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.
Vognerful said:
I think saying "very unlikely" is a better description.

we are also forgetting that if Valve was indeed looking for a buyer, so many players in the market would be interested. For one, I don't know if Microsoft would be allowed to buy them, but they would be willing to do anything to beat anyone to it. Apple would be also interested as it could be their gate to increase porting games to their OS. Not to mention there are other parties with similar interest that would hate to miss this opportunity.

Yeah, Sony theoretically can maybe get 20 or 30 billion USD to buy valve, but this scenario means no one else is trying to fight them for this prize.


What tech company that is willing to outspend Disney in a bidding contest to acquire Fox AND their strategy is to get as biggest pie as possible in the entertainment business? The only company that would have had such an interest is Sony, but they would never have been able to match them in price.
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Sony WAS in the market to acquire Fox back then so it shows they are willing to spend a significant ammount on acquisitions
 
Kuwitzzer said:
What Tech companies are willing to spend so much on a publisher in an industry they have no knowledge and experience of? Why do we all pretend it is certain big techs will definitely get into gaming?
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Publisher?! We are talking about Valve here, the market place.

Owning the biggest market place on PC is a golden goose.
 
Ginzeen said:
I'd say say it's possible but the odds are low. Less then 30 percent. The companies need to want to sell and Sony will face extreme scrunity. Way more then MS. Since their the market leader. Sony will likely get a japanese publisher or studio.
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I dont understand this "Sony would face such fierce scrutiny way more than MS" if they were to go after a publisher... why? on what basis... After ABK closes they will have like 10+ less studios and way less developers. Im pretty sure ABK itself was larger than Xbox+Zenimax. I think i remember Zenimax having like 2-3k employees... ABK has like 13k.

If Microsoft wants to compete.. let Sony compete then. They havent bought any publishers. Apart from Bungie they have basically bought smaller studios that have already worked with them a bunch already or havent even released a game and own very little IP or are just support/porting studios. Look at all the IP Xbox has sucked up into owning with just Zenimax + ABK
 
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Nubulax said:
People out here acting like Sony cant acquire take 2.... yet take 2 could acquire zynga for like 13 billion and is/was MUCH smaller than Sony
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Nubulax said:
Sony WAS in the market to acquire Fox back then so it shows they are willing to spend a significant ammount on acquisitions
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I have to clarify that my point is more to how much are they capable of outbidding other players in the market, rather than if they want to.

I can't remember if it was Zenimax or ABK but when Microsoft wanted to acquire them, Zenimax or ABK went around and asked if anyone could outbid them, before agreeing to the deal.
 
Vognerful said:
I have to clarify that my point is more to how much are they capable of outbidding other players in the market, rather than if they want to.

I can't remember if it was Zenimax or ABK but when Microsoft wanted to acquire them, Zenimax or ABK went around and asked if anyone could outbid them, before agreeing to the deal.
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True... Although if Sony was to reach some sort of an agreement for say 30 billion... idk how I can see at least MS sinking ANOTHER 30 billion into gaming acquisitions...that would be absolutely insane to investors/shareholders imo... to see MS sinking almost 110 BILLION cash on hand on 3 acquisitions into a division that has basically done fuck all for 20 years.
Not sure who else would jump in. Amazon and Google dont really seem all that interested despite what MS will tell you. That there is big tech out there that is the big bad wolf ready to pounce on all these publishers yet they are nowhere to be found. People bring up Tencent but they are more just invested into gaming, I dont feel like they actually outright OWN a bunch of different developers and studios and a wide array of gaming IP like MS now does. Apple could jump in but again, they seem to be happy with just their mobile revenue and walled garden making a ton of $$$
 
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C2brixx said:
You mean like how the 73-9 Golden State Warriors adding Kevin Durant the next year "increased competition". Sony is by far the market leader and any acquisition they make with "intentions" of foreclosing competitors would be deemed anti-competitive by just about all regulators.
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You can thank MS for arguing in court just how little it would matter, and how buying publishers for exclusives is just part of competition.

