Support NeoGAF

[phil_t98]

Because Microsoft have been free to outbid them all of the years that Sony had those deals in place.

Or are you going to try and tell me poor little Microsoft couldn't couldn't muster up the cash to compete in such a way all of those years?

Exclusive content/pre order bonuses isn't something unique or new when it comes to 3rd party marketing deals.

Same as Sony are free to outbid Microsoft to buy actuvision

 

[JerryinSoCal]

WTF did I just read? How can this even be an argument?

Because it's supposed to stop large companies who have a ton of money from taking over an industry by basically buying it instead of being competitive. COD is a huge franchise that sells better on PlayStation than xbox right now so now you have Microsoft coming in trying to buy a multiplatform publisher so it can take away all of those games from its competitors to better its own position while hurting the overall industry in the process. Microsoft makes the vast majority of its money outside of gaming, if xbox had to rely on the money that division brought in I doubt they'd still be in business and even if they were virtually none of these acquisitions would have happened.

 

[JerryinSoCal]

Same as Sony are free to outbid Microsoft to buy actuvision

No they are not that's the sticking point, most companies in this space can't afford to do that, not only is that price too high but you are also taking on over 10,000 new employees which is not insignificant. As a whole Sony has 110k employees, this would be a nearly 10% increase in the amount of employees which is a big deal for any company to take on.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

Can't we all just be friends

 

[3liteDragon]

Can't we all just be friends

Dude holy shit lmao

 

[RoboFu]

all these countries looking for free money.

 

[12Dannu123]

No they are not that's the sticking point, most companies in this space can't afford to do that, not only is that price too high but you are also taking on over 10,000 new employees which is not insignificant. As a whole Sony has 110k employees, this would be a nearly 10% increase in the amount of employees which is a big deal for any company to take on.

Disney bought Fox for 70+ Billion, they have a smaller market cap than MS, so with this logic, Sony is totally capable to acquire Activision.

 

[Kagey K]

Because it's supposed to stop large companies who have a ton of money from taking over an industry by basically buying it instead of being competitive. COD is a huge franchise that sells better on PlayStation than xbox right now so now you have Microsoft coming in trying to buy a multiplatform publisher so it can take away all of those games from its competitors to better its own position while hurting the overall industry in the process. Microsoft makes the vast majority of its money outside of gaming, if xbox had to rely on the money that division brought in I doubt they'd still be in business and even if they were virtually none of these acquisitions would have happened.

Tell me how Sony survived the giant loses during the PS3?

By using the money made outside the gaming division (mostly the financial division) to keep it afloat. Without it playstation would have gone out of business.

If you are going to complain it's unfair for one, it has to be unfair for all.

 

[phil_t98]

No they are not that's the sticking point, most companies in this space can't afford to do that, not only is that price too high but you are also taking on over 10,000 new employees which is not insignificant. As a whole Sony has 110k employees, this would be a nearly 10% increase in the amount of employees which is a big deal for any company to take on.

its big for any company to take on but its a free market and Sony are free to bid on the deal

 

[skit_data]

Tell me how Sony survived the giant loses during the PS3?

By using the money made outside the gaming division (mostly the financial division) to keep it afloat. Without it playstation would have gone out of business.

If you are going to complain it's unfair for one, it has to be unfair for all.

Might be worth noting that they were very much in the red and it almost lead them to pack up and leave, though.

Edit: The console business, that is.

 

[Lognor]

Fuck yeah. Microsoft knows the score.

 

[Timberwolf25]

Might be worth noting that they were very much in the red and it almost lead them to pack up and leave, though.

That's true, but according to some reports MS was also close to leaving the console space after the debacle of the Xbone.
Companies and corporations do fail and go out of business and that's actually a good thing. Not saying I want any company to fail.

 

[ManaByte]

Can't we all just be friends

 

[Bernd Lauert]

Can't we all just be friends

 

[SportsFan581]

I dont think you can compare many cases to this one. But yeah of course. I just like the spirit.

I'm sure the goal is to get the deal done without taking those kind of actions anywhere. But, if any particular set of regulators are going to take an absurd stance that doesn't seem within the norms at all, it might be something that happens. You can call me a fanboy or whatever, certainly somewhat true in this context, plus I want the content on GP for purely selfish reasons too. But, with that said, almost all the lawyers that make videos about this type of thing have had raised eyebrows regarding the initial responses from the CMA with most pointing out how they seem to be signifying that the CMA doesn't want the competition they are supposed to protect and that it doesn't seem to be a strong position legally. It's far from just Xbox fans taking that view, many people who know what they are talking about are saying the same thing.

