Microsoft / Activision Deal Approval Watch |OT| (MS/ABK close)

Do you believe the deal will be approved?

  • Yes, will be approved without changes.

    Votes: 221 24.9%

  • Yes, will be approved but with structural changes to ABK.

    Votes: 102 11.5%

  • Yes, will be approved but only with behavioral concessions.

    Votes: 262 29.6%

  • No, will not be approved.

    Votes: 301 34.0%
  • Total voters
    886
  • Poll closed .
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I don't think people understand. To me, in my opinion, it isn't "fear mongering". The documents prove exactly what road Microsoft will go down if they win this.

The recent activity to clear certain things to clear more capital for potential acquisitions themselves by Sony has also happened.

Look--a lot of people don't like CoD but it IS and continues to be an absolute juggernaut year after year. They'll take it exclusive and the ramifications will be..pretty severe, imo. I managed several GameStops for years.. a lot of those players? They'll go WHEREVER CoD is.
 
The FTC lawyer not knowing that Starfield was an untried and untested new IP, hence why Jim was less upset about that going exclusive than cod which is a $2.4b earner for PlayStation each year IIRC, really show how the FTC lawyer should just point the judge to read the last 500 pages of this thread :) before coming to a conclusion
 
Varteras said:
It's okay baby.

I Love U Ily GIF by i-love-you


The thing is, many of the narratives that were weaved around Microsoft, some of which they created, collapsed during this hearing.
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Exactly- These guys shouldn't have used Playstation as their main point- they should have used them as an example and use MS history or Xbox's acquisition.
Instead these guys are like - "but the PS guy would lose out on skins and people may begrudgingly have to buy an xbox" like bruh
 
I'm not joking when I say I think at least 70% of the people who have participated in this thread could do a better job than what this FTC guy is doing at the moment.
 
Moridianae said:
I don't think people understand. To me, in my opinion, it isn't "fear mongering". The documents prove exactly what road Microsoft will go down if they win this.

The recent activity to clear certain things to clear more capital for potential acquisitions themselves by Sony has also happened.

Look--a lot of people don't like CoD but it IS and continues to be an absolute juggernaut year after year. They'll take it exclusive and the ramifications will be..pretty severe, imo. I managed several GameStops for years.. a lot of those players? They'll go WHEREVER CoD is.
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I don't actually think CoD will go exclusive.

For all the excitement and fireworks, if the deal does manage to close, I think CoD will remain absolutely equal on both platforms. MS risks such ill will, to say nothing about the continuous investigations, if they muck around with exclusivity.
 
thicc_girls_are_teh_best said:
TBF Microsoft did not start these consolidations; Embracer Group was going big with them (mostly smaller studios though), and Tencent were buying shares in a lot of companies.

But Microsoft did technically kick off this idea that buying large 3P publishers altogether was okay. And yeah, better believe other big tech companies are looking at the proceedings here to see how they can move with their own acquisition strategies in gaming.

And, obviously, Sony will also respond with more publisher acquisitions. Even Nintendo might try acquiring one, or at least more 3P developer studios. There's a small bit of hope that given the scrutiny MS have gone through for this, they basically are demotivated from making further big 3P acquisitions and stick to working with what they already have. And, maybe it makes other companies a lot more cautious with the idea of wanting to do big gaming acquisitions of their own.

That is a hopeful outlook, but that could easily not happen, too.
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Oh I know MS didn't start it. But they had to go full retard with it...

I actually was fond of double fine being saved and smaller studios like obsidian being bought. Same with Sony and Nintendo doing it with their collaborators.

But Phil and MS essentially became that guy at the party who is taking the joke too far and everyone else is having to say "c'mon Phil, it's not funny anymore, your just upsetting people"

I totally agree with you that this does just end in a vicious cycle no matter what the outcome is here. Either they all go on spending sprees and only one company has essentially infinite money, and by the sounds of things they know it. Or studios are going to die out because Sony or MS might just see a purchase as too much of a headache.

I despise all this consolidation shit. It's only pro shareholder... that's all it is.

I'm definitely not going to cheer for some wanker billionair cunts to get richer because "gAmePaSS" or whatever the argument may be.
 
