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[Talkin Hawkin]

You are absolutely right. And MS knows that too. That, however, is why they tried to get this deal done before the PS5 even hit 20M sakes. That way, you aren't worrying about people switching anything. You are making sure that the people buying a current-gen console, buy yours instead.

I mean now you can even get an XSS for under $200.

I think it's too late to catch the CoD kiddies. I know what you're saying about mass market penetration comes when the price hits a low point and everyone dashes out to buy one, but I just think the negativity around Xbox - outside of the US, is just too much to make any difference at the moment.

That's not to say it's game over, but Microsoft need a new angle. And that new angle is mid-range console/an X version of the Series S. If they gave the Series S a bump in specs to that it could run every game at 1080p@60fps with all the bells and whistles and no drops or stutters and launched that for £299 with gamepass, then I think it would sell a lot of units.

Do a soft re-launch of the Series consoles. There's no shame in it, and it has happened before in consumer product markets.

 

[BrutalTruth_]

If Xbox gets out of the industry, console gamers are fucked.
Xbox and PS keep each other in check, considering Nintendo is doing Nintendo stuff.
If there is no one to compete with PS, then Sony would get too complicit and would try and exploit their audience.

I'm shocked to see most people don't want competition, some clearly want Xbox to die.

 

[Satansblade]

I'll believe that Microsoft will honour their agreement of not taking Zenimax games away from playstation when they release Skyrim for PSVR2.

Please release Skyrim for PSVR2

That isn't a "commitment", they are legally binding contracts - probably with a tear ZeniMax (now MSFT) a new one breach of contract clauses. If they could have broken them without penalties, all bets are off if they would have broken those contracts.

Yesterday Phil was double speaking in just the same way, about increasing player counts, and could have appeared sincere by announcing they'd walked back their ZeniMax policy and were releasing all those in-development multi-platform games - prior to the acquisition - and releasing them everywhere - including PlayStation, just like Minecraft. Instead, the parent company that has spent close to $20B per year on marketing in recent years claims the exclusive are Marketing beats for platforms.

Even the nonsense about empowering developers while gamepass in future potentially takes all the rewards of their work for MSFT and turns them into production line developers, as gamepass becomes the gatekeeper of reaching users is just such rubbish. Cloud + consolidation will kill creativity, especially in the hands of people that let their corporate business objectives drown the natural games industry creativity of all the studios they buy to stop them having industry banger games - that drive console sales.

there is literally not an ounce of evidence to anything you just said. Especially the part about killing creativity,

Consolidation is bad when MS does it, but you all cheer when Sony spends their money.

 

[Satansblade]

I'm shocked to see most people don't want competition, some clearly want Xbox to die.

Sony shills are literally a cancer to this industry.

And I don't mean enthusiasts who love their playstation and the type of games they make. I mean the types who think XBox dying would be good for the industry and gaming. At best, those people are morons. No part of their argument deserves to be taken seriously.

Anyway, xbox isn't going anywhere, and they will own ABK. The history of FEC lawsuits with much bigger ACTUAL monopolies proves that. Nobody can say that MS would have a monopoly if they owned ABK, and that's the fact that was always going to bring this down on MS's side.

And this "MS is selling/closing xbox" stuff has zero actual reporting behind it. Literally none.

 

[DForce]

You're really seeing a lot that isn't there.

Activision should just make a backdoor call to Sony. "Our future titles, outside of those already contracted, will not be on your console. We will announce XBOX and PC exclusivity at our showcase in June. You can deal with xbox, or you can deal with us." It's clear the shareholders want to make the deal, and the idea that it would be a monopoly is absurd.

And most of the lies and obfuscation i've seen have honestly come from Sony, not MS. The hypocrisy is incredible. They moneyhat games constantly to prevent them from going to MS, then cry when there's a POSSIBILITY microsoft might do the same.

Anyway, The FEC hasn't won a case in court in years, and this will be no different. MS will absolutely buy Activision.

This has absolutely nothing to do with the conversation, dude. LOL

 

[BrutalTruth_]

Sony shills are literally a cancer to this industry.

