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[clarky]

Right but something has to be "for sale" in order to buy it. ActiBlizz was apparently actively shopping itself, I'm sure in no small part due to the cultural/employee morale/PR problems they've been experiencing. ActiBlizz decision makers likely saw this as the most lucrative option available that would also conveniently result in a serious house cleaning.

I think you're right that a least a couple others on that list are on MS/Xbox's radar.

I'm not a big fan of this level of industry consolidation but this is the direction things are going & MS is doing what is rational to secure their market against some pretty big potential competitors with equally endless amounts of cash (no, not Sony).

Yep, Ive no skin in the game personally so to speak, lucky enough to own both platforms. The way things are going i'd rather see things go to MS or Sony rather than Apple google or fucking Tencent. Although selfishly MS is my preferred option for the big companies that are left due to game pass.

Looks inevitable at this point. Hopefully Sony comes out swinging and buys say Sega and Capcom, or others. because if they don't somebody will.

 

[Swift_Star]

Sony can't afford it.

Actually, they can afford it lol you people don't know how business, merge and acquisitions works. even if they didn't have hard cash (they do), they can get credit for those acquisitions lmao it makes me chuckle everytime an armchair fórum executive talk about these things.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

From a human standpoint I don't particularly like this trend of big money company throwing big money at existing developers rather than taking the time to build their own inhouse teams and new IP. It stinks of monopoly. I also feel for anyone working for Activison at the moment with all the troubles and many people probably wondering and worrying how his will affect their livelihood and jobs.

From a gamer who owns a pretty high end PC and has recently been using game pass to play forza horizon 5 I like the idea of having more games available for cheap on the Xbox Game Pass. I don't love the feeling of not owning the games I'm playing and Microsoft holding ownership of my save files in my Xbox account but it feels pretty inevitable to me that ill be playing most games on PC using game pass.

From a consumer who has basically boycott anything from Activision Blizz for years because of their predatory and money grubbing ways and slow drop in quality I actually think the Microsoft oversight and drive for good quality games to make Gamepass appealing I think this is actually a good thing.

As someone who's favorite games are the Sony and Nintendo first party games I can't really see this having much impact on all that except that this is going to potentially kneecap Sony and I really don't want to see them fall since they make so many of my favorite games. But I'd be happy enough if Sony games were to have day 1 releases on PC.

I thought about this on the other thread but I actually feel like because of the juggernaut size of Microsoft now it might make sense for Nintendo and Sony to merge. Nintendo becomes the handheld arm but then both benefit from having their IPs shared across both platforms. This really seems to me the best way that S&N can continue to stay relevant against the juggernaut that MS is trying to use their big money to become.

I think it's pretty obvious MS will be going after Rockstar next, and if they're willing to pay 70 bil who knows how far they'll go for R*

I get where you're coming from, but I wholeheartedly can't agree with it. Why? Because the feeling you're describing is one gamers had to go through for a long time now. How do you think Nintendo gamers felt when they found out the only way to play FF VII or Dragon Quest VII was to buy a PlayStation? How Sega gamers felt when they found out games like Tomb Raider 2 were locked away through exclusivity deals by Sony so the only way they could play them going forward was getting a PS1?

It's always happened, and every time, gamers by and large adjusted and in some cases the platform holders negatively affected also adapted. A company like Sony today isn't suffering from internal conflict or confused priorities the way a company like Sega did in the mid 1990s', so there's reason to suspect they won't adapt accordingly and get through this well enough. But it'll mean playing to their strengths, and trying to compete at the level of companies like Microsoft in an acquisition game is not one of those strengths.

Also FWIW just because Microsoft are making these massive acquisitions doesn't mean they haven't been "organically" nurturing their own internal studios or aren't building their own teams from the ground up. I'm sure a few others have already said this, but games like Psychonauts 2 only got the quality polish they did thanks to Microsoft's funding and investments. IP like Forza Horizon have only gotten better and better over the years and arguably the best in the franchise now comes post-acquisition by Microsoft. And they're building 1P studios like The Initiative while investing in the teams they have acquired.

