Microsoft is Buying Activision Blizzard $68.7B ***Update: Acquisition Finalized***

[Rozko]

Microsoft will spend about $15million in "lobbying" fees and make this go away

 

[Dizzy]

 

[method115]

Everyone seems to think they will beat it but we will see. At the very least they might have to make some bigger concessions not just 10 year deals.

 

[Dizzy]

Everyone seems to think they will beat it but we will see. At the very least they might have to make some bigger concessions not just 10 year deals.

Exactly, I still think it’s going through but it’s going to look very different than what they initially envisioned.

 

[Law Talkin’ Guy]

Even with as big as Call of Duty is I’m not sure I buy that the prospect of Microsoft making COD Xbox/Windows exclusive at the expense of Sony and Nintendo would amount to the kind of business practice that would warrant the scrutiny of antitrust legislation. At the end of the day it’s still only one franchise.

 

[rob mafia]

Even with as big as Call of Duty is I’m not sure I buy that the prospect of Microsoft making COD Xbox/Windows exclusive at the expense of Sony and Nintendo would amount to the kind of business practice that would warrant the scrutiny of antitrust legislation. At the end of the day it’s still only one franchise.

cod IS gaming and cod must be divestitured.

 

[jefferz]

Even with as big as Call of Duty is I’m not sure I buy that the prospect of Microsoft making COD Xbox/Windows exclusive at the expense of Sony and Nintendo would amount to the kind of business practice that would warrant the scrutiny of antitrust legislation. At the end of the day it’s still only one franchise.

That one franchise makes a shit load of money though. Microsoft would be retarded to make it an exclusive.
If the shoe were on the other foot, could I see Sony making COD an exclusive? Absolutely.

 

[Dizzy]

Even with as big as Call of Duty is I’m not sure I buy that the prospect of Microsoft making COD Xbox/Windows exclusive at the expense of Sony and Nintendo would amount to the kind of business practice that would warrant the scrutiny of antitrust legislation. At the end of the day it’s still only one franchise.

The crux of Sony’s issue is obviously CoD but Activision/Blizzard is an absolutely massive publisher. Then factoring the other publisher acquisition in Bethesda?

 

[Madmick]

Even with as big as Call of Duty is I’m not sure I buy that the prospect of Microsoft making COD Xbox/Windows exclusive at the expense of Sony and Nintendo would amount to the kind of business practice that would warrant the scrutiny of antitrust legislation. At the end of the day it’s still only one franchise.

Microsoft signing the 10-year deal with Nintendo effectively neutered this attempted merge block before it got off the ground. There's no compelling argument against the merger now. Nintendo has remained the dominant console seller throughout the 9th generation's lifespan. Since the 9th generation launched with the release of the PS5 and XSX/XSS, the Switch has outsold the PS5 by 25%, and the XSX/XSS by 72%. The Switch's global install base is 425% the PS5's, and just recently surpassed the PS4. It's roughly 82% the two consoles combined. There's also the fact Microsoft maintains the franchise on PC, and hasn't declared any intention to lock out other PC storefronts like Steam.

Microsoft executives have insisted it would be bad business to cut off Sony from the platform because of the lost customer base, which is definitely true by any short-term strategy given the size of the Playstation install base, but also for the long-term by the fact Microsoft might risk Call of Duty's enduring appeal, which is entrenched in the fact that it is the most played shooter in the world. However, one wonders if Microsoft is more than a little annoyed at Sony over this, and having secured the deal with Nintendo, is openly sneering at Sony now with Tweets like the following:


Translation: you're going to have to pay us so much fucking money for us to put this on your consoles that you will most likely become the voluntary agents of your own exclusion.

 

[rikwebb]

The FTC are concentrating on the PS5/XSX side of things, they don't see the Switch as a comparable device as its an 8th Gen console but conveiniently ignore the Series S at the same price point on point d)

Also Part of the reason they are suing is due to the Bethesda aquisition and its claimed they lied about exlusivity moving forward after the aquisition in the EU investigation of it

 

[Dizzy]

Idk, think I’m gonna need more tweets from Microsoft executives telling me how consumer friendly they are.

