Microsoft acquires Zenimax Entertainment for $7.5 billion

[jojoRed]

I am not so sure about that. Like someone else brought up earlier, by that same logic, Minecraft would be Xbox exclusive. Instead, it's on every platform imaginable, and it just appeared in Smash Bros, one of Nintendo's biggest titles. Even the Minecraft Dungeons spinoff isn't Microsoft exclusive. Some games might end up exclusive, but I think, if anything, it's more likely we'll see bonus content/DLC or timed exclusivity for Xbox. We'll see. It's definitely going to be interesting.

Minecraft was on nearly all consoles before Microsoft purchased it, iirc. So its not really the same thing.

 

[Deadwing88]

I am not so sure about that. Like someone else brought up earlier, by that same logic, Minecraft would be Xbox exclusive. Instead, it's on every platform imaginable, and it just appeared in Smash Bros, one of Nintendo's biggest titles. Even the Minecraft Dungeons spinoff isn't Microsoft exclusive. Some games might end up exclusive, but I think, if anything, it's more likely we'll see bonus content/DLC or timed exclusivity for Xbox. We'll see. It's definitely going to be interesting.

The difference is Minecraft had already been released on the PlayStation platform, by the time Microsoft purchased Mojang..

Imagine the outcry if Microsoft had locked a next gen port of exactly the same game under the guise of console exclusivity..

 

[method115]

The difference is Minecraft had already been released on the PlayStation platform, by the time Microsoft purchased Mojang..

Imagine the outcry if Microsoft had locked a next gen port of exactly the same game under the guise of console exclusivity..

Minecraft dungeons was released this year. Minecraft is huge it’s been very surprising that MS hasn’t locked it down.

 

[Deadwing88]

Minecraft dungeons was released this year. Minecraft is huge it’s been very surprising that MS hasn’t locked it down.

It's surprising.. but from the very first press release regarding the Mojang acquisition, the fact Minecraft would stay multiplatform was mentioned.
https://news.microsoft.com/2014/09/15/minecraft-to-join-microsoft/

That hasn't been the case with this Bethesda deal.

 

[method115]

It's surprising.. but from the very first press release regarding the Mojang acquisition, the fact Minecraft would stay multiplatform was mentioned.
https://news.microsoft.com/2014/09/15/minecraft-to-join-microsoft/

That hasn't been the case with this Bethesda deal.

Will see what happens. Notice how in that statement Phil is very clear about what will happen with Minecraft though. No games or complicated statements just outright says it.

 

[Dizzy]

Lol, who edited the thread title? (A certain Smurf, no doubt.)

Almost nothing about this deal has been confirmed.

 

[HereticBD]

Lol, who edited the thread title? (A certain Smurf, no doubt.)

Almost nothing about this deal has been confirmed.

Give it up. You're starting to sound like a Sega fanboy defending the Saturn over the Playstation.

 

[Dizzy]

Give it up. You're starting to sound like a Sega fanboy defending the Saturn over the Playstation.

Saturn at least had some quality titles available within the first 2 years of its life.

 

[Hyperglide]

I don’t like this statement either. Why doesn’t he just say it? He has literally said everything but the exact thing people are looking for him to say. On top of that we already know all games won’t be exclusive they said it would be a case by case basis. At this point no one knows what’s going to happen and everyone is just guessing.

I’ll say what I’ve said before. MS has been great at communicating everything this gen. They make the second biggest purchase in gaming history and suddenly they won’t outright say everything is exclusive? I remain skeptical until they make it official.

Either way game pass works great with playnite so that’s most likely how I’ll be playing their games anyways.

Damn, you are delusional. Read between the lines man, it is corporate-politician jargon to help Microsoft save face. He is not going to just say "haha you Sony Fanboi dipshits are screwed unless you buy a XSX/XSS" and alienate a huge potential player/install base.

 

[Madmick]

I don't see the controversy. If you read the full comments, the context is explicitly the PS5, and whether or not he intends to excise that platform as a point of distribution for Zenimax game sales:

“Is it possible to recoup a $7.5 billion investment if you don’t sell Elder Scrolls VI on the PlayStation?” I asked.
“Yes,” Spencer quickly replied.

Then he paused.

