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[DeepEnigma]

Awww Poor baby.

"I don't understand..."

Him commenting about anything gaming in a nutshell.

 

[feynoob]

Not in cloud - which is the sticking point for MS/ABK.

In fact, the CMA conclusion that there is no console SLC for even COD, makes Sony acquiring anyone a fairly easy pass by regulatory scrutiny.

But despite that, I doubt Sony go for those kinds of acquisitions for reasons other than regulatory pushback.

Cloud is for MS, console is for Sony.
That is how regulators will view future acquisitions.

 

[Varteras]

Awww Poor baby.

Good. Fuck him. If he kissed Phil's ass any harder he'd be right up inside him.

 

[feynoob]

I would agree. But I think Sony should remain concerned and defensive over big players. Like I said, Microsoft will probably try again with something else and Tencent has made clear intentions to start acquiring and investing again. That may cause Sony to react strongly for fear of losing substantial software streams.

Until MS buys something, Sony can't.
This activision would have allowed them to buy those studios.
But since it's blocked, they can't.

 

[MasterCornholio]

Look at this clown

Damn you CMA and Sony.

 

[Marvel]

I'm laughing at the nerd tears.

 

[Astray]

I knew we won't get anything from arsenal-man city with us having holding as CB.
I am still hoping, but that is it.

I live in hope.

 

[Varteras]

Until MS buys something, Sony can't.
This activision would have allowed them to buy those studios.
But since it's blocked, they can't.

I don't think that's how this works. Which is why I'm asking Sneakers their thoughts since they have been pretty much on the money over this whole thing.

 

[Topher]

Sounds like the CMA knows a lot more about the gaming industry than MS wants to admit.

 

[feynoob]

I don't think that's how this works. Which is why I'm asking Sneakers their thoughts since they have been pretty much on the money over this whole thing.

If MS buys a publisher, Sony influence becomes weaker. Until then, Sony has the bigger influence.

Disney had to sell fox sport because of monopoly fears.

 

[jonnyp]

I wonder when @Ass of Can Whooping gonna join us. He is missing all these fun.

He'd probably be banned straight away again

 

[Pelta88]

It happened.

 

[Varteras]

If MS buys a publisher, Sony influence becomes weaker. Until then, Sony has the bigger influence.

Disney had to sell fox sport because of monopoly fears.

That depends on how impactful regulators would determine the purchase. Publishers are not equal.

 

[MasterCornholio]

If MS buys a publisher, Sony influence becomes weaker. Until then, Sony has the bigger influence.

Disney had to sell fox sport because of monopoly fears.

Microsoft doesn't need to buy another publisher to gain market share. They need to do several things but one of them is producing games people want to buy a console for.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Sounds like the CMA knows a lot more about the gaming industry than MS wants to admit.

In the beginning when the first report came out and it did not look too good for MS, they did not know shit according to some and the twittardverse.

Then they corrected their mistakes (math is hard), which was very odd to say the least, called out by antitrust lawyers and ex CMA lawyers. But that did not detract from the industry knowledge.

Then they came out and dropped the hammer today, the mistakes exonerating Sony, etc., to actually know WTF they are talking about when it comes to gaming and its future.

Who knew?

 

[jonnyp]

 

[feynoob]

I am going to bed now. I expected nothing from that game, and I am still down.

 

[Varteras]

I am going to bed now. I expected nothing from that game, and I am still down.

 

[SneakersSO]

S SneakersSO What do you think Sony's move is after this? Chill out on acquisitions or continue? I recall you talking about Sony beefing up its first party for more reasons than just Microsoft. Quite frankly, I think it'd be foolish for them to stop just because of this. Microsoft will probably get back on the hunt for other companies and now Tencent is on the prowl again as well..

I really don't think Sony has to change any of the current tactics in light of this. For Sony, the big threat this acquisition represented for them was towards revenue; CoD accounts for $1b of Sony's yearly gaming SW revenue, and that was at risk with this acquisition. Sony would've needed to find ways to shore several of their other 3rd party revenue streams, and to be honest - there is still massive risk that several 3rd parties could get purchased out from under them even still. That risk is still there, but the pressure for them to purchase those streams rather than grow those streams on their side, slowly and over time, is far less now than it would've been otherwise. If i'm Sony, and MS decides they want to take this CMA decision through appeals and tack on another potential 2 years of time, thus allowing me to grow up several new IPs that could become new revenue streams to supplant the potential loss of CoD, be my guest.