 

[Tripolygon]

This deal is not going through without major concessions.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Can't we all just be friends

 

[DenchDeckard]

Big dick giga Chad energy.

 

[Jim Ryan other Clone]

This thread is sad. Are Xbox fans really so down bad that you read this as a W? Jeuse, go play some games.

Dude stop it, you hurt them. Which games are you talking about?

 

[Kagey K]

Might be worth noting that they were very much in the red and it almost lead them to pack up and leave, though.

Edit: The console business, that is.

Sony or MS. Ps3 ate every dollar they ever made in the PS1-2 days and a bunch more on top.

 

[graywolf323]

Game fanatics are now like political fanatics.

It's practically religion now.

I mean yeah, humans are by nature very tribal

whether it’s religion, politics, sports, etc.

video games can illicit that same reaction if it’s what someone views as central to their identity

DC vs Marvel was just as bad back in the day

 

[Iced Arcade]

its going to be a long long year of melt downs. then another year after its approved.

 

[remember_spinal]

its going to be a long long year of melt downs. then another year after its approved.

Meltdowns from whom? I feel like most gaming enthusiast dont even truly care about the games involved in this acquisition

Bethesda was a far bigger deal in actual gaming circles

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Poor little Microsoft couldn't compete with Sony's moneyhats so they had no choice to spend $70 billion.

Poor little Microsoft couldn't complete with Sony's ~$1-3 billion individual studio purchases so they had no choice but to spend $70 billion.

Poor little Microsoft couldn't cope with Sony embarrassing them when it comes to game output so they had no choice but to spend $70 billion.

Let's all pour one out for Microsoft and Phil Spencer, they have been through so much, Sony has done so many horrible things to them that they've had no choice but to go in this direction.

May they find the strength to continue in the shadow of the mighty MEGA corporation that is Sony.

A harsh way to put it but, when you break things down, it does speak to a truth.

Nothing stopped Microsoft from doing more Rise of the Tomb Raider-style timed exclusives. If some journalists and gamers bitched, so what? Tell them to shut up and keep doing it until they have no choice but accept it. That's how most companies in this industry have gotten to where they are, even Sony and Nintendo.

The idea that MS's only answer to resolve weaknesses in their output, to some people, is that they HAD to buy Zenimax let alone ABK, is a lie. When Sony were in even worst straits with the PS3, and MS had a lockdown on content in some ways even more strict than Sony did with any 3P for PS4, what did Sony do? They invested in their 1P content and 3P exclusives. It took a few years to start seeing the payoff, during which they just took the licks as they came. But they stayed the course, and zeroed in on appealing to hardcore/core gamers.

Initial efforts like Demon's Souls eventually helped build up to Uncharted 2, to GT6, and to TLOU. They earned back a lot of goodwill due to that, and they also happened to benefit from the Wii market basically crashing after 2010 and Microsoft abandoning hardcore/core gamers (in terms of 1P games) and chasing Kinect instead. In both Microsoft & Nintendo's cases, they forgot to keep hardcore & core gamers satisfied with 1P content and that's why they struggled so much with XBO & Wii U. The PS3 may not have fully benefited from Sony's 1P focus on hardcore/core gamers in the back half of 7th-gen, but since they kept that focus going into PS4, that system would see the benefit.

I feel like Microsoft realize this and are trying to get chess pieces set up to try replicating that 2009 - 2013 Sony PS3 strategy for Series X and S, but I genuinely don't think they can do it. The main reason being because gaming-wise, they are not focused enough on the type of games that would really galvanize hardcore/core gamers in terms of 1P AAA content. Even in terms of 1P AA content, it's still a big unknown. That's why games like Starfield, RedFall, Avowed, Everwild and Perfect Dark have to hit and hit hard, because any doubts on this front have to be eliminated within the next 2-3 years.

But it's also entirely possible Microsoft decide to zero in on the casual/mainstream market and going hard with services via big mobile GamePass xCloud push and curating content to satisfy that side of the market and grow their presence in it. I know Sony also have plans to grow in the mobile sector, but since they've already proven they can cultivate strong 1P & 3P AAA and AA output for the hardcore/core audiences, branching out their focus can be done with minimum to no impact on continuing to placate the core of the fanbase. Microsoft have not proven this capability at large since the middle of the 360 gen and that's been well over 10 years ago.

