Support NeoGAF

[FrankWza]

The reason is simple:

1. The regulators failed to do their job to stop this acquisition from happening, and that's now known

2. Signing an agreement makes it legally binding so Sony knows what the future will be and can plan accordingly

The deal is very likely going through unless Activision or the CMA do the unthinkable, so it makes sense to sign at this stage. Didn't make a lick of sense to sign when the outcome wasn't known

Plus we got this info:

Ctrl+Alt+Deceive: All The Dirt, Info, Lies, and LOLs We Found During FTC vs. Microsoft

Here are all the dirt, information, lies, and LOLs we found during the FTC hearing case. Notes: That was a lot of work; I'd appreciate your support. Please keep it civil. This thread is very important because I wanted to compile all the information in one place for posterity and preservation...

www.neogaf.com

Jimmy!

 

[Chiggs]

In all seriousness what dormant acti franchises would you like seen brought back or remastered and who do you want to handle those projects ?

Uh, you miss my giant ass protest sign up above?

Edit: or on the past page.

 

[Kilau]

 

[adamsapple]

 

[M16]

this is what the CMA meant by "special circumstances" that made them look at a new offer

 

[tryDEATH]

Sony knows that MS needs Playstation sales to keep COD profitable, specially after if is added to GP and full price sales on Xbox go down, they can use that as leverage to keep the traditional 70/30 split.

In what world do you think Sony has any leverage to tell MS what to do after MS just beat the FTC and the EC approved the deal while fighting vs. Sony. If push comes to shove MS would gladly eat the cost to make CoD fully console exclusive, Sony is at the mercy of MS when it comes to CoD now and that includes splits.

 

[Kilau]

this is what the CMA meant by "special circumstances" that made them look at a new offer

Maybe but CMA didn't have console concerns.

 

[Mr Moose]

In what world do you think Sony has any leverage to tell MS what to do after MS just beat the FTC and the EC approved the deal while fighting vs. Sony. If push comes to shove MS would gladly eat the cost to make CoD fully console exclusive, Sony is at the mercy of MS when it comes to CoD now and that includes splits.

We found WarhammerDaves GAF account.

 

[M16]

Maybe but CMA didn't have console concerns.

yeah but, when your main competitor that was trying to sink your deal finally signs a deal, it means even they arent concerned anymore,especially when all the main cloud providers support your deal.

 

[X-Wing]

The reason is simple:

1. The regulators failed to do their job to stop this acquisition from happening, and that's now known

2. Signing an agreement makes it legally binding so Sony knows what the future will be and can plan accordingly

The deal is very likely going through unless Activision or the CMA do the unthinkable, so it makes sense to sign at this stage. Didn't make a lick of sense to sign when the outcome wasn't known

They probably also got a better deal now that Microsoft was desperate do so extra concessions to convince the CMA.

 

[Facism]

Tweets you can smell

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

yeah but, when your main competitor that was trying to sink your deal finally signs a deal, it means even they arent concerned anymore,especially when all the main cloud providers support your deal.

Sony signing a deal doesn't mean they aren't concerned; it means that they believe the deal will get approved regardless

 

[Chiggs]

Okay, in all seriousness, here's my reboot/remaster wish-list from the list of ActiBlizz IPs:

• Blur
• Caesar
• Call of Duty
• Candy Crush
• Crash Bandicoot
• Diablo
• DJ Hero
• Empire Earth
• Gabriel Knight
• Geometry Wars
• Guitar Hero
• Gun
• Hearthstone
• Heroes of the Storm
• Hexen
• Interstate '76
• King's Quest
• Laura Bow Mysteries
• The Lost Vikings
• Overwatch
• Phantasmagoria
• Pitfall
• Police Quest
• Prototype
• Quest for Glory
• Singularity
• Skylanders
• Solider of Fortune
• Space Quest
• Spyro the Dragon
• StarCraft
• Tenchu (legacy games)
• TimeShift
• Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
• True Crime
• World of Warcraft
• Zork

 

[Thirty7ven]

