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Microsoft / Activision Deal Approval Watch |OT| (MS/ABK close)

Do you believe the deal will be approved?


  • Total voters
    886
  • Poll closed .
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Ar¢tos

Member
Oh I very much doubt you'll hear a cry about the loss of that from anyone, let alone from Xbox fans.

You can't tell me you're looking forward to the next Luminous Studios production.. Oh Wait.
Just wait for their next proprietary engine!
If Luminous engine (2 games) flopped harder than Crystal Tools (5 games) , they'll probably spend 4 years making a new engine and never release a game using it.
 

Mr.Phoenix

Member
You should read the OP and then read my comment. I know that reading with comprehension can be challenging for some people. Comments in this thread show that many did it even read the op and just came here to shit on ms and Phil.
hehe the comprehension card.

Bet its gonna blow your mind when I tell you that the problem peope have isn't to do with anything about what's said in the OP.

Technically, all that can be all true. Every single word.

The problem is, that coming from someone that is flat out making libraries of games from otherwise third-party publishers exclusive to their platform, can't really be saying shit like that about the one game and expect anyone to take him seriously.

Get it now?
 
translation:

the regulators are on our ass about this damn call of duty ip. they are seeing through our bullshit offers of 3 or 10 years. we really want to make call of duty xbox and pc only eventually but we are unable to get the deal approved under such conditions. so we now offer that call of duty will stay multiplatform indefinitely because i want everybody to play. im a good guy. when everbody plays, we all win.

there you go, thats whats phils really saying.
 
You should read the OP and then read my comment. I know that reading with comprehension can be challenging for some people. Comments in this thread show that many did it even read the op and just came here to shit on ms and Phil.
It's a weird fascination some of these people have with Microsoft. I assume the majority shit on Phil simply because he works for MS. If he were to suddenly leave and go work for their preferred company, he probably wouldn't seem so bad to them.

The disdain for MS is weirdly fascinating here though, because it's primarily done by Sony fans. It's interesting because they routinely use blanket statements to point to MS's shady past behavior. Like, what company that's been around any amount of time doesn't have some shady behavior in it's history? What makes it interesting is that these people make these claims about MS as if Sony had a comparatively clean record, which is laughable.
 

Mr.ODST

Member
Hard to know when the exclusivity game matters

Apparently it didn’t matter initially with Bethesda when he said he had no intent on fracturing any communities for their games…

Until it did
Can you tell me how he "Fractured" a community for an IP that hasnt even released, as far as im aware all Bethesda games that released on playstation are still being updated and supported?

Only question I would 100% take that on is ES6 because thats exclusive but I doubt others will be
 
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Ozriel

M$FT
The problem is, that coming from someone that is flat out making libraries of games from otherwise third-party publishers exclusive to their platform, can't really be saying shit like that about the one game and expect anyone to take him seriously.

Get it now?

Legally binding contract, enforceable by the EU

Get it now?

Not sure why you’re bringing up SP Xbox first party into this discussion now.
 
hehe the comprehension card.

Bet its gonna blow your mind when I tell you that the problem peope have isn't to do with anything about what's said in the OP.

Technically, all that can be all true. Every single word.

The problem is, that coming from someone that is flat out making libraries of games from otherwise third-party publishers exclusive to their platform, can't really be saying shit like that about the one game and expect anyone to take him seriously.

Get it now?
He's followed through on his statements though. Go find a quote where he explicitly said he wouldn't do something he did, or didn't do something he said he would as far as these acquisitions go. The games he said would stay multiplat have stayed multiplat. The previous contracts he said they'd honor, they have. The games he's said will be decided on a case by case basis, have apparently been so.

Again, the problem is people being mad because they had unreal expectations, or are just mad that an acquired companies games likely won't come to their preferred console anymore. I'm not a fan of defending corporate executives of any sort, but this odd hatred some of you have for him just isn't based on reality. So to justify it, you have to create this obscure narrative where he's told all these lies. Only you're completely unable to provide a clear and concise quote where he has objectively done so.
 
