Support NeoGAF

[cash_longfellow]

Unless you have millions of people in outside your house throwing money at you trying to get to your bin I'm afraid your trash isn't as popular as you seem to think.

 

[Roronoa Zoro]

MS is doing the same with a number of smaller studios that they acquired.

Oh yeah and I'm totally fine with those ones. It's buying up already huge IP that sell more on other consoles that bothers me

 

[DigitalScrap]

Oh yeah and I'm totally fine with those ones. It's buying up already huge IP that sell more on other consoles that bothers me

I have a feeling that there will be more M&A activity from MS in the not so distant future. These are definitely interesting times.

 

[Represent.]

Who knows.

Should every song, movie or tv show be allowed to run on every phone or Blu ray player? Seems they can.

Video games are different. Theres tangible benefits to developing for just 1 platform. Better potential for better graphics for one

 

[MonarchJT]

Yes and those studios are already big so that doesn't make anything. My entire point was Sony showing faith and helping newer and smaller studios (at the time) with those things as well as collaborating.

Sony bought exclusivity of famous games so other platform didn't have anymore access to this games...Tomb raider, Final fantasy big examples ...what we talking about

 

[Roronoa Zoro]

Sony bought exclusivity of famous games so other platform didn't have anymore access to this games...Tomb raider, Final fantasy ...what we talking about

They don't own those IP

 

[lastmessiah]

Oh yeah and I'm totally fine with those ones. It's buying up already huge IP that sell more on other consoles that bothers me

The consoles are irrelevant man. The IP is what matters. I don’t know how you can’t see this. A console is just a box with some components in it and was already losing relevance in the last generation. If it sells on one box it will sell on another.

 

[MonarchJT]

They don't own those IP

they don't care if it make win your platform and fail the other platforms (check Sega vs Sony history)

 

[SenjutsuSage]

They aren't going to run into any monopolistic regulations. It will be reviewed and the marketplace is too diverse for any company to be monopolistic within any of the gaming segments. The closed stores/apps is one side of it where those predatory walled gardens can be considered that way, MS isn't in that game anyhow. However this acquisition isn't in monopoly realms at all. Consider -

• Mobile/tablet gaming - Apple dominate this, Google is around as well. Any regulatory body would welcome another major player consolidation to battle Apple here. Also Epic games taking Apple to court.
• Console gaming - both Nintendo and Sony are considered top tier with larger install bases and turnover historically. They both own many studios/first party IPs etc. Nothing to regulate here. Microsoft has their own programs such as Xbox@ID or Gamepass as well as competitors too. Both Nintendo and Sony have Gamepass-lite versions already too.
• PC - Epic games store, Valve/Steam, projects like Star Citizen etc can all clearly compete at a game level, studio/publisher level and app store level. Again no cause for concern.
• Streaming - Nvidia GeForce Now, Google Stadia, Amazon Luna, Playstation Now, Tencent Start and a smattering of others exist already too. Many of those steaming platforms also own/buy studios too.
• Publishers- there are large publishers and small ones throughout all chains of the gaming industry e.g. Sony, Nintendo, EA, Apple, Bandai/Namco, Google, Tencent. No cause for monopoly here at all.

There is nothing in a regulatory capacity for this acquisition to not go through. The free market is doing its job rather nicely in terms of the gaming industry, irrespective of platform or device.

Flawless post. Exactly what I'm saying. There is no monopoly here at all. It's a done deal.

 

[TheAssist]

Historical fun fact: Wasnt Activision the first independent 3rd party publisher? And now they are 1st party....

 

[noise36]

Couldnt MS have bought way more valuable IP from spending $70 billions on lots of smaller publishers? i.e. take2, Ubisoft etc

 

[OmegaSupreme]

The consoles are irrelevant man. The IP is what matters. I don’t know how you can’t see this. A console is just a box with some components in it and was already losing relevance in the last generation. If it sells on one box it will sell on another.

How were they losing relevance last generation? Did the ps4 not sell over 115 million units? Brand loyalty is a thing.

 

[SlimySnake]

Ubisoft is a steal at 7B. If Im Sony im going in hard and buying Ubisoft and Take2.

Take2 just acquired Zynga. Not sure if thats already showing up on their market cap.

Ubisoft wont go for $7 billion. Their stocks took a hit but that was a $16 billion company just last year.

Whoever Sony goes for, they will get outbid by Microsoft. If I were Sony, i would stay the hell away from all of these companies and hope that they dont accidently start a bidding war.

 

[rofif]

Now it really does seem like recent blizzard hate was jest created to lower the price

 

[lastmessiah]

Couldnt MS have bought way more valuable IP from spending $70 billions on lots of smaller publishers? i.e. take2, Ubisoft etc

They got CoD. Warcraft. Diablo. Candy Crush. The only IP on those levels is GTA.

