Microsoft is buying Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion [FTC sues to stop - CMA issues preliminary findings]

[Cal 1,053]

I love how some people are saying PlayStation is done for giving me a good laugh, anyway I said to myself I would never buy anything from Activision or Blizzard ever again after I found out how bad the work conditions were there and all the sexual harassments women faced working there. MS need to fix who's in charge there ASAP before making games. 

[jgm4789 483]

1 hour ago, SKiL_Clash said:

Yeah, Skyrim isn’t played by 100million people. There is too much money loss taking out one platform. Why they didn’t take out Minecraft as it’s too much of a money loss. They got 70billion dollars to make back here. Taking a good chunk of that away isn’t going to help.

 

Yeah, it could happen. I just don’t see it.

True, elder scrolls doesn't have the esports scene call of duty does(yeah we have elder scrolls online but that isn't exactly setting the tourney scene on fire) so making es6 exclusive is more of an annoyance then damaging. But call of duty, they would literally be cutting off microtransaction dollars from millions of potential players and risk pissing off the entire esports scene if they cut off sony platforms. At this point call of duty is too big to risk all of a sudden exclusiveness because the series has too many dedicated ps players who are used to yearly games, while skyrim is more then a decade old with its followup still looking to be a few years away which gives fans plenty of time to accept it being exclusive.

[MidnightDragon 28,028]

2 hours ago, Not_Too_Sweet said:

You could say the same for Elder Scrolls due to Skyrim's monumental success and look what happened there.

At least they gave us the 10,000th release of Skyrim for PS5.  

[RadiantFlamberge 3,514]

Activision Blizzard isn't too big of a loss for me. Seeing Bethesda get gobbled up was considerably worse... I agree with BrandedBerserk that Beth's lineup is more interesting. If Sony is putting some of their PS games on MS's Windows, Microsoft might do similar things. For one example, Call of Duty would probably remain multiplatform. Then again, some titles could possibly have a Xbox exclusive period, with the PS version being delayed several months. Anyway, I'd hate to see monopolism go rampant. Imagine if all the other major publishers like Bandai Namco, EA, Ubisoft, etc. all fell under a console manufacturer.

 

One thing I'd like is for MS to order AB to drop online-only requirements from their games. You should be allowed to play new Diablo games in an offline mode, as long as you can't use that character online. Also, AB uses online-only DRM in pretty much all their new games' PC versions (Crash 4 and Modern Warfare '19 to name a couple).

 

It would be weird if Crash, a former Sony mascot, became an Xbox exclusive.

 

Microsoft, kick out Kotick.

[DrBloodmoney 25,138]

6 hours ago, kidson2004 said:

Wait, does this mean they’ll own Tenchu as well if they ever released a new one?  Man I would be so crushed if they do. 

FROM Software has the Tenchu IP I believe -

It’s my understanding that Sekiro was originally developed to be a Tenchu revival, but was changed a year or so before release to be its own thing.

[MidnightDragon 28,028]

23 minutes ago, DrBloodmoney said:

FROM Software has the Tenchu IP I believe -

It’s my understanding that Sekiro was originally developed to be a Tenchu revival, but was changed a year or so before release to be its own thing.

Yeah, Activision just was a publisher. 

[cometowner 375]

In my opinion, this news is less impacting to sony compared to the Bethesda acquisition. what original IP we are talking about here. 

 

1. Call of Duty is Xbox and PC exclusive. yes, I call that a major hit but again it's a major to their generated revenue considering it's selling well on PlayStation.
2. Overwatch 2. I think this will likely be released on PlayStation if contracts were signed. 
3. Crash Bandicoot, Guitar Hero, Tony Hawk's, Spyro/Skylanders won't likely see the light anytime soon. 
4. World of Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm. the best experience will be on PC.
5. Candy crash is a mobile experience.

unlike Bethesda which has award-winning and popular titles like elder scroll, fallout, Doom, Wolfenstein, and dishonored. 

 

I would call it a doom to PlayStation when Microsoft buys square enix, Capcom, and EA in addition to activation and Bethesda. 

