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[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

There won't be any structural remedies. And in the first place there should not have been any kind of remedies. Asking for remedies in a nascent market does not make sense, but oh well.

Asking for remedies in the case of a $2 trillion global conglomerate buying arguably the largest single 3P publisher in console gaming, when that same $2 trillion company has a history of violating behavioral remedies and not paying the fines, and already being investigated for antitrust by the U.S government at the turn of the century that only didn't go further because of a settlement out of court, is the very least regulators should do.

It is part of their responsibility to protect the market.

Sega was successful for ONE generation, and mostly due to the US (the SFC sold more than the MD LTD on its first day in Japan). Then SOJ stuck their heads so far up their own asses that it killed them. Sega was only in the console business for 18 years. MS is in its 22nd.

And they've had magnitudes less impact in influencing game design or having market-leading games through their history than Sega did even though they've had more time and almost infinitely more money

 

[Iced Arcade]

K let's wrap this up. Hopefully the FTC doesn't drag out their L

 

[feynoob]

Because Microsoft is such a niche brand.

If Xbox had that recognition, it wouldnt have been on this state.

 

[ManaByte]

And they've had magnitudes less impact in influencing game design or having market-leading games through their history than Sega did even though they've had more time and almost infinitely more money

PSN and trophies wouldn't even exist if not for XBL and achievements. Sega started online console gaming, but MS made the single username across all games that became the standard. The PS3 didn't even launch with trophies, that didn't come until the 2.40 FW the following year.

 

[64gigabyteram]

Sega was successful for ONE generation,

Just like Microsoft. Except that Sega had a lasting success the whole gen and made a major impact in Brazil whereas 7th gen is a toss up since Microsoft started slacking after 2009

 

[RickMasters]

They have said wait till next year for almost 10 years excuse me for not thinking that this time would be different.

ten years ago did they have 25+ studios?

 

[feynoob]

this week is going to be jam-packed...news, drama and meltdowns

I think we will hit our target for 1k post.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

I think that the worst is behind us. Only situation in which all hell would break loose, is if MS were to announce that COD is going full exclusive shortly...

I wouldn't be the least surprised if they did. They announced Bethesda was going Xbox exclusive the same day that acquisition closed.

However, I don't think the effect on gamer behavior will be what MS expects when they do this. They are going to face the same hostility and backlash by taking CoD exclusive that they faced when they tried to pull that always online/no used games shit with XBone. I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to take CoD exclusive, immediately got people shooting Xboxes with AR-15's on TikTok for millions of views, and then have to backtrack it within a month when the entire gaming industry riots. Gamers are used to being treated like shit and also rising up in revolt. And gamer revolts are usually successful, again, see XBone always online/no used games.

 

[feynoob]

Today feels great.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Sony: There is "no scenario where the PlayStation and Xbox platforms combine" | GamesIndustry.biz

This was a MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) established between the two companies in 2019...before the current gen kicked off and before Microsoft decided to reveal their 3P publisher acquisition hand. And obviously, before the turmoil that's unfolded between them and Sony due to ABK.

Granted, if Sony are still pushing SIE in particular to go with Azure for their cloud expansion, then Sony deserve for PlayStation to be reduced to a non-entity in the gaming market. It's pretty obvious Microsoft want SIE for Azure as a means of attracting 3P developers to Azure as well, but as the Sega x Azure partnership show, that nets benefits for Xbox & Game Pass from 3P publishers which is directly in conflict with Sony being able to secure similar benefits from 3P for PlayStation.

What's more, it makes Sony/SIE even more dependent on Microsoft for resources, weakening their ability to provide for 3P partners as an independent platform holder, and strengthens Microsoft & the Xbox division's ability to net deals and perks with those 3P publishers in Sony's/SIE's place. Sony actually deciding to officially utilize Azure is going to hurt the PlayStation division/SIE in terms of their ability to provide development tools and packages/services to 3P developers, particularly over the cloud, and that hurts part of their overall offering of strengths to 3P developers and publishers.

