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FTC Seeks to Block Microsoft Corp’s Acquisition of Activision Blizzard

Ice Cube Yes GIF
 

analog_future

Resident Crybaby
For anyone who was cheerleading this at their own expense through nativity or a desire to ‘win’, don’t worry. If this is blocked, Xbox aren’t some little tinpot publisher, despite what you try to convey. Just enjoy the games from;

I think most that were "cheerleading" this were doing so because:

  • They want more AAA games added to their Game Pass subscription because it saves them a ton of money over having to buy $70 MSRP games
  • They're a Nintendo-first player and were excited to see Call of Duty games coming to their platform of choice
  • They don't want to see Activision Blizzard acquired by the likes of Tencent or Amazon
  • They want more competition in an industry where Sony can raise prices on games, raise prices on consoles, raise prices on accessories, charge for enhancements for PS4 titles on PS5, etc.. etc.. with no penalty or loss of sales
  • They want shitheel CEOs like Bobby Kotick out of the industry

There are plenty of people that perfectly reasonably see this acquisition as truly good for the industry and good for their own self interests. It's not just console warring.
 
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//DEVIL//

Member
This deal will not go through. Nvidia got blocked from buying ARMs and it was smaller than this deal. something this big does not fly.

As a PC-only owner, I really do not care if it does or not, I am getting my COD either way.

But I might re-buy a PS5 one day when it's cheaper and worth buying or there is a slim version. and MS having a monopoly over the game industry is not a good thing.

Today Phill is saying " oh we are going to release it on PS5, a few years later he gets promoted to something else and someone takes his job or even he will say " that business model is no longer sustainable. we need to change and shift our strategy and will make the game Xbox exclusive. "

Never believe a company.

On the other hand, Sony is a snake. and it plays dirty. I really wanted them to get fucked hard for once so they can shut the fuck up and act pro-consumer. ever since mid-life PS4 and it's starting to be a shitty PS3-era company all over again. they need a whack every now and then.

Oh well.

<-- goes back to play MW2 on his 49 ulta wide 240hz Samsung G9 Neo with his 4090.
 
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DeepEnigma

Gold Member
I think most that were "cheerleading" this were doing so because:

  • They want more AAA games added to their Game Pass subscription because it saves them a ton of money over having to buy $70 MSRP games
  • They're a Nintendo-first player and were excited to see Call of Duty games coming to their platform of choice
  • They don't want to see Activision Blizzard acquired by the likes of Tencent or Amazon
  • They want more competition in an industry where Sony can raise prices on games, raise prices on consoles, charge for enhancements for PS4 titles on PS5, etc.. etc.. with no penalty or loss of sales
  • They want shitheel CEOs like Bobby Kotick out of the industry

There are plenty of people that perfectly reasonably see this acquisition as truly good for the industry and good for their own self interests. It's not just console warring.
Cracking Up Lol GIF
 
Hoeg is basically saying that it's bullshit to think "it's still going to close" because of the preliminary injunction. Whatever that means.
 

Estocolmo

Member
Sony bought Insomniac and made Spiderman exclusive.

I cant see the problem if the company itself wants to be bought, because that's what the shareholders at Activision voted for, right?
And Activision is a company in bad shape with bad management, Microsoft has said that it aims to change it.
Microsoft has also said it aims to make CoD available on Switch, PC and PS for the next 10 years. It also wants to revive other dead Activision characters like Crash, Guitar Hero and more. Today Activision is a Cod only factory.

How is any of those things bad?
How can a government monopoly decide if other acquisitions is monopoly?
 

feynoob

Banned
This deal will not go through.
Its going to go through, because FTC isnt actually suing them to block it, but to get concession.

I hoped it will die, but so far, MS is using the market to their advantage. Which indicates a pass.

I dont like big corporation purchase, but this will get pretty ugly for us gamers.
 

Snake29

Banned
Almost on que... I present the Jez dumb take...