And I don't mean enthusiasts who love their playstation and the type of games they make. I mean the types who think XBox dying would be good for the industry and gaming. At best, those people are morons. No part of their argument deserves to be taken seriously.

Anyway, xbox isn't going anywhere, and they will own ABK. The history of FEC lawsuits with much bigger ACTUAL monopolies proves that. Nobody can say that MS would have a monopoly if they owned ABK, and that's the fact that was always going to bring this down on MS's side.

And this "MS is selling/closing xbox" stuff has zero actual reporting behind it. Literally none.

A lot of people let their fanboyism take over when discussing this deal, Microsoft isn't going after Activision-Blizzard for Xbox, I will can't believe many of you have this mentality.

The sale is all about the mobile space and money to be made from that, Xbox is just a passenger that would gain some benefit.

Can't believe some of you actually believe Microsoft is doing this just for Xbox, pure ignorance.

 

[GHG]

This has absolutely nothing to do with the conversation, dude. LOL

Let him get it off his chest. He's far from the first one in this thread.

 

[IllegalLemon]

Posted the same week Sony launched PSVR2 ….

And the same week MS is trying to convince regulators they should be able to buy established game makers and IPs rather than take the risk of building original content.

Which continues to baffle me as to what their rationale for this is. They want to increase market share and make xbox more desirable. What have they been doing in the 20 years since Xbox was established. Please don't tell me they've been jerking off to a picture of a low polygon MasterChief.

What's worse is they're either pretending to be tone deaf or actually are tone deaf. They keep doubling down on wanting to pencil in 10 year contracts for releasing games on other platforms, ignoring the fact that the deal is being opposed potentially because regulators are concerned with what happens after those 10 years are up. Phil is looking more and more like a PR loudmouth because he probably hasn't noticed that what he's said, is being used against him. He's done more to jeopardise this deal than help it through so far. Pretty ridiculous if you ask me.

 

[GHound]

shills are literally a cancer to this industry.

I'll drink to this part at least

 

[IllegalLemon]

So it seems that what they came up with last week with the EU is their "final offering" for CMA as well.
Not only this will not be enough but the rhetoric is super weak, there is absolutely nothing to prove that this merger has to happen to achieve the positives they want to highlight, Activision can put COD on Nintendo and GFNow whenever they want, same Microsoft for their Xbox games on GFNow. They also continue with the "you're protecting Sony" discarding the credibility of all the market analysis that has been done so far and suggesting by themselves that approving the merger equals to damage Sony.

If these are the final conditions before the judgement imo CMA is going to block with a 80-90% chance.

They haven't realised that throwing jabs at the CMA is hurting their case more than helping it. "Protecting Sony"? tsk, tsk, tsk. Microsoft are acting more like hyper-active boyscouts, than actual professionals.

 

[ReBurn]

Yes but check out their Net/Operating Income.
Activision Blizzard

It's gonna take along time to turn this deal into a profit.

Not necessarily. it's not like they get nothing for their $69B. Microsoft would gain new non-cash assets valued in billions of dollars to offset the decrease in cash. They would really only need to recoup the difference between the value of the non-cash assets they acquire and the cash premium they paid for those assets to make the deal individually profitable.

 

[adamsapple]

Not necessarily. it's not like they get nothing for their $69B. Microsoft would gain new non-cash assets valued in billions of dollars to offset the decrease in cash. They would really only need to recoup the difference between the value of the non-cash assets they acquire and the cash premium they paid for those assets to make the deal individually profitable.

Yep. You don't just make a $69 billion deal out of spite or because you found an extra buck under the sofa cushion.

 

[Mod of War]

Get the trolling vitriolic bait and hypocrisy out of your systems or be removed from the thread or site.

 

[SneakersSO]

A lot of people let their fanboyism take over when discussing this deal, Microsoft isn't going after Activision-Blizzard for Xbox, I will can't believe many of you have this mentality.

The sale is all about the mobile space and money to be made from that, Xbox is just a passenger that would gain some benefit.

Can't believe some of you actually believe Microsoft is doing this just for Xbox, pure ignorance.