I didn't expect Sony to sign, I don't understand the reasons for doing so now, the advantages of this agreement (which we don't know but we can imagine) are irrelevant to what the market will be like for the next 5/10 years. imho it would have been more useful not to do it and leave ms completely free to do what she wanted.

the only reason that comes to mind is that if they too want to acquire someone in the future, having such agreements with competitors will be decisive and they might as well sign. really, at the moment I don't see any logic in what has been done by sony for these months, they have only gained time and maybe not even that given that the 18th was the deadline set by ms

You can look at narrative or you can look at results and those say what was supposed to be an easy time with regulators, ended up with MS being forced to offer remedies for cloud, sign with Nintendo, GeForce Now, PlayStation, and possibly have to divest cloud market rights in the UK.

In the meantime they also managed to prove in court that these type of acquisitions barely move the needle and are not anti competitive for the console space. Sony is now clear to consolidate, and since they aren't going for say, an EA, it's going to be smooth sailing.

Seems to me everyone gets what they want aside from those who were hoping this acquisition would damage PlayStation.

 

[havoc00]

Tweets you can smell

His dms probably blew up after that, do you know how much ass he's gonna get now? gamers girls lining up for him

 

[MasterCornholio]

They probably also got a better deal now that Microsoft was desperate do so extra concessions to convince the CMA.

The nuclear option was going to cause them some issues. I'm not surprised they want to avoid that.

 

[Ar¢tos]

In what world do you think Sony has any leverage to tell MS what to do after MS just beat the FTC and the EC approved the deal while fighting vs. Sony. If push comes to shove MS would gladly eat the cost to make CoD fully console exclusive, Sony is at the mercy of MS when it comes to CoD now and that includes splits.

In a realistic world where shareholders are more important than gamers. If COD makes 1.5bn for Sony and that money is only 30% imagine how many billions it would cost MS to not have COD on Playstation. Shareholders would never allow that.

 

[adamsapple]

Okay, in all seriousness, here's my reboot/remaster wish-list from the list of ActiBlizz IPs:

• Blur
• Caesar
• Call of Duty
• Candy Crush
• Crash Bandicoot
• Diablo
• DJ Hero
• Empire Earth
• Gabriel Knight
• Geometry Wars
• Guitar Hero
• Gun
• Hearthstone
• Heroes of the Storm
• Hexen
• Interstate '76
• King's Quest
• Laura Bow Mysteries
• The Lost Vikings
• Overwatch
• Phantasmagoria
• Pitfall
• Police Quest
• Prototype
• Quest for Glory
• Singularity
• Skylanders
• Solider of Fortune
• Space Quest
• Spyro the Dragon
• StarCraft
• Tenchu (legacy games)
• TimeShift
• Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
• True Crime
• World of Warcraft
• Zork

SIN-GU-MOTHER-FUCKING-LARITY !!!

 

[Kilau]

yeah but, when your main competitor that was trying to sink your deal finally signs a deal, it means even they arent concerned anymore,especially when all the main cloud providers support your deal.

I think it's more likely the CMA reach an agreement over cloud concerns and Sony signing is a reaction to that deal.

 

[havoc00]

SIN-GU-MOTHER-FUCKING-LARITY !!!

I forgot a lot of those games on that list acti has a way deeper ip list than I thought they had,If this is handled right it could be fun although we won't see any of that until next gen

 

[tryDEATH]

We found WarhammerDaves GAF account.

I didn't know who the MF was, but just saw someone qoute his tweet and don't you fucking dare affiliate me that weirdo let also accuse me of being him. Dude pays for twitter verfied thats an automatic loser.

 

[MarkMe2525]

So exactly what happened to film and music entertainment industry?

Most people can not tell the difference between a streamed album/4k video stream vs it playing off of physical media. This cannot be stated as true for streaming video games on a whole. There are pockets of people who live in areas with adequate infrastructure, but most of the world's population still need a physical box to play their games at high fidelity.

The current comparisons with music and movie industry do not work when cloud gaming is a supplementary service. Because of the inherent tolerance to latency with music and video, streaming those mediums just makes sense, and is by far easier execute at high quality. This is why I don't buy into the doom and gloom scenario of hardware going away. As long as there are people willing to spend money on hardware, there will be a supplier.

