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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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    886
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bender

What time is it?
philleo.jpg
 

Nydius

Member
All these Spencer threads, except for one that is really important. He swore under oath that he won't pull CoD future titles off of PS.
It's almost like if you go back a couple pages, you'd see plenty of people pointing out why that's nothing but a load of PR bullshit that can't be taken at face value.

Still a bad deal for gaming?
Yes. And it always will be. A 2 trillion dollar company buying up one of the largest publisher/developer suites in the business will never be "good" for gaming.

People need to be required to take courses that teach them about gilded age capitalism and why we have anti-trust laws in the first place.
 

Varteras

Member
He had enough of the Twitter warring


I'm not surprised. I don't hate the guy, but he's very fragile and isn't exactly the sharpest knife. He says things like that, but then inevitably gets involved in things that are sure to bring the fanboys around. Like, dude, if you can't handle randos being idiots, don't post. I can't tell you how many times he more or less said "I'm about to quit guys".
 
Oh is this the part about where MS were supposedly considering buying Zynga and Square-Enix?

I'm not surprised. I don't hate the guy, but he's very fragile and isn't exactly the sharpest knife. He says things like that, but then inevitably gets involved in things that are sure to bring the fanboys around. Like, dude, if you can't handle randos being idiots, don't post. I can't tell you how many times he more or less said "I'm about to quit guys".

He's basically John Linnenmann with a beard.
 
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Ronin_7

Member
My boy Jim Ryan live showing how SONY acquisitions if deal Goes through so Judge is aware he'll have more time wasted Soon!!!
 

Kvally

Member
I'm not surprised. I don't hate the guy, but he's very fragile and isn't exactly the sharpest knife. He says things like that, but then inevitably gets involved in things that are sure to bring the fanboys around. Like, dude, if you can't handle randos being idiots, don't post. I can't tell you how many times he more or less said "I'm about to quit guys".
I actually am sad for him. He has publicly spoken about his mental illness and suicide. I would hate to see anything happen to him.
 

Ogbert

Member
But rather, would they have parity in access to those things similar to Microsoft, or at least parity in terms of degree of access they would have with other 3P games they don't have marketing rights to? For example if MS wants a higher revenue cut off PlayStation versus typical 3P publishers despite not providing anything in return for Sony in doing so, that could be argued as creating conditions unfavorable for a direct competitor by Microsoft, and leveraging acquired content in ways that could be viewed as extortion (or at least anticompetitive).
Those are valid questions.

You're right; MS could continue to offer CoD on the PS Store but then add an exorbitant revenue share that reduces Sony's profit. But that would be such a flagrant and obvious breach of revenue splits that it would lead to a direct competition action in and of itself. I expect the splits are standardised and all but entrenched between developers and publishers.

For example, it would be a direct mirror of the revenue share for Destiny 2 on Xbox.
 
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adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
MS found about Activision being a viable opportunity in November 2021.

MS tried to buy Zynga... I guess they use it as a sign that their interest in mobile games was prior to ABK and not an excuse ...


Yep, and it sounds like MS themselves dropped that pursuit in favor of a bigger one, going by his statements.
 
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I actually am sad for him. He has publicly spoken about his mental illness and suicide. I would hate to see anything happen to him.

Obviously I wouldn't want anyone to do self-harm, especially over stuff online. But I don't think that should excuse him from using his platform responsibly; he kind of invited some of those responses with the way he put his own POV into observations that otherwise could have been reported on neutrally, so those responses can't be 100% unexpected by him.

If it's that big a deal, take a break and go outside, play piano, maybe play a game or two.
 

Jigsaah

Gold Member
IN OTHER WORDs. Microsoft didn't want to actually build a competitive stance in the mobile space. Zynga wasn't big enough for them.

You know if you take away the money...and you have no choice. Then you either build or get left behind. Microsoft always looking for the easy way to the top.

I don't necessarily have a problem with that, but it's human nature that a person who does not earn their keep will not appreciate where they are nearly as much as someone who put their blood sweat and tears into building themselves up.
 

ShaiKhulud1989

Gold Member
Benji was always unstable due to his publicly known mental problems so it's kinda disingenuous to diss on the guy.

That being said, Twitter segment that I call 'Warren's Corner' was unbearable. And we're into prelimenary hearings, folks. The literal nothingburger if we speak about the deal's future.

I'm so glad that CAT process is not public and focused pretty much on CMA's due dilligince. Because with FTC vs MS it's pure show with no substance.
 
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Varteras

Member
All these Spencer threads, except for one that is really important. He swore under oath that he won't pull CoD future titles off of PS.

Still a bad deal for gaming?

Only about CoD and only for PS5 and if Sony "allows us". So what about other ABK games, what about PS6 in 5 years, and does "if Sony allows" mean you could offer them a shitty deal they so no to?

I actually am sad for him. He has publicly spoken about his mental illness and suicide. I would hate to see anything happen to him.