If thats the case, then the CMA's PF where their structural remedy and the route they prefer in which MS divests CoD should be no problem for MS right? I mean after all, it would net them King and Blizzard, the latter of whom has multiple new mobile titles slated to launch in the next few years.

Microsoft Refuses To Sell Call Of Duty To Secure Activision Merger

Microsoft President Brad Smith shot down the possibility of selling Call of Duty for a green light from regulators.

www.thegamer.com

...Oh.

 

[MasterCornholio]

Get the trolling vitriolic bait and hypocrisy out of your systems or be removed from the thread or site.

OK.....

 

[Thirty7ven]

With Diablo already coming to PlayStation and COD guaranteed for at least ten years, I wonder how Xbox fans utterly hyped about this deal will feel when Activision continues to be a COD factory and nothing changes as far as console status quo goes.

Will we have fanboys going to Twitter kicking up a shit storm because MS isn’t getting exclusives out of AB?

 

[PaintTinJr]

there is literally not an ounce of evidence to anything you just said. Especially the part about killing creativity,

Consolidation is bad when MS does it, but you all cheer when Sony spends their money.

Nonsense. You aren't being sincere in the slightest. Gamepass as a longterm home for the games that drive us as (Gaf to ign level) gamers from one home console to the next isn't sustainable.

They can't increase the number of gamers like us significantly, they can only take developer spoils, reduce the product quality to get enough return or dumb down the product to mobile levels to increase the userbase and reduce costs. That $69b they are offering takes too long to make back traditionally from the current revenues of ATVI, - even longer when rapidly cannibalising B2P on all platforms ATVI game release on via gamepass- so they will be pivoting to one of those things I mentioned sooner than later, because that $69b is an investment to get a big return on.

Call me old fashioned but I want to see the programmers and artists become million or billionaires from their creative endeavours - even in a cloud delivery era - even midsized independents sharing the spoils, not so much publishers, and certainly not $2T companies that have wasted so much opportunity over the last 20years in gaming because they've had a monopoly on selling OS licenses to afford to bankroll console failure as a vanguard for their PC gaming dominance, when they just needed to try to emulate genuine industry success as their strategy.

 

[Punished Miku]

With Diablo already coming to PlayStation and COD guaranteed for at least ten years, I wonder how Xbox fans utterly hyped about this deal will feel when Activision continues to be a COD factory and nothing changes as far as console status quo goes.

Will we have fanboys going to Twitter kicking up a shit storm because MS isn’t getting exclusives out of AB?

From what I've seen, most don't care that much about the game being exclusive and are more excited about additions to Gamepass and games just being available on Xbox. No one cares that all the games are on PC either.

 

[Thirty7ven]

From what I've seen, most don't care that much about the game being exclusive and are more excited about additions to Gamepass and games just being available on Xbox. No one cares that all the games are on PC either.

Well that was certainly not the attitude when the acquisition was announced. Not even close.

We are so far removed from the possibility now that maybe you’re right and people have accepted it.

 

[sainraja]

Well that was certainly not the attitude when the acquisition was announced. Not even close.

We are so far removed from the possibility now that maybe you’re right and people have accepted it.

In fairness, I don't think Punished Miku ever celebrated the removal of games from other systems vs being happy about being able to play them on Game Pass.

 

[RCU005]

This is the genesis of Phil's point. Paying devs to content-cripple other versions of the games is a disgusting practice.

BS! Microsoft started that practice since the 360 era! They were the first to to it! Also, remember Tomb Raider 2? The first one sold much more on PlayStation and they paid for timed exclusivity to screw Sony!

I don’t have anything against the Xbox brand and I will certainly get one whenever they make games I like, but Phil Spencer is so full of shit and his lies are at a high level.

Even worse, is not even that he lies, is that his intentions are complete opposite of what he lies about! Ex: “I want everyone to be able to play every game” then he goes and buys the two biggest publishers to make them exclusive to Xbox

 

[Bernkastel]

I find it interesting that that these people devote so much time warring about gaming platforms all day in GAF, particularly they seem to have more interest in platforms of the people they are warring with then the ones they own. They have so much free time to attack anyone they see on the internet whose choices in platform does not allign with them, that it sometimes bothers if this is some kind of real job. Now these people have the nerve to tell me I have mental illness.
If you step back and think, the very fact that someone devotes so much time all day to talk about a platform he does not invest in and getting trigerred over anyone not having the same platform choices as him, should be more of a cause of concern then me replying to posts saying "Phil Spencer is lying because Bethesda is exclusive".