 

[RickMasters]

Okay, in all seriousness, here's my reboot/remaster wish-list from the list of ActiBlizz IPs:

• Blur
• Caesar
• Call of Duty
• Candy Crush
• Crash Bandicoot
• Diablo
• DJ Hero
• Empire Earth
• Gabriel Knight
• Geometry Wars
• Guitar Hero
• Gun
• Hearthstone
• Heroes of the Storm
• Hexen
• Interstate '76
• King's Quest
• Laura Bow Mysteries
• The Lost Vikings
• Overwatch
• Phantasmagoria
• Pitfall
• Police Quest
• Prototype
• Quest for Glory
• Singularity
• Skylanders
• Solider of Fortune
• Space Quest
• Spyro the Dragon
• StarCraft
• Tenchu (legacy games)
• TimeShift
• Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
• True Crime
• World of Warcraft
• Zork

I think prototype, true crime and time shift are IPs worth revisiting/ rebooting with new ideas.


I'd love to see them take another stab at a single player StarCraft FPS again ( remember the cancelled StarCraft:ghost?….. good time to revisit it)


I think WoW should get a single player RPG. Imagine something similar to dragon age where you have a squad you can command….. but also it's an action game…..maybe make the combat a bit like a sort of dark souls intense combat style action RPG- but with light tactics anc character switching like dragon age…… they should hire me to lead that one!

Hexen/Heretic is a must. That has to happen.

A rebooted Tenchu would fill a nice void in the catalog. I'd take cues from the likes of sekiro, wo long and other modern Japanese action games and just…..I'd even go as far as hiring from software to make it. It could be a bit like Sekiro but with Ninja instead of samurai. And a lot more stealth and verticality to the gameplay. Great sword play, an interesting story…. Crazy boss fights. And it would have two thing going for it….. its a beloved IP, and it would be developed by from, which would be a suprise, for sure and a very compelling reason to get an Xbox/GPU on PC.

 

[adamsapple]

I forgot a lot of those games on that list acti has a way deeper ip list than I thought they had,If this is handled right it could be fun although we won't see any of that until next gen

They can just make it BC compatible (and throw in some enhancements) for starters and I'll be happy.

 

[Chiggs]

I forgot a lot of those games on that list acti has a way deeper ip list than I thought they had,If this is handled right it could be fun although we won't see any of that until next gen

Ugh....I can't deal with the wait.

Can they at least get on the phone with Nightdive to get us some decent remasters? Some of those could be pumped out within a year.

 

[Chukhopops]

They probably also got a better deal now that Microsoft was desperate do so extra concessions to convince the CMA.

I'm sure Sony got an even better deal than their initial counter proposal where every Activision game had to be available on Sony platforms as well as Sony subscription services and offered at the same time for the same price. And they even wanted equal treatment for Bethesda games.

 

[havoc00]

They can just make it BC compatible (and throw in some enhancements) for starters and I'll be happy.

That's true I hope the bc team is back in full force now, also I'd love a best of guitar hero game best tracks one game and a new guitar packed in sell it for like 100 bucks

 

[FrankWza]

Lulu is about to get knocked up by Evangelization right up her twit.

 

[tryDEATH]

In a realistic world where shareholders are more important than gamers. If COD makes 1.5bn for Sony and that money is only 30% imagine how many billions it would cost MS to not have COD on Playstation. Shareholders would never allow that.

The game makes 3.2Bil on Sony with 800 profit for Sony, if CoD disappears from Sony it would be a financial hit, but no where near 2.4Bil as Xbox's would be flying of the shelves. Better question is would Sony be willing to lose all the profits over another 10%/80Mil.

 

[Ar¢tos]

L lastmessiah Stop with the passive aggressive LOL emoting.
If you want to say something, grow a pair and say it.

 

[havoc00]

I think a lot of people are excited about this because they are hoping MS will be more active with dormant Activision ips, or at least re mastering the ips there is a lot of potential to re boot or remaster or offer collections of these games strictly for gp content this is why as a Xbox fan am a bit hyped for this if ms follows though.

