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Microsoft / Activision Deal Approval Watch |OT| (MS/ABK close)

Do you believe the deal will be approved?


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Ogbert

Member
And we learned they have an opt-out clause for any reason. So how is the EU planning on levying?

They have yet to release their full report, if they ever will.
Is it genuinely ‘any’ reason, or a substantive reason where MS could demonstrate commercial harm (i.e being streamed on a dodgy site that sells dildos to minors).

Are you saying that the EU agreed to a remedy that MS can pick and choose as they see fit, because that would be remarkable incompetence on the part of our European chums.
 
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Can someone make a thread of this?

According to the CMA's findings report, Sony has been giving Activision a higher revenue cut for all Call of Duty game sales and earnings made on the PlayStation platform. While we don’t know the exact revenue sharing ratio between Activision and Sony, it has become clear that Sony gives Activision a discounted margin on Call of Duty earnings made on PlayStation. This is apparently not an uncommon practice in the industry, as even Steam offers top-earning games a bigger slice of revenue.

Activision is just a greedy company they squeezed both companies
 

azertydu91

Hard to Kill
In current year, you can be whatever you want to be.
Well I chose to be a mangoose
I'll be cute for once.
Website_SpeciesPage_DwarfMongoose03_01_Solutions.jpg

And if you don't like it, I don't care I'm a fucking mangoose....
(Shit I almost misplaced the "a" in my last sentence, totally different meaning)
 

Topher

Identifies as young
According to the CMA's findings report, Sony has been giving Activision a higher revenue cut for all Call of Duty game sales and earnings made on the PlayStation platform. While we don’t know the exact revenue sharing ratio between Activision and Sony, it has become clear that Sony gives Activision a discounted margin on Call of Duty earnings made on PlayStation. This is apparently not an uncommon practice in the industry, as even Steam offers top-earning games a bigger slice of revenue.

Activision is just a greedy company they squeezed both companies

Oh.....I thought his was some massive bombshell according to some here. So.....normal shit then.

If You Say So Ok GIF by Bounce
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
I would just think that would automatically call for a change, regardless of how the two sides felt.

She disclosed it in advance, if any parties had concern they would / should have voiced them and request a change, but doesn't look like that was a factor for anyone.
 

ChiefDada

Member
I like Benji, so I'm trying to understand something. She what? I personally think Sarah Bond is a pretty woman, so is this why some in the media are making her day in court look so good? Is it only about physical looks, because I'd hate to believe Benji is also on the MS payroll.

I think he's referring to how she presents herself in general. She comes off as very personable in every event I've seen her. That's always a good trait for a c-suite exec to have. As far as her court appearance, I thought she did as well as any Microsoft agent/rep, etc, could do. The facts are the facts, and that ultimately might have cast Microsoft in a bad light today, but it has no bearing on her as a person or professional.
 
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Topher

Identifies as young
Well I chose to be a mangoose
I'll be cute for once.
Website_SpeciesPage_DwarfMongoose03_01_Solutions.jpg

And if you don't like it, I don't care I'm a fucking mangoose....
(Shit I almost misplaced the "a" in my last sentence, totally different meaning)

I say change this man's tag to say "He's a fucking mangoose", goddamit
 

Ogbert

Member
According to the CMA's findings report, Sony has been giving Activision a higher revenue cut for all Call of Duty game sales and earnings made on the PlayStation platform. While we don’t know the exact revenue sharing ratio between Activision and Sony, it has become clear that Sony gives Activision a discounted margin on Call of Duty earnings made on PlayStation. This is apparently not an uncommon practice in the industry, as even Steam offers top-earning games a bigger slice of revenue.

Activision is just a greedy company they squeezed both companies
Wouldn’t that make sense, as they’ve agreed more marketing deals on CoD?
 

Elios83

Member
Whelp, fingers crossed for this to be resolved quickly and not dragged on any longer.





I agree, today's revelations were pretty spicy for both sides but nothing that could undermine the deal, IMO of course.

The deal is already deeply undermined and defacto illegal in both US and UK as we speak.

The FTC job is to present enough evidence of anticompetitive behaviour, lies, use of past acquisitions to damage competitors, loopholes in the deals they have done to try to look good with regulators to ask the court that Microsoft is not allowed to close the deal in the US before a full trial.
Today the FTC has exposed Microsoft's lies and anticompetitive behaviours, they need to back up their position by leveraging what the CMA has done and the concerns over the cloud market of EU as well.

If you expect FTC to prove that PlayStation will go out of business this year if the acquisition is approved that is impossible but it's not what the FTC has to prove here.
 
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adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
If you expect FTC to prove that PlayStation will go out of business this year if the acquisition is approved that it's impossible but it's not what the FTC has to prove here.