 

[FoxMcChief]

Get the trolling vitriolic bait and hypocrisy out of your systems or be removed from the thread or site.

Kind of serious, does this include my self deprecating posts as an obviously joking Xbox shill? I mean, do people really think I’d be ok with Phil’s sloppy seconds with my wife? Or that I want to breed out the Englishmen in the UK to make way for future Spencertonions in Spencerland? I’m just try to put a smile on some faces on such a dry topic.

 

[GHG]

I find it interesting that that these people devote so much time warring about gaming platforms all day in GAF, particularly they seem to have more interest in platforms of the people they are warring with then the ones they own. They have so much free time to attack anyone they see on the internet whose choices in platform does not allign with them, that it sometimes bothers if this is some kind of real job. Now these people have the nerve to tell me I have mental illness.
If you step back and think, the very fact that someone devotes so much time all day to talk about a platform he does not invest in and getting trigerred over anyone not having the same platform choices as him, should be more of a cause of concern then me replying to posts saying "Phil Spencer is lying because Bethesda is exclusive".

My guy, the fact that you quoted a wall of posts and said what you said in that previous post of yours tells everyone that you are taking what people are saying about Phil Spencer personally. That's not healthy.

Now unless you have a grand revelation to inform us of (which, to be Frank, I highly doubt), the only thing you need to step back and think about is yourself.

 

[Mod of War]

Kind of serious, does this include my self deprecating posts as an obviously joking Xbox shill? I mean, do people really think I’d be ok with Phil’s sloppy seconds with my wife? Or that I want to breed out the Englishmen in the UK to make way for future Spencertonions in Spencerland? I’m just try to put a smile on some faces on such a dry topic.

Not at all. Memes, gentle ribbing and such are fine.

I'm referring to this camp and its shills are the worst compared to this camp and its shills type of Twitter levels bait.

 

[graywolf323]

BS! Microsoft started that practice since the 360 era! They were the first to to it! Also, remember Tomb Raider 2? The first one sold much more on PlayStation and they paid for timed exclusivity to screw Sony!

I don’t have anything against the Xbox brand and I will certainly get one whenever they make games I like, but Phil Spencer is so full of shit and his lies are at a high level.

Even worse, is not even that he lies, is that his intentions are complete opposite of what he lies about! Ex: “I want everyone to be able to play every game” then he goes and buys the two biggest publishers to make them exclusive to Xbox

doesn’t Tomb Raider Underworld to this day still have an epilogue DLC that is exclusive to Xbox 360?

 

[FoxMcChief]

Not at all. Memes, gentle ribbing and such are fine.

I'm referring to this camp and its shills are the worst compared to this camp and its shills type of Twitter levels bait.

That’s great! Because I totally don’t mind Phil’s super sloppy seconds!

 

[Ar¢tos]

With Diablo already coming to PlayStation and COD guaranteed for at least ten years, I wonder how Xbox fans utterly hyped about this deal will feel when Activision continues to be a COD factory and nothing changes as far as console status quo goes.

Will we have fanboys going to Twitter kicking up a shit storm because MS isn’t getting exclusives out of AB?

They might be coming to Playstation for even longer than that.
70bn is a lot of money and the gaming industry is not that stable, a single flop can kill a studio.
MS shareholders must be nervous already with not releasing Bethesda games on Playstation, they will probably fight to keep COD and the other main IPs for longer on Playstation just to get their money back faster.

 

[feynoob]

This thread is going different directions.
What happened to the old trolling?
Go back to Nintendo, market share, exclusives and other shits.
No need for other stuff. We don't need twitter mentality here.

 

[adamsapple]

With Diablo already coming to PlayStation and COD guaranteed for at least ten years, I wonder how Xbox fans utterly hyped about this deal will feel when Activision continues to be a COD factory and nothing changes as far as console status quo goes.

