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[MarketWatch] Microsoft faces battle for Activision deal, especially if ‘Call of Duty’ is destined for Xbox exclusivity

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MonarchJT

Banned
I know Call of Duty is a big deal, but I find it hard to believe one freaking yearly title is the be all/end of all of gaming.
pull out fifa from Playstation and a sonyland like Spain will abandon the console in 30 mins.
Yes COD FIFA GTA and some others like Minecraft and fortnte have this power
 
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Bo_Hazem

Banned
warzone will remain on ps. classic cod no

morgan freeman idgaf GIF
 

reinking

Gold Member
This deal impacts me much less than the Bethesda deal so IDGAF about the fanboy/games side of it. What I do hope though is MS does face some opposition to set a tone that they can't continue to buy up studios to "win" the market. It has nothing to do with it being MS. I would be saying the same thing if it was Sony. People cheering this on are going to be unhappy in a decade or so when one large corporation has them by the balls. MS/Sony/Nintendo don't care about you personally. You are a number with a dollar sign. You best hope they continue to have some balance and competition or they are going to start squeezing even harder. We see Sony going to $70 games and it was not that long ago MS was going to remove used games from the market.
 

Neofire

Member
Regulatory authorities have become much more strict these days so all previous deals cited as an example may not be applicable in this case.

I hope European authorities take them to cleaners even if deal eventually go through. US authorities i have no hope they will do anything as they have allowed Microsoft to get away with much bigger violations before
Unfortunately the FTC can be bought so MS will skirt by here in this US with this acquisition. I've seen so many other deals of this magnitude get blocked but somehow this deal is A Okay 🤷🏿‍♂️ even though it will single handedly change the industry.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
As with all big acquisitions, there will be a lot of articles like this.

MS has an army of extremely well paid lawyers whose job it is to make sure this deal goes through.
 

reksveks

Member
Unfortunately the FTC can be bought so MS will skirt by here in this US with this acquisition. I've seen so many other deals of this magnitude get blocked but somehow this deal is A Okay 🤷🏿‍♂️ even though it will single handedly change the industry.
which ones got blocked?
 

Duchess

Member
This deal impacts me much less than the Bethesda deal so IDGAF about the fanboy/games side of it.
Same. To be fair, the only game I really wanted to play by Bethesda this gen was Elder Scrolls 6. But I have a feeling that won't arrive for a long, long time anyway (2027+).
 

Edgelord79

Gold Member
It would be fun if they don't approve. Xbox fanboys here would go nuts.
Not sure how it wouldn't be approved. Sure, there'll be a fight and other companies will complain, but in the end it will get approved.

Microsoft will talk about the toxic work culture at Activision and hope they will change it, they'll talk about how this is too boost GamePass offerings (which it is) and hope it's not their fault Nintendo and Sony were late to the party, they'll talk about even with this purchase they are in 3rd place behind Tencent and Sony in respect to market share, they'll woo regulators with how they need to do this to decrease Tencent's grasp on the gaming industry, they'll bank on regulators not really caring about games and focusing on telecoms and social media giants...

Oh, this is getting done all right, and a perfect storm made it happen.
 

Sanepar

Member
Not sure how it wouldn't be approved. Sure, there'll be a fight and other companies will complain, but in the end it will get approved.

Microsoft will talk about the toxic work culture at Activision and hope they will change it, they'll talk about how this is too boost GamePass offerings (which it is) and hope it's not their fault Nintendo and Sony were late to the party, they'll talk about even with this purchase they are in 3rd place behind Tencent and Sony in respect to market share, they'll woo regulators with how they need to do this to decrease Tencent's grasp on the gaming industry, they'll bank on regulators not really caring about games and focusing on telecoms and social media giants...

Oh, this is getting done all right, and a perfect storm made it happen.
Well sure they are in 3rd place now but this move can take Xbox to 1st. No one is stupid.

What can happens is the deal taking more time to get done. Like Nvidia and Arm.

This deal doesn't affect only Sony but Nintendo too.
 

