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

[Bumperklever]

11 hours ago, Guardian_owl said:

You can probably add to that list Hi Fi Rush, an odd Japanese game like that would certainly have come to Sony consoles as well given all the rest of Tango Gameworks console games came to Sony consoles before Microsoft bought Zenimax. Sony even paid to make their previous game, Ghostwire: Tokyo, a timed exclusive.

 

I think of all the titles, I miss Hi Fi Rush the most. Such a lovely game from the folks at tango that got into this shitty exclusivity cycle.  I was hearthbroken. ?

 

Atleast it is on steam...

 

[Z1MZUM]

19 hours ago, breakingthegreen said:

I dream of a world where Bobby Kotick is arrested for the abusive work culture he fostered, and I hope this is one step closer to that.

 

I like you

[cy1999aek_maik]

7 hours ago, mcnichoj said:

For the fact Bobby is still there despite everything that has already happened under him and because of him? The fact the board would have got a big pay day if this went through? If MS has the money to buy ABK in entirety, they have that same money now freed up to make COD exclusive? Sony bought FF16, no reason MS can't buy COD16 or whatever number we're on.

I think it might not make sense financially to just buy CoD. Sony can buy FF16 exclusivity because FF sales are so low on xbox anyways that Sony doesn't have to offer too much to Square to get a deal. The same cannot be said for CoD. I think most of the playerbase is on PS, which means most revenue from cosmetics from warzone comes from PS, as well as buying the yearly 'premium' titles. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think this wouldn't be as easy to pull off

 

On another note, I read somewhere that if this acquisition isn't closed by June, then MS and ABK will have to renegotiate the deal. The current price of $68 billion came at a time when MS was able to take advantage of the fact that ABK was under a lot of scrutiny for their work place troubles and got themselves a bargain. Does that mean that if this is delayed to June it might not be worth it for Microsoft anymore? 

[MidnightDragon]

Microsoft is acting worse than a toddler throwing a temper tantrum. If I was a worker at MS, I would be embarrassed. They’re certainly not helping themselves. Threats didn’t get them what they wanted last time. What makes them think they will now? The UK government even said MS’s statements aren’t based in reality. If MS really leaves the UK, I’m going to win the next Powerball.  
 

https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2023/04/microsoft-goes-scorched-earth-over-uks-activision-buyout-block

Edited April 27, 2023 by MidnightDragon

[Rozalia1]

Going to address some things I've been seeing from the Microsoft camp, which being full of astroturfing means Microsoft itself may have started themselves.

 

1: Some are putting it out there that Microsoft can ring fence business their business in the UK and thus get past this, Michael Pachter, who has been wrong every step of the way on this and is infamously bad at analysing the gaming market, is where people are getting that talk from. The reality is that such a thing won't work for numerous reasons which I won't even bother to go into because there is one that overrides them all even if it were possible. The time for remedies is past and Microsoft doesn't get to now start pitching remedies now that it has been blocked.

 

2: The idea that the CMA by closing the door to behavioural remedies has acted illegally/irrationally. To begin with the CMA didn't close the door to behaviourals as while they said they didn't buy any work, they were willing to listen to whatever Microsoft put forward. A certain user took issue with me saying that the CMA was closed to behaviourals due to that as why would they say Microsoft is free to suggest them if they weren't going to take them? For moments exactly like this. It cannot be said that the CMA said to Microsoft that behaviourals simply could not be done.

Additionally, what these supporters of Microsoft have loved to leave out is that Microsoft itself closed the door to structural remedies which was what the CMA had suggested should be done to fix the issues of the deal. Microsoft itself it seems played a game with the CMA where they tried to force/bully the CMA to accept behavioural measures (the 10 year deals) by refusing to accept any structural measures. The CMA didn't wilt to their challenge however and from we've seen seems to have simply told Microsoft that if they aren't going to accept structural measures then the deal is simply blocked entirely.

 

Something to also note with all that is we can now safely mark off talk of "King being the real prize" and all that down as a Microsoft lie. The CMA was open to allowing Microsoft to have King so if it really was the real prize Microsoft wanted then they could have accepted buying just King, but they rejected that, because obviously what they actually wanted was CoD.