All that said, they could've started this approach, fixing up weaknesses WRT 1P and exclusives content, years ago. They could've continued with stuff like getting Dead Rising 4 as a timed exclusive, NOT cancelling Scalebound, NOT cancelling Phantom Dust, delaying & polishing ReCore, doing some Quantum Break expansion content, co-funded a Halo side game with a 3P dev as some over-the-shoulder third-person type of action/adventure shooter (maybe as a Halo prequel), got a Killer Instinct 2 ready for Series S & X launch, actually stay committed to VR on Xbox, NOT pass on the chance to work with Marvel IP, etc.

A lot of people like to point to and blame Sony & PS4 as the reason for the state of the Xbox brand's relative position of weakness, instead of doing the smart thing, looking at all of Microsoft's mistakes, and laying the blame on the company that botched or passed up on multiple opportunities to do better. I love '90s Sega, from the MegaDrive to (especially) the Saturn to Dreamcast to their 3D arcade games, but some of the hardheaded Xbox fans who blame Sony all the time today, remind me of hardheaded Sega fans who blame Sony for Sega's commercial failures in the '90s, when anyone who can do some basic research would see that it was Sega's own befuddling decisions that hurt their chances the most.

I admit it did seem out of character for you since I view you as one of the more reasonable people on here

Yeah, I gotta put some hot chick back for my avatar so people know I'm not mocking ResetERA users (for the time being). It is funny seeing who falls for it tho, NGL

 

[Iced Arcade]

Meltdowns from whom? I feel like most gaming enthusiast dont even truly care about the games involved in this acquisition

Bethesda was a far bigger deal in actual gaming circles

...you are on page 5 bruh.... you know the topic that's taking up a quarter of the front page here. (1 that has almost 2k posts alone)


but ain't no tang

 

[Banjo64]

all of this just makes me want to sell my PS5 and Series S and move to a cave in tora bora with my switch.

at least with Nintendo the only conflict is in my heart; is it right to play a game as some squid jailbait, and is it right to have a wank when you’re done?

 

[SportsFan581]

The idea that MS's only answer to resolve weaknesses in their output, to some people, is that they HAD to buy Zenimax let alone ABK, is a lie. When Sony were in even worst straits with the PS3, and MS had a lockdown on content in some ways even more strict than Sony did with any 3P for PS4, what did Sony do? They invested in their 1P content and 3P exclusives. It took a few years to start seeing the payoff, during which they just took the licks as they came. But they stayed the course, and zeroed in on appealing to hardcore/core gamers.

It's a bit different because the worst position Sony was ever in with regards to buying exclusives from third-parties was a level playing field, basically a 50/50 split. MS likely has to pay 2,3,4 times the amount that Sony does to secure the same deal, I can easily see why MS would try to go a different direction under those circumstances. Sony has enjoyed a huge market advantage and has leveraged that to great effect to ensure that they remain the dominant force.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

all of this just makes me want to sell my PS5 and Series S and move to a cave in tora bora with my switch.

at least with Nintendo the only conflict is in my heart; is it right to play a game as some squid jailbait, and is it right to have a wank when you’re done?

> Be me
> Go to work
> Hide in toilets
> Play with squids
> Have a wank
> Go back to office
> Colleagues wonder what that putrid smell is
> Get fired for inappropiate behaviour
> Profit?

 

[Edgelord79]

I mean...I would think. Doesn't MS stand to loose 3 billion if it falls through? Somebody gotta answer for that.

Sure. That said, I feel the chances of this falling through are slim to none. So I don’t think that situation will happen.

 

[adamsapple]

> Be me
> Go to work
> Hide in toilets
> Play with squids
> Have a wank
> Go back to office
> Colleagues wonder what that putrid smell is
> Get fired for inappropiate behaviour
> Profit?

>then who was phone ?

 

[prinz_valium]

I'm pretty sure that MS would have had some say in whatever date in the deal triggers that $3b penalty, I think they knew how much time they gave themselves from the start.