Edgelord79

Gold Member
Well sure they are in 3rd place now but this move can take Xbox to 1st. No one is stupid.

What can happens is the deal taking more time to get done. Like Nvidia and Arm.

This deal doesn't affect only Sony but Nintendo too.
It could absolutely help take them to first. But would it be because of this deal? I strongly doubt that. Even after the deal they are well behind Tencent and Sony.
 
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ethomaz

Banned
It just take some more time to the deal happens but it will eventually pass.
I hope all games to be exclusives for better competition.
 
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Minecraft is Microsoft's warm protective blanket. One of the biggest games ever, and Microsoft has the track record of fair play even as it pertains to Bethesda with things such as Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo. Nothing can be done to successfully stop this. I don't know how much people follow politics here, but Microsoft is the company that successfully defended the U.S. elections from foreign interference in the 2018 mid-terms and again in the 2020 elections, taking down a massive Russian botnet, even at one point tricking a judge in order to be able to do so by claiming through a technicality that their IP was being used illegally.

This government will not stop Microsoft's acquisition at all, especially why Microsoft was careful to point out that the #1 gaming company in the world by revenue is Chinese company Tencent, followed by Japanese company Sony. Microsoft was very careful with its words. They know what they're doing, and why this transaction will work. They only ever needed Activision to say yes.
 
And the existence of modern Disney is my rebuttal to this clickbait.
Thanks. They let Disney buy fox lol. There’s no argument for monopoly at all, there are hundreds of developers, thousands of games and to top it all, Microsoft is clearly the looser in the gaming consoles market share.

If you wanna make the argument for PC, Microsoft is clearly the looser against steam or epic store.
 

Gavon West

Spread's Cheeks for Intrusive Ads
I honestly don’t think CoD will become a exclusive, if Microsoft is smart, they will treat it like they treat Minecraft. As far as the rest of the article, feels clickbait and fear over nothing.
Again...70 Billion dollars!! Ten times that of Bethesda. What other title has Microsoft shared with their competition (aside from those bound by contract) from their recent acquisitions? Would you share your highest profitable Ip with your competitor after spending that kind of currency?? Fuck no! You're using that Ip to sway consumers to your ecosystem. Practical, rational business 101.
 

ManaByte

Member
Thanks. They let Disney buy fox lol. There’s no argument for monopoly at all, there are hundreds of developers, thousands of games and to top it all, Microsoft is clearly the looser in the gaming consoles market share.

If you wanna make the argument for PC, Microsoft is clearly the looser against steam or epic store.

There's no monopoly argument when Tencent and Sony are still bigger. You can't try to claim the #3 software publisher has a monopoly.
 

Gavon West

Spread's Cheeks for Intrusive Ads
This deal impacts me much less than the Bethesda deal so IDGAF about the fanboy/games side of it. What I do hope though is MS does face some opposition to set a tone that they can't continue to buy up studios to "win" the market. It has nothing to do with it being MS. I would be saying the same thing if it was Sony. People cheering this on are going to be unhappy in a decade or so when one large corporation has them by the balls. MS/Sony/Nintendo don't care about you personally. You are a number with a dollar sign. You best hope they continue to have some balance and competition or they are going to start squeezing even harder. We see Sony going to $70 games and it was not that long ago MS was going to remove used games from the market.
Um, again, this acquisition only puts Microsoft as the 3RD biggest player in the gaming industry. Sony is 2ND! Tencent is 1ST. This is NOT a monopoly in the slightest. The deal will go through. Better to face it now.
 

Clear

CliffyB's Cock Holster
Again...70 Billion dollars!! Ten times that of Bethesda. What other title has Microsoft shared with their competition (aside from those bound by contract) from their recent acquisitions? Would you share your highest profitable Ip with your competitor after spending that kind of currency?? Fuck no! You're using that Ip to sway consumers to your ecosystem. Practical, rational business 101.

Its not just for Activision, let alone just CoD, its for Blizzard and King which are also own extremely valuable properties in their own right.
In fact in terms of revenue the highest earning segment in 2020 was King, its incredibly easy to underestimate the value of mobile within the ABK portfolio.