This ABK acquisition will become a monkey's paw for Xbox fans.
 
adamsapple said:
For all Xbox fans? or do you have a specific percentage or how many co-sign to this?
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I dont see it as much on here..but on twitter and other spaces OH YA.... alot wont outright say it but the sentiment is there. Some of them are bitter about "Sony putting Sega out of business" and want to see MS do the same thing to Sony
 
Nubulax said:
I dont see it as much on here..but on twitter and other spaces OH YA.... alot wont outright say it but the sentiment is there. Some of them are bitter about "Sony putting Sega out of business" and want to see MS do the same thing to Sony
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Twitter is a cesspool and you'll find an equal number of abhorrent fans on either side, my point with quoting Sanepar Sanepar was to highlight that making dumb grand sweeping statements is just as bad.
 
Sanepar said:
Let's be honest for xbox fans this is not about competition. It is about to make Sony out of business.
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Plenty of reasonable Xbox fans around that have no wish for Sony to go out of business. You are looking at the fringe and applying their skewed views to the whole. It isn't smart to do that.
 
Nubulax said:
People out here acting like Sony cant acquire take 2.... yet take 2 could acquire zynga for like 13 billion and is/was MUCH smaller than Sony
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Just copium on behalf of the warriors that love when Microsoft pulls out their daddy warbucks cash account to bailout the business. A nuclear weapon for the gaming industry they think is unique to only Microsoft.
 
James Sawyer Ford said:
Just copium on behalf of the warriors that love when Microsoft pulls out their daddy warbucks cash account to bailout the business. A nuclear weapon for the gaming industry they think is unique to only Microsoft.
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Capability is not Sony's issue. Anyone who claims as such is being ignorant. Willfully or not. Sony's only hindrance is their willingness. Are they willing to substantially increase their debt? Are they willing to dilute their stock price? Are they willing to form a joint venture? To that, anyone who acts like they know the answer is merely hoping what they say is true. One way or the other.
 
Varteras said:
Capability is not Sony's issue. Anyone who claims as such is being ignorant. Willfully or not. Sony's only hindrance is their willingness. Are they willing to substantially increase their debt? Are they willing to dilute their stock price? Are they willing to form a joint venture? To that, anyone who acts like they know the answer is merely hoping what they say is true. One way or the other.
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Depends on how existential they feel the threat is to their core business from moves like acquiring Activision and Bethesda. The warriors that love when Microsoft consolidates always are quick to proclaim that "Sony poked the bear" by making smaller games timed exclusives.

Well, the same thing can happen in reverse. Sony may think it's wise to take on massive debt to protect their core business strategy after Microsoft has acquired a massive amount of publishers.

I certainly don't think Sony is now thinking of remaining as passive as they once were.
 
Heisenberg007 said:
Shouldn't pro-acquisition Xbox fans wish and hope that Sony buys Take-Two as that will "increase competition?"
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Maybe im being a bit phycological, here but..... Its normal to not want the 'other' team to win.... just ask sports fans.... being pro-acquisition doesnt change that they are xbox fans. that part comes before the whole "pro-acquisition" part.....

Boxers like punching their opponents in the face...doesnt mean they should like getting punched by their opponents does it? only that they should prepare for retaliation.... and then be prepared to dish out something back. lets see which company got deeper pockets for that fight shall we? and keep the same energy throughout.sheeiiiiiit, Im cool with it.

but yes, lets all be pro M&A...and keep the same energy....but lets all also remember that, its a game of big bank take little bank. we know who got bigger bank........ So lets pat the highest bidder on the back, every time they win. none of this monopoly talk, no more.......same energy..... right?

Ha Ha Smile GIF by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
 
RickMasters said:
Maybe im being a bit phycological, here but..... Its normal to not want the 'other' team to win.... just ask sports fans.... being pro-acquisition doesnt change that they are xbox fans. that part comes before the whole "pro-acquisition" part.....

Boxers like punching their opponents in the face...doesnt mean they should like getting punched by their opponents does it? only that they should prepare for retaliation.... and then be prepared to dish out something back. lets see which company got deeper pockets for that fight shall we? and keep the same energy throughout.sheeiiiiiit, Im cool with it.

but yes, lets all be pro M&A...and keep the same energy....but lets all also remember that, its a game of big bank take little bank. we know who got bigger bank........ So lets pat the highest bidder on the back, every time they win. none of this monopoly talk, no more.......same energy..... right?

Ha Ha Smile GIF by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
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No......I'm against Sony buying any publisher just like I'm against MS buying ABK. I just don't see anything good coming out of any of this.

Same energy? Absolutely.
 
James Sawyer Ford said:
Depends on how existential they feel the threat is to their core business from moves like acquiring Activision and Bethesda. The warriors that love when Microsoft consolidates always are quick to proclaim that "Sony poked the bear" by making smaller games timed exclusives.