 

[FrankWza]

This is why I don't buy into the doom and gloom scenario of hardware going away

What’s Lost When Censors Tamper With Classic Films

A new edit of ‘The French Connection’ removes a racial slur. But nit-picking old artworks for breaking today’s rules inevitably makes it harder to see the complete picture.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Ar¢tos]

The game makes 3.2Bil on Sony with 800 profit for Sony, if CoD disappears from Sony it would be a financial hit, but no where near 2.4Bil as Xbox's would be flying of the shelves. Better question is would Sony be willing to lose all the profits over another 10%/80Mil.

800m in US, 1.5bn globally.
You are seriously over estimating the value of console COD if you think it will make Xboxs fly of the shelves.
Many people I talked to would rather move to PC than buy a Xbox for COD, because they would get Xbox games and eventually Playstation games there.

 

[tpieman2029]

Thats a lot of monthly salaries, plus the cost of studios/equipment etc, plus the 68 bn of course..
I wonder when, or even if, MS will get their money back

Microsoft earns this much money in a little over 3 quarters. Now xbox earning this money back? Lol not gonna happen.

 

[Zheph]

I think a lot of people are excited about this because they are hoping MS will be more active with dormant Activision ips, or at least re mastering the ips there is a lot of potential to re boot or remaster or offer collections of these games strictly for gp content this is why as a Xbox fan am a bit hyped for this if ms follows though.

That's mostly wishful thinking tho
the priority will be CoD for ABK studios for all the reasons mentioned on this thead and why Sony is even signing a deal now

 

[Mythoclast]

I hope MS did this in exchange of no more third party "timed" exclusives from PS.

Seems kind of unnecessary to sign a deal when the acquisition was already basically done.

 

[havoc00]

That's mostly wishful thinking tho
the priority will be CoD for ABK studios for all the reasons mentioned on this thead and why Sony is even signing a deal now

I mean game pass needs content all the time, doing a resolution bump for some of these games seems like a no brainer here game pass members here's new content plus nostalgia!

 

[MasterCornholio]

I hope MS did this in exchange of no more third party "timed" exclusives from PS.

Seems kind of unnecessary to sign a deal when the acquisition was already basically done.

That probably won't happen. Microsoft will just aquire devs to stop timed exclusives and marketing deals from happening.

 

[Zheph]

I mean game pass needs content all the time, doing a resolution bump for some of these games seems like a no brainer here game pass members here's new content plus nostalgia!

well if we talking ports than i agree, that's an easy win

 

[zapper]

The reason is simple:

1. The regulators failed to do their job to stop this acquisition from happening, and that's now known

2. Signing an agreement makes it legally binding so Sony knows what the future will be and can plan accordingly

The deal is very likely going through unless Activision or the CMA do the unthinkable, so it makes sense to sign at this stage. Didn't make a lick of sense to sign when the outcome wasn't known

ok on the regulators, less on the second point: cod would have remained on pseven without the agreement because the disadvantages of making it exclusive would have been too high even for ms.

so I hope that apart from making investors happy the reason why sony signed now was "if we don't do it we risk blocking our future acquisitions too".

 

[Dry_Kill_Logic_87]

All done and dusted, I can't say I don't take some pleasure from the posters who claimed this deal had no chance or one poster claimed 5% I'll spare that poster by not naming and shaming. The "why would Sony sign a deal" gang have also been made to look silly

This deal should never have been blocked in the first place and thankfully common sense has prevailed as it usually does, this thread did make me laugh

should never been blocked ? hahaha
so only company in the industry that has trillions of dollars should just be allowed to buy everything ? wow, some of you guys are 15y old or just not smart.
in the court they showed Microsoft email that had list of all the studios in the industry that they could buy.

it's called MONOPOLY, that's why it was blocked.
explain to us how would Nintendo and Sony compete with this ?
would it be ok if MS buys Ubisoft and Capcom and Sega and Square and Take Two..... ???

 

[Chukhopops]

The game makes 3.2Bil on Sony with 800 profit for Sony, if CoD disappears from Sony it would be a financial hit, but no where near 2.4Bil as Xbox's would be flying of the shelves. Better question is would Sony be willing to lose all the profits over another 10%/80Mil.

