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

feynoob

Banned
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.
Do you want interesting fact?
Xbox didnt own the studos which made forza horizon,and state of decay until 2018.

That is how bad MS was.
 
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This shouldn't even matter to Xbox gamers, even if they block this deal there is absolutely nothing stopping (edit: other than preexisting agreements which would be in effect if they bought them anyway) Call of Duty and every single other Activision/Blizzard game from appearing on Gamepass. Nothing. Microsoft can make it happen if they want, and if they don't then you need to be asking Microsoft why.
 
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adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
I'm pretty sure you know how weasel they are. Thats why you are bringing this lawyer talk.

Asking for a source is not "lawyer talk" lol. The way literally every source has been reporting the Acti stuff long before any talk from Sony etc, you'd think the concessions MS offered to EU would be noted officially somewhere, anywhere, for public consumption. But they aren't.

Anyway, until or unless FTC files injunctions, this just seems like a lawsuit for concessions or to get paid.

Do you want interesting fact?
Xbox didnt own the studos which made forza horizon,and state of decay until 2018.

That is how bad MS was.


And Sony didn't buy Insomniac until 2020 ..

nice facts, right ?
 
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This deal will not go through. Nvidia got blocked from buying ARMs

Nvidia was actually buying the industry, Microsoft isn't.

If there's grounds to stop this it would be based entirely on how many consoles sales from competiors are impacted. Sony can end the deal right now by publically listing the numbers they showed under the table, about how much they depend on COD for revenue, bleeding to other game sales on their platform, and how many consoles moved because of COD that would be lost.

If they do it publicly, than people can put that data into context for the regulators who may not (and likely not) understand the industry in depth. The fact Sony won't do this and instead did it under the table is confusing because they don't lose anything. They lose nothing.
 
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Moses85

Member
unimpressed morgan freeman GIF


But
Season 9 Thank You GIF by The Office
 

Ronin_7

Member
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.
Nah, phase 2 usually means it's dead. People don't like to hear the true these days it hurts.

They can still approve but I doubt it. CMA is 99% blocking but EU is kinda a wild card.
 

SLB1904

Banned
Asking for a source is not "lawyer talk" lol. The way literally every source has been reporting the Acti stuff long before any talk from Sony etc, you'd think the concessions MS offered to EU would be noted officially somewhere, anywhere, for public consumption. But they aren't.

Anyway, until or unless FTC files injunctions, this just seems like a lawsuit for concessions or to get paid.
Yeah between Microsoft and the lawyer. I would take the lawyer word anyday.

Regardless this is just in America. Let's see how Europe sees this drama.
 

Ezekiel_

Banned
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.
1. Yes, some are willing to let the gaming industry go to shit, if only they can have a couple more games on their subscription service.

2. ABK chose not to put CoD on Switch. If they now think that it's worth it, nothing's stopping them. MS acquisition isn't required.

3. ABK shouldn't be purchased by any big megacorps, that's the point. Wanting MS to buy them and not Amazon is purely for selfish reasons.

4. MS can innovate and create GOTY games if they make the right choices and invest in their teams. Nothing is stopping MS from competing except themselves. ABK isn't required for that. Marketshare should be earned, not bought.

5. Kotick has the full support of ABK and shareholders, and he would get a fat bonus if this deal goes through.
 
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Mibu no ookami

Demoted Member® Pro™
That's not an excuse. Sony weren't either. They learned and nurtured their studios.
MS being incompetent at their job is not an excuse for them to buying the market.

Funny how you cut out that part of what I said...

It was a different market then and the focus was more on 3rd party support with limited 1st party investment.

Microsoft took A TON of Ls on hardware early not to mention 3rd party deals.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?

QD0vUaL.png


The FTC has an incredibly weak argument if their source is self-defeating via the MS conclusion to Bethesda's purchase.




"Starfield is a new game under development by Bethesda Game Studios. It will be available on the
Xbox console and PC. Starfield, however, is yet to be released; Xbox has announced that it will be
coming in 2023. It is a single-player game. It has no pre-existing sales, revenue, or community of
gamers on any console, much less PlayStation, that would be impacted by an exclusivity decision."


