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Aug 4, 2021
705
Couldn't disagree more:

-ID@ Xbox - Removing a lot of the barriers for indie devs to release content on consoles . The "indie boom" started here. Something both Sony, Nintendo, and countless devs have benefited greatly from.

-Xbox Live - you know the entire template for running an online gaming services that everyone copies.

-The first major hardware maker switch to PC centric console architecture, the others quickly followed suit. The benefits of this are massive, far reaching, and speak for themself. Hell it probably saved Playstation.
Yeah, there's no need to downplay Xbox's contributions. Done a lot of good things.
 

Disco

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,451
User Warned: Console wars
Huge news for the industry, foreboding too. I'm pretty glad I just have a PS5 tbh. It would not sit right with me supporting such a dishonorable company like Microsoft. Like they can't even make games without buying companies out. Sony does it the right way whew.
 

UltraMagnus

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
15,670
MS' plan at this point is I think to win the game streaming wars before they effectively start.

Think Take 2/Rockstar will be the next target for MS. Once they have that, they can effectively cripple Sony's attempt to counter Game Pass.

Ruthless strategy? For sure. Effective? Quite probably.
 

Deleted member 43

Account closed at user request
Banned
Oct 24, 2017
9,271
I think we should also consider that Microsoft was not likely looking to make this acquisition. Its very likely that the opportunity is simply due to the lawsuits and turmoil at Activision. Their shareholders may have been looking for an exit strategy that saw someone else assume the massive payout to get rid of Kotick and the lawsuits.

The idea that there is just a lot of companies out there looking to sell is wrongheaded. These companies "job" is to get ROI for their shareholders - and while that is sometimes a sale, it is often not. Investors do not only invest for the stock-price valuations but for income streams from dividend payments. Stock-holders can cash-out of their stock whenever they want to - so unless someone is purchasing at a premium price there is no real sense in the sale.

In this case Microsoft bought at an artificial premium. Yes, its over the current fair market value, but their current share price is only where it is because of the scandal and the infighting to remove Kotick.

Activision is down nearly 50% in stock price this year (before todays news) - its not like there are a lot of major publishers out there whose stock price is devalued because of a situation that a larger company could swoop in and make go-away.
This is correct. Basically the sexual harassment investigations made this happen, as ghoulish as that is.

Not that MS is wrong to take advantage of the situation.
 

Josh378

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,521
You think Phil is going to stop expanding the reach of MSGS and instead contract it down to one closed console? Good call.

If it wasn't for Sony to step in and say that they're not locking game disc to a console and allowing allowing you to trade/use on other people consoles, with the PS4, then yes it would have happened.

I don't trust Microsoft (and even Nintendo/Sony to an extent) to do the right thing long term if they are the majority market leader.

All companies smiling your face and then backstab you years later when you have nothing else left. That's why I rather have 3 to 4 consoles on the market for competition sake and for consumers long term. This can apply for pc as well.
 

eonden

Member
Oct 25, 2017
17,085
Game Pass on Playstation is a terrible deal that massively, disproportionately benefits Microsoft at Sony's expense. Letting people just NOT give them third party sales revenue would be devastating to their platform.
They would still get money from the subs in Playstation, and they would be able to get big titles such as Starfield, Halo, Forza, and COD. With people also buying those games (and paying for MTX / DLC in them).
 

Stooge

Member
Oct 29, 2017
11,225
I do have to say - the idea that Sony and MS are now on equal footing is extremely wrong-headed.

Microsoft's purchase of Zenimax already put Microsoft above Sony in number of high-quality first party studios. This purchase puts them on another plane.

I love my PS5 and I love Sony's first party studios and think they will have success, but Microsoft just bought a single publisher whose market cap is 50% of Sony - not Playstation - Sony.

This is a massive merger and there isn't another company out there that is at this size.
 

AppleMIX

Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,701
I just hope Infinity Ward, Treyarch and Sledgehammer games make the Call of Duty games, and all the other support studios can do different things.
 

UltraMagnus

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
15,670
*Meanwhile, Sony while designing PSN in the mid 2000's.

mr-bean-copy.gif


The idea that Microsoft never comes up with original ideas in the gaming space while all the other big players have always been supposedly always original is bullshit and you know that.

haha, this gif always cracks me up.
 

Cth

The Fallen
Oct 29, 2017
1,808
For those concerned about Sony, keep it mind they've got the VR console market locked up currently. Dare I say it, a near monopoly when it comes to console makers.

Are we similarly concerned? Given the rise of VR and recent expansion of the market?

