornholio]

So basically whatever inconclusive bullshit can be found

Well that's the only "new" thing that I saw.

 

[Topher]

But that's the irony against Sony too, what were they doing and why CMA wants to chime in a nascent platform that is cloud gaming? And what were they doing as a corporation as a whole with many of their classics business operations being shut down or downsized? No one complained that in 94-95 Sony had invested far bigger money than Sega and Nintendo to introduce themselves in the market.

The cloud aspect isn't even about Sony though. Nvidia is probably the one to have more objections in that regard.

 

[Andodalf]

Well you guys be happy if Microsoft gives Sony a perpetual call of duty license and that's it deal done? No other concessions?

With Sony flying to meet MS, I imagine we see a perpetual license plus an agreement that COD goes onto PS+ at a fair market rate the same time it enters gamepass

 

[DeepEnigma]

The only other plane watcher I've heard about got his account banned on twitter for accessing public information

Flight manifests are not public information. His mistake, he was announcing who was on the plane.