Support NeoGAF

[BadBurger]

It sounds like the EU has the same exact concerns that the CMA does, only they appear to think that the decade-long period of deals is an acceptable remedy, along with providing licenses for ABK games that consumers have purchased on another platform so they could play it on the cloud service of their choice:

"A free license to consumers in the EEA that would allow them to stream, via any cloud game streaming services of their choice, all current and future Activision Blizzard PC and console games for which they have a license."

The EU having the same concerns as the CMA kind of strengthens the CMA's case in my mind. I am also no expert in UK law, but I am pretty sure the committee in Parliament cannot reverse any decision made by the CMA. They can raise a fuss and make threats to change laws, but AFAIK the deal is blocked in the UK, end of story.

 

[gothmog]

The meltdowns have been amazing so far. Almost makes the EU not putting an end to the deal worth it.

 

[Excess]

Pure Copium.

They’ve already decided. They’re not revisiting their decision or any potential remedies unless they’re forced to by a CAT appeal. The likelihood of a CAT appeal being in Microsoft’s favor is very small.

I realize this thread is almost 1000 pages long but all of this has been explained ad nauseum. Do try and keep up.

Maybe because I haven't visited this site in months, I'm not clouded by conjecture, but asking the right questions seems more important. Why are Microsoft and Activision still moving forward and spending millions on legal proceedings if the deal was dead?

 

[dotnotbot]

The meltdown when the gov gives the CMA more power

I like how every piece of news he tweets needs to have his bullshit reality-bending opinion attached.

 

[devilNprada]

And that brings us to the first thing we should agree on which is that the CMA are a bunch of inadequate people who shouldn't have this much power to begin with.

They should hire you, you seem to know everything!

Why the fuck do you think Nvidia and every other cloud gaming provider want this deal to happen if it was bad for them?

.... and so eloquently spoken too!

 

[gothmog]

Maybe because I haven't visited this site in months, I'm not clouded by conjecture, but asking the right questions seems more important. Why are Microsoft and Activision still moving forward and spending millions on legal proceedings if the deal was dead?

Billions of dollars worth of breakup fee.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Maybe because I haven't visited this site in months, I'm not clouded by conjecture, but asking the right questions seems more important. Why are Microsoft and Activision still moving forward and spending millions on legal proceedings if the deal was dead?

They have an obligation to until the deadline. In which then, Activision shareholders can accept more money, or the same 3billion to extend it.

 

[Topher]

Maybe because I haven't visited this site in months, I'm not clouded by conjecture, but asking the right questions seems more important. Why are Microsoft and Activision still moving forward and spending millions on legal proceedings if the deal was dead?

They are required to make a good faith effort throughout the duration of the agreed upon timeline that ends in July. At that point, MS and ABK have to make a decision as to how they will proceed. They can extend or change their current agreement or ABK can say enough is enough and take the $3 billion dollars and run.

 

[Raven77]

The meltdown when the gov gives the CMA more power

Let me provide a reality check for anyone thinking that the CMA matters at all in this situation.

First, the only thing that matters in this entire situation is money. If enough money is thrown at the right people in the right organizations then this deal will go through and it will go through faster than people think (as in, not "years").

Second, nobody knows if this will be good or not for gaming and gamers. Time will tell.

 

[Nubulax]

Yeah I'm sure ms investors prefer to leave UK revenue behind to have Abk on an irrelevant division with a pile of losses.

Id be rooting for it... because MS stock would tank and I could buy alot of shares cheaper lol

 

[Topher]

The meltdown when the gov gives the CMA more power

lol.....I barely say anything at all on twitter ever, but I respectfully disagreed with this asshat a couple of times in the last few weeks.

You know where this is going.......

 

[jm89]

Let me provide a reality check for anyone thinking that the CMA matters at all in this situation.

First, the only thing that matters in this entire situation is money. If enough money is thrown at the right people in the right organizations then this deal will go through and it will go through faster than people think (as in, not "years").