Let's put things in perspective, the industry isn't facing something like the collapse of '83. All 3 console makers are doing great. Is it the stalemate everyone has gotten comfortable with over the last few years, no. Change can be scary. Some are scared of the old Microsoft. Some are scared of the old Sony. Some would argue neither have changed.

It's fine to be cautious and adopt a wait and see attitude, but it's way too early to start claiming the sky is falling, already some good has happened.

The same thinking of "its good now, but what about next year" is the same to me when people are scared of getting the vaccine wondering about "what about a year from now?"
 

Forsaken82

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,926
Huge news for the industry, foreboding too. I'm pretty glad I just have a PS5 tbh. It would not sit right with me supporting such a dishonorable company like Microsoft. Like they can't even make games without buying companies out. Sony does it the right way whew.

I want to believe you are just oblivious to the acquisitions that Sony has made recently, but this screams Sony fanboy.
 

Magneto

Prophet of Truth
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
14,449
Game Pass on Playstation is a terrible deal that massively, disproportionately benefits Microsoft at Sony's expense. Letting people just NOT give them third party sales revenue would be devastating to their platform.
I'm sure Sony can work something out with Microsoft that benefits both of them :)
 

Yerffej

Prophet of Regret
Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,542
This is correct. Basically the sexual harassment investigations made this happen, as ghoulish as that is.

Not that MS is wrong to take advantage of the situation.
Isn't it something similar with ZeniMax? In that they were looking to sell? Not MS aggressively pursuing?
 

eonden

Member
Oct 25, 2017
17,085
For those concerned about Sony, keep it mind they've got the VR console market locked up currently. Dare I say it, a near monopoly when it comes to console makers.

Are we similarly concerned? Given the rise of VR and recent expansion of the market?

Let's put things in perspective, the industry isn't facing something like the collapse of '83. All 3 console makers are doing great. Is it the stalemate everyone has gotten comfortable with over the last few years, no. Change can be scary. Some are scared of the old Microsoft. Some are scared of the old Sony. Some would argue neither have changed.

It's fine to be cautious and adopt a wait and see attitude, but it's way too early to start claiming the sky is falling, already some good has happened.

The same thinking of "its good now, but what about next year" is the same to me when people are scared of getting the vaccine wondering about "what about a year from now?"
The VR console market is dominated by the Oculus Quest (which basically acts as a console on standalone set up), which will vastly outsell the PSVR2 by being way cheaper and not require a PS5 (a device that is rare) to play.
 

PlanetSmasher

The Abominable Showman
Member
Oct 25, 2017
115,693
They would still get money from the subs in Playstation, and they would be able to get big titles such as Starfield, Halo, Forza, and COD.

It's a markedly worse deal for them because a micro-fraction of subscription revenue won't make up to the sheer amount of lost sales on third party games that would come as a result of it.

On top of that, would Microsoft even allow them to sell PS5 copies of their first-party games or would you HAVE to use Game Pass as a frontend to access them?
 

Drek

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,231
Not sure what that has to do with anything. M&A = inorganic growth. That's the definition. My point is they are both doing inorganic growth, one just happens to be doing it at a much larger scale. You may not like the definition but it is what it is.

Sony fostered those companies, they made largely or entirely only Sony content, after they proved market viability the founders got a big check and business otherwise went on per usual. Those studios don't exist in their current forms without literally years and millions of dollars of Sony investment prior to acquisition.

Microsoft buys large, independent third parties with no prior co-development relationships, changes basically nothing, other than the business management layer. Added nothing to the company up to that point, only argument for additional value is how much money they can pour into it in the future.

See the difference?

Yes, of course they are.

Facebook doesn't just sell your data. Facebook uses your data -- provably -- to make genocide more efficient. There's a big gulf in selling your data and using your data, provably, to enable mass murder.

Facebook also leaks your data. Facebook also provides your data to corporations that are using your data to more efficiently elect would-be authoritarian leaders, and then Facebook denies that they're doing that, and then it's PROVEN that they did that, and then Facebook
And they do all of that with your data they bought from Microsoft, Google, Amazon, etc..

And where do you draw the line on mass murder? Microsoft actively provides services to the US DoD, a collective umbrella that orchestrated two multi-decade wars that has directly contributed to over a hundred thousand civilian deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan.

People use Facebook's services to orchestrate plans for murder = Facebook bad.

Microsoft provides software that helps target drone strikes = Not MS' fault.

is that the rationale here?