About Sony/Nintendo merging...first of all Nintendo isn't even a factor here and this affects Sony a lot more than it does Nintendo. Secondly as some others have said Sony and Nintendo are more in competition with each other (over Japanese 3P support and marketshare in regions like Asia) than Nintendo and Microsoft are with each other. I think people underestimate how good the relationship between Microsoft and Nintendo actually as, considering Nintendo's American office isn't that far from Microsoft's Redmond site.

If Embracer Group and Tencent weren't enough to drive Sony to seek out Nintendo for a merger (because in all honesty it would be Sony the one trying to make that happen as they're the dependent in such a scenario, not Nintendo), Microsoft acquiring Activision-Blizzard won't, either. It's not like either Sony or Nintendo are in the market to be sold, and a hostile takeover of either would fail as well.

But time and again we've seen that Nintendo can get by more or less on their own 1P content regardless of 3P support; Sony's 1P games not only cost a lot more to make (on average), but even in a record year only accounted for 18% of their fiscal year revenue for the PlayStation division. Never mind that they don't have the profit margins on console hardware at the level Nintendo does (though they might be trying to pivot that way). It'd be up for Sony to make a hell of a pitch to Nintendo and there's nothing short of mobile gaming completely eating away Nintendo's portable market that would be a good enough reason for Nintendo to agree to such a merger.

 

[Memorabilia]

Obviously what I mean is on their own merit. They haven't been able (or cared) to build up a stable of good studios in the 20 years they've been in the game, and especially in the last decade Sony has been murdering them in 1st party output (and console sales). So now MS is all "fuck it, let's just buy everyone so Sony doesn't get those games". They're brute-forcing what they haven't been competent enough to build themselves. So yeah, I do kinda think that they're not competing "fairly". Which is a thing BTW. There are laws against monopolization and anti-competitiveness.

Like a couple others in here you're conflating "anti-competitive" with "monopoly". The former happens all the time & nearly every company - including Sony - uses their leverage to press an advantage in ways that are obviously anti-competitive. Laws against this only have any teeth whatsoever when taken to monopoly levels. What Sony has been doing for decades is anti-competitive. The only difference is MS has more cash to make bigger deals & purchases. Unless & until those acquisitions reach the threshold for actual monopoly, governments will take no action (& even then they rarely do for various sometimes corrupt reasons). You're acting like Sony is innocent. They are not. It's simply a difference of scale.

 

[abcdrstuv]

$38 big ones I believe.

Although the only reason id see them buying EA would only be to stop others.

Madden, FIFA, Mass Effect, The Sims... they'd dominate the market. Unless you wound up with a Sony-Nintendo merger in response.

But so much is happening with VR/AR, "metaverse" ambitions, cloud gaming.. Apple, Amazon and Google have all flirted with games, and mobile gaming is its own world. If MS bought EA and Sega and called it a day, they'd secure their own position substantially..

 

[Ozzie666]

$70B to vanquish the evil within Activision, bye Bobby.
$70B to restore Blizzard to their glory years.
$70B to set the world on fire and gaming forums into chaos.

This is some serious 4D chess Microsoft is playing. They have a plan, they seem to have jump started it. Scary times for everyone.

 

[Memorabilia]

Actually, they can afford it lol you people don't know how business, merge and acquisitions works. even if they didn't have hard cash (they do), they can get credit for those acquisitions lmao it makes me chuckle everytime an armchair fórum executive talk about these things.

Please explain how Sony could afford to buy ActiBlizz at $70B….

 

[ZehDon]

I think its interesting what they say here



They said Microsoft made this acquisition now to get out in front of other Big Tech companies. They said Amazon, Netflix, Google, Facebook, etc, are all going to be competing in the future to make purchases for some of the last remaining major publishers to build out their own "metaverses".