 

[Madmick]

The FTC are concentrating on the PS5/XSX side of things, they don't see the Switch as a comparable device as its an 8th Gen console but conveiniently ignore the Series S at the same price point on point d)

Also Part of the reason they are suing is due to the Bethesda aquisition and its claimed they lied about exlusivity moving forward after the aquisition in the EU investigation of it

Which conveys the lawsuit is nothing more than a fetch quest undertaken on the part of Sony's lobbying. That nonsense will never hold up.

No judge will tolerate the argument a company is marshaling a monopoly when they're selling the exact same product on multiple other devices including an alternative market with the largest customer base in the world (i.e. PC).

*Edit* And for Sony nutriders who can't deal with that truth, be aware that Gabe Newell, the open-source zealot of global gaming himself, has already implied he considers the acquisition a foregone conclusion in a statement to Kotaku. He also went further in affirming his good faith in Microsoft's executive team.
https://kotaku.com/microsoft-activision-call-of-duty-nintendo-switch-steam-1849862479

We’re happy that Microsoft wants to continue using Steam to reach customers with Call of Duty when their Activision acquisition closes. Microsoft has been on Steam for a long time and we take it as a signal that they are happy with gamers reception to that and the work we are doing. Our job is to keep building valuable features for not only Microsoft but all Steam customers and partners.

Microsoft offered and even sent us a draft agreement for a long-term Call of Duty commitment but it wasn’t necessary for us because a) we’re not believers in requiring any partner to have an agreement that locks them to shipping games on Steam into the distant future b) Phil and the games team at Microsoft have always followed through on what they told us they would do so we trust their intentions and c) we think Microsoft has all the motivation they need to be on the platforms and devices where Call of Duty customers want to be.

 

[rikwebb]

Which conveys the lawsuit is nothing more than a fetch quest undertaken on the part of Sony's lobbying. That nonsense will never hold up.

No judge will tolerate the argument a company is marshaling a monopoly when they're selling the exact same product on multiple other devices including an alternative market with the largest customer base in the world (i.e. PC).

*Edit* And for Sony nutriders who can't deal with that truth, be aware that Gabe Newell, the open-source zealot of global gaming himself, has already implied he considers the acquisition a foregone conclusion in a statement to Kotaku. He also went further in affirming his good faith in Microsoft's executive team.
https://kotaku.com/microsoft-activision-call-of-duty-nintendo-switch-steam-1849862479

the lobbying on both the EU & UK(CMA) investigations has been pretty bad too almost to the point of pretty much pettiness on Sony's side. Felt like at one point Jim Ryan was making almost weekly visits

 

[method115]

the lobbying on both the EU & UK(CMA) investigations has been pretty bad too almost to the point of pretty much pettiness on Sony's side. Felt like at one point Jim Ryan was making almost weekly visits

It's not pettiness. He believe MS will take away COD as soon as they get the chance to. He's really just doing his job. Sony losing COD will be a massive blow to them. I personally think it would be down right retarded to not remove COD from Sony's ecosystem if I was MS. The amount of money they make off Sony by having their users buy COD for $70 doesn't mean as much as forcing millions of users to switch ecosystems so they can continue playing the highest selling game year after year. That is a massive amount of potential future gamepass users.

 

[TribalDrumz]

Xbox is such trash . My buddy has both consoles and COD on the PS5 is a better experience . Already been proven to have better audio also.

 

[Madmick]

Xbox is such trash . My buddy has both consoles and COD on the PS5 is a better experience . Already been proven to have better audio also.

 

[jojoRed]

Who knows if COD is even as big in a decade.

Sony should take the deal and run with it.

 

[rob mafia]

Who knows if COD is even as big in a decade.

Sony should take the deal and run with it.

in a decade, the only console left will be the codbox.

 

[KaNesDeath]

in a decade, the only console left will be the codbox.

It'll be surprising if consoles exist in the next decade. Hardware costs alone will have people questioning if its better just to go Pc. Then add in Sony porting exclusives to Pc.

 

[Zazen]

Microsoft keeps buying studios but nothing ever comes out. Didn’t they buy Ninja Theory years ago and no updates on Hellblade 2? I don’t know what the hell they are doing over there and for that reason alone I want them far away from studios. It’s always “next year” with them. They were also a no show at game awards.