Well Jez, when was the last time Sony blocked so many games that were suddenly in development for Xbox? Was God of War in development for Xbox and blocked? We're talking about 2 publishers with a shitload of multiplatform IPs/franchises even older than Xbox itself. Not a Stray or whatever game developer Sony invested in so they could release their game.

Xbox fanboys/community never learns. They always echo every word their master throws around "but Phil said, but MS said bla bla bla". They were even warned around the time they were throwing around that 12TF nonsense that the Series X would smoke the PS5 from launch. Nothing was standing in their way to invest in third party deals, their warchest didn't really help and they were outbit or they just didn't bother while their fanbase is crying when a game doesn't enter GP or is only getting a release on PS. Yet this same fanbase ignores all timed exclusives MS has but crying about PS having more?

Maybe MS should've done better instead sleeping for a whole generation, it's not like Sony is gonna wait for this incompetent company who is around for more then 20 years, and still need to figure out what they need to do.

Xbox shills, when you:

fafo-findout.gif
 
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Ronin_7

Member
Its going to go through, because FTC isnt actually suing them to block it, but to get concession.

I hoped it will die, but so far, MS is using the market to their advantage. Which indicates a pass.

I dont like big corporation purchase, but this will get pretty ugly for us gamers.
Long road ahead in courts + CMA likely blocking.
 

feynoob

Banned
Hoeg is basically saying that it's bullshit to think "it's still going to close" because of the preliminary injunction. Whatever that means.
FTC havent filed prelimnary injuction.
A preliminary injunction is an injunction that may be granted before or during trial, with the goal of preserving the status quo before final judgment.
In what circumstances can a party apply for an injunction?
An injunction may be necessary to preserve or prevent the loss of an asset, protect against personal harm, prevent loss or damage to reputation and safeguard business or personal interests.
 

DJ12

Member
In a complaint issued today, the FTC pointed to Microsoft’s record of acquiring and using valuable gaming content to suppress competition from rival consoles, including its acquisition of ZeniMax, parent company of Bethesda Softworks (a well-known game developer). Microsoft decided to make several of Bethesda's titles including Starfield and Redfall Microsoft exclusives despite assurances it had given to European antitrust authorities that it had no incentive to withhold games from rival consoles.
And there we have it. Microsofts previous lies coming back to bite them in the ass.

Or has Sony brought the FTC, guess it depends on the colour of your eyes.

Good luck proving the FTC is wrong with all the confirmations out there that these games are exclusive.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
And there we have it. Microsofts previous lies coming back to bite them in the ass.

Or has Sony brought the FTC, guess it depends on the colour of your eyes.

Good luck proving the FTC is wrong with all the confirmations out there that these games are exclusive.

Can you find me a source which confirms MS promised to keep future Zenimax games multiplat ? 🤔
 

feynoob

Banned
Long road ahead in courts + CMA likely blocking.
CMA is going after concession. They could have done the same thing as ftc, and block it.
If they dont like concenssions, they might block it.
So this deal is dependant on them.
 
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DeepEnigma

Gold Member
FTC havent filed prelimnary injuction.
or during trial
You do not have to file them right away. They just got out of the meeting today with MS.

It's either a power play for concessions, or it may come later if things aren't agreed upon.

CMA is going after concession. They could have done the same thing as ftc, and block it.
If they dont like concenssions, they might block it.
So this deal is dependant on them.
The CMA went to phase 2. They don't block at phase 1, usually.
 
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Swift_Star

Banned
And there we have it. Microsofts previous lies coming back to bite them in the ass.

Or has Sony brought the FTC, guess it depends on the colour of your eyes.

Good luck proving the FTC is wrong with all the confirmations out there that these games are exclusive.
They really lied, didn't they?
Embarrassed Shame GIF
 

feynoob

Banned
You do not have to file them right away. They just got out of the meeting today with MS.

It's either a power play for concessions, or it may come later if things aren't agreed upon.
Its a power play for concenssion.