Take the two FPS exclusives with large MP components Sony has been pursuing - Firewalk & Deviation's titles, neither of which we have seen announced yet (but will soon hopefully!). For Sony, with the several hits Battlefield has weathered since BFV, there was growing room in the console FPS space for a smaller, new entrant to begin building itself up. Those titles were green lit well before MS decided to purchase ATVI; what that says is, Sony was aware that they needed to increase their position in genres (FPS) and business models (GaaS/MP) that they were heavily underrepresented in. The growing risk Sony identified that was the impetus for those green lights was that someone could come in and purchase ATVI or EA and close out revenue streams from that genre or business model in their ecosystem, and that started when MS kicked off the current consolidation phase the gaming industry finds itself in, which started back in 2018 or so.

All that to say, Sony's current position leaves them needing to be reactive, rather than proactive. They can't just go in and try to buy Kadokawa, for example, without getting hellfire reigned down upon them, unless they have a clear defensive reason for doing so. If the Saudis or Tencent or Amazon come in and buy up some big publishing names, that could trigger Sony to do a defensive buy. If the ATVI deal finds a way to crawl out from the grave and actually go through, then Sony purchasing SE or Capcom becomes a far easier move that they can do. But its like I said before - a block just enshrines the current market status quo, and in that scenario, Sony doesn't really need to make moves outside of their own purview. On the flipside, I think you can fully expect for Sony to heavily invest in the expansion of their output. The success of the TLoU show has ensured that they are now in the IP creation business and they have no intention of backing down - i've heard this from colleagues I wholly trust.

 

[IllegalLemon]

Awww Poor baby.

Personally, I believe Destin should go back to making cookies. Frankly, that's all he's good at. He should leave gaming journalism because everyday, he makes it evident he's way too out of touch with reality.

 

[demigod]

We don't use that word here.
You might get a ban.

Folks been using ponies lately with no bans.

 

[Varteras]

I really don't think Sony has to change any of the current tactics in light of this. For Sony, the big threat this acquisition represented for them was towards revenue; CoD accounts for $1b of Sony's yearly gaming SW revenue, and that was at risk with this acquisition. Sony would've needed to find ways to shore several of their other 3rd party revenue streams, and to be honest - there is still massive risk that several 3rd parties could get purchased out from under them even still. That risk is still there, but the pressure for them to purchase those streams rather than grow those streams on their side, slowly and over time, is far less now than it would've been otherwise. If i'm Sony, and MS decides they want to take this CMA decision through appeals and tack on another potential 2 years of time, thus allowing me to grow up several new IPs that could become new revenue streams to supplant the potential loss of CoD, be my guest.

Take the two FPS exclusives with large MP components Sony has been pursuing - Firewalk & Deviation's titles, neither of which we have seen announced yet (but will soon hopefully!). For Sony, with the several hits Battlefield has weathered since BFV, there was growing room in the console FPS space for a smaller, new entrant to begin building itself up. Those titles were green lit well before MS decided to purchase ATVI; what that says is, Sony was aware that they needed to increase their position in genres (FPS) and business models (GaaS/MP) that they were heavily underrepresented in. The growing risk Sony identified that was the impetus for those green lights was that someone could come in and purchase ATVI or EA and close out revenue streams from that genre or business model in their ecosystem, and that started when MS kicked off the current consolidation phase the gaming industry finds itself in, which started back in 2018 or so.

All that to say, Sony's current position leaves them needing to be reactive, rather than proactive. They can't just go in and try to buy Kadokawa, for example, without getting hellfire reigned down upon them, unless they have a clear defensive reason for doing so. If the Saudis or Tencent or Amazon come in and buy up some big publishing names, that could trigger Sony to do a defensive buy. If the ATVI deal finds a way to crawl out from the grave and actually go through, then Sony purchasing SE or Capcom becomes a far easier move that they can do. But its like I said before - a block just enshrines the current market status quo, and in that scenario, Sony doesn't really need to make moves outside of their own purview. On the flipside, I think you can fully expect for Sony to heavily invest in the expansion of their output. The success of the TLoU show has ensured that they are now in the IP creation business and they have no intention of backing down - i've heard this from colleagues I wholly trust.