Well, the same thing can happen in reverse. Sony may think it's wise to take on massive debt to protect their core business strategy after Microsoft has acquired a massive amount of publishers.

I certainly don't think Sony is now thinking of remaining as passive as they once were.
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in this kind of economy I think they would be wise to avoid putting themselves in debt too much......
 
James Sawyer Ford said:
Depends on how existential they feel the threat is to their core business from moves like acquiring Activision and Bethesda. The warriors that love when Microsoft consolidates always are quick to proclaim that "Sony poked the bear" by making smaller games timed exclusives.

Well, the same thing can happen in reverse. Sony may think it's wise to take on massive debt to protect their core business strategy after Microsoft has acquired a massive amount of publishers.

I certainly don't think Sony is now thinking of remaining as passive as they once were.
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It "can" happen but odds are low. Also Sony seems to like smaller acquisitions when it comes to gaming. I can't imagine they buy a big western publisher. Very unlikely.
 
Ginzeen said:
It "can" happen but odds are low. Also Sony seems to like smaller acquisitions when it comes to gaming. I can't imagine they buy a big western publisher. Very unlikely.
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Odds were low for Microsoft to acquire Activision but it happened. Sometimes the stars just so happen to align.

I agree that I don't see them buying EA/T2. It would be a pretty significant spend for not a lot of valuable properties, although the properties they do have are massive.

I think Sony would prefer to expand with smaller acquisitions of the FromSoft, Square, Capcom, or CDPR scale of things.
 
James Sawyer Ford said:
Sony's flagship business is gaming.

They would not be thinking in terms of "this economy", they would be thinking in terms of long-term survival. Market cycles come and go.
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fair point. I I think I would just hate to see them make sacrifices in their audio and TV departments or any more cuts to their music and movie biz. Id hate to see sony be a games only comapany like nintendo to be honest. We rerally have come a long way since the days when sony trinitrons were the must own TVs and every car audio guy had a sony 10-CD changer in the boot!...I was one of those guys. and my 37" trinitron made my saturn games shine on screen! My 8-CD changer in my S3, back in the early 00s was nice! but yeah as you said...cycles come and go..and CDs died, for example...


Im not a playstation fan, but Ive always admired what they have done in the gaming space, and Ive owned quite a few of their electronics over the decades too. and every 80s baby here has owned a sony walkman atleast once... the stereo in your teenage bedroom was most likely a sony too, probably. which made it easy for most of us to love the PS1, because it matched the TV and the stereo! (I thought it was pretty cool, anyway...PS1 was culturally as cool in the 90s as a walkman was in the 80s..and sony gave us both of these things. We should always love them for that) . Id legit hate to see them go anywhere. as a company they have always made products that I have loved owning.
 
RickMasters said:
fair point. I I think I would just hate to see them make sacrifices in their audio and TV departments or any more cuts to their music and movie biz. Id hate to see sony be a games only comapany like nintendo to be honest. We rerally have come a long way since the days when sony trinitrons were the must own TVs and every car audio guy had a sony 10-CD changer in the boot!...I was one of those guys. and my 37" trinitron made my saturn games shine on screen! My 8-CD changer in my S3, back in the early 00s was nice! but yeah as you said...cycles come and go..and CDs died, for example...


Im not a playstation fan, but Ive always admired what they have done in the gaming space, and Ive owned quite a few of their electronics over the decades too. and every 80s baby here has owned a sony walkman atleast once... the stereo in your teenage bedroom was most likely a sony too, probably. which made it easy for most of us to love the PS1, because it matched the TV and the stereo! (I thought it was pretty cool, anyway...PS1 was culturally as cool in the 90s as a walkman was in the 80s..and sony gave us both of these things. We should always love them for that) . Id legit hate to see them go anywhere. as a company they have always made products that I have loved owning.
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I don't believe there's going to be sacrifices to any of those departments, but it's clear that a strong Playstation is central to Sony as a whole. They want gaming IP to drive their TV/Movie business.
 
James Sawyer Ford said:
Depends on how existential they feel the threat is to their core business from moves like acquiring Activision and Bethesda. The warriors that love when Microsoft consolidates always are quick to proclaim that "Sony poked the bear" by making smaller games timed exclusives.

Well, the same thing can happen in reverse. Sony may think it's wise to take on massive debt to protect their core business strategy after Microsoft has acquired a massive amount of publishers.