Second, nobody knows if this will be good or not for gaming and gamers. Time will tell.

SMH how long have we been hearing this?

 

[IllegalLemon]

Senjutsu weed-smoker is back at it again. Consolidation is a problem to those corporate dickriders, until Microsoft does it, then it's considered ok. Man, the double standards with those fanboys are off the charts. If that's not enough, then it's regulators being corrupt because they told and said "NO" to a trillion dollar multinational conglomerate, which can barely manage the studios that it already has properly. I lose 2 IQ points every time I read those borderline brain-dead takes on twitter.

 

[FritzJ92]

Neither Sony nor Nintendo have the infrastructure for that and neither of them can match the level of investment and presence Microsoft has on that front.

I dont disagree, but they have 10 years. Sony also has experience from their previous acquisitions.

 

[Bernoulli]

Let me provide a reality check for anyone thinking that the CMA matters at all in this situation.

First, the only thing that matters in this entire situation is money. If enough money is thrown at the right people in the right organizations then this deal will go through and it will go through faster than people think (as in, not "years").

Second, nobody knows if this will be good or not for gaming and gamers. Time will tell.

They gave you a new 10 years of Hopium deal ?

 

[graywolf323]

Let me provide a reality check for anyone thinking that the CMA matters at all in this situation.

First, the only thing that matters in this entire situation is money. If enough money is thrown at the right people in the right organizations then this deal will go through and it will go through faster than people think (as in, not "years").

Second, nobody knows if this will be good or not for gaming and gamers. Time will tell.

…are people really pushing the idea that Microsoft is able to force this deal through by spending money on bribes as a good thing?

 

[FritzJ92]

You've got Geforce Now and all these other cloud providers coming to Microsoft for licenses to ABK products including COD for 10 years. That is a massive amount of control in the cloud market as they will be dependent on Microsoft. MS will be able to yank all those licenses and consolidate these customers under xCloud.



People really need to stop with the Netflix comparisons. This ain't the same.

That's true, but that is why I said Sony and Nintendo does not need cloud if they choose to really invest in a cloud future. Nintendo has found success without COD, and Sony have the IPs and user based to grow a cloud business if they wanted to. However, I don't disagree with your statement.

 

[Dick Jones]

lol.....I barely say anything at all on twitter ever, but I respectfully disagreed with this asshat a couple of times in the last few weeks.

You know where this is going.......

Just like MS and ABK

 

[Tomeru]

When ppl act like ATV can't put their games out the door without MS


That's when you KNOW.

 

[Nydius]

Let me provide a reality check for anyone thinking that the CMA matters at all in this situation.

It just be nice living in your own delusional reality where you can just make shit up.

It’s been explained endlessly — and by Microsoft themselves to the Securities and Exchange Commission — why the CMA matters. Without unanimous approval, the deal is dead.

They’ve blocked it.
The end.
Full stop.

No amount of money being thrown will change their current findings. The ONLY money Microsoft can spend is on lawyers to try and appeal. And appeal that has an infinitesimally small chance of success.

After the last 200 pages of people repeatedly pointing this out you still choose to live in your delusional fanboy fantasy land, more power to you.

But you are wrong.

Edit: As for your last line about “time will tell”, history is already chock full of examples of what happens when mega corporations merge. Here’s the cliff’s notes version: It’s never been good for consumers, innovation, or workers; it’s only been good for executives and those at the top of the profit chain.

 

[feynoob]

Found a nice comment from r/stocks

People saying MSFT should pull out of the U.K. market are smoking something strong

 

[Ronin_7]

Keep believing what you want to. These companies are way too important and influential and there is no way they are going to let one country stop this deal.

Delusional beyond repair.

 

[Kilau]

It sounds like the EU has the same exact concerns that the CMA does, only they appear to think that the decade-long period of deals is an acceptable remedy, along with providing licenses for ABK games that consumers have purchased on another platform so they could play it on the cloud service of their choice:

"A free license to consumers in the EEA that would allow them to stream, via any cloud game streaming services of their choice, all current and future Activision Blizzard PC and console games for which they have a license."

