Microsoft / Activision deal prevented to protect innovation and choice in cloud gaming
- Thread starter bitbydeath
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Bo_Hazem
Banned
Round 2 would be going after the molester CEO.
killatopak
Member
I think Phil deserves another award for this one.
systemr123
Banned
That's a completely flawed argument and comparison and I'm quite sure you know it is.
Honey Bunny
Member
The power of the cloud!
Interfectum
Member
They won't.
saintjules
Member
So a regulator agency doesn't want to do its job to oversee a deal being honoured that grants small companies the biggest titles in the industry?
![L*][*N*K](/data/avatars/m/842/842515.jpg?1744192062){kind=avatar}
L*][*N*K
Member
And Sony got into Consoles for spite, it's literally a "Spite Store".
Coulomb_Barrier
Member
By the time MS can bid for COD marketing rights (or timed exclusivity for smaller games being realistic) is 2024 isn't it? By then the PS5 will have an even greater install base split than the PS4 had vs the XB1 at this rate, as Series is totally floundering in hardware sales since end of last year.
So getting these marketing deals for Xbox is going to cost even more unrealistic sums of money.
Yoboman
Member
Jimbo is going to make Bobby's life hell
ShaiKhulud1989
Gold Member
They are really bad at reading the room with politicians, it seems. If anything, this will provoke even harsher responce for the UK governing bodies. And same could be said abouth the EU.MS official response
But I guess American-style lobbying is the only thing that MS is good at.
Bo_Hazem
Banned
FalsettoVibe
Member
Today is gonna be an interesting day across the internet.
Evil Calvin
Afraid of Boobs
From the Polygon article today:
An Activision Blizzard spokesperson issued an even punchier, almost threatening response. "The CMA's report contradicts the ambitions of the U.K. to become an attractive country to build technology businesses," it said. "We will work aggressively with Microsoft to reverse this on appeal. The report's conclusions are a disservice to U.K. citizens, who face increasingly dire economic prospects. We will reassess our growth plans for the U.K. Global innovators large and small will take note that - despite all its rhetoric - the U.K. is clearly closed for business."
Wow!
An Activision Blizzard spokesperson issued an even punchier, almost threatening response. "The CMA's report contradicts the ambitions of the U.K. to become an attractive country to build technology businesses," it said. "We will work aggressively with Microsoft to reverse this on appeal. The report's conclusions are a disservice to U.K. citizens, who face increasingly dire economic prospects. We will reassess our growth plans for the U.K. Global innovators large and small will take note that - despite all its rhetoric - the U.K. is clearly closed for business."
Wow!
X-Wing
Member
Yes, I'm sure that that was the main reason people were rooting for the acquisition…
FF:Enhanced_Reality
Member
I'm sorry, you can't innovate a fucking merger or acquisition. A flawed understand is bullshit too. I spent weeks thinking the CMA were a bunch of morons who didn't know anything but having read their assessment they're absolutely correct. Who'd have thought it?
DeltaPolarBear
Member
MS could use the 70billion on making a dozen of the most extravagant AAA games ever using the studios they already possess.
But they won't. Because the 70 billion is for buying an asset, NOT for expenditure.
X-Wing
Member
The arrogance level is incredible. The block is even more deserved.
AtomicStarving
Member
MS is dominating in cloud. Makes sense.
LordOfChaos
Member
Ah damn it, the same day as futures were up 10% after the earnings beat lol...Could have let me have my monies first!
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PaintTinJr
Gold Member
The bar for appealing is very high - because the CAT implicitly trusts the CMA more than the appealing companies - so they might not even have their appeal heard. In the UK we don't encourage wasting civil servants' time in pointless appeals worn down by mega corporation paid solicitors, so the appeal has to have merit - if you go check the info. It is 50/50 if they even get an appeal. I guess they won't and this will be over quite soon after they submit the appeal.
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Fabieter
Member
Actually 70b was a steal because avb lost alot of value because of ongoing legal problems. Afik it was close to 100b peak with the premium it would have been worth like 130b to buy.
FalsettoVibe
Member
Hey guys, we're all gamers. Lets just go play some videogames.
Thirty7ven
Banned
Now we will see how intent MS is in increasing competition, providing value and choice for gamers or if it was the expected bullshit of just wanting to run over the industry.
FunkMiller
Banned
What spectacular fucking horseshit.
If anything, the UK has today proved that it's a good place to do business, because it won't allow anti-consumer practises and mergers to go ahead. It should give smaller and mid-sized companies the confidence to trade, without constantly thinking the massive multinationals can just ride roughshod over them.
The EU are going to come to exactly the same decision.
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DeltaPolarBear
Member
I have been ignoring the merger threads all this time as i consider it a waste of oxygen. I am just glad it is over.
crackajack
Member
Or they could just take the money and invest in their studios and create new IPs. Then no one has to approve something and they won't have to promise Nintendo and Sony anything. Instead of waiting 10 years to fully get ABK, build something themselves, which should not take that long. Either way it is throwing money at a problem, trying to catch up with Sony and also figthing for a market that has yet to show that it actually will become the future. The early fantasies evaporated by now and only winners are probably the Onlive and Gaikai founders finding quite early a buyer in Sony, but no one else made bank with it.
