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 .
Status
Not open for further replies.
Corndog said:
Then I don't understand your argument. Maybe I am missing something.
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Its a case of GP covering the cod sale cost.
But since COD money comes from MTX, it will need more than GP money. That is tough for current Xbox.

COD generated a total of 800+m on PS USA alone in 2021. That is sales+mtx combined. I dont see gamepass covering that cost.
 
Mythoclast said:
Really don't get the hate from many users here for the GamePass model. Why do you need to own games? How many games from the N64 era have you replayed directly from the cartridge in the last 5 years? Nostalgia can suck it.
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You are telling me you never ONCE, had lost access to a game that you can never play again because the server went down? Not ONE?

Why do you not care that you stopped being able to play a game just because someone else said so?
 
James Sawyer Ford said:
I don't see it
Click to expand...
So Sony is lying.
rwg14fg.png
 
James Sawyer Ford said:
I'm not a fan of the GamePass model or what it can lead to either.

But I won't miss out on Xbox exclusive games that I want. Which really sucks because i'm "part of the problem" and actually bought an Xbox due to Phil making Starfield exclusive.

But, I'll never buy a single game on the platform. I'll sub once or twice a year for a max of $30 and play the games I want to play.

I don't see how this business model is sustainable at all for big games, which is why I feel it will start trying to make everything into some Sea of Thieves GaaS experience which is totally not my thing.
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The thing is, its not sustainable the traditional way either. Multiple devs and ceo's have said this.

That is if you want crunch culture and employee turnout to die.
 
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Eotheod said:
So what is the current situation? FTC appeal failed, now waiting on Monday as that is the original close date? Kind of hard to follow with all the stupid shit in-between from people getting pissy about each side's comments, though I guess the thread would be a lot smaller if it was just news.
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I think it is a matter of who/what you believe about the CMA block. A lot of people seem to think they have worked out a deal already or MS will close regardless of their decision. I am a bit confused myself because I have read some conflicting information.
 
Mythoclast said:
We need to accept the fact that physical media will disappear, just as it did for movies and music. That is inevitable.

The other two options are buying a license for a game (which BTW can be revoked if you get banned) or pay a monthly sum to taste a variety of recent games. I don't say the option to buy games should not exist, but GamePass to me is a good value proposition and should exist as well.

There's a reason why Spotify and Netflix were such a hit. People realize they don't need to own media. Same thing will happen to games.
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And Netflix and Spotify are killing the pockets of content creators worldwide too.
 
So this thread no longer seems to about whether the deal will go thru judging by the last 3-4 pages or so.

COD was so important up to this point, but now isn't?
 
Thirty7ven said:
Netflix is already mostly a bunch of trash, after the writer and actors strike it will become worthless.
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I agree Netflix has a lot of trash content, but I put that down to what appears to be check box content requirements from the higher ups.
They do have some gems in there from time to time. I really liked the 2 Extraction movies
 
DeltaPolarBear said:
You are telling me you never ONCE, had lost access to a game that you can never play again because the server went down? Not ONE?

Why do you not care that you stopped being able to play a game just because someone else said so?
Click to expand...
Isn't this a pro for the subscription model. Why buy a game when you can still lose access to it once they turn off the servers. Applies to a lot of single player games as well.
 
poppabk said:
Isn't this a pro for the subscription model. Why buy a game when you can still lose access to it once they turn off the servers. Applies to a lot of single player games as well.
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And why exactly would you buy any single player game that has always-online? That has all the downsides of online game and no upside. If you bought such a game at all you are just a sucker.
My point is that I buy offline games. Have you considered that?
 
feynoob said:
Its a case of GP covering the cod sale cost.
But since COD money comes from MTX, it will need more than GP money. That is tough for current Xbox.

COD generated a total of 800+m on PS USA alone in 2021. That is sales+mtx combined. I dont see gamepass covering that cost.
Click to expand...
It probably won't short term. But it doesn't need to since the game is also for sale. We will have to wait to get a clearer view of the financials.
 
DeltaPolarBear said:
And why exactly would you buy any single player game that has always-online? That has all the downsides of online game and no upside. If you bought such a game at all you are just a sucker.
My point is that I buy offline games. Have you considered that?
Click to expand...
I play on PC, effectively every game is online to launch. Plenty of upsides to it.
 
Corndog said:
It probably won't short term. But it doesn't need to since the game is also for sale. We will have to wait to get a clearer view of the financials.
Click to expand...