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Polygonal_Sprite

Gold Member
And that’s great Phil so does that mean Starfield is coming to PS5 once they’re done with the Xbox version?

You you go on and on about “no exclusives” then don’t suddenly cut PlayStation out when it suits you.
 

Mr.Phoenix

Member
Legally binding contract, enforceable by the EU

Get it now?

Not sure why you’re bringing up SP Xbox first party into this discussion now.
Are you being purposefully obtuse?

Ok, let me try again.

Phil says COD will be on all platforms and that all platforms will have parity. This is all clear and self-explanatory. We all get that.

He cited Hogwarts and talked about how PS has some exclusive content or whatever and how he's against that. This mind you is what opens the door for any other kinda comparisons.

the people calling him a liar, or shitting on him or whatever, are not doing that because what he is saying about COD is untrue. They are doing that because he is being deceptive. Do not come pushing an incisive all-about-the-gamers agenda, when your practices in the broader scheme of your company is clearly doing the opposite.

He talks about sony doing a marketing and content exclusive deal, for a game that at least still comes to all capable platforms. And uses that to talk up how that's not something he is about or that xbox would do. and yet, his company has recently acquired previously third-party pubs, whose games we remind you,also coming to all relevant platforms, and now, those games are now exclusive to their platform.

If our Rosetinted glasses still stops you from seeing this, how about I speak a language you will understand...

This is the equivalent of Jimbo of Sony doing an interview saying that all they want is for parity and all gamers to have access to everything and in the same way. Does the idea of Jim doing that sound ridiculous to you? If it does, then imagine that Phil and Xbox or what they are doing is even worse than just paying for marketing das or exclusive content. And the fact that he keeps putting COD front an center with this inclusionist nonsense, just makes it worse.

Unless of course you really believe that MS just rally wants COD to be on every platform because they love gamers and thats why they are willing to spend $70B?
 

Helghan

Member
Exactly. Using that is just stupid. So any timed exclusivity sony do isn't taking anything away because there was no xbox version out? So fucking stupid. Of course we know there are xbox versions but they are delayed or even cancelled. Same for starfield. Which is fine! I just want Microsoft to be up front about and cut out the good guy bullshit.
What I don't get is that people can't understand that not every game will have the same rules applied, since the context is different. Games that reach a lot of people will be available to a lot of people (Minecraft, COD, ...). Games that won't will stay exclusive (Starfield, Redfall, ...).

If Sony would have a game that would be as popular as a COD or FIFA, they would definitely release it on other consoles too. Since that makes the most business sense. Xbox division will do what makes the most business sense, what will generate the most revenue in the long haul.
 

DForce

NaughtyDog Defense Force
Ok and??? Sony signed time exclusive deals for Ghostwire Tokyo and Deathloop. Do you think that Bethesda planned to delay those games on Xbox the entire time?

No. To expect any 3rd party game on any platform, unless it's been announced is what's dumb. Neither Sony, MS, nor Nintendo is entitled to any third party game unless they've signed a contract stating as much.

Well that's great. Still doesn't change a thing. Look, you're free to make whatever expectations you want. Just don't be upset when you make poor ones.

I think people shouldn't expect a game to be on ANY console until it's announced to be. I don't know why some of you can't seem to grasp this, as it's not that difficult. You can rephrase it or create whatever "what if" scenario you want. It's not gonna work. You've picked a poor argument to successfully debate I'm afraid. Continuing to try and argue in favor of having bad expectations is only proof that you're....

continuing to argue while having bad expectations. It's a negative feedback loop.

Ghostwire Tokyo and Deathloop are coming to Xbox, so mentioning these two games don't help you at all.

Your entire argument is centered around UNLIKELY scenarios.