I never implied or suggested that "Microsoft has taken the high ground," or something, but Microsoft is a far better run company today and over the last decade than Facebook, which is arguably the most or among the most malicious companies on earth. And FWIW, Facebook's acquistions of Instagram and WhatsApp should be grounds for anti-trust if we continued to invest in regulatory industries as the same rate as we did 25 years ago when Microsoft was investigated and charges with anti-trust.
Absolutely agree on the last point, sure, but I don't see how Microsoft is a "better" company today than Facebook. They operate with the same market goals, with people exercising the same playbook.

The only difference is that Facebook's core market is more publicly toxic day to day, but if MS wound up with a Facebook level social media platform would they do any better? The way they aggregate and promote right wing stories as normal news within their web platform's default home pages and their routine inability to clean up XBLA doesn't give a lot of faith.
 

Redbarrel

Member
Sep 10, 2020
288
Game Pass on Playstation is a terrible deal that massively, disproportionately benefits Microsoft at Sony's expense. Letting people just NOT give them third party sales revenue would be devastating to their platform.
I don't see how. I think it could be beneficial for both. Microsoft would for sure let Sony get a cut from the subscriptions that are made through their consoles - It's all a matter of talking at the end of the day.
 

Jroc

Banned
Jun 9, 2018
6,145
Nintendo is/was a dwarf compared to Sony when they arrived on the scene and threw money around to secure a dominant position too.
Difference is, Sony ensured an actual dominant position, like insurmountable. Xbox is not even dominant now, let alone a more or less monopolist like Sony became during the PS2.
Until it wasn't.
This is the entertainment industry, rules work differently.

People look at the previous gen as a stomping even though Xbox One likely ended up selling around half of what the PS4 sold.

For comparison the PS2 sold 150 million units and the OG Xbox only did 23 million. There has never been a gaming company as dominant as Sony in the early 2000s.
 

CelestialAtom

Mambo Number PS5
Member
Oct 26, 2017
6,046
For those concerned about Sony, keep it mind they've got the VR console market locked up currently. Dare I say it, a near monopoly when it comes to console makers.

Are we similarly concerned? Given the rise of VR and recent expansion of the market?

Let's put things in perspective, the industry isn't facing something like the collapse of '83. All 3 console makers are doing great. Is it the stalemate everyone has gotten comfortable with over the last few years, no. Change can be scary. Some are scared of the old Microsoft. Some are scared of the old Sony. Some would argue neither have changed.

It's fine to be cautious and adopt a wait and see attitude, but it's way too early to start claiming the sky is falling, already some good has happened.

The same thinking of "its good now, but what about next year" is the same to me when people are scared of getting the vaccine wondering about "what about a year from now?"

Isn't Microsoft not in the VR space console-wise because they chose not to...? If so, then I am not concerned. I could have sworn Microsoft themselves did not see the benefit of them going into VR at this moment in time.
 

Cordy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,348
Jeff Grubb talked about this on the Bombcast and he mentioned something about Microsoft maybe wanting GamePass on Sony consoles and this acquisition might make it more alluring to Sony so who knows what happens down the line. I mean if we get Gamepass on Sony and Nintendo somehow then that would be good. I doubt it'll happen within the next few years though, at all.

Maybe now I can get a new Interstate 76 game. The amount of legacy games that they could bring back is massive.
Jeff Gearstmann mentioned something recently that made me think about car combat games.

How would those control in 2022? Like, I loved them back in the day but with today's gaming, that whole "drive and shoot" thing just always felt a lil "off" back then. How can you make something like that feel great today?

I'm all for car combat titles returning but I want them to actually feel as great as possible. I don't think I've ever played one who's controls blew me away.
 

eonden

Member
Oct 25, 2017
17,085
It's a markedly worse deal for them because a micro-fraction of subscription revenue won't make up to the sheer amount of lost sales on third party games that would come as a result of it.

On top of that, would Microsoft even allow them to sell PS5 copies of their first-party games or would you HAVE to use Game Pass as a frontend to access them?
Why would there come an increase of lsot sales on third party games? That is not what MS is seeing.
Why would MS make subscription only their games in Playstation? It is not like Sony users money is different than in Xbox or Steam. If people dont want the sub but want to give Microsoft free money they are more than happy to get it.

Microsoft is transitioning into a service model. They want to be everywhere a customer is to get their money.
 

nib95

Contains No Misinformation on Philly Cheesesteaks
Banned
Oct 28, 2017
18,498
*Meanwhile, Sony while designing PSN in the mid 2000's.

mr-bean-copy.gif


The idea that Microsoft never comes up with original ideas in the gaming space while all the other big players have always been supposedly always original is bullshit and you know that.