We will know this year for sure if COD is on Gamepass Day1 this year. We know how it sales every year. Any drop will show if GP takes away from sales.

Ozriel said:
It's going to boost gaming revenue by up to $8bn per year, drive GamePass subscriptions and give them a significant presence in Mobile.

COD will remain multiplatform so I'm not sure why you imagine this was about a fundamental shift in hardware marketshare.
Click to expand...

After this sales goes through can we all agree that Microsoft literally will have NO excuses for not making a PS3 like come back this generation?

I'm expecting the Xbox Series generation to end with atleast 70 million consoles sold as a floor and more reasonable think they should get close or around to 80 million by the end of the generation (2028).

We also need to start seeing MS games as the best sold of the year. And not just COD either.

Again NO EXCUSES! You don't spend $80 billion to be the so-called last place competitor.
 
mckmas8808 said:
I feel ya. But it's not like I'm going to be buying games I don't like lol.

There's been plenty of times where I was interested in a game and just borrowed from a friend for a few weeks. Now........ I'll buy it when it goes on sale to $30 or $40.

As an example, I probably would have borrowed or rented FF16 and Alan Wake 2 this year and bought Spiderman 2 and a few VR games this Fall. But now I'm 100% going to be buying FF16 and Alan Wake 2. Depending on how well AW2 reviews will determine how long I'll wait to buy it.

BUT I've loved this hobby too long (I'm 39 years old) to not fully support the games and business model that I like. I can't complain about it if I'm not putting my money where my mouth is.
Click to expand...

I've been prioritizing buying new, physical games the entire time I've been gaming - around 40 years now. Gaming is important to me and I have no issue with supporting it (as well, as a somewhat separate issue, the whole 'you will own nothing and be happy' concept is abhorrent to me). I respect your stance and absolutely agree about "putting my money where my mouth is".
 
93xfan said:
Can't you just see it.

"Some PS5 games will need a patch to run on the PS6. We're working hard to bring over some of the more popular PS4 games with patches, but for the most part, who'd want want to play games that look like that?!"

Think sony will really keep up with that in the long run?
Click to expand...

Yes. 99% of PS4 games ran on the PS5 on day one. The patch was for the PS4 to take full advantage of the PS5's hardware to make it an even better game.

That's different. And half of the games I would have cared for got patched.
 
Eotheod said:
So what is the current situation? FTC appeal failed, now waiting on Monday as that is the original close date? Kind of hard to follow with all the stupid shit in-between from people getting pissy about each side's comments, though I guess the thread would be a lot smaller if it was just news.
Click to expand...
Could close on Monday to Tuesday. Could extend beyond that, but many have called that unlikely.
 
mckmas8808 said:
After this sales goes through can we all agree that Microsoft literally will have NO excuses for not making a PS3 like come back this generation?

I'm expecting the Xbox Series generation to end with atleast 70 million consoles sold as a floor and more reasonable think they should get close or around to 80 million by the end of the generation (2028).
Click to expand...

How does this commentary on hardware marketshare make sense when they're committing to keeping the best selling Activision games multi-platform?

mckmas8808 said:
Again NO EXCUSES! You don't spend $80 billion to be the so-called last place competitor.
Click to expand...

They have a great chance of not being last place on gaming revenue.

Remember, if you will, that a big chunk of the value comes from WoW (PC) and King's Candy Crush (mobile)
 
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Mythoclast said:
We need to accept the fact that physical media will disappear, just as it did for movies and music. That is inevitable.

The other two options are buying a license for a game (which BTW can be revoked if you get banned) or pay a monthly sum to taste a variety of recent games. I don't say the option to buy games should not exist, but GamePass to me is a good value proposition and should exist as well.

There's a reason why Spotify and Netflix were such a hit. People realize they don't need to own media. Same thing will happen to games.
Click to expand...
Physical media still exists for both movies and music. You can buy it on Amazon today.

Physical games will never disappear as long as there are parts of the world which don't have Internet that lets you download a 100GB game in like 5 minutes. Which is actually most of the world.

Xbox only exists in US and UK so if physical media disappeared for Xbox no one would care. Playstation sells product around the world and in many places where Internet isn't great, so physical games will never disappear on Playstation as long as Playstation still exists. By 2030 when MS has destroyed Sony though and Playstation ceases to exist, then we'll see a world where only the US and UK can still have console video games. The rest of world will just permanently switch to Nintendo and mobile.
 
Stock news got debunked.
Monday is off table. I repeat, monday is off table.




Edit: This is only for the info. The console they support is not my view point.
 