SoraNoKuni
Member
The statement from CMA is loud and clear, capitalist overlords at m$ are in shambles, and that was without even stating Sony, purely talking about cloud, and they're correct, Ms is already a Monopoly in that segment, imagine the grim future for all of us and their competitors if this went through.
Nice.
Nice.
ByWatterson
Member
From what I've read, people are vastly overestimating how plausible an appeal is.
Apparently the appeals authority (CAT) cannot review the merits of the case, only whether the conclusions comport with the law.
So if I'm reading this right, that this will create competition issues in cloud gaming is THE expression of the United Kingdom.
Apparently the appeals authority (CAT) cannot review the merits of the case, only whether the conclusions comport with the law.
So if I'm reading this right, that this will create competition issues in cloud gaming is THE expression of the United Kingdom.
Tal Shiar Agent
Banned
I mean sure, but it's not like it came out of nowhere. They were already working on the tech when Nintendo pulled the rug out on them.
You mean like how those small cloud companies were going to get abk games and now they won't. Yes that is great for them
.
Interfectum
Member
Yup, it's great to see a government with teeth actually bitch slap these corporations. I love how Acti-Blizz threatening to take their ball and go home.
MOTM
Banned
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zomboden
Banned
Literally my take from earlier too. Not sure if this tweet has been posted yet. Mat is with NPD/Circana or w/e theyre calling themselves now. Man knows sales.
I think it's ridiculous to assume cloud will take off, and then pre-emptively punish Xbox for having advantage by being owned by Microsoft.
Rubik8
Member
When you think about it like this, it's so crystal clear that their real intent was to hurt Sony, not help Xbox players. Which is why this deal stunk from day one.
Mr Moose
Member
Lulu saying dumb shit because she wants that $.
IlGialloMondadori
Member
As a person in the UK, they're 100% right the UK faces dire economic prospects in general atm, because UK.
They're also dickholes who can fuck right off. The world doesn't revolve around Activision blessing them with potential jobs.
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Bo_Hazem
Banned
analog_future
Resident Crybaby
The worst part is it's not over. If anything this drags the whole process out exponentially longer. We're going to still be hypothesizing about this into 2024 now.
Ugh.
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FalsettoVibe
Member
We can only hope. lol. MS and ATVI look like they are gonna fight it which may drag this on forever.
Unless both EU and FTC prevent it as well.
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Zok310
Banned
"The deal would reinforce Microsoft's advantage in the market by giving it control over important gaming content such as Call of Duty, Overwatch, and World of Warcraft. The evidence available to the CMA indicates that, absent the merger, Activision would start providing games via cloud platforms in the foreseeable future.
The cloud allows UK gamers to avoid buying expensive gaming consoles and PCs and gives them much more flexibility and choice as to how they play. Allowing Microsoft to take such a strong position in the cloud gaming market just as it begins to grow rapidly would risk undermining the innovation that is crucial to the development of these opportunities."
Sounds like MS knew Bobby was going to put his games on cloud services at some point and said nope thats our playground and we dont want to compete against abk in cloud so we will just buy yall for a ludicrous amount of cash.
MS was trying to buy out a future cloud competitor and the biggest one at that, then use its library to dictate to smaller cloud platforms. This would have absolutely killed cloud gaming imo.
Good fucking work cma.
MS after the console concerns were dropped thought the cma was feeling them and decided to offer the least they could offer for cloud remedies as a result, and the cma even called them out on that general demeanor also.
MS fangs came out once Sony was no longer an issue and the cma saw that ugly, hideous beast finally revealed, with blood dripping from its mouth and decided the best thing to do was to slew this beast and put its carcass out on display in the town center.
The cloud allows UK gamers to avoid buying expensive gaming consoles and PCs and gives them much more flexibility and choice as to how they play. Allowing Microsoft to take such a strong position in the cloud gaming market just as it begins to grow rapidly would risk undermining the innovation that is crucial to the development of these opportunities."
Sounds like MS knew Bobby was going to put his games on cloud services at some point and said nope thats our playground and we dont want to compete against abk in cloud so we will just buy yall for a ludicrous amount of cash.
MS was trying to buy out a future cloud competitor and the biggest one at that, then use its library to dictate to smaller cloud platforms. This would have absolutely killed cloud gaming imo.
Good fucking work cma.
MS after the console concerns were dropped thought the cma was feeling them and decided to offer the least they could offer for cloud remedies as a result, and the cma even called them out on that general demeanor also.
MS fangs came out once Sony was no longer an issue and the cma saw that ugly, hideous beast finally revealed, with blood dripping from its mouth and decided the best thing to do was to slew this beast and put its carcass out on display in the town center.
ChorizoPicozo
Member
....it seems like a big deal