Will we have fanboys going to Twitter kicking up a shit storm because MS isn’t getting exclusives out of AB?

Activision can continue to be the CoD factory, but it would open up the possibility of all the IPs locked in their drawers to be utilized by other studios and/or revivals of classics with remasters, re-releases etc.

Also, massive dumps of various classics on game pass.

Try to look at the positives, not negatives all the time.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

This thread is going different directions.
What happened to the old trolling?
Go back to Nintendo, market share, exclusives and other shits.
No need for other stuff. We don't need twitter mentality here.

that is the next phase

 

[Ozriel]

That's not what the FTC and CMA reported.

The FTC claimed Microsoft made promises of non-exclusivity for Bethesda to the EU regulators. The EU regulators refuted it.

When did the CMA claim that MS reneged on a promise for Bethesda? Provide a source!

 

[feynoob]

that is the next phase

Those phases at least had good meme.
Maybe a new phase might bring a different type of meme.

 

[Mr.Phoenix]

Kind of serious, does this include my self deprecating posts as an obviously joking Xbox shill? I mean, do people really think I’d be ok with Phil’s sloppy seconds with my wife? Or that I want to breed out the Englishmen in the UK to make way for future Spencertonions in Spencerland? I’m just try to put a smile on some faces on such a dry topic.

Yes. Yes, I completely believe it.

Yes.

 

[Thirty7ven]

Activision can continue to be the CoD factory, but it would open up the possibility of all the IPs locked in their drawers to be utilized by other studios and/or revivals of classics with remasters, re-releases etc.

What other studios? And who would make these remakes?

MS has a terrible track record handling IP to boot.

Re releases on gamepass? Sure but that hardly moves the needle.

 

[FoxMcChief]

Yes. Yes, I completely believe it.

Yes.

 

[adamsapple]

What other studios?

Other studios MS employes. Or, hell, they're not too shy of contracting outside third party studios to work on first party projects either. It's not like all that IP is getting use under Activision itself right now.

 

[Jemm]

Lawyers involved in the deal reading this thread:

 

[DeepEnigma]

Lawyers involved in the deal reading this thread:

Certain lawyers involved are already participating in the Ree one.

 

[Baki]

You're really seeing a lot that isn't there.

Activision should just make a backdoor call to Sony. "Our future titles, outside of those already contracted, will not be on your console. We will announce XBOX and PC exclusivity at our showcase in June. You can deal with xbox, or you can deal with us." It's clear the shareholders want to make the deal, and the idea that it would be a monopoly is absurd.

And most of the lies and obfuscation i've seen have honestly come from Sony, not MS. The hypocrisy is incredible. They moneyhat games constantly to prevent them from going to MS, then cry when there's a POSSIBILITY microsoft might do the same.

Anyway, The FEC hasn't won a case in court in years, and this will be no different. MS will absolutely buy Activision.

Shareholders will rejoice at kneecapping their COD revenue by removing the platform that represents almost 60% of their COD revenue. Real smart move.

 

[X-Wing]

Shareholders will rejoice at kneecapping their COD revenue by removing the platform that represents almost 60% of their COD revenue. Real smart move.

You realize those share holders will be Microsoft’s shareholders right? If they are made to believe that it will pay off in the long run they won’t care.

 

[BrutalTruth_]

I find it interesting that that these people devote so much time warring about gaming platforms all day in GAF, particularly they seem to have more interest in platforms of the people they are warring with then the ones they own. They have so much free time to attack anyone they see on the internet whose choices in platform does not allign with them, that it sometimes bothers if this is some kind of real job. Now these people have the nerve to tell me I have mental illness.
If you step back and think, the very fact that someone devotes so much time all day to talk about a platform he does not invest in and getting trigerred over anyone not having the same platform choices as him, should be more of a cause of concern then me replying to posts saying "Phil Spencer is lying because Bethesda is exclusive".

It's always the same names too

 

[BrutalTruth_]

If thats the case, then the CMA's PF where their structural remedy and the route they prefer in which MS divests CoD should be no problem for MS right? I mean after all, it would net them King and Blizzard, the latter of whom has multiple new mobile titles slated to launch in the next few years.

http://[URL]https://www.thegamer.com/microsoft-refuses-to-sell-call-of-duty-activision-merger/

[/URL]

...Oh.