But that all said, the 2019 agreement was just an MOU. If Sony were smart, they would at least let SIE set up a partnership with Google for cloud expansion into the future for PlayStation division, but we'll see what happens.

Is that before or after they shelved their console business?

Before. They made profits during SG-1000, Master System, Genesis/MegaDrive, even Saturn. Their first loss was reported in 1997, mostly due to costs of Dreamcast R&D combined with the declining arcade market in the West.

 

[64gigabyteram]

And they've had magnitudes less impact in influencing game design or having market-leading games through their history than Sega did even though they've had more time and almost infinitely more money

Don't be ridiculous now. Halo's influence can still be felt across the FPS genre and Forza Horizon completely changed the open world racing genre as well, to the point where modern NFS is outdated and boring in comparison (and has substantially less players as a result) Their contributions to online gaming and online marketplaces too can't go unseen

To say magnitudes less impact is a joke, they've had around the same amount of impact on the industry as a whole. Like what innovation did Sega come up with that was so much more grand, revolutionary and gigantic than Microsoft's efforts?

 

[feynoob]

This was a MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) established between the two companies in 2019...before the current gen kicked off and before Microsoft decided to reveal their 3P publisher acquisition hand. And obviously, before the turmoil that's unfolded between them and Sony due to ABK.

Granted, if Sony are still pushing SIE in particular to go with Azure for their cloud expansion, then Sony deserve for PlayStation to be reduced to a non-entity in the gaming market. It's pretty obvious Microsoft want SIE for Azure as a means of attracting 3P developers to Azure as well, but as the Sega x Azure partnership show, that nets benefits for Xbox & Game Pass from 3P publishers which is directly in conflict with Sony being able to secure similar benefits from 3P for PlayStation.

What's more, it makes Sony/SIE even more dependent on Microsoft for resources, weakening their ability to provide for 3P partners as an independent platform holder, and strengthens Microsoft & the Xbox division's ability to net deals and perks with those 3P publishers in Sony's/SIE's place. Sony actually deciding to officially utilize Azure is going to hurt the PlayStation division/SIE in terms of their ability to provide development tools and packages/services to 3P developers, particularly over the cloud, and that hurts part of their overall offering of strengths to 3P developers and publishers.

But that all said, the 2019 agreement was just an MOU. If Sony were smart, they would at least let SIE set up a partnership with Google for cloud expansion into the future for PlayStation division, but we'll see what happens.

Sony and MS are entities that operate outside of PS/Xbox.

 

[RickMasters]

I think that the worst is behind us. Only situation in which all hell would break loose, is if MS were to announce that COD is going full exclusive shortly...

Nah....we will go through this all over again when they buy take 2, ubisoft or EA. If they by T2 it will be armageddon on the Gaf.

 

[IFireflyl]

If Xbox had that recognition, it wouldnt have been on this state.

I disagree. Xbox had the brand recognition back with the Xbox 360. It was fire. The problem is that they squandered what they had, and they made one terrible decision after another. That's what got them to the state that they are in.

The issue now is that, even though the Xbox Series X is awesome, too many people moved away from Xbox. Most people looking to buy PlayStation or Xbox (the ones that can't or won't do both) are going to consider what their friends and/or family are playing. If the popular console is PlayStation, then they're going to go with PlayStation.

Microsoft is working towards righting this ship, but I disagree with buying up a major third-party publisher in order to convince people to switch back to the Xbox platform. If Sony or Nintendo made the same stupid decisions over and over for as long as Microsoft did, they would be out of the console game. Microsoft just happens to have a seemingly endless amount of cash that they can throw at the problem. Microsoft is, quite literally, too big to fail.