 

3: The blame game. Initially Sony was obviously lambasted as the villain in all of this as they bribed the CMA or whatever, but a shift might be in the works. To begin with them attacking Sony like that doesn't make any sense. Right before this deal collapsed anyone who saw what was happening at the Microsoft camp saw plenty of talk from them that Sony had failed, that no one was buying Sony's lies, that Sony/Jim Ryan were crying, all that sort of stuff. For a whole month they've been on that trip and now suddenly it was all wrong and Sony actually was on top the whole time?

 

Its not a great angle so there seems to be efforts to shift the blame onto Google, who have also been involved, and who scrapped Stadia while blaming Microsoft buying up Bethesda as the reason why. The reasons Microsoft would do this are obvious enough. To start with they know their fanbase is already riled up against Sony, so getting them riled up against Google would be a nice for them if they intend to continue with their mobile plans. That is the practical reason. The more pathetic reason would be that Microsoft would rather have failed because of Google than Sony, who they look down upon as not on their level (and yet humiliates them again and again). We'll have to see if they manage the shift, but I see an attempt.

 

14 hours ago, mcnichoj said:

Going forward it doesn't really matter what happens as Sony severely burned their bridge with ABK.

If the deal never ends up happening, most stuff will stay multiplatform with best case scenario for Sony being every AB title is also on GamePass day one of release and are permanent additions but nothing is exclusive. This will still hurt Sony for anyone that plays games from that company as they may be swayed to pick up an Xbox with GP, serving as the entry drug to the Xbox ecosystem.

Worse case is most everything is multiplat and on GamePass day one but COD goes exclusive after the next release.

 

This is what Microsoft supporters have been spreading since the CMA first gave Microsoft trouble, that Sony should wish for this to pass as the alternative will be much worse for them, but it simply ain't true in your described case. Activision in this scenario doesn't hold the cards, Sony does. Sony, like Microsoft, takes a lower rate from CoD as they're so big but is now well within their rights to revoke that for Activision's bad behaviour (not simply wanting to be bought by Microsoft, talking about the disgusting things Kotick and Lulu have been saying about Sony) and that alone would be losing Activision a lot of money. Sony is also where the game is most successful and while in the short term taking Microsoft's money might be nice, it might also damage the brand and hurt its money making potential long term.

 

In short. It'll be Activision begging Sony for forgiveness in the future, not the other way around.

 

13 hours ago, Xillynoc said:

With the surprisingly positive twist news today meaning that this debacle will be going on for some time longer, I just want to shout-out @Rozalia1 for so consistently breaking down and clearly explaining all the bullshit we've seen from Microsoft over the past year (and further back, as necessary). Wouldn't understand this half as well as I do if it weren't for you, and I'm sure I'm not alone!

 

Thank you, means a lot.

 

9 hours ago, mcnichoj said:

For the fact Bobby is still there despite everything that has already happened under him and because of him? The fact the board would have got a big pay day if this went through? If MS has the money to buy ABK in entirety, they have that same money now freed up to make COD exclusive? Sony bought FF16, no reason MS can't buy COD16 or whatever number we're on.

 

Bobby Kotick has been able to remain in his role since all that trouble hit because Microsoft has protected him, protection which likely will be soon coming to an end. Worse, Sony will be very interested in seeing him go now and could do a number of things to force the issue if they have to. On top of all that, it is considered that if you're a boss and fail to get a merger through that you resign for that failure alone.

 

As for Microsoft using for something else the 69, well 66 billion as they'll be paying 3 billion in fees (note, Sony got Bungie for 3 billion. Microsoft got absolutely nothing), that isn't how it works thankfully. To begin with the money was marked down for this deal, not general purpose gaming buyouts, and as seen with Microsoft's numbers actually going up on this news, it seems clear enough that shareholders at Microsoft actually don't like Microsoft spending this money on gaming to begin with. At least however buying Activision was buying an asset, which means that Microsoft was turning cash liquidity into something solid. Them spending 5 billion or whatever to get exclusive CoD and on Gamepass is not transforming money into an asset, it is straight up spending it as a cost. A cost that everyone knows will not be recouped and will likely do little to fix the issues Xbox has anyway. Microsoft has kept Xbox and Gamepass going all the time that it has by hiding the costs from everybody and most importantly the shareholders, but this would be a cost that there would be no hiding. If shareholders then start asking to see the books more and more as a result... that is it. They're finished the moment the shareholders take an interest as them seeing the wasteland that Xbox has been historically and very likely is even more so now will cause them to demand that Xbox and likely even Gamepass with it gets scrapped.