“I don’t want to be flip[sic] about that,” he added. “This deal was not done to take games away from another player base like that. Nowhere in the documentation that we put together was: ‘How do we keep other players from playing these games?’ We want more people to be able to play games, not fewer people to be able to go play games. But I’ll also say in the model—I’m just answering directly the question that you had—when I think about where people are going to be playing and the number of devices that we had, and we have xCloud and PC and Game Pass and our console base, I don’t have to go ship those games on any other platform other than the platforms that we support in order to kind of make the deal work for us. Whatever that means.”

 

[method115]

Damn, you are delusional. Read between the lines man, it is corporate-politician jargon to help Microsoft save face. He is not going to just say "haha you Sony Fanboi dipshits are screwed unless you buy a XSX/XSS" and alienate a huge potential player/install base.

How am I delusional? They already said it would be a case by case basis.


They are still releasing new Minecraft games on PlayStation and they said it would be a case by case basis. There’s nothing delusional about thinking some games will go to Sony. I guess will just see what happens.

 

[Dizzy]

“This deal was not done to take games away from another player base like that.”

Just read between the lines, guys!

 

[jerzey devil]

“This deal was not done to take games away from another player base like that.”

Just read between the lines, guys!

I read that as him saying it wasn’t done out of spite.

 

[Deadwing88]

“This deal was not done to take games away from another player base like that.”

Just read between the lines, guys!

"I don’t have to go ship those games on any other platform other than the platforms that we support in order to kind of make the deal work for us.."

Read between the lines, guys !

<[analyzed}>

 

[Madmick]

How am I delusional? They already said it would be a case by case basis.

They are still releasing new Minecraft games on PlayStation and they said it would be a case by case basis. There’s nothing delusional about thinking some games will go to Sony. I guess will just see what happens.

He's right. You're not thinking rationally. Minecraft has no bearing on this-- the Zenimax acquisition.

1. His comments in this interview didn't bear directly on Minecraft, and whether it would appear on the PS5. They did for a Zenimax IP.
   
   
2. Microsoft bought Minecraft in September, 2014. Minecraft was already brought to the PS3 in January 2013 before the acquisition. It was already a multiplatform game.
   
   
3. It had already sold over 100m copies at the time it was purchased. It was already available on Windows, MacOS, and Linux. Notice that the latter two are not supported platforms for Game Pass. That's because they are competitors to Microsoft's core OS's gaming business.
   
   
4. Meanwhile, Minecraft Realms had already been launched in 2013 with the intent of bringing cross-platform play to Android and iOS which it did by 2016. Realms was also what they used to later incorporate the Xbox One and the Switch. The ultimate ambition of this was to unite the entire playerbase to increase its appeal. This strategy was already a core part of the game when Microsoft purchased it.
   
   
5. Minecraft was originally a $13 game by a single, independent developer. The primary source of its revenue by an overwhelming margin has always been in-game purchases, and this requires a larger user base just like freemium games.

Look at the question and answer. He made it clear he has no interest in or intent to sell Bethesda games on Sony platforms.

 

[Dizzy]

"I don’t have to go ship those games on any other platform other than the platforms that we support in order to kind of make the deal work for us.."

Read between the lines, guys !

<[analyzed}>

In order to make this work he doesn’t have to. Doesn’t mean he won’t.

 

[4daLuLZ]

In order to make this work he doesn’t have to. Doesn’t mean he won’t.

That’s how I read it too.
Not saying that he will (or that I care) but he’s using corporatese to avoid painting himself in a corner.

 

[Hyperglide]

How am I delusional? They already said it would be a case by case basis.


They are still releasing new Minecraft games on PlayStation and they said it would be a case by case basis. There’s nothing delusional about thinking some games will go to Sony. I guess will just see what happens.

Cause you think MS will release Zenimax umbrella'ed games under other platforms. Do I need to spell it out for you? You can form basic sentences so you seem intelligent enough to figure it out but I guess I was wrong. It has already been explained why Mojang/MS released Dungeons on other platforms.

The only puzzler really was the Ori titles on Switch. Maybe MS has some hidden partnership with Nintendo.

 

[jerzey devil]

Minecraft isn’t a system seller but Elder Scrolls and Doom games are.

 

[Dizzy]

Minecraft isn’t a system seller but Elder Scrolls and Doom games are.

Yes, it took id four years to release DOOM Eternal and they’re currently cranking out the first of three planned DLC’s for it. Elder Scrolls isn’t more than a title to the public at this point.

So sure, in 4+ years, more than halfway through a console’s lifespan, they’ll have their system sellers.

That’s not what this is about.