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

Do you believe the deal will be approved?


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If the deal is closed, I think Microsoft will keep their promises if for no other reason just because it's financially the right thing to do.
This....its about money at the end of the day. consle war BS aside. thats a lot of money on the table. wonder what this inevitable switch port they promised will like? My guess is they are gonna make some specific version or cloud stream it.
 
Sony cant compete in a biding war against MS.. they have to stick to their strengths and plans and hope that MS continues to fuck up as they beeing doing since the 360 times , buying shit dosent make you any better at running the shit you bought, just shows your desperation because you cant produce yourself because of your incompetence... so let MS do their thing and SONY continues theirs ...
They can in Japan.
 
Considering the fact that the CMA have just reopened the door, it's highly unlikely they will just go round them but stranger things have happened throughout this process.
It's MS , they'll pay off the right people, I don't think the CMA is going to be an issue either.

It's just showing they've got their people now in the system they needed. This is how billion dollar corporations that pay 0 tax work 🤷‍♂️
 
Begins the gaming consolidation free for all. Sony needs to lock up Japan and parts of Europe.

Sony needs Square-Enix, Capcom, Kodakawa, and CD Project Red

Tencent, Saudi prices will now enter the frey..
It would be sucks if that happens
Oh well if this is the future all Game pass brainlets want I guess.
 
Sony cant compete in a biding war against MS.. they have to stick to their strengths and plans and hope that MS continues to fuck up as they beeing doing since the 360 times , buying shit dosent make you any better at running the shit you bought, just shows your desperation because you cant produce yourself because of your incompetence... so let MS do their thing and SONY continues theirs ...
If Microsoft continues to buy all the big studios at this rate then in a few years there will be 15 big games a year in Game Pass + a significant portion for Xbox and PC only. And then Sony can try as much as it wants, Microsoft's offerings will exceed critical mass and Playstation will have a hard time surviving.
 
I'm with you but if after all this Microsoft comes out with ABK, I don't see how they could stop Sony or even Nintendo from buying a smaller company

unless it somehow amounts to it's okay for one of the largest companies in the world to try to buy out their competition but you smaller companies just have to suffer
Why would they care. The point is competition and you're acting like Sony and even Nintendo didn't buy companies in the past. Sony whole rise was buying companies and one particular was a company out of the UK that had a 40 percent market share that turned into Sony Studios
 
Begins the gaming consolidation free for all. Sony needs to lock up Japan and parts of Europe.

Sony needs Square-Enix, Capcom, Kodakawa, and CD Project Red

Tencent, Saudi prices will now enter the frey..
kid stop it GIF
 
This....its about money at the end of the day. consle war BS aside. thats a lot of money on the table. wonder what this inevitable switch port they promised will like? My guess is they are gonna make some specific version or cloud stream it.
MS knows Nintendo Switch 2 is right around the corner - and that will be able to run CoD in 60fps.
 
If Microsoft continues to buy all the big studios at this rate then in a few years there will be 15 big games a year in Game Pass + a significant portion for Xbox and PC only. And then Sony can try as much as it wants, Microsoft's offerings will exceed critical mass and Playstation will have a hard time surviving.
And Game Pass will cost $50 a month in that case. 🤦‍♂️
 
Since spencer had a Hexen shirt at the showcase that this mean they already knew because they did something to make sure of it ;).
Ravensoft being reuinted with their old IP that I believe is currently owned by bathesda. that will be nice! can they pull away from being a COD support team, to work on that though? would be cool.....
 
Uh oh that check finally cleared.......bad for Sony. No reasonable person will think that things that came out in court during this whole ordeal hasn't built up animosity between Sony and MS.

I expect MS to keep things the way it is until the dust settles from the deal going through then they will pull the rug from under Sony. First making dlc come to Sony platforms last then to making titles only Xbox and PC. I wouldn't be surprised if optimization for Sony platforms start become a problem. Similar to Bethesda ports.
That is not how good business operates at all. Some of you really need to cool it down with all the vitriol. You people are so caught up in fanboy/tribalism that you actually believe high up people make decisions like some scorned girlfriends instead of datacrunchers smh
 
I don't think Sony will have the luxury to wait and just do their own thing after this. They could do it (and did it) after Zenimax.

But now they will feel the need to come out of their comfort zone and make things happen, including acquiring other companies and making their games exclusive to PS5 (unfortunately).
Yeah it could be ... time will tell ... nintendo do their own thing and stay relevant, sony will have to do the same, the quality of their games will continue to surpasse the redfall like shit been dumped on gamepass .. so as long as they trive for quality over quantity they will be more then fine with what they have
 
If Microsoft continues to buy all the big studios at this rate then in a few years there will be 15 big games a year in Game Pass + a significant portion for Xbox and PC only. And then Sony can try as much as it wants, Microsoft's offerings will exceed critical mass and Playstation will have a hard time surviving.
Sony can compete with their services I don't see the issue now or 15 years. One of the very things the judge pointed out. They choose not to and tried to use the FTC and CMA as a tool because they see Gamepass as a threat.
 
I thought consolidation was bad?
No no you get it is wrong. It would be bad if my side did it. If Sony consilidate the whole Japanese console game market then they are the baddies :messenger_tears_of_joy:

If Microsoft buys EA and consilidate all of US gaminf market then they are saints.
 
That was never Sony's style though. They have always relied on "independent partners" instead of acquiring companies.

Remember when SquareEnix was in trouble? They helped them, funded their companies, and sold their shares back to them when they got out of financial trouble. They could have acquired SquareEnix and got all their assets and IPs, but they didn't.

There are other examples too, e.g., when Capcom was struggling. Sony helped them by funding their games, e.g., SF5. But didn't make an attempt to acquire them.