 

 

2 hours ago, cy1999aek_maik said:

I think it might not make sense financially to just buy CoD. Sony can buy FF16 exclusivity because FF sales are so low on xbox anyways that Sony doesn't have to offer too much to Square to get a deal. The same cannot be said for CoD. I think most of the playerbase is on PS, which means most revenue from cosmetics from warzone comes from PS, as well as buying the yearly 'premium' titles. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think this wouldn't be as easy to pull off

 

On another note, I read somewhere that if this acquisition isn't closed by June, then MS and ABK will have to renegotiate the deal. The current price of $68 billion came at a time when MS was able to take advantage of the fact that ABK was under a lot of scrutiny for their work place troubles and got themselves a bargain. Does that mean that if this is delayed to June it might not be worth it for Microsoft anymore? 

 

If Microsoft tried to renegotiate then Activision I'm sure would agree and to a lower amount at that yes. Unless however Kotick completely stops caring about money making the breakup fee would have to go up to 6 perhaps 7 billion. That ultimately is what Microsoft would then have to weigh when it comes to continuing or not. Is it worth continuing to try to get a deal (even if now cheaper) that is 99% dead if it means paying out an extra 3-4 billion? The answer is obviously no, but you can't count out an emotional response from Microsoft management. At most businesses they'd force out a boss acting irrationally like that, but Nadella is quite well liked at Microsoft so they might allow him to have his moment I suppose.

 

5 minutes ago, MidnightDragon said:

Microsoft is acting worse than a toddler throwing a temper tantrum. If I was a worker at MS, I would be embarrassed. They’re certainly not helping themselves. Threats didn’t get them what they wanted last time. What makes them think they will now?
 

https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2023/04/microsoft-goes-scorched-earth-over-uks-activision-buyout-block

 

You know how you can tell someone is a good guy? When they start going into villainous rants and threatening people when told no. I'm not surprised of course because as I've told people, this is the real face of Microsoft. 

 

They also once again can't resist risking themselves looking very foolish with the EU arsekissing because if the EU also rejects them then Microsoft once again looks foolish. As the article itself even points out, yes, the talk is the EU will pass this for Microsoft... but so was the talk before the FTC said no, so was the talk before the CMA said no. Twice Microsoft has had this happen to them and they're risking it a third time? Well third time is the charm I suppose, but as usual Microsoft seems ignorant of the fact that acting this way is not only not going to mean a thing to the CMA but it'll only hurt them with the EU too.

 

It gets worse however... to quote that Microsoft stooge Florian Mueller.

 

Quote

I've just found an indication that the UK government will now be asked to overrule the 
@CMAgovUK's outrageous #Microsoft#ActivisionBlizzard decision. It does have the statutory power to do that, and here it should exercise it.

In his BBC video interview (https://bbc.com/news/business-65407005), Microsoft's president said:
"And we play a vital role, not just supporting businesses and non-profits but even defending the nation from cybersecurity threats."

Importance to economy and national security are statutory justifications for a governmental override of a CMA decision.

It is not unusual for a government to overrule a merger-blocking decision. In Germany it has been done on some occasions (under a different law, but still).
 

UK government could overrule CMA and it looks like Microsoft is suggesting just that (besides appealing ofc).

If that effort comes to fruition, the tweet I'm responding to will probably have been the first to make that inference from that BBC interview with Microsoft's president

 

They're issuing threats and demanding that the government overrule the CMA decision and pass the deal, on national security grounds at that because what? Microsoft will leave the UK if their demand isn't met? Try it bozos as I'd love seeing the big three regulators calling for Microsoft to be broken up as a result of it. The UK government thankfully has already come out against Microsoft and stated that the language they are using is unacceptable. They have also reminded Microsoft that the CMA is independent, which is something that is clear Microsoft absolutely hates. Microsoft just can't comprehend it seems that it ain't like in America where you can just bribe some corrupt pro-business people to overcome the regulator.