CDPR, Roblox, EA, and Take Two were all mentioned as being potential acquisitions.

So its not to take away games from playstation but to prevent the storm of Facebook, amazon, apple,netflix, google, tencent snapping up all the publishers.

Which is a pretty dark future where each platform only has its exclusives and 3ed party content becomes a thing of the past.

Excellent catch, thanks for sharing the video and thoughts - paints a great picture of Microsoft's thinking around gaming moving forward.

Processing this is a difficult task. Microsoft were pretty open in the past about Sony not being their competitor, and instead focusing on Facebook, Google, and Netflix. It was presumed that this was simply PR, trying to re-frame PlayStation's five generations of dominance. But today, Microsoft's statement was proven true. It wasn't empty PR, it was a mission statement.
This is the largest acquisition in Microsoft's history. This isn't about besting PlayStation; the console war is small potatoes compared to what the tech companies see on the horizon. Microsoft is staking their claim for the metaverse, where they know they're going to need content to establish a foothold. Today, for the first time in decades, we saw Microsoft move in full force. And it's fucking scary stuff. Sony is playing to win the console war - Microsoft are gearing up for a war that hasn't started yet. The prize isn't control of the living room, it's control of the future of human interaction. While it's all fun and memes today - and seriously, some great fucking memes, folks - this is Microsoft's pre-emptive strike. This tells me they're concerned about the moves their actual competition are going to make. And if fucking Microsoft is concerned, it means we're seeing the first of the big shake ups. Nothing is off the table now. Amazon buys Sony. Google buys Nintendo.
Our little hobby is now poised to be a major field of engagement in the battle for the metaverse. Shit is getting real.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Japanese government would probably have something to say about that.

Not really, no. At least given the way companies like Microsoft go about it.

Mergers & Acquisitions

 

[Makoto-Yuki]

Apple still is the dark horse in the race..they have a device that can pretty much interface with many devices in the home and they have more money than any company in the world to spend

It's just a matter of time before they get serious about gaming

yup, if Apple turn their eye to gaming then shit will really get crazy. if MS has fuck you money then what does Apple have?

Apple could theoretically come in and buy up both Nintendo and Sony. They could buy EA, Take Two, Ubisoft as well. realistically they are the only ones who could compete with MS now. in fact if Apple came in they would be the top dog.

kinda scary and insane to think about. instead of the usual Sony vs Microsoft we've had for 20 odd years now it could be Apple vs Microsoft. Sony and Nintendo would still be around but just off to the side doing their own thing.

 

[clarky]

Madden, FIFA, Mass Effect, The Sims... they'd dominate the market. Unless you wound up with a Sony-Nintendo merger in response.

But so much is happening with VR/AR, "metaverse" ambitions, cloud gaming.. Apple, Amazon and Google have all flirted with games, and mobile gaming is its own world. If MS bought EA and Sega and called it a day, they'd secure their own position substantially..

Don't think you'd be able to take Madden, FIFA or any of the other sports licenses exclusively pretty sure its in the contracts to release on every single device know to man. See MLB the Show. After that what are you left with at EA? Not much thats worth a damn these days after EA took self harming to a whole new level.

 

[oldergamer]

Oh FUCK they own Blur now and many people who worked on it.

Bizarre creations?

 

[Memorabilia]

Excellent catch, thanks for sharing the video and thoughts - paints a great picture of Microsoft's thinking around gaming moving forward.