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Mythoclast said:
Really don't get the hate from many users here for the GamePass model. Why do you need to own games? How many games from the N64 era have you replayed directly from the cartridge in the last 5 years? Nostalgia can suck it.

I am a huge physical collector. Try to buy every game physically, but for collecting purposes, not actual usability.

As much as I dislike Sony's approach to exclusives, they get one thing right. Most normal people play the newest games, not games released 20 years ago. In that sense, owning a game for perpetuity is unnecessary and useless.
Click to expand...

Don't forget that you can also sell a game that you own too.. Making the cost per game to play to be lower.
 
mckmas8808 said:
After this sales goes through can we all agree that Microsoft literally will have NO excuses for not making a PS3 like come back this generation?

I'm expecting the Xbox Series generation to end with atleast 70 million consoles sold as a floor and more reasonable think they should get close or around to 80 million by the end of the generation (2028).

We also need to start seeing MS games as the best sold of the year. And not just COD either.

Again NO EXCUSES! You don't spend $80 billion to be the so-called last place competitor.
Click to expand...
I get where you are coming from but I think console sales and game sales aren't really the target for Microsoft.

They see no benefit in having more consoles out there than Playstation or Nintendo. As for game sales they know that Gamepass by design will mean less actual sales of the game.

I say we get ready for people paying for Gamepass then being enticed to spend more on a game by paying for the premium edition that gives you access to the game 3 days early and will have a bunch of extra content.
 
mckmas8808 said:
We will know this year for sure if COD is on Gamepass Day1 this year. We know how it sales every year. Any drop will show if GP takes away from sales.



After this sales goes through can we all agree that Microsoft literally will have NO excuses for not making a PS3 like come back this generation?

I'm expecting the Xbox Series generation to end with atleast 70 million consoles sold as a floor and more reasonable think they should get close or around to 80 million by the end of the generation (2028).

We also need to start seeing MS games as the best sold of the year. And not just COD either.

Again NO EXCUSES! You don't spend $80 billion to be the so-called last place competitor.
Click to expand...
Gamepass will absolutely take away sales. That's the entire point of getting gamepass. What we don't know is how much and from where. I suspect most will be current Xbox customers.
 
Ozriel said:
It's going to boost gaming revenue by up to $8bn per year, drive GamePass subscriptions and give them a significant presence in Mobile.

COD will remain multiplatform so I'm not sure why you imagine this was about a fundamental shift in hardware marketshare.
Click to expand...
It is embarassing people thinking that who plays COD will subscribe to gamepass for $180 and a rent lol
 
adamsapple said:
They would still the standard platform revenue share and would have the rights to exclusive hardware bundles.

But that's a moot point now, Jim already refused.
Click to expand...

Why care about COD hardware bundles when 30% of that money goes directly to MS?

feynoob said:
IT all depends on who the management is. If Xbox changes their current management, they can be a serious threat with the content and MS full backing. Imagine bobby leading Xbox with MS money. It's why you don't count on your future.
Click to expand...

If Bobby Kotick ever becomes the CEO of Ms Gaming it'll be the worse idea and worse Xbox generation of all time!

Clintizzle said:
I get where you are coming from but I think console sales and game sales aren't really the target for Microsoft.

They see no benefit in having more consoles out there than Playstation or Nintendo. As for game sales they know that Gamepass by design will mean less actual sales of the game.

I say we get ready for people paying for Gamepass then being enticed to spend more on a game by paying for the premium edition that gives you access to the game 3 days early and will have a bunch of extra content.
Click to expand...

Thats a lie thats been pushed by MS PR for years now. They absolutely care about console sales, hence why they made two consoles at launch. MS gets most of their revenue from people that buy MS hardware first and foremost. If MS knew how to sell 100m consoles they'd spend as much as humanely possible to do that.

Both Sony and Nintendo clearly show that selling 100m consoles is the level that can send your brand to the moon. Even MS selling 84 million X360s, shows just how much selling hardware matters. That was their best generation ever. And they were rewarded with their most console sells of Xbox's history.
Corndog said:
Gamepass will absolutely take away sales. That's the entire point of getting gamepass. What we don't know is how much and from where. I suspect most will be current Xbox customers.
Click to expand...

That's not "supposed" to be the entire point of GP though.
 
Mythoclast said:
Really don't get the hate from many users here for the GamePass model. Why do you need to own games? How many games from the N64 era have you replayed directly from the cartridge in the last 5 years? Nostalgia can suck it.

I am a huge physical collector. Try to buy every game physically, but for collecting purposes, not actual usability.

