Topher
Identifies as young
He is talking about Epic vs Apple instead it seems. Quite the pivot.
Edit:
lol.....this response...
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Microsoft / Activision Deal Approval Watch |OT| (MS/ABK close)
- Status
He is talking about Epic vs Apple instead it seems. Quite the pivot.
Edit:
lol.....this response...
ChorizoPicozo
Member
I mean, I will give him a break. but people are stupid.
Topher
Identifies as young
He did say this is a bit much for him right now having to also recover from his stroke....
So....fair enough
gothmog
Gold Member
I thought it was about King? Lol. Not going to argue that COD is the target no matter how much spin they put on it.To this deal it is farcical, yes, because MS was buying CoD. Almost all the ABK studios are part of the CoD machine.
That's like one store chain buying another and being told you can't have the other stores but we'll let you keep the parking lots. If CoD represented a smaller piece of ABK, maybe.
The situation you said does happen. Not the parking lot thing but selling off of retail in order to become the manufacturer or distribution for retail.
Let flip this a bit. If Xbox was just buying COD and all support studios do you think there would be an issue? I would argue probably not because it would probably fall under the radar of regulatory scrutiny. Sony would make noise but I doubt they could block it outright.
Thirty7ven
Banned
I will give him some leeway on the video because he needs time to prepare. His silence on MS though? Not even a tweet? Sure I'll let him cook
SportsFan581
Member
If that's actually the case, than the entire process is more of a joke than I thought. Could you imagine them building up this big case of how MS controlling CoD would just destroy these currently non-existent future cloud gaming participants only to turn around and say, well I guess if it's just by itself MS controlling CoD wouldn't be a problem.
That would be quite the turn of events.
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DeepEnigma
Gold Member
He sure does love to drum up the console wars with statements such as that, again, more lies.But uncle phil told me it was only sony that was the major opposer
Jokes aside to be fair to phill it may have been back in december.
But it removes a false talking point.
It's a cult.
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TheRedRiders
Member
They go way too easy on him.
I guarantee you the scrutiny and criticism would reach mountains had it been Jim Ryan and Sony.
gothmog
Gold Member
This is why people doing the #SonyToo stuff is funny. Microsoft could do the same thing. Price tag might be higher but they could totally get there. The problem is that approach requires work while a large acquisition allows you to trade money for time and effort. Companies that large won't even think about doing it the organic way.
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DeepEnigma
Gold Member
Yep, the NFL would do what the MLB/Sony did. MLB tried to make their own game for third party, and failed after 2K gave up on the 3rd party license from failing. When it was time for Sony to reup their first party licensing contract (third party one was still up for grabs, but nobody wanted it, not even EA, most feared they could not compete with The Show), they offered a sweetheart deal. There was no "force" like people propagate, it was mutually agreed upon by both parties and the new direction Sony was going with (see: Bungie and future GaaS) with select IPs.
MLB is primarily a GaaS game now with the very successful Diamond Dynasty mode.
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SportsFan581
Member
In gaming in particular it's a time thing more than anything. MS could certainly make a major investment in their gaming division and go raid the existing cupboards of all the top talent, but that probably takes 5 or 6 years to bear fruit maybe even longer because the initial setup process probably reduces the efficiency in the early years. Just like buying an existing home over a brand new one, you do it because the existing home is already there.
I don't really see anything wrong with one business buying another, ABK was for sale it's not like it was a hostile takeover.
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
The apple decision happened before, he still probably can't do full production like before the stroke, let's not get conspiratorial here.
Topher
Identifies as young
Nothing I said was "conspiratorial". And I already acknowledged he was still recovering.
If they did this in Japan we would all think an X Japan concert was on tour.
Got to love how the narrative has switched.
Not long ago people were arguing here that they are bringing ABK IPs to billions of new gamers so even if they remove PS they reach so many more via the cloud. Now they're out there downplaying cloud and saying they can't even physically add more than 5,000 new gamers.
Argue anything to get the deal through even if it contradicts everything you've been arguing before seems to be the way to go.
Drell
Member
Makes me wonder if X Japan is more popular than Xbox over there,
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
That was more to the Twitter response, folks trying to draw parallels.
DeepEnigma
Gold Member
Same with CNBC's Jim Cramer. I mount it up as controlled opposition.
Drell
Member
The CMA just tell them how they have to behave if they want to sell stuff in the UK, if they don't want complain they could decide to not stay there. I won't join those who said they will/should do this but they still have a choice, the CMA don't tell them they couldn't sell their stuff in the US or Europe if they buy ABK.
On the other side, MS has paid people on the US governement (don't remember if it was congress, senate or whatever) that would like to disturb video game market in japan because they can't get their plastic box to sell over there... Now that looks more like a "government overreach".