The reason why people assume games are going to be released on multiple platforms is because (1) permanent exclusive deals rarely happen (2) they're multiplat developers.

That's how they make money and that's to release games on multiple platforms.


This ridiculous claim that we shouldn't assume that a major title is going to be released on multiple platforms hasn't really been said before until Microsoft acquired Zenimax because people are looking for excuses.
 

Mr.Phoenix

Member
He's followed through on his statements though. Go find a quote where he explicitly said he wouldn't do something he did, or didn't do something he said he would as far as these acquisitions go. The games he said would stay multiplat have stayed multiplat. The previous contracts he said they'd honor, they have. The games he's said will be decided on a case by case basis, have apparently been so.

Again, the problem is people being mad because they had unreal expectations, or are just mad that an acquired companies games likely won't come to their preferred console anymore. I'm not a fan of defending corporate executives of any sort, but this odd hatred some of you have for him just isn't based on reality. So to justify it, you have to create this obscure narrative where he's told all these lies. Only you're completely unable to provide a clear and concise quote where he has objectively done so.
smh... can you tellme where I have said he hasn't followed through on anything.

No, the problem isn't people being mad about starfield... its people being worried about the stranglehold MS would inevitably have on the market if deals ike these are allowed to go through.

answer me this though, do you consider COD being on everything as he suggested, the words biggest FPS multiplatform game, on par on every platform there is one platform that not only gets marketing rights to the game by default but on which you only have to pay $15 for the game to pay it?
 

Ozriel

M$FT
Are you being purposefully obtuse?

Ok, let me try again.

Phil says COD will be on all platforms and that all platforms will have parity. This is all clear and self-explanatory. We all get that.

He cited Hogwarts and talked about how PS has some exclusive content or whatever and how he's against that. This mind you is what opens the door for any other kinda comparisons.

the people calling him a liar, or shitting on him or whatever, are not doing that because what he is saying about COD is untrue. They are doing that because he is being deceptive. Do not come pushing an incisive all-about-the-gamers agenda, when your practices in the broader scheme of your company is clearly doing the opposite.

He talks about sony doing a marketing and content exclusive deal, for a game that at least still comes to all capable platforms. And uses that to talk up how that's not something he is about or that xbox would do. and yet, his company has recently acquired previously third-party pubs, whose games we remind you,also coming to all relevant platforms, and now, those games are now exclusive to their platform.

Yeah, they were right to call you out for your lack of comprehension. Because his comments about the Hogwarts Legacy exclusive content were in the context of Call of Duty. He specifically said that they’re promising full parity on future Call of Duty titles, no special missions or DLC or timed exclusivity on COD for Xbox players if the deal goes through.

You’re going on as if Phil’s been sermonizing about HL exclusivity in that OP. Nothing of the sort there.

Note that post acquisition of Bethesda, all multiplatform Bethesda games have received content and features with 100% parity between PlayStation and Xbox.

You’ll need to find another excuse for your unreasonable anger at a game industry executive.
 

Mr.Phoenix

Member
Yeah, they were right to call you out for your lack of comprehension. Because his comments about the Hogwarts Legacy exclusive content were in the context of Call of Duty. He specifically said that they’re promising full parity on future Call of Duty titles, no special missions or DLC or timed exclusivity on COD for Xbox players if the deal goes through.

You’re going on as if Phil’s been sermonizing about HL exclusivity in that OP. Nothing of the sort there.

Note that post acquisition of Bethesda, all multiplatform Bethesda games have received content and features with 100% parity between PlayStation and Xbox.

You’ll need to find another excuse for your unreasonable anger at a game industry executive.
sigh... ok. I give up. Take win.
 

Astray

Member
The way I see it, exclusivity (whether bought temporarily/permanently or through market reality) is the backbone of any content-based industry.