As much as I dislike Sony's approach to exclusives, they get one thing right. Most normal people play the newest games, not games released 20 years ago. In that sense, owning a game for perpetuity is unnecessary and useless.
Click to expand...
Because some of us can infer where this is leading to.

Stop looking at it like it's the best thing ever and take a closer look at the past and present. MS for example has a track record of buying out their competitors rather than beating them.
They run shit into the ground and monopolise . They have also breached and been sued for anticompetitive behaviour lots of times.

What happens when MS owns the majority of triple a studios, what's to stop them making their games exclusive to gamepass and not just Xbox? What's to stop them raising the price ? They have already raised the price.

Where does it end? Some of you have deluded yourselves into thinking MS cares about you and is doing it all for you the gamer.

When in fact gamepass is just another idea pulled out the hat for them as they were in last place. Phil's licking his lips at the idea of 30-50 million paying 40 a month. Why settle for 10? When gamers even on this website say theyd pay even more 😂. Literally nothing stopping them cranking the price up and saying well we have so many studios now so pay up.

Still waiting for this clown B boblob to explain why MS buying every punisher is good for all gamers and not for MS.
 
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mckmas8808 said:
Why care about COD hardware bundles when 30% of that money goes directly to MS?
Click to expand...

That's a bit reductive cause that's still a good couple of hundred(s) of millions in revenue that Sony could potentially be missing out on. Especially with hardware.
 
If the law was not on the FTC's side, then the only way to stop consolidation is by changing the laws concerning mergers and acquisitions. Not sure anything US Congress could come up with would be good/could pass anyway.
 
Warablo said:
The thing is, its not sustainable the traditional way either. Multiple devs and ceo's have said this.

That is if you want crunch culture and employee turnout to die.
Click to expand...

The traditional way is way more sustainable than the GP model though. 3 seperate gaming CEOs have said the GP model is value destructive.

Unknown Soldier said:
Physical media still exists for both movies and music. You can buy it on Amazon today.

Physical games will never disappear as long as there are parts of the world which don't have Internet that lets you download a 100GB game in like 5 minutes. Which is actually most of the world.

Xbox only exists in US and UK so if physical media disappeared for Xbox no one would care. Playstation sells product around the world and in many places where Internet isn't great, so physical games will never disappear on Playstation as long as Playstation still exists. By 2030 when MS has destroyed Sony though and Playstation ceases to exist, then we'll see a world where only the US and UK can still have console video games. The rest of world will just permanently switch to Nintendo and mobile.
Click to expand...

You're missing PC in the bolded. It's where I'm going if MS spends Sony out of business. A $2000 PC is in my future if that happens.
adamsapple said:
That's a bit reductive cause that's still a good couple of hundred(s) of millions in revenue that Sony could potentially be missing out on. Especially with hardware.
Click to expand...

I dont think people are buying the COD PS5 bundle simply to play COD. I don't think losing that bundle will lead to less console sales at all. Not even 1%.
 
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mckmas8808 said:
The traditional way is way more sustainable than the GP model though. 3 seperate gaming CEOs have said the GP model is value destructive.



You're missing PC in the bolded. It's where I'm going if MS spends Sony out of business. A $2000 PC is in my future if that happens.


I dont think people are buying the COD PS5 bundle simply to play COD. I don't think losing that bundle will lead to less console sales at all. Not even 1%.
Click to expand...
I'm on PC and I'm worried because i think they want to enforce rent so Steam and buying license is a target when they consolidate enough.

Taking Sony out of business would be a disaster besides Rockstar, Zelda, Larian and CDPR no one delivery sp campaigns with the quality that Sony does.

Ms refuses to make high quality story driven only games. If they kill PS this genre will disappear.
 
mckmas8808 said:
I dont think people are buying the COD PS5 bundle simply to play COD. I don't think losing that bundle will lead to less console sales at all. Not even 1%.
Click to expand...
Bundles help, especially around the holidays, a parent going to get little Timmy a console for Christmas and knows he likes Call of Duty? Great bundle, especially if it is cheaper to buy than non-bundle.
 
mckmas8808 said:
The traditional way is way more sustainable than the GP model though. 3 seperate gaming CEOs have said the GP model is value destructive.
Click to expand...
And how many more have put games on Gamepass. Also, they're speaking as a third party. And they aren't growing a console install base by doing it.

Also, MS has been offering early access for people who buy season passes and other things. Have Gamepass but paid to get the DLC and early access for 2 games already.
 
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