 

[RickMasters]

this week is going to be jam-packed...news, drama and meltdowns

 

[feynoob]

Don't be ridiculous now. Halo's influence can still be felt across the FPS genre and Forza Horizon completely changed the open world racing genre as well, to the point where modern NFS is outdated and boring in comparison (and has substantially less players as a result) Their contributions to online gaming and online marketplaces too can't go unseen

To say magnitudes less impact is a joke, they've had around the same amount of impact on the industry as a whole. Like what innovation did Sega come up with that was so much more grand, revolutionary and gigantic than Microsoft's efforts?

People only count games these days.
No one thinks outside of the box. That is what happens when people are too invested in console vs console.

We are at the stage, where people are fighting over pixel count.

 

[DarkMage619]

Sega.

They actually made a profit on their games division

Ah yes Sega. First off they didn't have to compete with Sony when they first got into consoles and when Sony did enter they left. I'm also pretty sure MS has sold more Xbox consoles than all of Sega's consoles combined so I don't
think this is the best example.

Sega was successful for ONE generation, and mostly due to the US (the SFC sold more than the MD LTD on its first day in Japan). Then SOJ stuck their heads so far up their own asses that it killed them. Sega was only in the console business for 18 years. MS is in its 22nd.

People have no idea of their gaming history. There is no way Sega made more money in gaming than MS. Most don't even know MS has been in consoles longer than Sega has and Sega for all the praise they get for their games, couldn't beat Sony or Nintendo either.

 

[feynoob]

but I disagree with buying up a major third-party publisher in order to convince people to switch back to the Xbox platform.

You are not alone in this matter. Everyone doesnt like this move.
Yesterday was zenimax. Today is activision blizzard. Tommorow it could be another studio.
Xbox could lose capcom/square/sega or other big publishers to Sony.
We PC/Steam players could lose those games to epic. Its not fun for everyone.

The only ones that are happy about this is the tribe people.

 

[TheGodfather07]

Today feels great.

its a shame arsenal have totally bottled the premier league though.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

We PC/Steam players

.

 

[feynoob]

its a shame arsenal have totally bottled the premier league though.

We miss saliba and tomi badly.
Without them, we are not that good.

 

[RickMasters]

I disagree. Xbox had the brand recognition back with the Xbox 360. It was fire. The problem is that they squandered what they had, and they made one terrible decision after another. That's what got them to the state that they are in.

The issue now is that, even though the Xbox Series X is awesome, too many people moved away from Xbox. Most people looking to buy PlayStation or Xbox (the ones that can't or won't do both) are going to consider what their friends and/or family are playing. If the popular console is PlayStation, then they're going to go with PlayStation.

Microsoft is working towards righting this ship, but I disagree with buying up a major third-party publisher in order to convince people to switch back to the Xbox platform. If Sony or Nintendo made the same stupid decisions over and over for as long as Microsoft did, they would be out of the console game. Microsoft just happens to have a seemingly endless amount of cash that they can throw at the problem. Microsoft is, quite literally, too big to fail.

I agree that they squandered their good faith and position. The latter years of the X360s life was painful to watch. And the XB1 generation was supposed to be about getting back to what works but they seemed to struggle to get that right too.


However


" If Sony or Nintendo made the same stupid decisions over and over for as long as Microsoft did, they would be out of the console game. "

I agree...but they are not sony or nintendo...they are MS...magnitudes larger than both combined. it is incompetence that stops xbox from being the leader. But being the determined giant that they are....a ginat that is clearly larger than the gaming biz itself.....one can only hope they stop wasting money and do the right things. They have all the tools to make Xbox great....putting them to effective use seems to be their issue....



another way to look at it is ; Sony are so dominant and nintendo,so established that it takes extreme measures to move the needle...especially in the case of xbox after now being perceived as the inferior brand. where this all leads is anyones guess, but everybody has a theory all the same. Businesses at this level is warfare so I guess anything goes. MS will do what they must to win. Just as sony did what they fealt they must to try to stop the aquisition. Its all business. And atleast for MS being to big to fail can have its advantages, in a market that is rapidly changing every year.