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SneakersSO
Member
Varteras
Let me start my response to you by responding to
H
Hitchyhero
first: there is just no universe in which MS pulls out of gaming. None. Anyone even suggesting this as a possibility is just fundamentally divorced from reality. Its not just because they are already so heavily invested in it; Microsoft's role in gaming is just ever-growing. MS owns so much of the software suite used to make games, and some of their cloud/network solutions in gaming (PlayFab) is, imo, better than their chief competitor (AWS). There is so much revenue they can, do, and have yet to make from gaming. Gaming gives them a horizontal integration across so many of their big profit areas in the company and drives growth in all of them. MS' consistent growth with Azure wouldn't have happened had gaming not been there to give it that boost off the ground.Do they try for another publisher? I doubt it. If we go through the list of Western publishers that could be up for grabs for the right price, you run into Take-Two, EA, Ubisoft; Embracer probably has 0 intention of selling right now. EA and Take-Two would trigger the same regulatory concerns that just got them blocked in the UK, thanks to Madden, Apex and several other titles from EA, and GTA and NBA2K from Take-Two. Ubisoft could probably go through with almost no issue, but I have been predicting for awhile now that if Ubisoft does ever sell, that Amazon would be heavily vying for them - Amazon is highly invested in the Tom Clancy name in a variety of their Prime TV shows. Owning the rights to the name alone might be worth it to them. Not just that, but Ubisoft owns a ton of gaming IP that, in the hands of a solid leadership group, could immediately be leveraged into a host of Transmedia IP expansions; Prince of Persia, Splinter Cell (Tom Clancy, I know, but still), Assassin's Creed, etc. Warner selling off its game studios could happen though, and MS scooping up a number of these + some of the gaming licenses on these wouldn't be an unimaginable scenario. WB was far more eager to sell off a few years back, but they seem to have an interest in making another solid attempt at it in the short term. Harry Potter doing gangbusters certainly keeps them in the 'lets keep going' camp. Some of WB's smaller studios that are underperforming could get spun off though.
As for JP publishers - I really don't think this is a true want from them. They barely get support from JP publishers as is, and Xbox sales in the entire region are... well its not good. I know they are spending more money and effort doing outreach in those regions now, but thats work that should've been done like, a decade ago if not longer. There is just so much mess they'd have to navigate, and i'm not sure they have the appetite to go through it after this entire ordeal. Many folks say that Sega is a lock, but I think its far more likely that Sega just sells off the Western studios that MS actually does work with regularly, rather than selling off the entire thing to Microsoft. Square-Enix? Sony would buy them out before MS could. Capcom? MS doesn't wanna deal with the Saudis, and the family who runs Capcom seems to have no interest in selling. Bamco? Massive, entrenched in so many media areas MS has 0 knowledge or capacity in. And due to Tencent & Sony, Kadokawa/From Software would be a pipe dream.
MS could go ahead and scoop up a few partners they have worked with in the past and are working with currently. Certain Affinity and Asobo seem like such a natural fit, many are surprised they haven't purchased them already. Personally though, I think the truth as to why these purchases haven't happened are obvious - MS has increased their actual labor pool so much from all these acquisitions, that stomaching another surge in employees isn't something they want to do if they don't get some large benefit for it. Asobo and CA don't bring them anything they don't already have, and what MS is seeking now, more than anything, is to grow their revenue streams to stop the bleeding.
The current business pains of Microsoft Gaming and the division are becoming painfully obvious to all who look at the numbers. I personally know from my colleagues at several publishers that, in the last quarter, very pointed conversations have been had both internally and with MS over the state of SW sales in their Xbox ecosystem and HW sales, both at Eastern Pubs and Western ones. ATVI would've solved so many of these issues for them in the short term, and given them more ramp to see if this business direction Phil cooked up would take off.
Its important to note - the albatross in this entire equation is the Xbox HW itself, and the requirements it has in order to 'compete' in the hardware space. When you look at their earnings, its quite apparent that Microsoft is perfectly capable of selling and monetizing the software they are producing, just as long as that software is releasing or exists in a space that isn't Xbox. This reality is increasingly becoming clear and accepted by the top-brass at Microsoft. In a world where the ATVI merger goes through, I think Microsoft's appetite to try to compete in the HW race a little longer would've at least held out to see if the merger would've affected it any. We aren't in that reality anymore though.
The outcome I personally see from all this is simple: Microsoft restructures Xbox to release their SW on any and all platforms that can run it, regardless of whether or not Game Pass is on the platform yet or not. I've always thought this was the most likely outcome of their business plan under Phil, but I think the timetable for this gets moved up by several years now that ATVI is no longer gonna happen. Sure, Game Pass is great for consumers, but if you have this many consumers on PC proving to you with their wallets that they are more willing to buy the software on Steam than pay a fraction of the sale price and get access to an insane library and access to that very same game, eventually, you're gonna realize you probably have consumers on all platforms who are willing to do the same.