[Ninjise]

This drama at this pace it will never end. 

[MidnightDragon]

1 hour ago, Rozalia1 said:

They're issuing threats and demanding that the government overrule the CMA decision and pass the deal, on national security grounds at that because what? Microsoft will leave the UK if their demand isn't met? Try it bozos as I'd love seeing the big three regulators calling for Microsoft to be broken up as a result of it. The UK government thankfully has already come out against Microsoft and stated that the language they are using is unacceptable. They have also reminded Microsoft that the CMA is independent, which is something that is clear Microsoft absolutely hates. Microsoft just can't comprehend it seems that it ain't like in America where you can just bribe some corrupt pro-business people to overcome the regulator.

You know they're losing the argument if the UK government is basically saying they're full of crap. And they're showing stereotypical ugly American ignorance and arrogance. Still, the mindless XBots and their bought and paid for politicians will support their BS. Seriously, I'm just as likely to win the mega jackpot in the lottery than they are to leave the UK. While Sony and Nintendo are far from perfect, they don't do stupid BS like this. 

Edited April 27, 2023 by MidnightDragon

[Slava]

Quote

president Brad Smith said the move was “bad for Britain” and marked the firm’s “darkest day in our four decades” in the country.

 

Quote

Smith said: “People are shocked, people are disappointed, and people’s confidence in technology in the UK has been severely shaken. There's a clear message here: the European Union is a more attractive place to start a business than the UK.”

 

Quote

Smith proceeded to pile on threats, claiming that Microsoft could reconsider its investment into the UK, and added that the country needs to “look hard at the role of the CMA and the regulatory structure”.

 

What are these quotes lmao. This almost sounds like satire from Hard Drive.

 

 

[MidnightDragon]

7 minutes ago, Slava said:

 

 

 

What are these quotes lmao. This almost sounds like satire from Hard Drive.

 

 

I read his bullshit and this was all I heard in my brain.

 

 

[UNLEADED_BRONZE]

Fun fact 20/XX years ago 

Yahoo

 

Refused too/2 buy/by

Google for 20/XX/Twenty Million dollars Google is worth more than that

Edited April 27, 2023 by UNLEADED_BRONZE

[Rozalia1]

Just now, MidnightDragon said:

You know they're losing the argument if the UK government is basically saying they're full of crap. And they're showing typical ugly American ignorance and arrogance. Still, the mindless XBots and their bought and paid for politicians will support their BS. Seriously, I'm just as likely to win the mega jackpot in the lottery than they are to leave the UK. While Sony and Nintendo are far from perfect, they don't do stupid BS like this. 

 

I wouldn't even say typical as I don't recall other big American companies taking a hit breaking down in rage like this, over what is considered a minor part of their overall business at that. If I had to guess I think what is causing Microsoft to lash out this hard is the fact that they've had their fake good boy act on so long that they believe that it is unfair that they're being treated (in their mind) even worse than considered open bad actors like Meta and the like.

 

On that note, I've always said that Microsoft is the worse actor out of all of them. Microsoft with their fake good boy act has managed to get bills that target big tech companies redone to exclude Microsoft while still hitting others. Then you have buyouts which Microsoft is the absolute worst at:

 

Biggest buyouts

Microsoft: 69 billion

Meta: 19 billion

Amazon: 13.7 billion (not even in tech)

Alphabet: 12.5 billion

Sony: 3.7 billion

Apple: 3 billion

Nintendo: So little it doesn't even come up

 

Microsoft has had it good for so long with their PR machine that they're at the point that they want governments to cripple others (as they're currently trying with Sony) but to not dare touch them. All while they spend more money than ALL of "big tech" combined.

 

20 minutes ago, Slava said:

What are these quotes lmao. This almost sounds like satire from Hard Drive.

 

You know how in Ace Attorney a villain once exposed goes crazy and stops hiding their villainy? It's like that. This is how Microsoft was in the past when they got in trouble for their monopolies, and it is how they are even today because nothing has changed. Their good boy act is and has always been just that, an act.