[Z1MZUM 2,245]

As someone that plays many games and many genres with and incredible amount of online gaming, this couldn't happen soon enough. I really wish this was immediate, Yes I have been part of the COD community since COD4. Go on and make some smart arse COD joke, I really don't give a flying fuck. But us OG Cod players have been feeling nauseous for a long time. Another year of the repulsive Bobby Kotick will probably kill this series off anyway.

 

 

Spike/Acquire made the ultimate "tenchu" game with Shinobido. As much as I love From Software, they can EAD as far as I'm concerned with Tenchu.

[ziggypossum 6,667]

Microsoft Deal Wipes $20 Billion Off Sony's Market Value in a Day

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-19/sony-drops-9-6-in-wake-of-microsoft-activision-deal

 

Bobby Kotick interview: Why Activision Blizzard did the deal with Microsoft

https://venturebeat.com/2022/01/18/bobby-kotick-interview-why-activision-blizzard-did-the-deal-with-microsoft/

 

Microsoft is buying one of the biggest names in games — if Washington lets it

Microsoft-Activision is like Disney-Fox. Maybe bigger.

https://www.vox.com/recode/2022/1/18/22889342/microsoft-activision-antitrust-games-streaming-gamepass

[AJ_-_808 2,808]

10 hours ago, punkshepherd said:

I know Sony has bought out developers before so theyre not blameless 

 

Big difference.

Sony acquired small developer studios that they have a strong working relationship with over years.  These studios already made games mostly on PlayStation, not really a loss for Xbox when it wasn't available to them in the first place.

 

MS bought out (now) 2 large publishing studios. Bethesda and Activision arent only developers, but theyre publishers that have acquired several other developer studios along the way.  Both have historically made games available on both ps and xbox, and now, an as yet undetermined number of traditionally multi platform games will no longer be available to ps users.

Edited January 19, 2022 by AJ_-_808

[Vergil 3,997]

7 hours ago, Amonares said:

Microsoft right now:

 

 

 

You do know Newcastle is like 10 times richer now?

[Titanomachy_75 664]

7 minutes ago, AJ_-_808 said:

 

Big difference.

Sony acquired small developer studios that they have a strong working relationship with over years.  These studios already made games mostly on PlayStation, not really a loss for Xbox when it wasn't available to them in the first place.

 

MS bought out (now) 2 large publishing studios. Bethesda and Activision arent only developers, but theyre publishers that have acquired several other developer studios along the way.  Both have historically made games available on both ps and xbox, and now, an as yet undetermined number of traditionally multi platform games will no longer be available to ps users.

So true sony is not taken games away like Xbox is ... The Sony buy outs are developers that pretty much work only with Sony so its night and day here!! 

[tpepper1985 223]

This will do alot of damage to Playstation, the more casual gamers buy the console to play CoD and FIFA with thier friends, maybe they pick up a few of the big PS exclusives too. Anyone who is a CoD fan will just buy whatever box they can play it on. 

 

I was thinking about buying an XBOX before this move, Phil at this point is so full of shit I have no desire to support Microsoft at this point. I do not like the way they are taking the industry, for sure Gamepass is good value but for how long, games are going to be made with Gamepass in mind, which means selling MTX will become the main focus to make money and I basically do not buy games with this kind of business model. Each year I see gaming trending in this way, basically free to play whale hunting and it sucks, if that becomes the main way games get made in the future I will just stop gaming or stick to older, or indie games that are just games, and not just proxies for digital storefronts.

 

I hope Sony carries on as it is, because every year it seems like the way they do business is under threat, and it's just the way I like to game. Like many on this site I do not care for Activision games, but we are a very small minority of gamers, Call of Duty doesn't top the best selling lists every year for no reason.

Edited January 19, 2022 by tpepper1985

[Ampki 97]

I don't play any of them games...the only thing i was sad about  was maybe no new elder scrolls on PS5.

[Xionzenn 365]

It's scary that they could sacrifice that sort of expenditure in their current condition, plenty of our clientèle comes from COD, I personally still don't see that many people alternating between consoles but if they persist to by Ubisoft and other developers, this will be troublesome. I think Sony needs to up their game with securing these alleged Sony Exclusives. Crash Bandicoot is the face of our brand..