I don't know what his life is like, but dude needs to walk away from Twitter if he's suicidal. That is not a healthy place. Never was. It is the worst of the internet outside of illegal pornography.
 

Stafford

Member
He specifically said PS5, and didn't specify in which form or under what conditions.

And even if it meant what you want to think it meant, there are many concerning points surrounding the deal that could be bad for the industry in precedents that are set.



Don't care, and his own damn fault for trying to put a narrative of his own out there instead of just reporting what was happening.

Ah well, it's whatever to me anyway really. Xbox is my main, I'll get a PS5 (Pro) for its exclusives. You want Bethesda games, you buy Xbox or a PC. You want Spidey, FF, you get a PS5. It's just that simple now.
 
Those are valid questions.

You're right; MS could continue to offer CoD on the PS Store but then add an exorbitant revenue share that reduces Sony's profit. But that would be such a flagrant and obvious breach of revenue splits that it would lead to a direct competition action in and of itself. I expect the splits are standardised and all but entrenched between developers and publishers.

For example, it would be a direct mirror of the revenue share for Destiny 2 on Xbox.

That's a possibility. But even Destiny 2 on Xbox is not necessarily analogous because we don't have many examples here where the publisher is also a platform holder who is a direct competitor to you in the gaming space :/

Ah well, it's whatever to me anyway really. Xbox is my main, I'll get a PS5 (Pro) for its exclusives. You want Bethesda games, you buy Xbox or a PC. You want Spidey, FF, you get a PS5. It's just that simple now.

It's always been that way. But portbeggars & bad faith actors started to proliferate the idea Sony were paying to block access of games (especially Japanese games) from Xbox, and that's how we get to Phil Spencer reiterating those same FUD talking points under oath in court today.

When the truth reveals MS were their own worst enemy in getting that 3P support and those particular games, due to years of poor business decisions in gaming.
 

Bry0

Member
Hardly a "conspiracy" when many of them have been caught with their bare asses hanging out in the wind.
Cultivating “influencers”through exclusive/early access is something that unfortunately every huge company does nowadays. I don’t like it either but It’s not illegal. Look up anything about Apple products on YouTube and you see them in spades.
 
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Astray

Member
I'm not surprised. I don't hate the guy, but he's very fragile and isn't exactly the sharpest knife. He says things like that, but then inevitably gets involved in things that are sure to bring the fanboys around. Like, dude, if you can't handle randos being idiots, don't post. I can't tell you how many times he more or less said "I'm about to quit guys".
There is a huge issue in how content creators have approached this case tbh.

Like put the shills like Jez aside for a moment, you just had a session where almost half of the pertinent info was redacted from us (Jim Ryan deposition video + Xbox CFO testimony), and yet people are pontificating away about winners and losers.

The one I'm most disappointed in tbh is Hoeg, this is his territory, he should know that missing info means that a lot of context is absent and should be reminding people as such.
 

Stafford

Member
Only about CoD and only for PS5 and if Sony "allows us". So what about other ABK games, what about PS6 in 5 years, and does "if Sony allows" mean you could offer them a shitty deal they so no to?



I don't know what his life is like, but dude needs to walk away from Twitter if he's suicidal. That is not a healthy place. Never was. It is the worst of the internet outside of illegal pornography.

Phil did say they will continue to support Playstation as long as they are given the tools like PS6 or updated kit.

Sounds pretty alright to me, under oath. But hey, we'll see, won't we.
 

Nydius

Member
Cultivating “influencers”through exclusive/early access is something that unfortunately every huge company does nowadays. I don’t like it either but It’s not illegal. Look up anything about Apple products on YouTube and you see them in spades.

I guess the question is where does "cultivating influencers" end and "paid shilling" begin? Because if you look at a lot of these 'influencers', they all seem to simply copy/paste the company line. Take the Redfall situation for example. Literally up until the last few days of release, they were all parroting the same praises for the game. How it was fantastic, polished, amazing, and would be a tentpole exclusive for the Xbox brand. Until -- surprise! -- the game came out and everyone could see it was crap. Then they were scrambling to cover their backsides or gave disingenuous non-answers as to why they were praising the game that was so blatantly flawed.

I don't begrudge cultivating a community following. I've been on record saying I think the Ambassador program was an absolute stroke of genius on the part of the Xbox brand. But when influencers begin peddling the company line for payment and perks, well, they're no longer "influencers". They're staff.
 

Varteras

Member
Not a big fan of posters calling Benji's mental health etc in question just because of that one tweet he made 🤷‍♂️

A single benign tweet from him doesn't deserve that kind of vitriol.

It's not in question. He is mentally fragile, has apparently talked about suicide in the past, and yet continues to try and make his living in one of the most toxic places on the internet. That is on him to walk away from for his own good. But he keeps coming back. At some point, you need to realize you're asking for it, and it's not worth it. Complaining about how shitty people are never changed anything. Refusing to engage in those circles does. At the very least for you.

And his take was completely missing the point of the FTC's moves.
 
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