 

[TheGodfather07]

We miss saliba and tomi badly.
Without them, we are not that good.

i think the pressure is getting to them. they're such a young team going against one of the greatest teams in premier league history. its actually crazy they are even in this position at all. theres still a sliver of hope depending on what happens on wednesday. could they do the unthinkable and beat city?

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

PSN and trophies wouldn't even exist if not for XBL and achievements. Sega started online console gaming, but MS made the single username across all games that became the standard. The PS3 didn't even launch with trophies, that didn't come until the 2.40 FW the following year.

I'm not just talking about services. I'm talking about actual games.

Outrun. Hang On. Sonic the Hedgehog. Virtual Racing. Virtua Fighter. Virtua Fighter 3. Night Trap. Streets of Rage. Sonic Adventure. Daytona USA. Shenmue. Jet Set Radio. Sega had a ton of games that either heavily influenced game design, certain emerging genres, or were clearly at the top of pack in one metric or another in terms of game design or production values. Microsoft doesn't have that amount of games to their name.

Flight Simulator, Halo, Halo 2, Halo 3, Forza Horizon, PGR, Gears of War are games I would put in a similar pedigree. But Sega, Sony & Nintendo have way more such games to their name.

 

[feynoob]

i think the pressure is getting to them. they're such a young team going against one of the greatest teams in premier league history. its actually crazy they are even in this position at all. theres still a sliver of hope depending on what happens on wednesday. could they do the unthinkable and beat city?

I hope we can beat them. But with our current players, it would be hard. We almost lost to southampton.

 

[64gigabyteram]

Outrun. Hang On. Sonic the Hedgehog. Virtual Racing. Virtua Fighter. Virtua Fighter 3. Night Trap. Streets of Rage. Sonic Adventure. Daytona USA. Shenmue. Jet Set Radio. Sega had a ton of games that either heavily influenced game design, certain emerging genres, or were clearly at the top of pack in one metric or another in terms of game design or production values. Microsoft doesn't have that amount of games to their name.

the bolded are the ones that made an impact. can you explain to me how Sonic the Hedgehog or Jet Set influenced the industry or general gamedesign (besides just providing competition to Nintendo)

 

[feynoob]

I'm not just talking about services. I'm talking about actual games.

Outrun. Hang On. Sonic the Hedgehog. Virtual Racing. Virtua Fighter. Virtua Fighter 3. Night Trap. Streets of Rage. Sonic Adventure. Daytona USA. Shenmue. Jet Set Radio. Sega had a ton of games that either heavily influenced game design, certain emerging genres, or were clearly at the top of pack in one metric or another in terms of game design or production values. Microsoft doesn't have that amount of games to their name.

Flight Simulator, Halo, Halo 2, Halo 3, Forza Horizon, PGR, Gears of War are games I would put in a similar pedigree. But Sega, Sony & Nintendo have way more such games to their name.

MS doesnt have SP games like Sony or Nintendo.
They are mostly MP games, so they have different target than Sony and Nintendo.
The difference is that you can get MP experience from Sony through COD and racing games.

 

[poppabk]

You are not alone in this matter. Everyone doesnt like this move.
Yesterday was zenimax. Today is activision blizzard. Tommorow it could be another studio.
Xbox could lose capcom/square/sega or other big publishers to Sony.
We PC/Steam players could lose those games to epic. Its not fun for everyone.

The only ones that are happy about this is the tribe people.

What? As a PC gamer it's a 'let them fight' kind of deal. The more they fight and spend and chip away at each other, the less they can afford to ignore the PC player base. Gamepass with day one releases of Xbox games that are also on Steam, Sony first party games on Steam etc. The harder they hit each other the better for us.

 

[feynoob]

What? As a PC gamer it's a 'let them fight' kind of deal. The more they fight and spend and chip away at each other, the less they can afford to ignore the PC player base. Gamepass with day one releases of Xbox games that are also on Steam, Sony first party games on Steam etc. The harder they hit each other the better for us.