[UNLEADED_BRONZE]

I would've been loling if theres 

Some kinda turn around/tables have turned

 

CMA/UK:

No no no no no,MIcro-

-

 

Later near the end of the year

CMA/UK &/and MSFT/Microsoft 

Can't or isn't there a deal we can get through 

 

CMA/UK

Yes yes yes

WE AGREEE ON OUR/OR TERMS

Edited April 27, 2023 by UNLEADED_BRONZE

[MidnightDragon]

26 minutes ago, Rozalia1 said:

 

I wouldn't even say typical as I don't recall other big American companies taking a hit breaking down in rage like this, over what is considered a minor part of their overall business at that.

Meant to say “stereotypical”, which is more correct. Fixed it. 
 

Surprisingly, as big of a company has Microsoft is in the US, I haven’t heard much about it in the news outside of gaming sites.

Edited April 27, 2023 by MidnightDragon

[Rozalia1]

16 minutes ago, MidnightDragon said:

Meant to say “stereotypical”, which is more correct. Fixed it. 
 

Surprisingly, as big of a company has Microsoft is in the US, I haven’t heard much about it in the news outside of gaming sites.

 

The media is very soft on Microsoft as we know, but it is getting so absurd that I think even Microsoft is going to stop being able paper this over. Microsoft is adding so nasty that this should completely tank their good boy image not just in gaming but across everything.

 

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2023/04/27/first-on-cnbc-cnbc-transcript-activision-blizzard-ceo-bobby-kotick-speaks-with-cnbcs-squawk-box-today.html

 

We can add conspiracy theories to the list of stuff they're coming out with now. Again, this is Activision but at the moment they're one and the same with Microsoft on this. Lina Khan a week and a half ago met with CMA officials. What does this mean? Apparently that Lina Khan secretly controls the CMA I suppose. On that line of thinking, what was Microsoft doing meeting the UK government before the decision came out? As always, Microsoft can do as they like but others are villains if they do it.

[MidnightDragon]

If this ends up going through, they need to fire Kotick. If it doesn’t go through, they need to fire Kotick. Man is a sexual harassment/assault enabling parasite and a blight on the game industry and humanity….and that’s the nicest thing I can say about him. 

Edited April 27, 2023 by MidnightDragon

[MidnightDragon]

41 minutes ago, Rozalia1 said:

 

The media is very soft on Microsoft as we know, but it is getting so absurd that I think even Microsoft is going to stop being able paper this over. Microsoft is adding so nasty that this should completely tank their good boy image not just in gaming but across everything.

 

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2023/04/27/first-on-cnbc-cnbc-transcript-activision-blizzard-ceo-bobby-kotick-speaks-with-cnbcs-squawk-box-today.html

 

We can add conspiracy theories to the list of stuff they're coming out with now. Again, this is Activision but at the moment they're one and the same with Microsoft on this. Lina Khan a week and a half ago met with CMA officials. What does this mean? Apparently that Lina Khan secretly controls the CMA I suppose. On that line of thinking, what was Microsoft doing meeting the UK government before the decision came out? As always, Microsoft can do as they like but others are villains if they do it.

What’s next? Sony bribed the CMA and UK government and are their secret puppet

masters? …Actually surprised they haven’t tried that yet. They’re so damn ridiculous. Has Sony actually commented on this yet? 

Edited April 27, 2023 by MidnightDragon

[Rozalia1]

12 minutes ago, MidnightDragon said:

If this ends up going through, they need to fire Kotick. If it doesn’t go through, they need to fire Kotick. Man is a sexual harassment/assault enabling parasite and a blight on the game industry and humanity….and that’s the nicest thing I can say about him. 

 

He ain't the only one. His minion Lulu should have been fired instantly the moment she started talking as she did towards Sony.

 

On the Microsoft end Smith should go also no matter how well a job he has done bribing all of those American congress people in the past. He has said stupid stuff before that hurt Microsoft's chances on getting the deal through, but what he is saying now the deal has failed is completely outrageous. Spencer should also be fired for how often his previous comments have come up and thrown in Microsoft's face. There is however another character that should get the axe... Nadella himself. Bosses usually will blame an underling for failure or making bad decisions, but on this it is a matter of record that this deal, heck I think even the massive Gamepass push as a whole, was all Nadella's idea. Perhaps it was Spencer's idea and he just let his boss have credit (smart, it means if it fails it was his boss's idea), but Nadella certainly didn't go against that so the buck should stop with him.