 

[reksveks]

Take2 just acquired Zynga. Not sure if thats already showing up on their market cap.

Cause I think there is a 45 day period for someone else to swoop in I think. But yeah, that's market cap doesn't account for that deal.

 

[El Pistolero]

You have to really stop and marvel at how impressive Microsoft is playing this acquisition.

Consider what people have said about them for years, their last place, two to one loser in sales to both Nintendo and Playstation, dead last. Microsoft has turned all of that into an ADVANTAGE. It's exactly that trolling, that bragging that will now be used to defend convincingly the fairness of this acquisition. If they were dead last before, and getting their ass kicked, why is this acquisition, which after it completes, would STILL leave them only 3rd in gaming revenue behind Tecent and Sony supposed to be seen as a monopoly when Microsoft comes from the weakest positioning in the gaming space relative to their direct competitors possible.

This would not have been possible without the Xbox One faceplant. They also have on their side the well publicized struggles and legal issues of Activision, the high turnover, the struggles of their biggest franchises. Activision was at their low, the whole industry calling for the CEO's head, and here comes Microsoft, the kid always in last place, seeking to make a bigger mark in gaming.

Microsoft will be able to use the VERY moves Sony has made in recent years to defend this acquisition flawlessly before any regulatory body.

Microsoft can even use Spider-Man, a massive worldwide brand, a franchise that had a recent massive movie launch to record breaking numbers, a game that no Xbox gamer gets the chance to play since it's exclusive to Sony platforms. Microsoft can make the exact same argument with Wolverine, Microsoft can point to a major Star Wars entry such as Kotor Remake as yet another example of Sony's power and influence in the industry.

They can further use their very own company, Bethesda, as evidence to defend the Activision deal. The two latest games coming from Bethesda won't even launch for Xbox yet, but will be coming to Playstation 5 first. One of those was the critical hit Deathloop, which was a nominee for Game of the Year at the 2021 Game Awards. Microsoft can, and will, say that so strong is Playstation's reach that even their own intellectual property from their own studios end up going to PS5 before it sees release to Xbox customers. They can point to how Spider-Man was an exclusive character in a major avengers game, and xbox gamers didn't get to enjoy that. They can point to how Sony has had a major marketing deal with the Call of Duty franchise now for multiple years where they get access to content that Xbox gamers don't receive till much later, if at all I think. They can even point to Final Fantasy 7 Remake and FF16, a major franchise whose previous two big entries both launched on Xbox as well as Playstation, but are now exclusive to Playstation.

So whereas many think Bethesda is evidence of this deal being unfair or monopolistic, Bethesda will prove to be the VERY thing that shows why it can be allowed to go through. Microsoft has to be able to legitimately showcase that their actions will not unfairly advantage them over their competition. Microsoft can point to Doom Eternal next gen release on PS5, they can point to Skyrim special edition release on PS5, they can point to Ghostwire Tokyo release on PS5, they can point to Elder Scrolls Online next gen upgrade on Playstation 5 as evidence that they still continue to actively support Playstation 5, because, as they even show with one of their most valuable products, Minecraft, they support all platforms.

This deal is as good as open and shut. Companies rarely have arguments THIS convincingly in favor of an acquisition where they are treating their closest competition so fairly, to the point where their main competition is getting their own intellectual property from their own game studios before they are. Microsoft couldn't have played this anymore perfect if they tried, and this deal is one that should be studied for years to come on how to approach industry shaking deals.

Good Lord! The takes I have seen: "Well, Sony dared to make Spiderman exclusive, so it is only fair that small fry MS gets to acquire Activision and Bethesda!", is possibly one of the most fanboyish, deluded thing I have ever read...and I have read that MS is doing great defending the industry against predatorial manoeuvers from big tech companies ()!!!
Buddy, this is MS: They are depolying the same strategy that made them a monopoly in the software scene 30 years ago. It is dirty..but it is legal, and all is allowed in war...such is the controlled savagery of capitalism! The only ridiculous thing is for people to still have the nerve to paint Sony as the giant evil shadow in this story...It is beyond nonsensical at this point.

 

[lastmessiah]

How were they losing relevance last generation? Did the ps4 not sell over 115 million units? Brand loyalty is a thing.

It’s a thing on GAF apparently, but not in the wider consumer market that companies care about.

 

[reksveks]

Couldnt MS have bought way more valuable IP from spending $70 billions on lots of smaller publishers? i.e. take2, Ubisoft etc

Yeah, but they also bought a very profitable company alongside the IP.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

It’s a thing on GAF apparently, but not in the wider consumer market that companies care about.