I don't expect them to prove that, nor does any one of us believe that will happen regardless.

FTC's entire case is based on the foreclosure argument, an argument which 2 other major regulatory bodies have already dismissed no doubt after doing their due diligence, so they have an uphill battle.
 
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PaintTinJr

Member
I'd agree with that. She held her own.
Going by the twitter quotes in here I would expect her claiming that Microsoft would honour their agreements, but then immediately contradicted that assurance she gave, by claiming she doesn't have the power to do that would have been flagged by the judge, as speaking out of turn, because she can't give factual answers to the court on how her boss, may or may not actually act.
 
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Wouldn’t that make sense, as they’ve agreed more marketing deals on CoD?
🤷‍♂️ idk maybe? Sony's paying for marketing and have to give more revenue than normal doesn't seem like a good deal to me but I guess Sony cares more about moving PlayStations in order to sell more exclusives
 

adamsapple

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

HeisenbergFX4

Gold Member

GHG

Gold Member
No shit. Where else are they going to sell their games on the PC?

Steam doesn't need to sign shit, cause they know they're the big kahuna there.

Even with COD being as big as it is, Activision has suffered by not putting it on Steam. Hence they went crawling back.

If Microsoft want to withhold it from Steam and try and push everyone through the windows store then... Good luck.
 

Elios83

Member
I don't expect them to prove that, nor does any one of us believe that will happen regardless.

FTC's entire case is based on the foreclosure argument, an argument which 2 other major regulatory bodies have already dismissed no doubt after doing their due diligence, so they have an uphill battle.

Not really, the foreclosure argument was simply used quite effectively to expose lies and their anticompetitive behaviours handling previous acquisitions.
This trial is not about blocking the acquisition by proving that it would kill competition in consoles.
It's about discrediting them enough that they can't be trusted to escape a full case.
This is the first day, you'll see things shifting towards cloud and leveraging what the CMA has found and why they blocked the deal.
 
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GHG

Gold Member

Ogbert

Member
I’m actually laughing out loud at that Steam admission (although appreciate it’s indirect).

Their grasp on the PC market is so tight they don’t even need contracts.

The sound you just heard was EPIC’s general counsel screaming in delight.
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
Even with COD being as big as it is, Activision has suffered by not putting it on Steam. Hence they went crawling back.

If Microsoft want to withhold it from Steam and try and push everyone through the windows store then... Good luck.
Exactly. Valve was just putting the message out nicely. They're not going to act circa 1990s early 2000's PC dev cowboy hubris to the public any longer.
 
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azertydu91

Hard to Kill
I think today is my last day here. I wanted to delay my decision as long as I can, but it seems impossible at this moment. There is this feeling inside me that wants me to move forward.
Its been fun while I stayed here.


P.s. With this warning, I hope my decision is worth it.
We've had our disagrement but I'd hate you to leave, maybe request a temp? if you think that's what you really need.Anyway stay strong my friend.
 

Topher

Identifies as young
But you can stream games even if you have an unlicensed windows, you just need to bear that 'your windows is not licensed' message on the bottom right of the desktop.

How an agreement involving a windows license translate into an unlicensed install of Windows?
 

feynoob

Banned

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
How an agreement involving a windows license translate into an unlicensed install of Windows?

I read that line of questioning and it reads like they're talking about an individual license for Windows Home or Pro or something lol.

I'm still not clear on what exactly they mean by 'windows license' if not the above.
 

solidus12

Member
MS will win the hearing? You sure?



I like Benji, so I'm trying to understand something. She what? I personally think Sarah Bond is a pretty woman, so is this why some in the media are making her day in court look so good? Is it only about physical looks, because I'd hate to believe Benji is also on the MS payroll.
He is. He got a series X for free, and that’s just what he shared.

Dude tried to get a free PS5 as well but got nothing.
 

Dick Jones

Banned
I think today is my last day here. I wanted to delay my decision as long as I can, but it seems impossible at this moment. There is this feeling inside me that wants me to move forward.
Its been fun while I stayed here.


P.s. With this warning, I hope my decision is worth it.
Take a few days off. No need for any nuclear option.
feynoob feynoob Take a few days off.

Nuke your alts then come back and enjoy the ride.

Couldn't say it better myself. Do this
 

PaintTinJr

Member
But you can stream games even if you have an unlicensed windows, you just need to bear that 'your windows is not licensed' message on the bottom right of the desktop.
I think the FTC were being intentionally vague and are actually talking about the "streaming", not the thin client interaction, because the back-end streaming server does need a Windows license, because they already have the CMA's report with Stadia's evidence that they tried using linux with proton to run their cloud streaming servers for PC(window OS tied games) and couldn't compete.

Bond is now on record answering a question that the FTC can later strawman, and not look like it is a strawman to the judge IMO.
 
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