Thank you much for the insight. So it's like feynoob suspected, then. Sony will back down on any big purchases right now and only do so in reaction. Do you see them continuing to pick up these smaller, newer teams that they see potential in?

 

[SneakersSO]

No big acquisition after this.
Square and others are off the table for Sony.

They are the market leader currently.

And that's how it should have always been.

Sony being the market leader would not stop them from purchasing a SE. One of the things made abundantly clear by regulators during this acquisition of ATVI is that, they do not feel the market positions of the console manufacturers is as tied to the independence of 3rd party publishers as we in gaming circles *feel* that they are.

Go through a hypothetical where Sony buys SE - on the high-end, SE primarily and almost exclusively does business with Sony. On their mid-sized projects, SE releases some titles on Switch. And as far as Xbox, SE just seems to forget Xbox even exists more than half the time. Given Sony's strategy thus far, if they were to acquire SE, they probably would have no issue signing an agreement stating that they will allow SE to continue doing releases where SE deems fit. As was made abundantly clear during this approval process, the regulators are fully aware that the overwhelming majority of Nintendo's SW revenue comes from their own published titles. None of the regulators, save for the FTC seemingly, have an issue with buying up publishers and the affects it has on the console space. So anyone thinking that SE is off the table for Sony because of this CMA ruling, I think you need to reassess that.

 

[SneakersSO]

Thank you much for the insight. So it's like feynoob suspected, then. Sony will back down on any big purchases right now and only do so in reaction. Do you see them continuing to pick up these smaller, newer teams that they see potential in?

Oh, for sure. Like I said, content is king and all 3 platforms right now are having their success driven largely by content. There has almost never been a better time to develop IP. Transmedia efforts has greatly expanded the potential revenue any of these games can make. Speaking from professional experience, Sony's project managers on the publishing side are far better coordinated and helpful than anything from MS, and is one of the major reasons why Sony's publishing efforts are so successful in contrast.

Sony purchased Haven, Firewalk, Bluepoint, Housemarque, all due to the successful working relationships they've had with them and the results they are seeing in those production pipelines. There are loads of other teams who are getting their start now, all well funded, mostly high-talent refugees who have been displaced thanks to the Acquisitions that have rocked this industry these last 5 years or so. On top of all that - these teams can be far cheaper to purchase than a fully established team, and depending on the price tag, the purchases may not even qualify for regulatory scrutiny.

 

[Captain Toad]

Omg, I just watched my first two CrapGamer YouTube videos ever. First, the dude has zero talent. His only benefit seems to be trashing Sony and worshipping Microsoft.

Yesterday's video was basically a victory parade as he said the deal has basically been finalized and ponies now have to shut up.

Today's video was him in shock and, I shit you not, his voice cracking as he became emotional and Sony keeps getting away with this. To him, Sony has put MS through hell and kept them from releasing games or making announcements because of this. Governments are conspiring because... I'm not sure, I guess because they're PS fans?

 

[jonnyp]

What a glorious day.

 

[Elog]

You have no basis to think it’s highly likely to win an appeal other than hopes and dreams

MS has to prove the CMA was not following their regulatory process

And it would not surprise me if the EU lands in the same position. Then this is as dead as it gets.

 

[zcaa0g]

Microsoft should just buy the UK. Cunts.

 

[GHG]

I am going to bed now. I expected nothing from that game, and I am still down.

 

[SportsFan581]

Bethesda pre-acquisition had a relationship with Stadia (5 games launched in total, take the link and sort by publisher) and their games had some degree of traction there (how strong it ultimately was, we don't know), to the point where Bethesda bothered to help users move their ESO Stadia saves to PC.

Bethesda’s letting people rescue their Elder Scrolls Online games from Stadia

You can simply log onto the game on your PC or Mac.

www.theverge.com

Yep, they could theoretically still honor those deals on their existing library, which is quite significant.

Almost completely irrelevant though since those games did not get removed from the service and Bethesda had not released big games yet that would have been eligible for the service (I'm assuming that the games with the Sony exclusives were limited to PS5 and a vanilla PC release only). It's a lot more likely that EA and other third-parties that announced in mid 22 that they were no longer bringing most of their new titles over had a much bigger impact.