Epic is our enemy. F their expensive price tag.

The only thing they are good at is their 10$ deal during their sale.

 

[In Cold Blood]

I'm not just talking about services. I'm talking about actual games.

Outrun. Hang On. Sonic the Hedgehog. Virtual Racing. Virtua Fighter. Virtua Fighter 3. Night Trap. Streets of Rage. Sonic Adventure. Daytona USA. Shenmue. Jet Set Radio. Sega had a ton of games that either heavily influenced game design, certain emerging genres, or were clearly at the top of pack in one metric or another in terms of game design or production values. Microsoft doesn't have that amount of games to their name.

Flight Simulator, Halo, Halo 2, Halo 3, Forza Horizon, PGR, Gears of War are games I would put in a similar pedigree. But Sega, Sony & Nintendo have way more such games to their name.

Sega Rock.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

MS doesnt have SP games like Sony or Nintendo.
They are mostly MP games, so they have different target than Sony and Nintendo.
The difference is that you can get MP experience from Sony through COD and racing games.

Yeah, about that LOL

I wonder what Sony is really going to do when MS takes CoD away from PS

 

[noise36]

Because Microsoft is such a niche brand.

Sony has been marketed worldwide as a "cool" desirable brand for decades, before the xbox even existed, MS has been selling windows and office for decades and is the opposite of "cool" desirable brand.

 

[Varteras]

Yeah, about that LOL

I wonder what Sony is really going to do when MS takes CoD away from PS

I don't think Sony is going to wait for that. I don't think it's a coincidence that Haven and Firewalk, two studios making live service games for PS5, went from partnerships to being bought, before they even released a game, after Microsoft announced the ABK deal.

They're very likely to snap up a few more studios doing live service as well, and will likely initiate some type of partnership or intense marketing plan with any company creating a CoD competitor. Like Ubisoft with XDefiant.

I also wouldn't be surprised if they're working on a major purchase to happen some time before the end of next year.

 

[In Cold Blood]

Yeah, about that LOL

I wonder what Sony is really going to do when MS takes CoD away from PS

Nah, I think MS has Minecrafted COD.
They are happy to take the cash from Sony, put it free on Gamepass, which will absolutely drive people to become subscribers to it, and then all the other Activision games like Crash etc will be exclusive to Xbox.

 

[In Cold Blood]

Sony has been marketed worldwide as a "cool" desirable brand for decades, before the xbox even existed, MS has been selling windows and office for decades as is the opposite of "cool" desirable brand.

The actual fact is that Sony advertise PlayStation, while MS doesn't advertise Xbox full stop.
Due to the buisness MS is historically in, they have never really learnt how to best advertise their products. They don't need to advertise most of them to the public, as either you need to use their programs by default, or their customers are other corporations, and you don't advertise to them in a public way that you do a consumer products.

 

[bitbydeath]

I think that the worst is behind us. Only situation in which all hell would break loose, is if MS were to announce that COD is going full exclusive shortly...

People expecting it to go through without issue and then find out CMA haven't moved from their decision of divestment would cause some waves.

*Popcorn ready*

 

[Varteras]

People expecting it to go through without issue and then find out CMA haven't moved from their decision of divestment would cause some waves.

*Popcorn ready*

No matter the drama, I'm here for it

 

[IFireflyl]

Sony has been marketed worldwide as a "cool" desirable brand for decades, before the xbox even existed, MS has been selling windows and office for decades as is the opposite of "cool" desirable brand.

Xbox 360

 

[El Pistolero]

Nah....we will go through this all over again when they buy take 2, ubisoft or EA. If they by T2 it will be armageddon on the Gaf.

Oh, I was talking specifically about this acquisiton. The situations you mentioned will no doubt create similar, if not more vitriolic debates...

 

[Banjo64]

'Good games' are totally subjective.

Unfortunately for you, regularity isn't subjective.