The EU having the same concerns as the CMA kind of strengthens the CMA's case in my mind. I am also no expert in UK law, but I am pretty sure the committee in Parliament cannot reverse any decision made by the CMA. They can raise a fuss and make threats to change laws, but AFAIK the deal is blocked in the UK, end of story.

I think it's more like the EU already has the fine money spent for when MS breaks the agreements.

 

[GHound]

…are people really pushing the idea that Microsoft is able to force this deal through by spending money on bribes as a good thing?

The IQ deficient went all in on "any means necessary so long as it's my brand."

 

[DeepEnigma]

lol.....I barely say anything at all on twitter ever, but I respectfully disagreed with this asshat a couple of times in the last few weeks.

You know where this is going.......

Cowards, the lot of them echo chamber pushing clowns.

 

[IllegalLemon]

lol.....I barely say anything at all on twitter ever, but I respectfully disagreed with this asshat a couple of times in the last few weeks.

You know where this is going.......

It's all fun and games to Florian, until someone blows the truth right in his face. Then it's straight to pressing the block button, which his cursor constantly hovers over, to extend the hopium and echo chamber until another person shoots the bullet of truth again and the cycle just keeps on repeating.

 

[HoofHearted]

The CMA is implementing an enforceable remedy.



The CMA and the EU have the exact same concerns.

And the EU decided not to block the deal..

Correct. CMA and EU have different opinions on the remedy, but not the concerns.

 

[DeepEnigma]

…are people really pushing the idea that Microsoft is able to force this deal through by spending money on bribes as a good thing?

Seriously.

 

[Nubulax]

I dont disagree, but they have 10 years. Sony also has experience from their previous acquisitions.

LOL ya they have 10 years.... to build a cloud infrastructure that is probably worth more ALONE as a business than Sony or Nintendo as a whole... or maybe both of them combined

 

[DeepEnigma]

LOL ya they have 10 years.... to build a cloud infrastructure that is probably worth more ALONE as a business than Sony or Nintendo as a whole... or maybe both of them combined

Are we cheerleading, or?

 

[Nubulax]

Found a nice comment from r/stocks

I totally agree with that take..they would never pull the rest of their business out of the UK.. if they did.... I would suggest EVERYONE on here that is into investing absolutely buy the hell out of the dip that will follow

 

[Pipoqueiro]

Considering the situation at microsoft studios these days, it's really surprising that someone would say they like games and want this acquisition
She should focus on improving what she already has

 

[HoofHearted]

I thought their mods threatened to ban anyone who suggested this "leave UK" nonsense.

 

[TheGodfather07]

to those thinking the CMA will reverse and approve, on what grounds can microsoft even win the appeal? even the EC agree's on the cloud concerns. not only do they need to win the appeal, they then need to get the CMA to approve. CMA have doubled down aswell. so can someone explain to me how "this deal will happen"?

 

[Topher]

LOL ya they have 10 years.... to build a cloud infrastructure that is probably worth more ALONE as a business than Sony or Nintendo as a whole... or maybe both of them combined

The quote that will never die.....

"When you talk about Nintendo and Sony, we have a ton of respect for them, but we see Amazon and Google as the main competitors going forward," Spencer said.

"That's not to disrespect Nintendo and Sony, but the traditional gaming companies are somewhat out of position. I guess they could try to re-create Azure, but we've invested tens of billions of dollars in cloud over the years."

Why big tech is betting big on gaming in 2020

Gaming is the biggest entertainment industry. Tech is finally taking it seriously.

www.protocol.com

 

[DeepEnigma]

Considering the situation at microsoft studios these days, it's really surprising that someone would say they like games and want this acquisition
She should focus on improving what she already has

 

[Nubulax]

Are we cheerleading, or?