Processing this is a difficult task. Microsoft were pretty open in the past about Sony not being their competitor, and instead focusing on Facebook, Google, and Netflix. It was presumed that this was simply PR, trying to re-frame PlayStation's five generations of dominance. But today, Microsoft's statement was proven true. It wasn't empty PR, it was a mission statement.
This is the largest acquisition in Microsoft's history. This isn't about besting PlayStation; the console war is small potatoes compared to what the tech companies see on the horizon. Microsoft is staking their claim for the metaverse, where they know they're going to need content to establish a foothold. Today, for the first time in decades, we saw Microsoft move in full force. And it's fucking scary stuff. Sony is playing to win the console war - Microsoft are gearing up for a war that hasn't started yet. The prize isn't control of the living room, it's control of the future of human interaction. While it's all fun and memes today - and seriously, some great fucking memes, folks - this is Microsoft's pre-emptive strike. This tells me they're concerned about the moves their actual competition are going to make. And if fucking Microsoft is concerned, it means we're seeing the first of the big shake ups. Nothing is off the table now. Amazon buys Sony. Google buys Nintendo.
Our little hobby is now poised to be a major field of engagement in the battle for the metaverse. Shit is getting real.

This.

As an aside, I think I can comfortably speak for most of us that Japan's insular legal stance on such matters would hopefully prevent Sony or Nintendo themselves from being acquired. The mere thought of Amazon or Google owning one or both of them made me throw up in my mouth a little bit…

 

[captainraincoat]

yup, if Apple turn their eye to gaming then shit will really get crazy. if MS has fuck you money then what does Apple have?

Apple could theoretically come in and buy up both Nintendo and Sony. They could buy EA, Take Two, Ubisoft as well. realistically they are the only ones who could compete with MS now. in fact if Apple came in they would be the top dog.

kinda scary and insane to think about. instead of the usual Sony vs Microsoft we've had for 20 odd years now it could be Apple vs Microsoft. Sony and Nintendo would still be around but just off to the side doing their own thing.

And Apple really don't give a shit about sharing …so if u think Sony is unconsumer friendly Apple are on a whole other level complete with their own crazy userbase that would let a zombie Steve jobs take a shit in their mouth and have them pay for the privilege

 

[Makoto-Yuki]

Excellent catch, thanks for sharing the video and thoughts - paints a great picture of Microsoft's thinking around gaming moving forward.

Processing this is a difficult task. Microsoft were pretty open in the past about Sony not being their competitor, and instead focusing on Facebook, Google, and Netflix. It was presumed that this was simply PR, trying to re-frame PlayStation's five generations of dominance. But today, Microsoft's statement was proven true. It wasn't empty PR, it was a mission statement.
This is the largest acquisition in Microsoft's history. This isn't about besting PlayStation; the console war is small potatoes compared to what the tech companies see on the horizon. Microsoft is staking their claim for the metaverse, where they know they're going to need content to establish a foothold. Today, for the first time in decades, we saw Microsoft move in full force. And it's fucking scary stuff. Sony is playing to win the console war - Microsoft are gearing up for a war that hasn't started yet. The prize isn't control of the living room, it's control of the future of human interaction. While it's all fun and memes today - and seriously, some great fucking memes, folks - this is Microsoft's pre-emptive strike. This tells me they're concerned about the moves their actual competition are going to make. And if fucking Microsoft is concerned, it means we're seeing the first of the big shake ups. Nothing is off the table now. Amazon buys Sony. Google buys Nintendo.
Our little hobby is now poised to be a major field of engagement in the battle for the metaverse. Shit is getting real.

if this is all really about the metaverse then hoooo boy wait until Apple starts playing. they are releasing their own AR/VR headset this year or next and they are setting it up to be their next major product and to eventually replace iPhone with it.

we ain't seen shit yet it seems.

 

[RoadHazard]

yup, if Apple turn their eye to gaming then shit will really get crazy. if MS has fuck you money then what does Apple have?

Apple could theoretically come in and buy up both Nintendo and Sony. They could buy EA, Take Two, Ubisoft as well. realistically they are the only ones who could compete with MS now. in fact if Apple came in they would be the top dog.

kinda scary and insane to think about. instead of the usual Sony vs Microsoft we've had for 20 odd years now it could be Apple vs Microsoft. Sony and Nintendo would still be around but just off to the side doing their own thing.