 

[Astray]

Almost completely irrelevant though since those games did not get removed from the service and Bethesda had not released big games yet that would have been eligible for the service (I'm assuming that the games with the Sony exclusives were limited to PS5 and a vanilla PC release only). It's a lot more likely that EA and other third-parties that announced in mid 22 that they were no longer bringing most of their new titles over had a much bigger impact.

Future games would have been assuredly removed though.

 

[Varteras]

Oh, for sure. Like I said, content is king and all 3 platforms right now are having their success driven largely by content. There has almost never been a better time to develop IP. Transmedia efforts has greatly expanded the potential revenue any of these games can make. Speaking from professional experience, Sony's project managers on the publishing side are far better coordinated and helpful than anything from MS, and is one of the major reasons why Sony's publishing efforts are so successful in contrast.

Sony purchased Haven, Firewalk, Bluepoint, Housemarque, all due to the successful working relationships they've had with them and the results they are seeing in those production pipelines. There are loads of other teams who are getting their start now, all well funded, mostly high-talent refugees who have been displaced thanks to the Acquisitions that have rocked this industry these last 5 years or so. On top of all that - these teams can be far cheaper to purchase than a fully established team, and depending on the price tag, the purchases may not even qualify for regulatory scrutiny.

A while back you mentioned a shrinking supply of third-party software. Now I'm sure that was partially due to acquisitions, but it sounded more that the industry was becoming increasingly short of big budget releases from those third-parties in general. Even ABK was hitting a point of possibly no longer doing annual CoDs. I suspect much of that is due to it just not being sustainable much longer when you already have 7 or more studios working on them. Is this the reality and has that incentivized the major players to grow their capabilities? Do you see a shift in this industry back to a larger portion of big budget releases being exclusive?

 

[Humdinger]

24% called it here, as opposed to 2% elsewhere. Good job, GAF.

 

[SportsFan581]

Future games would have been assuredly removed though.

It's hard to blame the death of the service on games that release after the death, I think it was all the other games that were missing already.

 

[Thirty7ven]

Sounds like the CMA knows a lot more about the gaming industry than MS wants to admit.

People on Ree going tarded over that “Oh what now they are software engineers? Sndhrjndjeur”

As if anybody who knows anything didn’t know that was piece of mighty bs right there.

 

[Elios83]

Sony being the market leader would not stop them from purchasing a SE. One of the things made abundantly clear by regulators during this acquisition of ATVI is that, they do not feel the market positions of the console manufacturers is as tied to the independence of 3rd party publishers as we in gaming circles *feel* that they are.

Go through a hypothetical where Sony buys SE - on the high-end, SE primarily and almost exclusively does business with Sony. On their mid-sized projects, SE releases some titles on Switch. And as far as Xbox, SE just seems to forget Xbox even exists more than half the time. Given Sony's strategy thus far, if they were to acquire SE, they probably would have no issue signing an agreement stating that they will allow SE to continue doing releases where SE deems fit. As was made abundantly clear during this approval process, the regulators are fully aware that the overwhelming majority of Nintendo's SW revenue comes from their own published titles. None of the regulators, save for the FTC seemingly, have an issue with buying up publishers and the affects it has on the console space. So anyone thinking that SE is off the table for Sony because of this CMA ruling, I think you need to reassess that.

I agree with your points but I also think that unless they're seriously pushed into defensive mode, acquiring a big publisher like SE is just not Sony's modus operandi.
It's clear that Sony wants to buy smaller studios with really promising talents they believe they can turn into the next Naughty Dog, Insomniac or Santa Monica with due time. I expect them to continue to do that. We got an other announcement of this kind a few days ago. Who would be surprised if Deviation Games is next?

About Square Enix I think it's more likely that they end up investing by buying/funding officially certain internal studios, making a long term partnership co-funding certain projects or even buying co-ownership of certain IPs (ex. Final Fantasy would be the most logical target) rather than a full acquisition. This is something that even Square Enix stated they were looking into. In this way they would just bypass all the legal hassle and they would focus the investement where it matters to them.

 

[Banjo64]

What a glorious day.

King Kevin dominates big games. 3 now.

 

[DJ12]

I agree with your points but I also think that unless they're seriously pushed into defensive mode, acquiring a big publisher like SE is just not Sony's modus operandi.
It's clear that Sony wants to buy smaller studios with really promising talent they believe they can turn into the next Naughty Dog, Insomniac or Santa Monica.