I genuinely mean it when I say that people should not be mad that someone spent to get exclusive rights over something because at the end of the day, it's a deal between seller and buyer, or it's a strategic call from the developer based on where they anticipate their customer base to be at. Which is why I don't really feel animus towards Microsoft buying Bethesda, or Sony getting Final Fantasy 16 exclusive for a while, it's all genuinely just business, you know?

My big issue is that I don't like being lied to, Miyamoto never comes out to tell me that Bayonetta 3 being Switch exclusive is for my own good, Jim Ryan never comes out to tell me how Deathloop being a temp exclusive is "great for gamers", or how "when we all play we all win", they don't bother with the kumbaya bullshit. There's only one guy coming out with horseshit like that, and my mind immediately goes to "what else is he bullshitting me about?"
 

xHunter

Member
Why are people having such a hard time admitting that Starfield was going to be released on PlayStation before Zenimax was acquired by Microsoft?

My god. lol
Its because those people are hete to write only positive stuff about their console of choice. Thats why those people never mention how MS tried to fuck their users over with the gold price increase. If Sony was the one to raise PS+ prices to its double and then revert it, we would hear it about almost every day.

And for my personal view, there is nothing wrong with making Starfield exclusive. But acting like the PS Version was never canned is just simply wrong.
 

Kvally

Banned
The meltdowns IF this deal gets blocked are going to be something to behold

There are so many people here willing to die on the beach carrying uncle Phils flag that is ridiculous
True. And even more people waiting to bring that flag down. Meltdowns on both sides is going to make this forum reach record posting levels for months if not years to come!

Fox Tv Popcorn GIF by The Four
 

Astray

Member
I mean him talking about intentions is exactly why this is getting such scrutiny from regulators. How does the regulator guard against the likelihood that:

- He suddenly changes his mind.
- He get overruled by his superiors.
- He gets replaced by someone who IS interested in the exclusivity game.
- Someone else buys Xbox from MS and decides that exclusivity serves their agenda?

Etc etc.

We are not even delving into the possibility that he's an outright bullshit artist, we don't have access to his and MS's private internal comms, but regulators do, which is why they have all objected to the deal and dragged MS into this battle to begin with.
 

KaiserBecks

Member
And he doesn’t have to. Why would anyone in their right mind pay €79 for a crossplay title and play it on another platform when it’s on gamepass?
 

bitbydeath

Gold Member
And for my personal view, there is nothing wrong with making Starfield exclusive. But acting like the PS Version was never canned is just simply wrong.
It’s amusing because what goes unsaid by those making the claim, is if it weren’t coming to PlayStation originally means MS would have paid for it’s exclusivity.

images

Time, flat circle, yadda yadda, the outcome is still the same.
 
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splattered

Member
If new Bungie games do not come to Xbox then are you seriously going to say Sony acquiring Bungie had nothing to do with it? You cannot be serious, dude.
Naw of course it would have something to do with it, but at the same time I'm not just gonna sit and complain about it. It is what it is. I'm not going to keyboard warrior bitch and moan and try to dispute whether there was ever an Xbox version in the works that was "stolen" ... That's why I have a ps5. And if I didn't, I just wouldn't be able to play the game and that's not the end of the world to me.
 

Spank_Magnet

The Male Lewinsky
Remember when they categorically said Xbox wasn’t just a way to get MS software into your living room and then almost literally the day after it released Ballmer said it absolutely was just a way to get MS software into your living rooms?

Remember when they said there was no evidence of systemic flaws in 360 design and they were simply replacing them as a show of goodwill and then it turned out they’d put aside a vast sum To cover anticipated returns?

What MS says isn‘t what MS dles.

MS are still fighting the OS wars. Xbox is still just a front in that.
 
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RGB'D

Member
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/xbox-...wasnt-to-keep-games-away-from-other-platforms



He said this about the Bethesda acquisition. He is just a hypocritical liar.