6 or 7 year uncontested presence in a market is hardly insurmountable? Name a gaming company that launched a more successful gaming business than MS while Nintendo and Sony have been in this space. Google? It is so easy to sit safe and comfortable on a forum and talk about how easy it is to get into the games industry.

Sony entered a market where Nintendo and SEGA had both been active for well over 10 years and held IPs such as Sonic, Zelda and Mario.

Poor Microsoft man.

 

[Makoto-Yuki]

Once the UK approves it then how long until it's actually done? Who else still has to approve it? USA?

 

[reksveks]

Once the UK approves it then how long until it's actually done? Who else still has to approve it? USA?

EC, SAMR, CMA (UK) and the FTC are the regulators that are specifically named.

If we get the first three by the end of May (EC deadline is in May but not sure the exact day), then the big factor is dependent on what MS and FTC do. I think there may be a decent probability that MS renegotiates with ABK to ignore the FTC.

May 22nd 2023: provisional deadline for a decision from the EC.

From Idas but good to know that the EC is typically ahead of time.

To summarise my opinion is early July and then the FTC will have to be fighting for a federal injunction or to reverse the deal.

 

[DarkMage619]

Unfortunately for you, regularity isn't subjective.

Why is it unfortunate for me? Xbox continues to make games I enjoy playing and that is looking particularly good this year. Showcase in June will give even more insight on the future.

Sony entered a market where Nintendo and SEGA had both been active for well over 10 years and held IPs such as Sonic, Zelda and Mario.

Poor Microsoft man.

You'd compare Sony facing an arrogant Nintendo sticking with cartridges allowing Sony to get basically free exclusives and Sega about to fail on its own as MS facing the PS2 juggernaut and Nintendo's long standing success? That is pretty funny.

As I've stated earlier Sega as great as they were couldn't sell more consoles than MS nor were able to last in the console race longer than MS either. The one thing MS is not is poor.

 

[kungfuian]

Here's my pessimistic take. Presuming this one goes through, which it most likely will, with all these studios Microsoft will have a much stronger market position for sure, but the whole thing still seems to be based on a flawed business plan imo.

All the content in the world isn't going to fix the elephant in the room. The sub/Gamepass model, as is currently exists, is not going to bear the fruit they expect and will not support the huge development army they now own. At least not in it's current form. We have already seen the growth of these services in the more traditional console space slow/stagnate capping out at about half of the hardware sold.

Sure they can steal some of Sony's market, but to reach the types of numbers they want it's obvious they will have to fully uncouple their platforms success from the x-box hardware and drastically change the type of content they are providing.

Of cource they have to be thinking going full in on cloud/mobile but I just don't see how that works out for them. It's fantasy that their is some huge untapped pool of players that want to play console style games on mobile. And Android and Apple and Free-to play are already well established in that space providing the type of content mobile players want.

So what's the plan? Buy an army of established console developers to make games for your service based platform that will eventually need mobile content to grow/work.

I can tell you one thing, I wouldn't want to be one of these studios being acquired. It's like making a deal with the devil. When Gamepass growth targets aren't hit Microsoft will eventually pivot fully into the mobile direction to reach their growth goals (which has to be their goal). On that day these devs could very quickly find themselves making mobile gatcha bullshit or just plan culled. At some point Microsoft are going to want a return on their investments and when that day comes, and it is coming, all these traditional console game studios they just bought could find themselves making whatever the new corporate version of Avatar Shoes is or just plane disbanded.

 

[bitbydeath]

Once the UK approves it then how long until it's actually done? Who else still has to approve it? USA?

The last one to make a decision will likely be the FTC.

That would likely put a decision by FTC Administrative Law Judge D. Michael Chappellin early 2024. After that, Microsoft or the FTC staff litigating the case can appeal his ruling to the agency's commissioners.

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/antit...e-for-microsoft-suit-to-block-activision-deal

 

[Banjo64]

Why is it unfortunate for me? Xbox continues to make games I enjoy playing and that is looking particularly good this year. Showcase in June will give even more insight on the future.