About Square Enix I think it's more likely that they end up investing buying studios, making a long term partnership co-funding certain projects or even buying co-owneship or certain IPs rather than a full acquisition. This is something that even Square Enix stated they were looking into. In this way they would just bypass all the legal hassle.

Maybe they just want to buy the Square and "divest" the Enix.

No Xbox fan is going to mourn the loss of a PlayStation second party developer.

 

[Heisenberg007]

What’s worse is that in the PlayStation Showcase next month. Sony may reveal the next Call of Duty with exclusive PlayStation content.

 

[Viking Warrior]

The man said what a waste of 18 months like he thinks he's on the team.

Colt Eastwood is a paid employee of Microsoft, he has a vested interest in Microsoft's ecosystem.

 

[splattered]

Sounds like the CMA knows a lot more about the gaming industry than MS wants to admit.

Yeah or MS knows we're about to see a switch 2 which could run COD perfectly fine but it isn't their job to announce the console to the world.. *shrug*

 

[graywolf323]

Putting on my serious hat for a minute, this is a big part of why our analysis (and all youtubers') is ultimately doomed to stay surface level, the regulators have access to MSFT and ABK's internal emails, internal analysis documents and prospective contracts like the one with Boosteroid or Nvidia, this access gap alone makes our perception of things very skewed.

None of us here thought the cloud thing is serious, we all thought MSFT would blow past the CMA after they basically cockblocked Sony. Even paid reports by MLex etc didn't foresee it happening. Access is paramount when over 3 million documents were supposedly reviewed, we at best get redacted reports and filings.

honestly I think MS has been capitalizing that with their PR rush regarding this deal, they’ve been opaque at best to the public the entire time (especially trying to play like they’re somehow an incapable victim that couldn’t possibly compete without this deal)

 

[Thirty7ven]

One thing I’m curious about is how are they supposed to walk back the talk about needing ABK to be competitive? You’ve told the market and your audience that without ABK you don’t know what to do…

 

[Varteras]

I agree with your points but I also think that unless they're seriously pushed into defensive mode, acquiring a big publisher like SE is just not Sony's modus operandi.
It's clear that Sony wants to buy smaller studios with really promising talent they believe they can turn into the next Naughty Dog, Insomniac or Santa Monica.

About Square Enix I think it's more likely that they end up investing buying studios, making a long term partnership co-funding certain projects or even buying co-owneship or certain IPs rather than a full acquisition. This is something that even Square Enix stated they were looking into. In this way they would just bypass all the legal hassle.

I think you might be onto something there. I could see the two more or less joining at the hip without an actual ownership situation. Mostly because I don't know that Sony wants to spend the $7 to $9 billion it would probably take to buy them when they're already getting so much benefit from them. Plus, SE is a family operated business and those don't often like to sell. Though I would put money on them being Sony's first move if they had to act defensively in a big way.

 

[Thirty7ven]

Yeah or MS knows we're about to see a switch 2 which could run COD perfectly fine but it isn't their job to announce the console to the world.. *shrug*

The problem is that MS used Switch’s userbase numbers for their math. They even pasted it on subway ads.

 

[Varteras]

One thing I’m curious about is how are they supposed to walk back the talk about needing ABK to be competitive? You’ve told the market and your audience that without ABK you don’t know what to do…

What are we supposed to do with this $70 billion?!

 

[Banjo64]

Yeah or MS knows we're about to see a switch 2 which could run COD perfectly fine but it isn't their job to announce the console to the world.. *shrug*

And in 2027 when the 40tf PS6 and next Xbox launch the Switch 2 will be in the dust.

 

[GHG]

Omg, I just watched my first two CrapGamer YouTube videos ever. First, the dude has zero talent. His only benefit seems to be trashing Sony and worshipping Microsoft.

Yesterday's video was basically a victory parade as he said the deal has basically been finalized and ponies now have to shut up.

Today's video was him in shock and, I shit you not, his voice cracking as he became emotional and Sony keeps getting away with this. To him, Sony has put MS through hell and kept them from releasing games or making announcements because of this. Governments are conspiring because... I'm not sure, I guess because they're PS fans?

This is the entertainment I need after the fuckery of this football match.

 

[Astray]

This is the entertainment I need after the fuckery of this football match.

At least CL qualification is sealed..

 

[jm89]

Arsenal are getting destroyed

Well atleast i have this news to comfort me.