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[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

I also find the concept of Sony lobbying the government to stop this, while trying to by a publisher themselves a bit strange.

I'd say they could do one or the other.. both would be a bit.. odd.

Not really.

All publishers are not created equal. Hence why MS's Bethesda deal went for 7B and passed without any resistance, whereas this deal for ten times that amount is for one of the 3/4 biggest publishers in the industry. The level of consolidation here is multiple times larger than Bethesda.

So in that same vein, Sony buying up a small Japanese publisher like Kadokawa won't raise any eyebrows at all. They aren't even playing in the same league at Activision.

 

[IntentionalPun]

Not really.

All publishers are not created equal. Hence why MS's Bethesda deal went for 7B and passed without any resistance, whereas this deal for ten times that amount is for one of the 3/4 biggest publishers in the industry. The level of consolidation here is multiple times larger than Bethesda.

So in that same vein, Sony buying up a small Japanese publisher like Kadokawa won't raise any eyebrows at all. They aren't even playing in the same league at Activision.

Well the article says “blockbuster deal” so was more commenting on that.

 

[VAVA Mk2]

I pray they make it exclusive. Want Sony to panic.

You do?

 

[Bo_Hazem]

You do?

Sony always becomes even better under pressure = more great games.

 

[VAVA Mk2]

Sony always becomes even better under pressure = more great games.

Competition is good for everyone

 

[adamsapple]

Sony always becomes even better under pressure = more great games.

You fall under the "Chaotic Good" archetype

 

[Bo_Hazem]

You fall under the "Chaotic Good" archetype

I don't play Activision games = Win-win.

 

[PlaystationFan5349]

Its not just for Activision, let alone just CoD, its for Blizzard and King which are also own extremely valuable properties in their own right.
In fact in terms of revenue the highest earning segment in 2020 was King, its incredibly easy to underestimate the value of mobile within the ABK portfolio.

Speaking of mobile, the obvious answer to your question remains Minecraft, the product they name-checked in their SEC declaration!

That’s the only game you people can think of.

 

[BacklashWave534]

Give me a break. As if the FTC or any other hack US regulatory agency has the fortitude to do what they were sanctioned to do.

Yeah, seriously. I can't remember the last time an antitrust law was utilized.

 

[kyussman]

Sony always becomes even better under pressure = more great games.

In that case given the amount of pressure Microsoft are piling on right now.......we should be in for some pretty fucking amazing games from Sony,lol.

 

[Bo_Hazem]

In that case given the amount of pressure Microsoft are piling on right now.......we should be in for some pretty fucking amazing games from Sony,lol.

Yup, as always. Although content wise there is still zero pressure at the moment.

 

[OptimistPrime]

If keeping Call of Duty off of PlayStation is an anti-competitive practice then so is keeping Spider-Man or Final Fantasy off of XBox. There’s no way around that if you’re a regulator.

 

[kyussman]

Yup, as always. Although content wise there is still zero pressure at the moment.

Yea,you're right there.Microsoft have kind of done the easy part in aquring a lot of studios......now the hard part,making great games!

 

[On Demand]

Lol. What can I say? Payback's a bitch.

Honestly doesn't affect me either way as I own a PS5 and a Series X. But there's definitely a difference in how news is treated between the 2 companies. MS gets a 1 year exclusive for Rise of the Tomb Raider and the world almost ends. Sony repeatedly gets exclusive windows for games like Final Fantasy, Death Loop, Crash Collection, Star Wars KOTOR, and nobody bats an eye. It's hilarious watching the hypocrisy get exposed.

An honest fanboy. Nice. That’s what I thought.

Timed exclusives really need to stop being compared to buying 3rd part publishers. It’s not remotely the same thing. Sony has yet to buy a 3rd party multiplatform developer.

And I don’t know what planet you live on, but Sony’s timed exclusives have had people and the media bitching like ever.

Tomb Raider caused a big ruckus because it was announced as a multiplatform game and here comes MS making it exclusive to XB1. They have a much smaller installed base than PS4, and TR is more associated with PS, which made no sense as to why Square Enix would agree to give MS that deal.

There’s context to everything.

 

[mckmas8808]

Sony always becomes even better under pressure = more great games.

And maybe this will force Sony to take their gamers more serious. The fact that STILL don't know when we'll see PSVR2 is insane to me. Why aren't they hyping it up? And NO.....CES wasn't enough.

 

[Lognor]

Yeah, seriously. I can't remember the last time an antitrust law was utilized.

Insurance brokers Aon and Willis Towers Watson scrap their $30 billion merger

Aon and Willis Towers Watson said they had agreed to terminate their $30 billion merger agreement and end their litigation with the U.S. Department of Justice.

www.cnbc.com

Happened just last year, but the scope of that merger was much greater. It was the largest and third largest insurance brokerages in the world merging. The Activision acquisition isn't on the same scale. And the funny thing about that, is the EU approved the merger! It was the US that blocked it.

 

[Slayer-33]

US gov will allow this as long as it's not Tencent buying them.

Close the thread.

 

[Iced Arcade]

I pray they make it exclusive. Want Sony to panic.

I 100% get what Bo is saying.

XBOX for example became it's best when it had something to prove/fight for (same as sony with the PS3).

 

[Megatron]

An honest fanboy. Nice. That’s what I thought.

Timed exclusives really need to stop being compared to buying 3rd part publishers. It’s not remotely the same thing. Sony has yet to buy a 3rd party multiplatform developer.

And I don’t know what planet you live on, but Sony’s timed exclusives have had people and the media bitching like ever.

Tomb Raider caused a big ruckus because it was announced as a multiplatform game and here comes MS making it exclusive to XB1. They have a much smaller installed base than PS4, and TR is more associated with PS, which made no sense as to why Square Enix would agree to give MS that deal.

There’s context to everything.

Sony hasn’t bought a multi platform developer? I’m sorry who do you think made Sunset Overdrive? Blue point also has made games that we’re on Xbox. Notably Titanfall and the Metal Gear Solid collection.

Also I am tired of people hiding behind ‘well they are only timed exclusives so it’s fine’ first of all, how do we know they are only timed? Sony doesn’t tell us what the exclusivity period is. It’s been 2 years since FF7 came out. When is that coming to XBox? How long are KOTOR and FF16 exclusive for? Sony doesn’t tell us. We don’t know when or even if these games are coming. What We do know is these are games Sony would be getting anyway that they are paying to keep off XBox. They gain nothing by doing this. The reverse isn’t true. MS gains a huge library to put on gamepass. They get games that now will come to their system for sure and they get them on the day they are ready not after some abstract period of time months or years down the road. Sony was moneyhatting Bethesda games left and right so MS stepped in and put a stop to it. The Activision purchase isn’t a response to Sony continuing to moneyhat games but it’s hard to feel sorry for them when another company turns things around and takes games away from them.

And I loved the fanboy comment. I will have a chuckle over it while playing Horizon FW on my PS5 next month.

 

[Bo_Hazem]

I 100% get what Bo is saying.

XBOX for example became it's best when it had something to prove/fight for (same as sony with the PS3).

Yup, this time around they might end up shaking hands though if they think it's healthier. Let's see how things pan out.