It's unfortunate for you because your initial rebuttal didn't even take in to account the full sentence.

You'd compare Sony facing an arrogant Nintendo sticking with cartridges allowing Sony to get basically free exclusives and Sega about to fail on its own as MS facing the PS2 juggernaut and Nintendo's long standing success? That is pretty funny.

As I've stated earlier Sega as great as they were couldn't sell more consoles than MS nor were able to last in the console race longer than MS either. The one thing MS is not is poor.

They've had 22 years.

After Xbox entered the market Nintendo released the Game Cube with its mini-disc format.

They faced a PS3 and Vita that were arrogant Sony.

Even today, Sony display the same arrogance that they did post PS2.

Xbox had a near 80m instal base ant one point, and blew it themselves.

Over a 22 year period, Xbox haven't made people trust that they will regularly make great games. This isn't Sony's fault or Nintendo's. It's Microsoft's. Letting Bungie go so they could hang on to Halo's corpse, not capitalising on their partnership with Epic post Gears. Studio closures, and even today; announcing games 4 years in advance that go through multiple reboots and lead changes. The answer lies within Xbox, why couldn't they regularly release great games? If your answer is 'cos Sony' then you should think it through.

 

[reksveks]

If you want to go directly to the source: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/antitrust/eu-to-tap-former-obama-enforcer-as-top-antitrust-economist

What she wrote on the deal: https://t.co/RWSilS6Y4i

 

[Heisenberg007]

Here's my pessimistic take. Presuming this one goes through, which it most likely will, with all these studios Microsoft will have a much stronger market position for sure, but the whole thing still seems to be based on a flawed business plan imo.

All the content in the world isn't going to fix the elephant in the room. The sub/Gamepass model, as is currently exists, is not going to bear the fruit they expect and will not support the huge development army they now own. At least not in it's current form. We have already seen the growth of these services in the more traditional console space slow/stagnate capping out at about half of the hardware sold.

Sure they can steal some of Sony's market, but to reach the types of numbers they want it's obvious they will have to fully uncouple their platforms success from the x-box hardware and drastically change the type of content they are providing.

Of cource they have to be thinking going full in on cloud/mobile but I just don't see how that works out for them. It's fantasy that their is some huge untapped pool of players that want to play console style games on mobile. And Android and Apple and Free-to play are already well established in that space providing the type of content mobile players want.

So what's the plan? Buy an army of established console developers to make games for your service based platform that will eventually need mobile content to grow/work.

I can tell you one thing, I wouldn't want to be one of these studios being acquired. It's like making a deal with the devil. When Gamepass growth targets aren't hit Microsoft will eventually pivot fully into the mobile direction to reach their growth goals (which has to be their goal). On that day these devs could very quickly find themselves making mobile gatcha bullshit or just plan culled. At some point Microsoft are going to want a return on their investments and when that day comes, and it is coming, all these traditional console game studios they just bought could find themselves making whatever the new corporate version of Avatar Shoes is or just plane disbanded.

100% agree with everything you said. This is a very astute analysis but be ready for a few laugh emojis from people who don't want to see the writing on the wall.

To add to this, I think Microsoft's plan is not just to create more content. In the short term, at least, their plan is to minimize PlayStation's game library through these acquisitions and make a PR environment in the media that's somewhat related to "PlayStation has no games."

They want to increase their market share but don't have the managerial talent, production pipeline, tech, or the type of games to do that. And PlayStation is so well-recognized and well-oiled as a brand that Xbox is always starting a new 100M race 80M behind. That's why they are leveling the playing field by decreasing PlayStation's games and (subsequently) PlayStation's market share.

Not sure how successful they will be because PlayStation always seems to be one step ahead of them, at least so far.

 

[Barakov]

this week is going to be jam-packed...news, drama and meltdowns

 

[Varteras]