Ms sold far less consoles than that. So yes it's also the wide market not just gaf.

 

[MonarchJT]

Couldnt MS have bought way more valuable IP from spending $70 billions on lots of smaller publishers? i.e. take2, Ubisoft etc

there's just one IP that could have been better and is FIFA but that will never become an exclusive without losing official rights. They bought probably the most valuable IP in the world after FIFA, probably after COD there would be GTA but we have to see if T2 is the willing to sell and I believe that their value in a sell quote would rise well above 20b which relegates the possibility of acquisition to a few companies Ms, Apple, Google, Amazon

 

[lastmessiah]

Ms sold far less consoles than that. So yes it's also the wide market not just gaf.

Like I said. The consoles don’t matter. The software and services is what makes the profit.

 

[SlimySnake]

Cause I think there is a 45 day period for someone else to swoop in I think. But yeah, that's market cap doesn't account for that deal.

so that rules out take2 then. gta isnt worth $30 billion and sony will have to overpay like MS did by $20 billion.

No way in hell is anyone over at Sony corp giving Jimbo $40 billion.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Like I said. The consoles don’t matter. The software and services is what makes the profit.

In ms's view I'm sure. They are famous for losing money on hardware. Not so much sony and damn sure not Nintendo.

 

[Von Hugh]

They got CoD. Warcraft. Diablo. Candy Crush. The only IP on those levels is GTA.

And GTA is only one IP, too risky to buy a company for essentially only one huge game series. Now they got many.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Isn't fortnight(sp?) still the biggest money maker out there? Why not go for epic? Then you get unreal engine on top of it. I know they went after epic years ago.

 

[MonarchJT]

so that rules out take2 then. gta isnt worth $30 billion and sony will have to overpay like MS did by $20 billion.

No way in hell is anyone over at Sony corp giving Jimbo $40 billion.

The best thing that Sony could do right now Is to buy Square Enix ....is absolutely not in the same league and we'll final fantasy isn't COD ..especially in the west. But i don't know what else they could do

 

[Boy bawang]

Ms sold far less consoles than that. So yes it's also the wide market not just gaf.

Both Sony and Microsoft sell everything they can produce, more or less. I wouldn't read too much into that, except that Sony has been much better at producing PS5 than Microsoft has to produce Xbox series.

 

[reksveks]

so that rules out take2 then. gta isnt worth $30 billion and sony will have to overpay like MS did by $20 billion.

No way in hell is anyone over at Sony corp giving Jimbo $40 billion.

Yeah, personally I think EA and T2 are out of the picture unless Sony really decides to commit to this. Some of the Japanese publishers are probably available like Capcom.

 

[eastcoastkody]

Couldnt MS have bought way more valuable IP from spending $70 billions on lots of smaller publishers? i.e. take2, Ubisoft etc

COD has made a million dollars since u posted this

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Both Sony and Microsoft sell everything they can produce, more or less. I wouldn't read too much into that, except that Sony has been much better at producing PS5 than Microsoft has to produce Xbox series.

We were speaking of the previous generation. Ps4/xbone. Before the dark times.

 

[reksveks]

Isn't fortnight(sp?) still the biggest money maker out there? Why not go for epic? Then you get unreal engine on top of it. I know they went after epic years ago.

Unity's market cap is 33bn, Epic's will be bigger imo.

Also to add imo both Epic and Unity might actually cause bigger concerns for the FTC/DOJ cause they do kinda dominate the game engine market space.

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

Ubisoft is a steal at 7B. If Im Sony im going in hard and buying Ubisoft and Take2.

I'd personally be a pay-slave to anyone owning Capcom, Sega, Bandai Namco and Konami.

 

[lastmessiah]

Yeah, personally I think EA and T2 are out of the picture unless Sony really decides to commit to this. Some of the Japanese publishers are probably available like Capcom.

I think if Sony were capable of purchasing Capcom they would have done it by now.

 

[Warablo]

Great get for Microsoft, but I would have liked Ubisoft. Would love to play their games on Game Pass without a extra fee.

 

[SlimySnake]

I think if Sony were capable of purchasing Capcom they would have done it by now.

Ms will probably outbid them anyway.

Satya didn’t spend $70 billion on cod only to let Sony sneak in an advantage by purchasing two $5 billion publishers. They must have left themselves enough cash to counter any move Sony might make.

 

[Chittagong]

Ubisoft is a steal at 7B. If Im Sony im going in hard and buying Ubisoft and Take2.

missing from the list, Nintendo at 57BUSD

 

[lastmessiah]

Ms will probably outbid them anyway.