 

As I've said in the past however. Nadella is investing massive amounts into gaming to an irrational level as Microsoft's business only gets worse the more money they put in, so if he loses his position (odds aren't high I'd say, but possible) then whoever the next boss is will very likely cut Xbox and likely Gamepass with it.

 

https://www.cnbc.com/video/2023/04/26/microsoft-can-earn-higher-return-on-cash-in-bank-than-in-activision-deal-says-oppenheimers-horan.html

 

I think the above link reflects how neutral normal business people see the situation which is basically how I see it. To summarise they basically say that the CMA has in essence done Microsoft a favour as Microsoft would be better off with the money in the bank than investing it in Activision. If they must spend it then they have their Cloud business and now AI to put it into which is a far better place to put it. Microsoft also apparently sold to people this deal being good for them because it would help them with the Metaverse and well, that pipe dream is seemingly dead so why continue trying to get this through? The final point has the analyst straight up state that Microsoft's gaming business is simply bad, which is the blunt truth of the matter.

 

14 minutes ago, MidnightDragon said:

What’s next? Sony bribed the CMA and UK government? They’re so damn ridiculous.

 

We can only hope it continues. If Microsoft doesn't calm itself and get itself under control then they may well do something they are going to very quickly regret. I don't just mean what it means for the little fans they have, the real ones anyway and not the astroturfed/paid shills ones, who I'm seeing some currently stating that they're shocked with how Microsoft is acting and seem to now be turning against the deal as a result. I'm talking that if they in anyway try to act out on these threats they are making right now then that can put them on the path to having the monopolies they currently own getting broken, likely with Microsoft itself getting broken up in the process.

 

Having known all along how ugly a company Microsoft is and has always been, I hope they keep digging their own grave on this. This also reminds me of a few people on here believing that I've been going too hard on Microsoft or something of that nature. This should be eye opening for anyone who believed that because this is the real Microsoft. This deal has never been about getting games played by more gamers. It was never about lower prices. It was never about advancing technology or whatever other lies Microsoft stated. The goal was always domination. As they even admitted, they were in no way done with buying up companies if this goes through. As they're too incompetent to outcompete Sony (or Nintendo, but even Microsoft knows they can't harm them) they decided they were simply going to buy and buy and in the process make Sony smaller and smaller. Now that their little revenge plot for all the humiliation Sony has done to them has seemingly failed with this deal getting blocked they're going crazy and have revealed their true colours for all to see.

 

Now some I'm sure would say something along the lines of "Well Sony/Nintendo would act the same way if they had all the power and money that Microsoft has". Possibly yes, but we don't live in the fantasy world where that is the case. We live in the real world where it is Microsoft that has all that and acts this way. Note also that Microsoft acts like this while being dead last in gaming, just imagine if they were the far and away market leader how bad their behaviour would be.

[UNLEADED_BRONZE]

No,Its like MSFT/Microsoft playing a game of cards 

*(Except the odds are stacked against them)

 

MSFT/Micro-: Never Tell Me The Odds

CMA/UK:

[Infected Elite]

honestly, if deal goes through or not ill game on all consoles. I dont really care if there are exclusives. So i miss some trophies and they become achievements, maybe some franchises get put down like Old Yeller.

 

I dont care about the end result but its quite amusing how childish the entire thing has become. With public getting so drawn in. 

[majob]

15 hours ago, AJ_-_808 said:

 

It's actually simpler than that. Microsoft burnt a lot of goodwill with SE recently  and now SE wants nothing to do with Microsoft.  Apparently Microsoft was strong arming SE over their potential Xbox port of FFXIV, insisting that players must have an Xbox Live subscription to play which SE objected to since FFXIV already requires a paid subscription to play. To top it off they were also making other demands which SE balked at like demanding the ability to turn off crossplay, which meant SE would have had to create and maintain a server solely for Xbox which would be ridiculous and expensive.