I certainly don't think Sony is now thinking of remaining as passive as they once were.
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No doubt. Myself and several others pointed out multiple times that consolidation does not end with one company owning everything. It ends with a small handful of companies owning much larger shares of the industry. Shares that will likely not shrink any time soon.

Both Tencent and Sony have clearly announced their intentions. Tencent is already in a partnership with Yves Guillermot with the eventual goal to take Ubisoft private. They also just picked up Lucid through one of their subsidiaries. Both of which show their stated intention of acquisitions and investments in the European market was already underway.

Sony bought Bungie, the largest independent developer on the market at the time, in an uncharacteristic move. On top of the 8 other studio acquisitons over the last couple years. In addition to co-ownership of EVO and ownership of Repeat.gg. Recently stating their intentions to focus efforts on strategic investments that give them IP and slimming down their business diversity to focus on entertainment and image sensors. The former frequently cited as a big growth vector.

I would not be placing any kind of bets in this environment.
 
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Topher said:
No......I'm against Sony buying any publisher just like I'm against MS buying ABK. I just don't see anything good coming out of any of this.

Same energy? Absolutely.
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Same here but I also have to be realistic.....

Sony cant just sit there and act all fat and happy while MS gobbles up Zenimax... Gobbles up ABK... Gobbles up Sega next? Then what after... Ubisoft? EA? Embracer?

ABK is as close to a tipping point as possible for them I believe to where maybe it will be fine but I wouldnt be shocked either way if they do decide to acquire a publisher or two as a purely defensive move before MS and perhaps other actors gobble up their 3rd party partners leaving Sony in the dust and taking away IP and revenue they had access to in the past.
 
Nubulax said:
Same here but I also have to be realistic.....

Sony cant just sit there and act all fat and happy while MS gobbles up Zenimax... Gobbles up ABK... Gobbles up Sega next? Then what after... Ubisoft? EA? Embracer?

ABK is as close to a tipping point as possible for them I believe to where maybe it will be fine but I wouldnt be shocked either way if they do decide to acquire a publisher or two as a purely defensive move before MS and perhaps other actors gobble up their 3rd party partners leaving Sony in the dust and taking away IP and revenue they had access to in the past.
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I would hope regulators would say enough is enough and shut down this shit. Sony reacting is a big part of the problem. Domino effect. They are not competing in making great games. They are competing in buying up third parties. It's just absurd.
 
Ogbert said:
The studio that Sony should buy is From.
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From...where? 🤔
You can't leave us hanging 😉😂

I am not in support of any acquisition. Unless it's using the Bungie plan of publishers freedom of platform, and hopefully it fucking sticks to it. Otherwise that acquisition can fuck itself too.
 
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Nubulax said:
Same here but I also have to be realistic.....

Sony cant just sit there and act all fat and happy while MS gobbles up Zenimax... Gobbles up ABK... Gobbles up Sega next? Then what after... Ubisoft? EA? Embracer?

ABK is as close to a tipping point as possible for them I believe to where maybe it will be fine but I wouldnt be shocked either way if they do decide to acquire a publisher or two as a purely defensive move before MS and perhaps other actors gobble up their 3rd party partners leaving Sony in the dust and taking away IP and revenue they had access to in the past.
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MS set the precedent & at some point, if it starts to feel like a threat to their gaming business (like you said ABK is the tipping point for Sony), I wouldn't rule anything out if I'm in Jimbo's position right now. As much as it sucks, you know who started this crap in the first place, blame them.
 
bender said:
Name four!
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I'm sure most rational people here know that we all benefit by Sony AND Microsoft both being in the race.

They push each other forward and we as consumers win.

If Microsoft were the only big player in the market Xbox fans would see a lot less to be excited about. Same goes for Sony.
 
CRAIG667 said:
I'm sure most rational people here know that we all benefit by Sony AND Microsoft both being in the race.

They push each other forward and we as consumers win.

If Microsoft were the only big player in the market Xbox fans would see a lot less to be excited about. Same goes for Sony.
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Name four!
 
James Sawyer Ford said:
Just copium on behalf of the warriors that love when Microsoft pulls out their daddy warbucks cash account to bailout the business. A nuclear weapon for the gaming industry they think is unique to only Microsoft.
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we have seen this narrative since forever:
"Poor sony can't compete with MS's money and infrastructure"....and they believe that.
 
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