[SHADOW-KILLER-S2 193]

So does this mean that all Activision games and DLC released in PS Store will be delisted eventually? Better grab those expensive CoD season passes!

[tpepper1985 223]

Just now, SHADOW-KILLER-S2 said:

So does this mean that all Activision games and DLC released in PS Store will be delisted eventually? Better grab those expensive CoD season passes!

 

I doubt they will delist any old content, but be prepared for future releases to be exclusive in some way.

[Desavenencia 408]

I found out about this yesterday and while it’s the largest outlay of money in the history of the video game industry (a very important fact, obviously), I don’t care too much if we’re talking about the possibility of exclusivities.

 

If this meant total exclusivity for Microsoft of all the games produced by the Activision Blizzard King studios, I would only miss being able to continue playing the Diablo saga on PlayStation. And that’s a saga that I played on PC since its first game, so… yeah, nothing serious for me.

 

The purchase of ZeniMax still seems much more relevant to me.

 

ZeniMax Media was acquired by Microsoft in March 2021 and became part of Xbox Game Studios.

 

The company owns publisher Bethesda Softworks with its development unit Bethesda Game Studios (developer of The Elder Scrolls, Fallout and Starfield), as well as developers id Software (Doom, Quake and Rage series), Arkane Studios (Dishonored and Prey), Machine Games (Wolfenstein series), Tango Gameworks (The Evil Within) and ZeniMax Online Studios (The Elder Scrolls Online).

Edited January 19, 2022 by Desavenencia

[Nelson_ 4,813]

Sony wants to pander to westerners

Only for Microsoft to purchase most western studios 

Talk about reaching a dead end.

[Desavenencia 408]

Although it may seem like a bad thing at first glance, I think this is good for the industry. It’s time for both PlayStation and Nintendo to start reacting, because all this has been stagnant for too many years.

[Gommes_ 3,381]

I just hope that a potential new Tony Hawk Remake will come out for a Sony console!

[richxrdgriffin 42]

37 minutes ago, Nelson_ said:

Sony wants to pander to westerners

Only for Microsoft to purchase most western studios 

Talk about reaching a dead end.

I do think that's a particularly worrying thing. Nintendo has the Japanese market locked down, Microsoft is seemingly intent on purchasing all the major third party western studios. Where do Sony go from here? 

[Abby_TheLastofUs 4,705]

27 minutes ago, Desavenencia said:

Although it may seem like a bad thing at first glance, I think this is good for the industry. It’s time for both PlayStation and Nintendo to start reacting, because all this has been stagnant for too many years.

 

This is absolutely not good for the industry. On the contrary, this is poison to the industry.

 

Media consolidation is not a good thing, no matter who's doing it. It just happens that it's even worse with Microsoft because they already own so much and show no signs of slowing down.

 

Edited January 19, 2022 by Abby_TheLastofUs

[Desavenencia 408]

3 minutes ago, Abby_TheLastofUs said:

 

This is absolutely not good for the industry. On the contrary, this is poison to the industry.

 

Media consolidation is not a good thing, no matter who's doing it. It just happens that it's even worse with Microsoft because they are already own so much and show no signs of slowing down.

I was referring to this other post of mine.

 

 

[mcnichoj 698]

Some of y'all need chill pills. I expected absolute seething and I totally get why this news can understandably cause people to become angry or frustrated but take it down at least one notch.

 

4 minutes ago, Abby_TheLastofUs said:

 

This is absolutely not good for the industry. On the contrary, this is poison to the industry.

 

Media consolidation is not a good thing, no matter who's doing it. It just happens that it's even worse with Microsoft because they are already own so much and show no signs of slowing down.

I agree mostly. I don't think it's good when these companies pull games away from users on different platforms but I do however believe that if any of the big three were going to do it I would rather it be MS over the other two.

-We're guaranteed same day PC releases as console as opposed to Sony who releases only some games way after the fact or Nintendo who releases none at all

-Day one GamePass which insures more people are getting access to it who maybe don't have the means to get many AAA games released every year

-MS isn't afraid of releasing some games on Nintendo hardware