Apple and MS are worth about as much I believe (with Apple being slightly ahead at the moment). So yeah, they probably have about the same purchasing power.

(I'm aware market cap is not the same as cash on hand, but the more you're worth the more you can borrow etc.)

Edit: Ok, Apple is worth a few hundred billion more.

 

[Makoto-Yuki]

And Apple really don't give a shit about sharing …so if u think Sony is unconsumer friendly Apple are on a whole other level complete with their own crazy userbase that would let a zombie Steve jobs take a shit in their mouth and have them pay for the privilege

insightful post well done thanks for sharing.

 

[Memorabilia]

And Apple really don't give a shit about sharing …so if u think Sony is unconsumer friendly Apple are on a whole other level complete with their own crazy userbase that would let a zombie Steve jobs take a shit in their mouth and have them pay for the privilege

No lies detected.

(As someone who uses both iPhone and Sony Android phones, interacting with some of the more fervent "fans" of Apple products is on another level…)

 

[Rest]

Will Kotick be fired?

Son, you seem to think that there is a god.

 

[SaniOYOYOY]

....this is net positive no?
I get it anti trust, but I feel a full house cleanup for blizzard and their IPs(assuming they do) worth more

Edit : in the context of console war, not with the metaverse and the whole shebang

 

[TLZ]

Sounds like you got covid buddy cause your sense of smell is not working properly.

And this isn't one of those times. This is BUSINESS. Deal with it. MS may buy EA or Ubisoft next and guess what, STILL wouldn't be a monopoly so move on. Nobody cares about what's fair.

Deal with what and move on from what? Do you see me panicking? And why are you typing in caps like I'm blind?

And the law cares. That's what matters. These companies can buy who they want but there's always a line drawn somewhere. So they gotta be careful.

 

[Makoto-Yuki]

Apple and MS are worth about as much I believe (with Apple being sightly ahead at the moment). So yeah, they probably have about the same purchasing power.

MS have a market value of 2.27 trillion. Apple is at 2.77 trillion.

i thought Apple passed 3T but guess it fell. thought they were much further ahead.

 

[dem]

Please explain how Sony could afford to buy ActiBlizz at $70B….

They borrow money.

I don't know if activision would have been wise for Sony… but they could definitely buy someone a bit smaller.

 

[TLZ]

To put this in perspective for around half (!!) that money they could have snagged all these ( market caps).

-Take Two: $18B
-Ubisoft: $7B
-Konami: $6B
-Square Enix: $5.6B
-Capcom: $4.9B
-Sega: $3.6B

And after today i'd say they will buy at least 2 of the above. NUTS.

They buy what makes sense to them financially, and surely they also look at what type of games their players play the most. So the Activision purchase made sense. Out of these maybe Ubisoft or Take Two make most sense.

 

[hello505]

"we'll grow our teams through natural means and strive to deliver first party games of quality" - Sony and Nintendo

"SNATCH AND RUN Y'ALL!" - Microsoft

 

[StateofMajora]

I'm starting to think ubisoft is next!

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

Apple and MS are worth about as much I believe (with Apple being slightly ahead at the moment). So yeah, they probably have about the same purchasing power.

MS have a market value of 2.27 trillion. Apple is at 2.77 trillion.

i thought Apple passed 3T but guess it fell. thought they were much further ahead.

MS was beating Apple some time last year, I remember reading that headline at some point

I think they both bounce around a bit but are generally neck and neck

 

[Memorabilia]

....this is net positive no?
I get it anti trust, but I feel a full house cleanup for blizzard and their IPs(assuming they do) worth more

Edit : in the context of console war, not with the metaverse and the whole shebang

With Xbox's customer centric approach the past few years trying to turn around the One launch cluster fuck, it seems to me Phil's group deserves the benefit of the doubt, yeah. So "net positive" is how I'm choosing to see it for now. Ideally we'd have a perfectly competitive market but with most world governments owned lock, stock, & barrel into total monopoly paralysis, a properly regulated and actually healthy/competitive market is largely a pipe dream. MS/Xbox buying ActiBlizz is basically the least bad option from a market perspective. And on a micro level, yeah, the likely outcome will be cleaning up most if not all of the internal mess at ActiBlizz.