You think cod is worth 70 billion?

Look at the scope my guy....

 

[Bonsaibäumchen]

Sony shills are literally a cancer to this industry.

And I don't mean enthusiasts who love their playstation and the type of games they make. I mean the types who think XBox dying would be good for the industry and gaming. At best, those people are morons. No part of their argument deserves to be taken seriously.

As a "Sony Fan" or a fan of the games sony made in the past, i couldn't care less if xbox dies or not. Hell I wouldn't even mind if Playstation drops dead.
These are just companys doing business. And if they fail thats it. Not the end of the world.

The reason why they fail or not is way more relevant, because that might be tightly woven to the way games evolve/change.

For example if sony has to leave the market because their games won't find enough consumers then that would worry me, because I like those more story driven cinematic games. Especially ones that are beeing told over several long games ( just how I like literature that tells a continous story over several books ).

What I fear is that mobile gaming and the mechanics that are present there will infest all other games made. This would ruin gaming for me.
I really despise these mtx infested shitty games with dozens of different currencys battle passes that cause fomo and so on.

I also don't mind other games/genres though before you start judging me. I am also into rogue likes, survival games and farming&relationship games I could even dig into something like animal crossing if it had better mechanics, pve and more variation.

 

[feynoob]

This show is really entertaining.
https://www.ign.com/articles/cwa-files-charges-against-activision-for-firing-of-2-qa-workers

supports MS buying this company, then goes ahead and files a charges against the company that is supposed to be bought.

full comedy.

 

[Varteras]

This show is really entertaining.
https://www.ign.com/articles/cwa-files-charges-against-activision-for-firing-of-2-qa-workers

supports MS buying this company, then goes ahead and files a charges against the company that is supposed to be bought.

full comedy.

 

[Astray]

Activision should just make a backdoor call to Sony. "Our future titles, outside of those already contracted, will not be on your console. We will announce XBOX and PC exclusivity at our showcase in June. You can deal with xbox, or you can deal with us." It's clear the shareholders want to make the deal, and the idea that it would be a monopoly is absurd.

Contractually, Activision can't make deals while the merger is still ongoing, which is why MS is the one going around trying to strike deals etc.

I'm shocked to see most people don't want competition, some clearly want Xbox to die.

I'm seeing a lot of this kind of talk after Spencer's weird comments, and while I'd agree that it's valid in general, I don't think it holds that much weight upon closer examination.

But honestly speaking, has Xbox being around ever really held Sony back from anything we didn't like them doing? A lot of people talk about them as a sort of check on Sony, but they really aren't doing much to effect that, Sony was one of the 1st to hike game prices (along with Activision, ironic lmao), and Xbox not doing it didn't prevent them from sticking with the decision. Even the supposed consumer-friendly choices Sony made during the early PS4/XBox One race were mostly continuations of prior policies they already had in place..

If anything, it's kind of the opposite: Sony existing as a viable competitor has led to very visible reversals of bad Xbox policies like refusing crossplay or trying to forcibly bring us to a DRM-only future.

Competitors are necessary, but I'm not convinced that Xbox ever was a strong enough competitor to actually effect positive change within its competitors, they also don't have enough strong IP they introduced into the market to be missed when it disappears. This is why you see such nonchalance whenever the demise of Xbox is discussed.

 

[feynoob]

Did you guys post this?
https://www.xfire.com/microsoft-offer-future-activision-titles-playstation-nintendo/

it seems MS is trying to change their stance on exclusivity.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Did you guys post this?
https://www.xfire.com/microsoft-offer-future-activision-titles-playstation-nintendo/

it seems MS is trying to change their stance on exclusivity.

how is that different?

 

[Demon2blades]

It's funny with all the people fretting " if ms leaves the console space it's gonna be bad" I mean is it really ? They haven't competed with sony since the the 360 came out and then lost it halfway through that gen Because of some crap decisions on ms's part... Sonys been coasting on there own for ages now and it ain't been that bad , if ms leaves someone else will take there place as ms did with sega .