Speaking of mobile, the obvious answer to your question remains Minecraft, the product they name-checked in their SEC declaration!
 

levyjl1988

Banned


Through the lens of someone with a Corporate Finance degree. Great watch.
Future titles will be Xbox and PC exclusive btw.
Phil Spencer cannot say exclusivity or deal will be off so he would have to act like Andrew Garfield and play the Werewolf despite us knowing that it will be exclusivity going forward for future titles.
Contracts in progress will not be canceled and will be business as usual. Current titles will be supported on PS platforms.

Microsoft is in it for the long-term haul.
This will be like the Disney acquisition of Fox, Star Wars, and Marvel.
 

Gavon West

Spread's Cheeks for Intrusive Ads
Its not just for Activision, let alone just CoD, its for Blizzard and King which are also own extremely valuable properties in their own right.
In fact in terms of revenue the highest earning segment in 2020 was King, its incredibly easy to underestimate the value of mobile within the ABK portfolio.

Speaking of mobile, the obvious answer to your question remains Minecraft, the product they name-checked in their SEC declaration!
Minecraft was a platform unto itself. Doesnt apply here. You're right about King and Blizzard though. Literally forgot about those two. That said though, in the console space, CoD is also a massive juggernaut unto itself. Why would they allow future iterations of that franchise to keep the status quo? Doesnt make sense.
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
Its not just for Activision, let alone just CoD, its for Blizzard and King which are also own extremely valuable properties in their own right.
In fact in terms of revenue the highest earning segment in 2020 was King, its incredibly easy to underestimate the value of mobile within the ABK portfolio.

Speaking of mobile, the obvious answer to your question remains Minecraft, the product they name-checked in their SEC declaration!
I've never sifted through their financial statements, but King has higher profits than COD? So even with all the COD copies solid and shitloads of mtx paid for ALL the COD games still being played, that's incredible King is still better.
 

aries_71

Junior Member
Nonsense. The anti-monopoly argument is really grasping at straws. The market has plenty of other options besides MS, among them Nintendo and Sony. I don't see it.
 

HarryKS

Member
They got a pass because they are the teacher's pet of the US govt. They're very tame and cooperative compared to the others. They built goodwill by trying to acquire and onshore Tiktok.
 

reinking

Gold Member
Um, again, this acquisition only puts Microsoft as the 3RD biggest player in the gaming industry. Sony is 2ND! Tencent is 1ST. This is NOT a monopoly in the slightest. The deal will go through. Better to face it now.
Um, show me where I said the deal will not go through. My assumption is it will. I said I hope they face some opposition to send a message. Much different than saying it will not go through.
 

Shut0wen

Member
What will likely happen is a majority of activision titles will be 3rd party while new ips from any activision studio will more then likely be 1st party if ms decides to do that
 

Pallas

Member
Again...70 Billion dollars!! Ten times that of Bethesda. What other title has Microsoft shared with their competition (aside from those bound by contract) from their recent acquisitions? Would you share your highest profitable Ip with your competitor after spending that kind of currency?? Fuck no! You're using that Ip to sway consumers to your ecosystem. Practical, rational business 101.


I get what you’re saying but explain why they kept Minecraft multiplatform.
 

Gavon West

Spread's Cheeks for Intrusive Ads
I get what you’re saying but explain why they kept Minecraft multiplatform.
Mincraft was already massive on many platforms making it a platform unto itself. There was no reason to change the space it exists in with gamers. Its an evergreen, anyone can play, family friendly Ip.
 

Ammogeddon

Member
I doubt the monopolies and mergers commission (or whoever deals with this) are going to base this on PlayStation owners being deprived of Call of Duty. But what do I know.
 

Swift_Star

Banned
The same MS that bailed out Apple to avoid being a monopoly in 1997? If that is their endgame they are really bad at it.
In 97 they got scrutinized for it. They love monopoly, look at Office 365. Look at MS windows. They always buy the competition if they can, whether to devalue them and put them out of the market or to make it their product. You can’t be that innocent.
 
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