Does that mean the Xbox HW itself gets discontinued? Not really. I think it get shifted into a position that is far closer to how MS currently approaches the Surface line - its a HW device chiefly for MS enthusiasts, with a manufacturing/supply line that is reduced to reflect that reality. They'll always try and make it so that 'the best place to play' for their output will be on that HW, but they'll put the SW anywhere folks play, Sony and Nintendo included. This would also result in many 3rd parties increasingly dropping support for the Xbox platform altogether, but those pubs are both already steadily dropping support, and are doing so because they are finding it harder to recoup dev costs given the reality of what GP has done to SW sales on that platform.
This immediately puts Xbox/XGS in line with the SW & services philosophy that the rest of Microsoft as a organization employs across all of their RAs, to incredible success. Within a year, they'll become the defacto biggest publisher in games by revenue, and the massive influx of users hitting up Azure services from users playing their games on non-Xbox platforms, not to mention MTX/GaaS revenue generated from those users, will make them forget that they even debated this being a direction they should go in. If I had to take a guess on when we'll start seeing some of these moves play out, I think we could see it as early as next year or 2025 if MS wants to get really stubborn about it.
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saintjules
Gold Member
DeepEnigma
Gold Member
Accuse the opposition of what you're guilty of yourselves.
Just like accusing Sony of trying to make Xbox smaller, when it was MS trying to make the industry players smaller and themselves larger.
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DJ12
Member
'Attempted' sale block rofl
He needs to be briefed first.
feynoob
Banned
Eu won't accept it, if cma said no. Plus sources are not to be trusted anymore.
Two days ago, people were sure cma were going to accept the deal.
Topher
Identifies as young
That is based entirely on the assumption that Microsoft wins the appeal and this goes back to the CMA for amendment.
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DeepEnigma
Gold Member
Yep. All bullshit.
feynoob
Banned
They still have ftc and EU to deal with.
Not looking good so far.
DeepEnigma
Gold Member
The way you always go to bat for him, just shows that you feel he's on your team.
Let's see if he keeps the same energy towards MS acting like utter cunts right now.
Topher
Identifies as young
I can't wait to see Microsoft threaten the national security of the US if the FTC prevails.
saintjules
Gold Member
Yeah indeed. It was worth a listen.
DeepEnigma
Gold Member
I can't wait to see Microsoft threaten the national security of the US if the FTC prevails.
X-Wing
Member
That's really not it, capt.
DeepEnigma
Gold Member
It's fettered capitalism working as intended. A victory for the majority of consumers.
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Damn man, there is no team here lol. Just a little understanding of real life stuff that the guy went through recently.
Point the canon somewhere else.
DeepEnigma
Gold Member
Bullshit.Damn man, there is no team here lol. Just a little understanding of real life stuff that the guy went through recently.
Point the canon somewhere else.
Stop appealing to emotion. Everyone knows what happened to him. The lack of the same "energy" has nothing to do with what he went through, since that energy was applied towards Sony post his ordeal. He still tweets on the daily.
Anyways, it's a dumb argument and a clownish diversion to try and rope this around his health issues.
delirium trigger
Member
Lobbying is lobbying, I don't like it either.
But you're supposed to have solid grounds for calling off the deal and their "cloud gaming" answer is complete bs and everyone knows it. Regulators are worried that they're monopolizing a market that their major competitors like Google are literally running away from.
I've owned each console for each generation, and I'd like to think I can put the petty bias aside, this is flat out ridiculous. They just don't want the deal to go through which is why it's government overreach. They don't have a solid argument at all.
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Bullshit.
Stop appealing to emotion. Everyone knows what happened to him. The lack of the same "energy" has nothing to do with what he went through, since that energy was applied towards Sony post his ordeal. He still tweets on the daily.
Anyways, it's a dumb argument and a clownish diversion to try and rope this around his health issues.
He's doing a video on the apple lawsuit days after it happened, there's no reason to think he won't do one on Activision next.
You'll get your pint of blood
Topher
Identifies as young
I was reading one antitrust professor saying that Europe is more likely to consider the impacts of mergers and acquisitions in the future of emerging markets than other regulators, such as in the US. So in that respect, their response is completely reasonable.
Google closing down Stadia certainly did not help Microsoft's case. CMA references Stadia's failure in their response.
delirium trigger
Member
They still have no leg to stand on so no, not at all.
If their plan is to just do whatever they'd like to, then yea, it's a reasonable response, lol.
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DeepEnigma
Gold Member
He's doing a video on the apple lawsuit days after it happened, there's no reason to think he won't do one on Activision next.
You'll get your pint of blood
X-Wing
Member
He knows that the CMA block kills the deal, so he is in desperate mode now.
DJ12
Member
He doesn't want to get involved and threaten the only other large install base they have.
DeepEnigma
Gold Member
Topher
Identifies as young
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