(How do yo make a link preview appear as in the OP?)
I'm not quite sure that's the dunk you thought it was. He didn't take away FO 76 or ESO, and honored Deathloop and Ghostwire Tokyo's exclusivity to PS for the duration of the previous agreement. All Zenimax releases since the acquisition with the exception of Hifi Rush (which the director confirmed didn't have a platform intended and was still in PC only development at the time when the deal went through) have been either PS timed exclusive or multiplat.
 

Kvally

Banned
Remember when they categorically said Xbox wasn’t just a way to get MS software into your living room and then almost literally the day after it released Ballmer said it absolutely was just a way to get MS software into your living rooms?

Remember when they said there was no evidence of systemic flaws in 360 design and they were simply replacing them as a show of goodwill and then it turned out they’d put aside a vast sum To cover anticipated returns?

What MS says isn‘t what MS dles.

MS are still fighting the OS wars. Xbox is still just a front in that.
It’s true. Same goes for Sony. Both want your money more than anything.
 

The_Mike

I cry about SonyGaf from my chair in Redmond, WA
The way I see it, exclusivity (whether bought temporarily/permanently or through market reality) is the backbone of any content-based industry.

I genuinely mean it when I say that people should not be mad that someone spent to get exclusive rights over something because at the end of the day, it's a deal between seller and buyer, or it's a strategic call from the developer based on where they anticipate their customer base to be at. Which is why I don't really feel animus towards Microsoft buying Bethesda, or Sony getting Final Fantasy 16 exclusive for a while, it's all genuinely just business, you know?

My big issue is that I don't like being lied to, Miyamoto never comes out to tell me that Bayonetta 3 being Switch exclusive is for my own good, Jim Ryan never comes out to tell me how Deathloop being a temp exclusive is "great for gamers", or how "when we all play we all win", they don't bother with the kumbaya bullshit. There's only one guy coming out with horseshit like that, and my mind immediately goes to "what else is he bullshitting me about?"
I don't know.

I would like to live in a perfect world, where anyone can play anything on their platform of choice.

You pick a console because you like the eco system and the controller, and be free to play what you want where you want.

It only benefits the platform owner to have exclusive games, not the customer.

Before anyone says anything, yes I know it's crucial to have exclusives, but me as a customer doesn't care about what's crucial to Sony Microsoft or Nintendo. I care about me and the best choices I can get.
 

The_Mike

I cry about SonyGaf from my chair in Redmond, WA
Thats why those people never mention how MS tried to fuck their users over with the gold price increase. If Sony was the one to raise PS+ prices to its double and then revert it, we would hear it about almost every day.
I don't remember anyone cheering about Microsoft wanting to up the price.
Microsoft got called out for it everywhere.
Whereas with Sony increasing prices from 6p to 70 dollars, there were some loonies in here praising how good it was and they gladly pay 10 bucks more for quality.
Or when psplus got more expensive tiers. People called Sony out for it because the tiers made little sense compared to the price. You don't hear about that today either.
Theres idiots on both sides, but can't be hard to see for a color blond.

Fun fact - you don't hear about neither today.
Stop being a warrior.
 

RGB'D

Member
Of course. Everybody expected that, but Phil Spencer talked about it as if they weren't going to do that. That's the issue. He initially lied.

In the article I linked he does say that Xbox doesn't need to release the games on PS to be profitable (or make a ROI from the deal), but in the quote, he clearly states that his intention is not to block those games from other consoles (which he clearly did).
What you are missing if you actually go to the kotaku article/interview where original quote comes from, he had already established that exclusives would be looked at on a case by case basis. There was always exclusivity in the deal.
 

Astray

Member
Its because those people are hete to write only positive stuff about their console of choice. Thats why those people never mention how MS tried to fuck their users over with the gold price increase. If Sony was the one to raise PS+ prices to its double and then revert it, we would hear it about almost every day.