Of course. The dates are all in the merger agreement

The merger agreement may be terminated at any time prior to the effective time of the merger, whether before or after the adoption of the merger agreement by Activision Blizzard stockholders, in the following ways:
•
by mutual written agreement of Activision Blizzard and Microsoft;
•
by either Activision Blizzard or Microsoft if:
[...]
the merger has not been consummated before 11:59 p.m., Pacific time, on January 18, 2023, which we refer to as the “termination date,” except that (i) if all conditions have been satisfied (other than those conditions to be satisfied at the time of closing of the merger) or waived (to the extent permitted by applicable law) by that date, but on that date the regulatory conditions or the injunction condition (solely with respect to antitrust, competition or foreign investment laws) has not been satisfied, then the termination date will automatically be extended to 11:59 p.m., Pacific time, on April 18, 2023 and (ii) if all conditions have been satisfied (other than those conditions to be satisfied at the time of closing of the merger) or waived (to the extent permitted by applicable law) by April 18, 2023, but on that date the regulatory conditions or the injunction condition (solely with respect to antitrust, competition or foreign investment laws) has not been satisfied, then the termination date will automatically be extended to 11:59 p.m., Pacific time, on July 18, 2023, except that a party may not terminate the merger agreement pursuant to this provision if such party’s material breach of any provision of the merger agreement is the primary cause of the failure of the merger to be consummated by the termination date;

(c)            Parent Termination Fee. If this Agreement is terminated pursuant to (x) Section 8.1(b) due to an Injunction arising from Antitrust Laws or Section 8.1(c) and all conditions to this Agreement are satisfied (other than those conditions that by their terms are to be satisfied at the Closing, each of which is capable of being satisfied at the Closing) or waived (where permissible pursuant to applicable Law), other than the conditions set forth in Section 7.1(b) or Section 7.1(d) (solely in connection with an Antitrust Law), and, in either case of clause (x) or , the Company is not then in material breach of any provision of this Agreement (provided that any breach by the Company that is the primary cause of the failure of any condition to this Agreement to be satisfied shall be considered a material breach), then Parent shall promptly pay (or cause to be paid) to the Company (i) if such termination notice is provided prior to January 18, 2023, an amount equal to $2,000,000,000, (ii) if such termination notice is provided after January 18, 2023, and prior to April 18, 2023, an amount equal to $2,500,000,000 or (iii) if such termination notice is provided at any time after April 18, 2023, an amount equal to $3,000,000,000 (any fee payable pursuant to clause (i), (ii) or (iii), the "Parent Termination Fee") by wire transfer of immediately available funds to an account or accounts designated in writing by Company.

 

[SportsFan581]

Of course. The dates are all in the merger agreement

Had no idea the whole thing was out in public, LOL.

 

[JerryinSoCal]

Tell me how Sony survived the giant loses during the PS3?

By using the money made outside the gaming division (mostly the financial division) to keep it afloat. Without it playstation would have gone out of business.

If you are going to complain it's unfair for one, it has to be unfair for all.

Sony was in a different place financially back then, if you hadn't noticed there were worries that Sony may go under not all that long ago, they sold off parts of the company and expensive properties. Now PlayStation brings in more money than any other part of Sony, MS has never had that problem, you are worried about being "fair" vs correct.

 

[Zok310]

This ought to keep phill quit for a lil while about this deal. I believe he has said too much already. There is a paper trail between him and Sony so the next words out of his mouth need to be consistent with his offers to Sony because we know Sony will call him out.

 

[prinz_valium]

Had no idea the whole thing was out in public, LOL.

It's a massive deal. They have to make it public for the shareholders.

It's basically 1 year with half a year automatic extension.
Of course they could also pursue the deal after, but that seems unlikely


Her is the definitive proxy statement from May

https://investor.activisionblizzard.com/node/35156/html#tTOTM

 

[Kagey K]

Sony was in a different place financially back then, if you hadn't noticed there were worries that Sony may go under not all that long ago, they sold off parts of the company and expensive properties. Now PlayStation brings in more money than any other part of Sony, MS has never had that problem, you are worried about being "fair" vs correct.

Oh so we're back to the "it's different."

It always is for "reasons."

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

It's a bit different because the worst position Sony was ever in with regards to buying exclusives from third-parties was a level playing field, basically a 50/50 split.

Not necessarily true. If Sony wanted to, for example, try getting Mass Effect 3 or Saint's Row 2 as PS3 exclusives back in the day, they'd of had to pay way more than just whatever Microsoft would've had to pay. Reason being, because those were games from Western studios, and in the markets ME3 or SR2 would've absolutely sold the most, PS3 was getting curb-stomped in UK and obliterated in NA.

MS likely has to pay 2,3,4 times the amount that Sony does to secure the same deal, I can easily see why MS would try to go a different direction under those circumstances. Sony has enjoyed a huge market advantage and has leveraged that to great effect to ensure that they remain the dominant force.

It's not Sony's fault that PS has north a 2:1 global market share over Xbox consoles and, in several key foreign markets, market share amounts between 3x - 5x (in some smaller markets even more) that of Xbox.