[MidnightDragon]

4 hours ago, majob said:

It's actually simpler than that. Microsoft burnt a lot of goodwill with SE recently  and now SE wants nothing to do with Microsoft.  Apparently Microsoft was strong arming SE over their potential Xbox port of FFXIV, insisting that players must have an Xbox Live subscription to play which SE objected to since FFXIV already requires a paid subscription to play. To top it off they were also making other demands which SE balked at like demanding the ability to turn off crossplay, which meant SE would have had to create and maintain a server solely for Xbox which would be ridiculous and expensive.

Especially since XBox has such a small presence in Japan.

[mcnichoj]

18 hours ago, AJ_-_808 said:

You have a point, if MS wants to throw that money into exclusivity out of spite.  Not sure it makes sense money-wise, but MS is MS I guess. There's also grumbling Xbox may fold if this fails.

 

I read somewhere that Sony co-developed and co-published ff16, hence the exclusive.  Plus I'm assuming they have a closer working relationship with square than Xbox has with acti.

 

Acti would have to be on board to do it out of spite also, instead of trying to dump kotick and right the ship.  I'm sure they would take some sort of hit giving up the ps portion of the market.

To strengthen their foothold, that's what they've been doing with the Xbox brand since the day they entered the console market. The brand has been a money pit for the longest time and only recently have they been seeing some actual profit.

 

I'm sure without Sony's involvement that FF16 would still have been made. They also sent devs to help work on the PS5 port of The Callisto Protocol but that wasn't exclusive.

 

Hence the money.

 

7 hours ago, Rozalia1 said:

This is what Microsoft supporters have been spreading since the CMA first gave Microsoft trouble, that Sony should wish for this to pass as the alternative will be much worse for them, but it simply ain't true in your described case. Activision in this scenario doesn't hold the cards, Sony does. Sony, like Microsoft, takes a lower rate from CoD as they're so big but is now well within their rights to revoke that for Activision's bad behaviour (not simply wanting to be bought by Microsoft, talking about the disgusting things Kotick and Lulu have been saying about Sony) and that alone would be losing Activision a lot of money. Sony is also where the game is most successful and while in the short term taking Microsoft's money might be nice, it might also damage the brand and hurt its money making potential long term.

 

In short. It'll be Activision begging Sony for forgiveness in the future, not the other way around.

 

As for Microsoft using for something else the 69, well 66 billion as they'll be paying 3 billion in fees (note, Sony got Bungie for 3 billion. Microsoft got absolutely nothing), that isn't how it works thankfully. To begin with the money was marked down for this deal, not general purpose gaming buyouts, and as seen with Microsoft's numbers actually going up on this news, it seems clear enough that shareholders at Microsoft actually don't like Microsoft spending this money on gaming to begin with. At least however buying Activision was buying an asset, which means that Microsoft was turning cash liquidity into something solid. Them spending 5 billion or whatever to get exclusive CoD and on Gamepass is not transforming money into an asset, it is straight up spending it as a cost. A cost that everyone knows will not be recouped and will likely do little to fix the issues Xbox has anyway. Microsoft has kept Xbox and Gamepass going all the time that it has by hiding the costs from everybody and most importantly the shareholders, but this would be a cost that there would be no hiding. If shareholders then start asking to see the books more and more as a result... that is it. They're finished the moment the shareholders take an interest as them seeing the wasteland that Xbox has been historically and very likely is even more so now will cause them to demand that Xbox and likely even Gamepass with it gets scrapped.

Unless MS is like, "here's however many billion to make a few COD titles exclusive". That would probably be more than enough to cover any loss in revenue for ABK.

If anyone remembers, the last time Sony "held the cards" was back during the PS2 era. Still, what happened with Resident Evil 4? It went to the GameCube. I'm sure people will point out that it eventually went to the PS2 but a big caveat there is that the PS2 port was pretty crappy in comparison. Ironically this is what Jim Ryan claimed Microsoft could do with PlayStation releases of COD if MS owned the IP. I mention these two things to make a point that you don't need to own an IP for crappier versions to end up on other companies hardware. Maybe instead of a straight out exclusive deal they could have a "make Xbox the premier platform" deal which might as well be code for "make the PS5 version worse". Regulatory bodies wouldn't be able to stop this.

 

Microsoft technically got a closer relationship through this whole process, so the 'failure fee' technically wasn't for nothing. They already have a Diablo game/Xbox console bundle lined up.