FTC wants Big ones. They dont want to repeat their mistakes.
 

splattered

Member
Oh man i hope both Sony and MS have their ducks in a row here, they're both about to get dragged through the MUD. This isn't going to be pretty for either side... buckle up!
 

Dick Jones

Gold Member
For anyone who was cheerleading this at their own expense through nativity or a desire to ‘win’, don’t worry. If this is blocked, Xbox aren’t some little tinpot publisher, despite what you try to convey. Just enjoy the games from;
Proper overall management and Xbox could have their banger every quarter. Promote staff in properly run studios to senior overall management and gut the deadwood. There are a few more smaller studios to fill additional content (Moon Studios if they fix the rift, Asobo Studios with Flight Sim). It would take time but the sooner the reshuffle happens the sooner Xbox can benefit from the studios.
 

Nvzman

Member
They had to drag Gabe Newell and Nintendo with them in their PR stunt.

They all look dumb with eggs on their faces now 🤣
I absolutely love how Gabe Newell just completely dismisses all this current event bullshit when he's asked about it and turns out smarter for it.

For example, he said crypto and NFTs were largely fraudulent (over 50% of crypto purchases on steam weren't legitimate iirc) so he completely dismissed them. Now they are both in the gutter.

Similarly, he doesn't give a shit about loyalty to steam with microsoft.

More on topic, I'm kind of not surprised that this happened, given how immensely large of a company Activision is. I think people who are acting like this is a waste of the FTC's time are being disingenuous. This is similar to something like Apple buying Disney, Acti regularly makes a metric fuckton of money and would change a lot of the rules to competition if Microsoft did as they pleased with them.
I think it can go through, but will be heavily regulated to the point where not much will change from where we currently are. Maybe COD on game pass but that is basically it.
If it actually ends up not going through, I can see this tanking Xbox as a brand. Microsoft is already very low-confidence in Xbox in the higher ranks (Phil Spencer basically had to promise them he'd turn things around, and so far he's only really brought back mindshare, not so much profits), and if MS owed a billion dollars from a flopped acquisition, I could see them completely losing interest in continuing the brand. That's a shitload of money to lose from a segment that historically never made much money for them.
 

NickFire

Member
Hoeg is basically saying that it's bullshit to think "it's still going to close" because of the preliminary injunction. Whatever that means.
I don't follow him. But if he's saying that the deal will be held up even if there's no preliminary injunction, then I would guess the same thing as him.

What he would be saying is probably that: (1) the two entities don't want to close with threat of being unwound over their heads (in the event that the court sides with FTC); (2) he expects the EU and CMA to follow suit to not look weak on tech when FTC is suing, and that would be the end of the deal; or (3) they just haven't filed for an injunction yet, but will do so as the closing date nears in.
 
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SLB1904

Banned
Can you find me a source which confirms MS promised to keep future Zenimax games multiplat ? 🤔
I'm pretty sure you know how weasel they are. Thats why you are bringing this lawyer talk.


“The agency cited Microsoft’s acquisition of game developer ZeniMax, and it says that the company’s subsidiary made titles including “Starfield” and “Redfall” exclusive to Microsoft devices despite previous assurances to European regulators.”

Is this true? If so, oof.
 
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What the fuck were they doing for so many years, with so much money at their disposal creating absolutely nothing of value. This is no excuse.

Also, why is it in Sony‘s best interest for the deal to go through?

They don't have the studios to create and sustain IP. Historically, Microsoft was never really a console game publisher. They had some mixed success with PC games.

They got extremely fortunate to buy Halo and Bungie, but their focus historically had been not that much different from Sony a hardware focus.

Sony shifted gears on their internal development way earlier than Microsoft did and Microsoft has pretty much bled out with Epic leaving their partnership and Bungie jumping ship. Failures with Lionhead did them no favors, but they've had a lot of success with both their Forza Studios.

It's in Sony's best interest because CoD is ultimately more replaceable than some more quality studios and publishers and IP that if Microsoft looks to spread out significant money they could really do a lot more damage to Sony's player base who has no interest in the sole IP of CoD.
 
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