 

[MScarpa]

Obviously what I mean is on their own merit. They haven't been able (or cared) to build up a stable of good studios in the 20 years they've been in the game, and especially in the last decade Sony has been murdering them in 1st party output (and console sales). So now MS is all "fuck it, let's just buy everyone so Sony doesn't get those games". They're brute-forcing what they haven't been competent enough to build themselves. So yeah, I do kinda think that they're not competing "fairly". Which is a thing BTW. There are laws against monopolization and anti-competitiveness.

There isn't a "It's not fair law" sorry not how this works. Keep telling yourself whatever you want. Reality is, this is happening and they might even scoop up another publisher so be ready.

 

[dem]

Sounds like MS has been circling every big developer.. trying to acquire. I'm sure that's how the EA and Ubisoft Game Pass discussions started.

More will fall.

 

[MScarpa]

Pretty much… yeah? Most big publishers nowadays rehash the same games over and over, specially the western ones… so, yeah…. Aside from It Takes Two, Crash 4 and Mass Effect I can't remember any game I played from these publishers recently…

I'm going to guess, and this is just a shot in the dark. You like, The Last of Us ? Uncharted? Horizon? God Of War? Spiderman? Ratchet? Bloodbourne? Ghost of Tsumina?

 

[MScarpa]

Deal with what and move on from what? Do you see me panicking? And why are you typing in caps like I'm blind?

And the law cares. That's what matters. These companies can buy who they want but there's always a line drawn somewhere. So they gotta be careful.

They're about an EA, Ubisoft and a Capcom away from the line. It's what it is.

 

[abcdrstuv]

Apple and MS are worth about as much I believe (with Apple being slightly ahead at the moment). So yeah, they probably have about the same purchasing power.

(I'm aware market cap is not the same as cash on hand, but the more you're worth the more you can borrow etc.)

Edit: Ok, Apple is worth a few hundred billion more.

I don't see Apple wanting to enter the "console gaming" space.. mobile, cloud, casual, "metaverse".. buying up what could amount to "old gen" IP doesn't fit. If they took it seriously - which at some point they will, the same way they entered streaming tv - I'd see them wanting the next Fortnite, some kind of socially integrated, pervasive "platform" game with multiple points of entry.

 

[MScarpa]

I think COD needs to stay multiplatform to keep it selling well.

Ya, it probably won't sell well at all without Sony. /s

 

[clarky]

They buy what makes sense to them financially, and surely they also look at what type of games their players play the most. So the Activision purchase made sense. Out of these maybe Ubisoft or Take Two make most sense.

I'd say Take Two and probably Sega myself. Ubisoft not so much.

Wonder if they take all their games off steam and use Bnet (rebranded) instead? They do gang busters on steam atm you shift everything over thats a lot of royalities saved. Either that or they kill b.net ? don't see a use for it if your going to flog everything on Steam. OR fuck it just buy Steam, might as well if your buying everything else lol, shit the more I think about it this deal just gets more insane.

 

[abcdrstuv]

The only value in Ubisoft is its infrastructure - Assassin's and Far Cry are bloated and going stale - all their attempts to launch new franchises (Starlink? Steep?) are busts

 

[Effigenius]

Actually, they can afford it lol you people don't know how business, merge and acquisitions works. even if they didn't have hard cash (they do), they can get credit for those acquisitions lmao it makes me chuckle everytime an armchair fórum executive talk about these things.