Would be weird if they decided to scrap the Xbox brand when it's currently at its most profitable.

https://fanspace.gg/microsoft-has-made-more-money-through-xbox-in-the-last-3-months-than-it-has-ever-made-in-its-20-year-history/

 

7 hours ago, majob said:

It's actually simpler than that. Microsoft burnt a lot of goodwill with SE recently  and now SE wants nothing to do with Microsoft.  Apparently Microsoft was strong arming SE over their potential Xbox port of FFXIV, insisting that players must have an Xbox Live subscription to play which SE objected to since FFXIV already requires a paid subscription to play. To top it off they were also making other demands which SE balked at like demanding the ability to turn off crossplay, which meant SE would have had to create and maintain a server solely for Xbox which would be ridiculous and expensive.

What crackerjack of a box person did you hear that rumor from? Wouldn't make sense that Microsoft would force an Xbox Live subscription now when since the Xbox 360 era the subscription policy stated that subscription based MMO's were exempt from requiring Xbox Live. Square's own FF11 was on the 360 and exempt from the subscription. I do totally believe the rumors that they wanted an FF14 isolated service to the XBL servers but this was during the 360/PS3 era. One common assumption most people came up with was over "security" reasons but more likely it was so friends would be forced to buy an Xbox 360 to play with each other. If security was an issue then I don't know why they had allowed FF11 previously which was actually crossplay with the PC and PS2 versions to happen. After the 360 era MS was completely open to crossplay and Sony were the ones against it.

As for why it still hasn't come out, most likely because too much time has passed is my guess. Another one (or three platforms) additional platforms into the mix would dilute resources and result in new content taking longer to release. Plus while in the past MMO's were very sparse on console, now you can swing a dead cat in order to find an MMO to play on Xbox. Just not worth it for Square. Then if we want to talk about their handful of recent releases skipping Xbox but going everywhere else, it's probably related to GamePass. MS wanted them in their sub but Square asked for too much which MS turned them down and so now they're taking their ball and going home.

[MidnightDragon]

12 hours ago, Rozalia1 said:

 

The media is very soft on Microsoft as we know, but it is getting so absurd that I think even Microsoft is going to stop being able paper this over. Microsoft is adding so nasty that this should completely tank their good boy image not just in gaming but across everything.

 

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2023/04/27/first-on-cnbc-cnbc-transcript-activision-blizzard-ceo-bobby-kotick-speaks-with-cnbcs-squawk-box-today.html

 

We can add conspiracy theories to the list of stuff they're coming out with now. Again, this is Activision but at the moment they're one and the same with Microsoft on this. Lina Khan a week and a half ago met with CMA officials. What does this mean? Apparently that Lina Khan secretly controls the CMA I suppose. On that line of thinking, what was Microsoft doing meeting the UK government before the decision came out? As always, Microsoft can do as they like but others are villains if they do it.

The FTC denied their completely ridiculous allegations. 

 

https://www.psu.com/news/bobby-kotick-believes-the-ftc-and-uks-cma-illegally-spoke-about-the-microsoft-activision-deal-shortly-before-cmas-block-decision-publication-ftc-responds-we-absolutely-did-not-collude/

 

Also, FTC policy says that they can cooperate in cross-border conduct investigations. Either way, he's not helping their case. Well, their temper tantrums probably won't do much to endear them to the EU regulators and they're already on thin ice with the FTC. I can only imagine how much they'll melt down if the EU also denies them next month. 

 

Still, just want this to be over because I'm sick of hearing about it. 

Edited April 28, 2023 by MidnightDragon

[Z1MZUM]

15 hours ago, Rozalia1 said:

Bobby Kotick has been able to remain in his role since all that trouble hit because Microsoft has protected him, protection which likely will be soon coming to an end. Worse, Sony will be very interested in seeing him go now and could do a number of things to force the issue if they have to. On top of all that, it is considered that if you're a boss and fail to get a merger through that you resign for that failure alone.

 

Plus Epstein is dead, Coward.

 

Everything else you wrote is also valid and very well written, I'm just highlighting this part.

[UNLEADED_BRONZE]

Kotick:

Another pay RAISE

 

CMA/UK:

No no no

We refuse this corruption