Just pointing out how gigantic MS cloud infrastructure already is. So large in fact, that it may surpass AWS in a few years to be #1. MS has slowly been gaining marketshare over AWS over the past 5 years. There is no way that Nintendo or Sony will compete in this space. They are both reduced to content feeders that will have to buy into a segment of AWS, Azure, or googles cloud solution to host their sub service

 

[bender]

You got CMA'ed.

 

[Topher]

You got CMA'ed.

 

[PropellerEar]

I'm glad at least one more major regulator outright dismissed it so there's more conversation on the subject.

Read the EU comission decision again.

 

[IllegalLemon]

Told to bet the house on it. The proposed remedies are hilarious too, EC is a joke.

EC is heavily politically dependent I'm afraid. They can easily be influenced and have their opinions & decisions bought out by outsiders, all it would take are a few bagfuls of cash and all that is settled. And that situation has been getting worse with them.

Europe's currency is falling apart at the seams, their biggest member state with the 4th largest economy bailed out on them in 2020, adding to the desperation. And now EU are fighting to keep a currency that is pretty much a Trainwreck at this point, rolling, even though it's lost from its value tremendously. EU would do everything to keep their disastrous currency alive, even going as far as to accept being bribed. Unlike the CMA, which is independent from the UK government, EC is basically being babysitted by the EU itself and have pretty loose antitrust and merger laws. It's why the UK is basically ahead of them in such matters.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

to those thinking the CMA will reverse and approve, on what grounds can microsoft even win the appeal? even the EC agree's on the cloud concerns. not only do they need to win the appeal, they then need to get the CMA to approve. CMA have doubled down aswell. so can someone explain to me how "this deal will happen"?

Hope springs eternal? I have no idea. For some fans this deal seems to be all they have.

 

[Nydius]

I totally agree with that take..they would never pull the rest of their business out of the UK.. if they did.... I would suggest EVERYONE on here that is into investing absolutely buy the hell out of the dip that will follow

Could you imagine Spencer going to Nadella’s office to sincerely and legitimately pitch the idea of the entirety of Microsoft leaving the UK just to get a $70b Xbox merger done?

I would love to see Nadella’s reaction to such a hypothetical. I can only imagine he’d laugh so loud that it could be heard across Washington State.

 

[TheGodfather07]

Hope springs eternal? I have no idea. For some fans this deal seems to be all they have.

it brings out all the crazy tribalistic fans. im sure normal xbox gamers are busy actually playing games and dont even have a clue about any of this.

 

[GHG]

…are people really pushing the idea that Microsoft is able to force this deal through by spending money on bribes as a good thing?

Well Florian isn't exactly hiding the fact that that's exactly what's on the agenda here.

It's why he does what he does afterall.

 

[Dick Jones]

Well Florian isn't exactly hiding the fact that that's exactly what's on the agenda here.

It's why he does what he does afterall.

He's thinking since it worked on him, it will work on everyone else

 

[Dick Jones]

Could you imagine Spencer going to Nadella’s office to sincerely and legitimately pitch the idea of the entirety of Microsoft leaving the UK just to get a $70b Xbox merger done?

I would love to see Nadella’s reaction to such a hypothetical. I can only imagine he’d laugh so loud that it could be heard across Washington State.

So all of Microsoft leaves the UK in response to not getting the chance to put the COD with Kevin Spacey or the COD with the dog on Gamepass........seems reasonable

 

[GHG]

He's thinking since it worked on him, it will work on everyone else

"The adults" remember.

 

[Snake29]

Could you imagine Spencer going to Nadella’s office to sincerely and legitimately pitch the idea of the entirety of Microsoft leaving the UK just to get a $70b Xbox merger done?

I would love to see Nadella’s reaction to such a hypothetical. I can only imagine he’d laugh so loud that it could be heard across Washington State.

 

[Demon2blades]

If the FTC approves, the CMA won't be the one stopping this deal. They will find a way around it. Pressure will be immense on them.

The pressure of staying in the EU itself was far greater than any "pressure" a single company can put on the UK itself and you think they are going to buckle I don't know man ...