No it doesn't, I think the 800mil is either inflated or it includes the revenue from PS+ Essentials from CoD players.

should never been blocked ? hahaha
so only company in the industry that has trillions of dollars should just be allowed to buy everything ? wow, some of you guys are 15y old or just not smart.
in the court they showed Microsoft email that had list of all the studios in the industry that they could buy.

it's called MONOPOLY, that's why it was blocked.
explain to us how would Nintendo and Sony compete with this ?
would it be ok if MS buys Ubisoft and Capcom and Sega and Square and Take Two..... ???

I am so ready for Monday afternoon.

 

[Topher]

I am so ready for Monday afternoon.

What are you expecting to happen Monday afternoon?

 

[RickMasters]

Ugh....I can't deal with the wait.

Can they at least get on the phone with Nightdive to get us some decent remasters? Some of those could be pumped out within a year.

Or get on their studio to do a full remaster of the 16 but version. Maybe even reboot it as a Metroidvania style 2D platformer. With a really nice pixel art style….. would be cool.


I don't think they need it as a 3D game because the character is to similar to Indiana jones who they already are making an exclusive game on. But then again maybe with a 3D pitiful you can take liberties that benefit the gameplay but may not quite fit in the Realistic approach they will take to indy jones. The pitfall character could use his whip as a boinic commando style device for platforming, which wouldn't quite fit indy. So maybe they can have two 3D, action adventure games like this that don't overlap in ideas too much even if the characters are similar looking … the classic brown hat and jacket and tanned chinos… very 1940s adventurer type… both games lead character have that…. But they could take a more unique and stylised approach to pitfall I think.



Man, I should be a head game producer or some head honcho over there at xbox. I'd get that ship in order so fast…..

 

[Jemm]

I think a lot of people are excited about this because they are hoping MS will be more active with dormant Activision ips, or at least re mastering the ips there is a lot of potential to re boot or remaster or offer collections of these games strictly for gp content this is why as a Xbox fan am a bit hyped for this if ms follows though.

I'm sure Microsoft has nothing against that, but each remake/reboot still needs a team/studio that is willing to do the job. Maybe they can hire some support studios to do them.

 

[PaintTinJr]

Sony signing a deal doesn't mean they aren't concerned; it means that they believe the deal will get approved regardless

Yeah, unless the CMA aren't following the law, this makes no difference to the cloud SLC and is just an insurance policy for PlayStation, because it does nothing to protect companies that haven't even been started, yet to compete in the cloud gaming market in the coming years. All this might help with is arguing the point with ATVI that extending is worth doing, but I still have a feeling this deal dies either on the 18th or in 6 weeks time.

Nothing the CMA can accept from Microsoft - short of them divesting CoD - will remedy the cloud gaming SLC that has been correctly identified by the CMA. So unless the CMA act illegally I don't see this passing now or in 6 weeks.

edit: Accidentally wrote 'have', instead of 'haven't'

 

[Chukhopops]

What are you expecting to happen Monday afternoon?

The CAT hearing isn't at 2.30 PM UK time? I think it might bring light to the current situation and next steps.

 

[havoc00]

What are you expecting to happen Monday afternoon?

I'm sure Microsoft has nothing against that, but each remake/reboot still needs a team/studio that is willing to do the job. Maybe they can hire some support studios to do them.

Or maybe shuffle a bit of the studios around at act they have some talented studios all stuck on support for cod

 

[The Pleasure]

That's a big tight slap across the cheeks of those who insist for the past year that the deal should be dropped, because Microsoft will make CoD exclusive to Xbox

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtube.com

 

[Jigga117]

The question (which may never be answered) is did Sony waiting to the 11th hour allow them to negotiate a better deal or did they accept a worse deal to avoid being left out in the cold.

Sony declined the deal initially with the 10 years thinking the ABK deal wasn't going to happen. Now that it is happening they signed whatever deal they could get whether that's 10 years or less who knows . MS has all the leverage and will be making the money off of PlayStation and that's the endgame.