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Not_A-Cop_Maybe said:
Exactly- These guys shouldn't have used Playstation as their main point- they should have used them as an example and use MS history or Xbox's acquisition.
Instead these guys are like - "but the PS guy would lose out on skins and people may begrudgingly have to buy an xbox" like bruh
Click to expand...

Yep. They had plenty of evidence to show Microsoft's intent. How untrustworthy it is. They should have hammered on the nascent cloud market when Nadella said himself it was a new market with potential. That Kotick said GamePass is "value destructive" and why it is that MS is adamant on making things a race to the bottom. Cornered them over intent when the CMA is still blocking the deal. Instead, this babbling idiot of a lawyer that any person here could have done better than. Now they're gonna leave it to the UK to decide.
 
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Oops the guy actually worked on the case, explains and gets "oh whatever it's all the same"

Explains difference between divestiture and behavioral remedy, gets resistance again

It's hilarious
 
splattered said:
We will probably see further smaller studio acquisitions and maybe one bigger japanese dev/publisher play if they can somehow pull it out of their money holes.
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Microsoft specifically? Yeah, I can already guess who those teams would be.

Smaller devs: IO Interactive, Crystal Dynamics, Avalanche Studios, Asobo

Japanese Publisher: Sega/Atlus

Those are the only realistic options for them after this. On principal I wouldn't see an issue. In practice, I don't think Microsoft/Xbox can manage much more of a load in terms of teams beyond what they already have without everything falling apart.

Not to mention, it's just going to spur responses from both Sony and Nintendo (at least in Sony's case, they might consider doing some moves in this space more so regardless even if MS don't get ABK; it's not just MS they will have to think about anymore).
 
GHG said:
I'm not joking when I say I think at least 70% of the people who have participated in this thread could do a better job than what this FTC guy is doing at the moment.
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I could be standing naked in front of the judge, a picture of her in my hand, jerking myself in the courtroom, and still do a better job convincing her that the deal is a bad idea.
 
This is really poor from the FTC lawyer.

Saying it's not the government's job to evidence the harm of the agreement when…..it's quite literally the government suing to block the deal, is profoundly weak.
 
thicc_girls_are_teh_best said:
Microsoft specifically? Yeah, I can already guess who those teams would be.

Smaller devs: IO Interactive, Crystal Dynamics, Avalanche Studios, Asobo

Japanese Publisher: Sega/Atlus

Those are the only realistic options for them after this. On principal I wouldn't see an issue. In practice, I don't think Microsoft/Xbox can manage much more of a load in terms of teams beyond what they already have without everything falling apart.

Not to mention, it's just going to spur responses from both Sony and Nintendo (at least in Sony's case, they might consider doing some moves in this space more so regardless even if MS don't get ABK; it's not just MS they will have to think about anymore).
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I agree that Microsoft is biting off more than it can chew with all these studios... i wouldn't be surprised to see some restructuring in the not so distant future. The overhead has to be completely out of control for one company to handle efficiently.
 
oh jeese is this the judge talking right now ? or Beth ?

she seems to be putting a definitive closing argument right now.
 
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BennyBlanco said:
I'll give it up to you for admitting this but it's not rational behavior. List wars are very dumb.
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Where did I list war?

And arguably speaking, no one has these discussions completely devoid of any emotions or preferences. FWIW I don't think Sony porting games to PC is bad in itself; the GaaS titles I expect some of those at least to be Day 1 anyway.

But the marquee traditional AAA games, if it were up to me, those would be 5-6 years out between console and PC, with the PC version coming within a year or so of a new console-exclusive installment.
 
I haven't heard a lawyer (the FTC lawyer, that is) bumble and stumble so much since Louis Tully represented the goddamn Ghostbusters.

Christ alive.
 
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I feel like it went well honestly :)

I dont think the judge was like unfairly grilling the ftc or whatever
 
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Final Fantasy 6 came out this year guys

Technically correct, as the pixel remaster

LOL the judge gave the FTC 10 minutes as a mercy because she killed them too thoroughly, gotta clean up the corpses before they can continue
 
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