And for my personal view, there is nothing wrong with making Starfield exclusive. But acting like the PS Version was never canned is just simply wrong.
Gold is now a decoy service that MS only keeps around to entice users to go onto gamepass ultimate, the price hike was a crude way of forcing the point, in case people didn't realize it already through the degradation of the Games with Gold program.

I don't know.

I would like to live in a perfect world, where anyone can play anything on their platform of choice.

You pick a console because you like the eco system and the controller, and be free to play what you want where you want.

It only benefits the platform owner to have exclusive games, not the customer.

Before anyone says anything, yes I know it's crucial to have exclusives, but me as a customer doesn't care about what's crucial to Sony Microsoft or Nintendo. I care about me and the best choices I can get.
I would actually argue that a world where exclusives don't exist, is a world where an actual, unbreakable monopoly would form, we're not even talking Sony or what ppl fear MS would be, we're talking a legit unbreakable monopoly that even customers don't want to break.

Look at how fucking dominant Netflix was when all studios used to license everything to them. Now it's a different story and you could conceive of a moment where you'd wake up and Netflix aren't around anymore.

Exclusives by themselves are not inherently bad, and in fact they present unique opportunities to actually compete via giving a unique flavor to their offerings. I would actually posit that Xbox's biggest failing is that they haven't found their unique selling point since the x360 days, and the mass acquisition of big publishers won't really solve that in the short or medium term, and is even debatable in the long.
 

Helghan

Member
Its because those people are hete to write only positive stuff about their console of choice. Thats why those people never mention how MS tried to fuck their users over with the gold price increase. If Sony was the one to raise PS+ prices to its double and then revert it, we would hear it about almost every day.

And for my personal view, there is nothing wrong with making Starfield exclusive. But acting like the PS Version was never canned is just simply wrong.
Oh please, let's not pretend one group of crazy fans is worse than the other. On both sides you just have idiots.
 
Why fucking buy them then! Why couldn't Microsoft just build a solid first party team and get them to develop incredible franchises for XBOX like Sony did with their teams when the PS3 was an utter disaster? It makes no sense. Every excuse makes no sense.
 

xHunter

Member
I don't remember anyone cheering about Microsoft wanting to up the price.
Microsoft got called out for it everywhere.
Whereas with Sony increasing prices from 6p to 70 dollars, there were some loonies in here praising how good it was and they gladly pay 10 bucks more for quality.
Or when psplus got more expensive tiers. People called Sony out for it because the tiers made little sense compared to the price. You don't hear about that today either.
Theres idiots on both sides, but can't be hard to see for a color blond.

Fun fact - you don't hear about neither today.
Stop being a warrior.
That is true, but in this case i was replying to a post about why certain people cant admit to Starfield being canned on Playstation. I am talking about maybe a handful of users here. Should have made that clear.
 

The_Mike

I cry about SonyGaf from my chair in Redmond, WA
I would actually argue that a world where exclusives don't exist, is a world where an actual, unbreakable monopoly would form, we're not even talking Sony or what ppl fear MS would be, we're talking a legit unbreakable monopoly that even customers don't want to break.
Can you explain to me like I'm five, to how every single game being available on every single platform will create a monopoly?

Because I'd say its 100 percent the opposite.
 

Ozriel

M$FT
I mean him talking about intentions is exactly why this is getting such scrutiny from regulators. How does the regulator guard against the likelihood that:

- He suddenly changes his mind.
- He get overruled by his superiors.
- He gets replaced by someone who IS interested in the exclusivity game.
- Someone else buys Xbox from MS and decides that exclusivity serves their agenda?

Etc etc.

We are not even delving into the possibility that he's an outright bullshit artist, we don't have access to his and MS's private internal comms, but regulators do, which is why they have all objected to the deal and dragged MS into this battle to begin with.

Do people not know how contracts work? especially contracts put forward to regulators as concessions to make a deal?

“How do we know he won’t change his mind”

Because then Microsoft get hauled before the EU/CMA et al, fined and forced to divest.
 
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