Satya didn’t spend $70 billion on cod only to let Sony sneak in an advantage by purchasing two $5 billion publishers. They must have left themselves enough cash to counter any move Sony might make.

I’m assuming that MS couldn’t purchase a Japanese studio outright, but I don’t know much about the legalities of it.

 

[Fredrik]

The best thing that Sony could do right now Is to buy Square Enix ....is absolutely not in the same league and we'll final fantasy isn't COD ..especially in the west. But i don't know what else they could do

Square Enix has a big presence on Nintendo platforms too now, I’m thinking that it could trigger Nintendo to start checking if they have some pocket change to spare.

 

[SkylineRKR]

Take 2 seems to be a good deal. GTA (online), NBA 2k, Red Dead. But it seems all they have when it comes to real selling potential on consoles. However, GTA has proven to be an evergreen. V was the best selling game accross 2 generations kind of.

Square, with FFXIV and all, seems to be a good purchase as well. Ubi has a guaranteed seller and behemoth franchise with Assassins Creed to name one.

If Sony has some 30 billion to burn, I'd pick up these 3.

 

[Sosokrates]

They got CoD. Warcraft. Diablo. Candy Crush. The only IP on those levels is GTA.

And GTA only comes out every like 12yrs


Or 1 R* game per gen.

 

[MonarchJT]

Take 2 seems to be a good deal. GTA (online), NBA 2k, Red Dead. But it seems all they have when it comes to real selling potential on consoles. However, GTA has proven to be an evergreen. V was the best selling game accross 2 generations kind of.

Square, with FFXIV and all, seems to be a good purchase as well. Ubi has a guaranteed seller and behemoth franchise with Assassins Creed to name one.

If Sony has some 30 billion to burn, I'd pick up these 3.

30? T2 would never cost less than 25b

 

[Boy bawang]

We were speaking of the previous generation. Ps4/xbone. Before the dark times.

My bad!

 

[Megatron]

They don't own those IP

That’s worse imo. MS bought Activision because they want to add their games to gamepass. Activision is going to add value to their service. Sony paying companies to keep games off XBox doesn’t build any value. They would be getting the game either way. They just don’t want MS gamers to get to play it. Meanwhile, because of tactics like this, buying the company may be the only way MS can get some of these games on their system at all. So they can add more games to their service and provide games they either wouldn’t get at all or would receive much later.

It’s totally understandable why MS is doing this. And it’s really the only response they have to what Sony is doing since they can’t pay companies for exclusives because they don’t want to miss out on the PS user base.

All I can tell you is actions have consequences. And Sony is feeling those now.

 

[Malcolm9]

That’s worse imo. MS bought Activision because they want to add their games to gamepass. Activision is going to add value to their service. Sony paying companies to keep games off XBox doesn’t build any value. They would be getting the game either way. They just don’t want MS gamers to get to play it. Meanwhile, because of tactics like this, buying the company may be the only way MS can get some of these games on their system at all. So they can add more games to their service and provide games they either wouldn’t get at all or would receive much later.

It’s totally understandable why MS is doing this. And it’s really the only response they have to what Sony is doing since they can’t pay companies for exclusives because they don’t want to miss out on the PS user base.

All I can tell you is actions have consequences. And Sony is feeling those now.

How is it that any different from the idea that Sony want to add value to their platform though?

 

[emivita]

Call of Duty? Diablo? WoW? I don't care a single . Give me a full-fledged AAA-budget Gabriel Knight 4 with Jane Jensen back. Or a new King's Quest. And yeah I know, 0% chance.

 

[Team Andromeda]

Its sad you cant understand but its ok. I cant bother to explain

Just buy a XBox and be happy

 

[Halo2redvsblue]

Crash is getting some Tonight.

 

[MilkyJoe]

There's no reason to make anything exclusive since almost all revenue from games today is from mtx and dlc, not actual game sales. Still, this is an idiotic move. I don't see MS in the game 10 years from now, though I can say the same about Sony, flinging around stupid amounts of money when they don't have to. Mobile companies have the right idea. Nintendo's also being smart about maximizing profit.

Here we go again

 

[Fredrik]

And GTA only comes out every like 12yrs


Or 1 R* game per gen.

Long dev time goes for many big budget AAA games. This will trigger people but I doubt that we’ll see a new The Elder Scrolls and Fallout this generation for example. GT7 will likely be the only non-Sport GT this gen. No more mainline Halo either. Will we see more than one TLOU and/or Uncharted this gen? Doubtful.

There are a few devs that seems to work with constant nitro boost turned on; Insomniac, Playground Games, Ubisoft, Capcom. But they’re not the norm today unfortunately.