A lot of those markets are ones Microsoft themselves chose to not cater to during the 360 and XBO years, so if there's a big 3P game bringing in a lot of sales on PS in these markets where Sony has a 3:1, 4:1 etc. presence over Xbox in, that would be something MS has to consider when trying to pay out more for an exclusivity deal. But even beyond that, if MS are paying more for those same deals than Sony, they're also paying for the potential (extrapolated) growth of that game in terms of sales and revenue they could be missing out on now by skipping PlayStation at the initial release.

And it's not like 3x - 4x the rate for MS is asking for that much in the case of most of these 3P exclusivity deals which are for the lower end of AAA budgets or such. MS paying $30 million for a deal that'd cost Sony $10 million is still pennies for Microsoft considering the amount of money they regularly bring in. It also makes fixating on this aspect a bit funny considering MS have no issue paying over 100x such monies to buy a publisher in the form of ABK, to potentially make a move and one day lock down COD as an exclusive.

And considering it's more likely they (MS) will just gate certain DLC content and MTX bonuses to Xbox/GamePass owners as privileged, which looks more insane spending-wise: $50 million for marketing rights/timed DLC & MTX exclusivity (Sony), or $69 billion for...marketing rights/timed DLC & MTX exclusivity (Microsoft)? Yes I'm vastly oversimplifying the ABK deal for sake of this point, but just think about those two numbers and what's basically being bought of them.

 

[IntentionalPun]

This is literally nothing.

They couldn't prevent the inquiry from going deeper, so they had no reason to offer commitments, since that wouldn't have stopped anything (too big of a purchase.)

It's literally right in the damn quote in the OP lol.. "big dick energy"???

Microsoft opted not to offer any remedies to the CMA at this stage because there were no obvious commitments the UK regulator would be likely to accept, according to people with knowledge of the situation.

The watchdog does not generally accept behavioural remedies, such as commitments to maintain access to a product or service, at the end of a phase 1 probe apart from in rare circumstances.

One competition lawyer with knowledge of the case said it was "almost impossible" for Microsoft to offer a remedy that would prevent the investigation moving to an in-depth antitrust probe.

 

[Hendrick's]

Anything that cripples, slows-down, or shuts down this deal and give MS a hard time is always a positive.

Your tears will be extra salty when this deal inevitably closes.

 

[GhostOfTsu]

Sounds like MS gave up fighting this and let it go to phase 2.

That tiny dick was nothing.

I Infamy v1 needs to do some kegels to loosen up.

 

[Hendrick's]

all these countries looking for free money.

They can all have free Windows 11 upgrades.

 

[adamsapple]

Your tears will be extra salty when this deal inevitably closes.

He came back after a month to post that, he'll disappear for good if the deal closes

 

[Infamy v1]

Sounds like MS gave up fighting this and let it go to phase 2.

Sounds like you use wishful fanfiction as a source of copium.

 

[Neo_game]

Wow so it is 75 billion $ lol. I am not even sure this is a good deal. If it goes through I hope we get precise numbers to see what impact this will have.

 

[FalsettoVibe]

Sounds like you use wishful fanfiction as a source of copium.

The user you are replying to may have worded it wrong but that is pretty much what happened. MS is like "aight bruh.....y'all gonna go to phase 2 anyway, so let me shut up and save my comments for later"

 

[GhostOfTsu]

The user you are replying to may have worded it wrong but that is pretty much what happened. MS is like "aight bruh.....y'all gonna go to phase 2 anyway, so let me shut up and save my comments for later"

Exactly. I read the article and that's what it means. All this "big dick energy badass MS" is fanfiction from a desperate fanbase. They want a W so badly.

Sounds like you use wishful fanfiction as a source of copium.

Meanwhile I'm downloading the COD Beta. Exclusively on PS

 

[The_Mike]

…

BECAUSE NONE OF THEM MAKE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS EVERY SINGLE YEAR

I was told in here by several that destiny 2 is among the most popular and well earning fps of all times, even surpassing cod that probably dies after first year after Microsoft has taken over.

I just can't keep up anymore. Too many different takes depending on agenda.

 

[Lognor]

Exactly. I read the article and that's what it means. All this "big dick energy badass MS" is fanfiction from a desperate fanbase. They want a W so badly.


Meanwhile I'm downloading the COD Beta. Exclusively on PS

A desperate fanbase?? Lol what! No that's the Sony fanboys desperately hoping this acquisition doesn't go through. I'm worried about some of you ask when this deal does go through.

 

[Mod of War: Remastered]

Since none of you supposed adults can actually act like adults.

Good job.