Things will likely change now, however.
That was likely a business decision not a moral stance. It's biz afterall
 
This....its about money at the end of the day. consle war BS aside. thats a lot of money on the table. wonder what this inevitable switch port they promised will like? My guess is they are gonna make some specific version or cloud stream it.

They will start to work on cod for switch 2. People won't see a native version of cod on switch 1. And to be honest avb would have done so themselves like kotick confirmed the last few weeks.
 
I thought consolidation was bad?

It is but it's the way of things, now. You don't sit there and watch your competitor buy two major publishers for $75 billion. Being allowed to buy the biggest one. Because what's next? The sentiment now is to ensure others aren't all bought by the same entity. You're not dumb. You know that.
 
I don't think Sony will have the luxury to wait and just do their own thing after this. They could do it (and did it) after Zenimax.

But now they will feel the need to come out of their comfort zone and make things happen, including acquiring other companies and making their games exclusive to PS5 (unfortunately).
They don't have money to compete, they will need a JV with someone who has(amazon, google or apple). Only thing to put they back on the table now is EA or T2.
 
Sony can compete with their services I don't see the issue now or 15 years. One of the very things the judge pointed out. They choose not to and tried to use the FTC and CMA as a tool because they see Gamepass as a threat.
Exactly. If anything, I see Sony gamers getting a nice boost to PS+ in the very near future.
 
No no you get it is wrong. It would be bad if my side did it. If Sony consilidate the whole Japanese console game market then they are the baddies :messenger_tears_of_joy:

If Microsoft buys EA and consilidate all of US gaminf market then they are saints.
It's business, not a battle between good and evil lol
 
A lot of them already were. The problem is, now it's about to be the way of things. Now, in order to maintain good competition between two first party entities, the other will try to ensure they're not locked out. "Keeping the same energy" doesn't apply when one company just spent $75 billion to outright own a huge chunk of the industry. They changed the rules.
To be clear, ABK is the largest 3rd party video game developer developer in the US if not the world.

There is no standing for the US courts to block any merger/acquisition made by other companies after letting this pass.
 
Nope because is a rent, you own nothing! and if u play full price 3 games that are on the service day one. Since MOST of games are not. even with ABK deal.
In that case, continue purchasing games that you want and use GamePass as a rental or play-before-you-buy system. I don't see the issue.
 
I don't care who owns a development team or IP as long as good games are made.

It will be interesting to see if people echo this sentiment on Sonys next acquisition
It should be clear that industry consolidation is going to be negative for the consumers.
LMAO. So when Sony outright purchases exclusivity for a major installment in a long running franchise (Street Fighter V), it's presented as Sony being charitable and a savior for Capcom. When Microsoft purchased exclusivity for Rise of the Tomb Raider and helped fund its development, Microsoft is portrayed as an evil conglomerate taking away from the people. Just so strange to see people and their rose-tinted glasses.
Maybe it has something to do with the amount of people that plays those games on each platform, for example I read somewhere that only 1 million out of the 10 sold of FFXV were sales on Xbox.
 
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Yeah, creatively the gaming industry was already suffering a bit. Rising costs of AAA games was another issue and how publishers kept playing it safe (formulaiscgames and all).

This consolidation will only make things even more monotonous in the industry and take out the flavor and flair from it.

And some people think the democratization of dev tools and tech will mean some dude in his bedroom can make a TLOU2 or even Plague Tale Requiem style game on their own from scratch. That just isn't going to happen, even with further AI advancements.

Those kind of games are too large and complex to really be made by single people or small teams. You still need the big teams and talent, but then suppose they leave these acquired companies and go start-up. Where do they get funding from now? How about 401Ks, health/dental/vision insurance plans, stock options etc? All the other perks that usually come with actual big publishers and developer studios?

Maybe there is a path here for renewed innovation, like the better side of the indie scene, but with the production values and polish of mid-to-large AA style games we see today, becoming the new normal if mass consolidation wipes away the big 3P pubs and devs from the independent market. But I have strong doubts that will happen.
 
It's going to get so much worse now... buy hey i guess a few Twitter warriors can put lists out...

Cause that's why we all game and love gaming, because of list wars.

I've said it before but fuck MS for going full retard and setting this precedent, all bets are off now, it's open market in gaming...

But our competition right 🤣

Playstation Studios have made 9 acquisitions since 2021.

MS raised the game to new heights, but the game has always been played.
 
Nope because is a rent, you own nothing! and if u play full price 3 games that are on the service day one. Since MOST of games are not. even with ABK deal.


You can still buy games on xbox! I know I do. not everything is on GPU and some games are only there for a limited time. rent...own...you can do both....did you not have a blockbuster card back in the day?
 
They can in Japan.
Sony is about to be pushed out of the west and the east. Once Nintendo releases a more capable machine, the de facto exclusives they get in Japan will go away. Little 3rd party left scraps but at least Sony is going big on live service and Korean vapor ware.
 
Is there anything in Japan, besides outright purchasing Nintendo, that would be comparable in scope to a hypothetical Take Two (Grand Theft Auto) acquisition?
Doesn't need to be that big, but it would be shit if they do it and the acquisition wars continues. Imagine Capcom games becoming exclusive, or FromSoft future games. It's why this Activision shit sets a bad example, it was bad enough with Bethesda and their future titles.
 
To be clear, ABK is the largest 3rd party video game developer developer in the US if not the world.

There is no standing for the US courts to block any merger/acquisition made by other companies after letting this pass.

That's correct. You can't even argue console concerns because Xbox is highly competitive in the US and UK. They just grabbed a huge chunk of the industry over the last couple years. Blocking anything after this would be jingoism.
 
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