I never said they've never been creative or smartz I've owned ever Xbox since they entered gaming because I enjoyed their games and services. Just that they've not been creative or smart enough to lead their peers. If they do in future, it will predominantly be because they had far more money to spend.
 

Speevy

Member
Oct 26, 2017
19,352
I asked this earlier but at this stage, do you guys think it's possibly they'll Game Pass Activision's older games on one big day, or do you think we'll get them drip fed?
 

Sectorseven

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,560
For those concerned about Sony, keep it mind they've got the VR console market locked up currently. Dare I say it, a near monopoly when it comes to console makers.

Are we similarly concerned? Given the rise of VR and recent expansion of the market?

Let's put things in perspective, the industry isn't facing something like the collapse of '83. All 3 console makers are doing great. Is it the stalemate everyone has gotten comfortable with over the last few years, no. Change can be scary. Some are scared of the old Microsoft. Some are scared of the old Sony. Some would argue neither have changed.

It's fine to be cautious and adopt a wait and see attitude, but it's way too early to start claiming the sky is falling, already some good has happened.

The same thinking of "its good now, but what about next year" is the same to me when people are scared of getting the vaccine wondering about "what about a year from now?"
I could see Microsoft trying to buy Valve next. They would get the Windows store they always wanted in the form of Steam, and VR tech they could transition to Xbox.
 

eonden

Member
Oct 25, 2017
17,085
I asked this earlier but at this stage, do you guys think it's possibly they'll Game Pass Activision's older games on one big day, or do you think we'll get them drip fed?
They will surely try and have some big titles in day 1, but slowly port some of them into the system, kinda like what it happened with Zenimax.
 

Ablacious

Member
Dec 23, 2018
1,650
Antitrust stuff could be interesting, but I doubt it'll go anywhere. If this were year 0 and MS was just entering the game market maybe.
 

9wilds

Member
Jan 1, 2022
3,583
Exactly to remove PlayStation it name (not Sony)

No. You're not thinking big enough. Microsoft isn't doing this to win the console wars. If they cared about that, they wouldn't publish games on PC and Switch.

Microsoft wants to be gaming. They want game pass to exist on every platform under the Sun. They want everyone to have a sub. Think Netflix for streaming but even grander because no one is even trying to compete with Microsoft.

Microsoft doesn't care about Sony like you think they do. PlayStation can be how you play. They want Xbox to be what you play. If MS is successful, there won't even be an Xbox console in two generations.

You don't see Amazon or Apple refusing to put their apps on Roku despite having streaming platforms of their own.
 

JuicyPlayer

Member
Feb 8, 2018
7,314
You know what's now SUPER wierd about all of this?

If Microsoft continues to make COD titles for PlayStation, think about what that means for future generations. Sony would be sending Microsoft early dev kits and giving them insight into how they are architecting their next console. That's….that's something I think Sony will not be thrilled about doing. That's almost like legal corporate espionage
Wouldn't this have been happening already with Minecraft?
 

hikarutilmitt

Member
Dec 16, 2017
11,421
No one on this thread seems at all upset that MS has already announced they're keeping Kotick, so yeah, pretty illuminating.

techraptor.net

Microsoft Buys Activision Blizzard, Bobby Kotick Staying As CEO

Shoackingly, Microsoft has purchased Activision Blizzard. The transaction is valued at $68.7 billion and Bobby Kotick will remain as CEO.
Honestly? It's probably a contractual thing. Lots of stuff like that is, whether we want it to be or not.
 

PlanetSmasher

The Abominable Showman
Member
Oct 25, 2017
115,693
No. You're not thinking big enough. Microsoft isn't doing this to win the console wars. If they cared about that, they wouldn't publish games on PC and Switch.

Microsoft wants to be gaming. They want game pass to exist on every platform under the Sun. They want everyone to have a sub. Think Netflix for streaming but even grander because no one is even trying to compete with Microsoft.

Microsoft doesn't care about Sony like you think they do. PlayStation can be how you play. They want Xbox to be what you play. If MS is successful, there won't even be an Xbox console in two generations.

They don't exactly publish on Switch anymore outside of Minecraft. They pretty much stopped after using the Switch versions of Ori and shit for a marketing win.
 

Green

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,410
I asked this earlier but at this stage, do you guys think it's possibly they'll Game Pass Activision's older games on one big day, or do you think we'll get them drip fed?

E3 time 2023 big drop all at once - or maybe even earlier if a deal is struck. That's sort of what happened with Bethesda. Majority of their stuff all came at once.
 
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