Because they can't. MS doesn't have to leverage themselves into oblivion. MS just has the money. If Sony used up every cent they had and dangerously tied themselves up in debt they could offer 68 billion possibly. And then MD would offer 78 billion. Because that's how bidding works.

 

[Swift_Star]

Please explain how Sony could afford to buy ActiBlizz at $70B….

We were talking take 2

 

[Swift_Star]

I'm going to guess, and this is just a shot in the dark. You like, The Last of Us ? Uncharted? Horizon? God Of War? Spiderman? Ratchet? Bloodbourne? Ghost of Tsumina?

I like Japanese and indie games, sweetie. There's no need for you to get upset just cause I think most AAA western games suck, because they do. Indies and Japanese games are far superior and diverse than this boring AAA landscape.

 

[MScarpa]

I like Japanese and indie games, sweetie. There's no need for you to get upset just cause I think most AAA western games suck, because they do. Indies and Japanese games are far superior and diverse than this boring AAA landscape.

Oh boy, you must not play much.

 

[Swift_Star]

Because they can't. MS doesn't have to leverage themselves into oblivion. MS just has the money. If Sony used up every cent they had and dangerously tied themselves up in debt they could offer 68 billion possibly. And then MD would offer 78 billion. Because that's how bidding works.

Yes, yes they can. We're talking take two, not activision here and they can. But go on, armchair executive.

 

[SenjutsuSage]

Agreed … it could be really offensive to some…

I was supposed to be in that building that day. It's the first day of my life where I cut school to go play basketball with friends, and it's a damn good thing I did. I went to Mount Vernon High School, and we were going up there that day. Only one student came back alive, and it's because they had an uncle who worked at the World Trade, and they were going down to speak to him, so they happened to be on the lower floors when everything happened.

 

[lastmessiah]

Yes, yes they can. We're talking take two, not activision here and they can. But go on, armchair executive.

Take Two would laugh Sony out of the room dude, get real.

 

[Swift_Star]

Oh boy, you must not play much.

I destroyed your pathetic argument and now you're trying to save face, typical.

 

[Swift_Star]

Take Two would laugh Sony out of the room dude, get real.

Source? There's nothing in this than wishful thinking. So, bring the receipts.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Create their own COD, damn why didn't anyone else ever think of that for the last uhhh 15 years Got to be joking man. You don't just "make another COD" You did make me laugh tho, thank you.

As I said, even if a COD competitor sold HALF of what COD sells, the return on investment would be greater than having spent 70 billion dollars. Even selling a quarter of what COD sells.

COD wasn't always the market leader. It used to trail both medal of honor and socom. It wasn't until Modern Warfare did that really change. Change always happens in the industry. Doom, Quake and Unreal Tournament used to be the go to FPS. Things change.

Sega used to outsell Nintendo in North America, until they didn't.

Hope you get my point.

Throwing so much money into any IP isn't smart business sense (and obviously it isn't literally all COD), but it doesn't add up to the sum of its parts.

 

[Memorabilia]

They borrow money.

I don't know if activision would have been wise for Sony… but they could definitely buy someone a bit smaller.

There's no way a deal at the level of ActiBlizz is even in the realm of possibility for Sony. This would be like a loan officer approving a $1 million loan for a home buyer who makes $50k/year. It ain't gonna happen.

Smaller acquisitions yes, possibly. We shall see if Sony decides to spend. Console exclusives started this whole trend decades ago. Massive mergers/acquisitions are the logical end result as the market matures. Not a fan personally, but it is what it is.

 

[lastmessiah]

Source? There's nothing in this than wishful thinking. So, bring the receipts.

Accuse me of wishful thinking when you're the one claiming Sony could buy Take Two. Love it.

 

[TheGrat1]

MS said: "We are getting CoD day one on gamepass one way or another!"

Bungie escapes Microsoft AGAIN!

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

Yes, yes they can. We're talking take two, not activision here and they can. But go on, armchair executive.

Couldn't MS just offer more money?