"Redfall is a new game under development by Arkane Studios Austin. It will be available on the Xbox
console and PC. Redfall, however, is yet to be released; Xbox has announced that it will be available
in 2023. It is a single-player game with multi-player capabilities. It has no pre-existing sales, revenue,
or community of gamers on any console, much less PlayStation, that would be impacted by exclusivity decision."
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
That's what you and the rest of the green guys don't get: THEY WON'T STOP AT A/B.
If this goes through smoothly, it'll be just the beginning, MS will feel empowered and they WILL BUY EVERYONE ELSE.
They already made comments when all this drama started, chest pounding that they weren't going to stop at Zeni and ABK. People cringe as fuck called them "gangsta."
 
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splattered

Member
That's what you and the rest of the green guys don't get: THEY WON'T STOP AT A/B.
If this goes through smoothly, it'll be just the beginning, MS will feel empowered and they WILL BUY EVERYONE ELSE.

Naw

Are they done acquiring studios? No, but to pretend they will buy "everyone" is just silly
 
Asking for a source is not "lawyer talk" lol. The way literally every source has been reporting the Acti stuff long before any talk from Sony etc, you'd think the concessions MS offered to EU would be noted officially somewhere, anywhere, for public consumption. But they aren't.

Anyway, until or unless FTC files injunctions, this just seems like a lawsuit for concessions or to get paid.




And Sony didn't buy Insomniac until 2020 ..

nice facts, right ?

There were no concessions

They did however state the conditions that would lead to exclusive Zenimax games post acquisition as "implausible"

Surely you understand how poorly that reflects on them
 
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DeepEnigma

Gold Member
The "victim" here is supposedly Sony and its consumers, you don't think we're about to get a bunch of juicy dirty laundry about both Sony and MS? I'd be surprised...
Once again, this has nothing to do with Sony. This is on MS for failing to follow through with certain items according to the FTC, and par for the course when you try and make two back to back purchases of the largest publishers in the world, one being the very largest in ABK.

Evangelical brand ambassadors want to make it out to be a console war, however.
 
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Dick Jones

Gold Member
Not on Twitter but someone should explain to him that deliberately misleading regulators to close an $8b purchase isn’t going to bode well for your $70b purchase 2 years later. Openness and transparency are a pretty big deal, surprised to see a company the size of Microsoft engaging in this tinpot behaviour.
Moments Father GIF
 
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Nvzman

Member
Nvidia was actually buying the industry, Microsoft isn't.

If there's grounds to stop this it would be based entirely on how many consoles sales from competiors are impacted. Sony can end the deal right now by publically listing the numbers they showed under the table, about how much they depend on COD for revenue, bleeding to other game sales on their platform, and how many consoles moved because of COD that would be lost.

If they do it publicly, than people can put that data into context for the regulators who may not (and likely not) understand the industry in depth. The fact Sony won't do this and instead did it under the table is confusing because they don't lose anything. They lose nothing.
Call of Duty regularly tops sales charts and has sold almost 10 billion dollars in total revenue. You do realize that even if Activision isn't 5% of the gaming industry in terms of actual space, they still hold a market cap of $61 BILLION DOLLARS. That is a fucking gigantic chunk of the revenue from the entire gaming market. Its estimated that video games yearly make $180 billion dollars, meaning Activision arguably has something close to 1/3 of the revenue generated from video games a year. That is effectively a giant chunk of the industry, and its something you genuinely don't understand.
 

Pelta88

Member
The sad part is, the amount of likes and agreement with this ignoramus take.
But it does not surprise me.

As usual, they argue in bad faith.

There’s mouth breathing buffoons that have proliferated the gaming media space and made it hilariously bad……..and even below that is Jez.

Just in case it isn't known or any of you aren't on twitter. Jez and those of his ilk operate in a bubble. They block anyone who anyone with an objective opinion.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
There were no concessions

They did however state the conditions that would lead to exclusive Zenimax games post acquisition as "highly implausible"

Surely you understand how poorly that reflects on them

The answer for that is in the very same document itself.

Exclusivity would be profitable only if it led to an increase in the number of users and console sales.

I think TES VI, Starfield (and Redfall to a lesser extent) will very easily meet this criteria.

QD0vUaL.png



But very clearly this is not the same kind of verbiage they're using for CoD or this acquisition, so this same case does not apply here in the first place.
 
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