Support NeoGAF

[reksveks]

How is Gamepass a better option for someone who only plays maybe 1 or 2 games a year. That person rather just buy COD pay for Gold and resell COD once the next one comes out. That person paying for Gamepass will end up spending more money. And this is Gamepass now what about when price of Gamepass increases.

People don't make logically decisions. If a group think they are getting a great deal but end up not using it then the large portion of the group don't cancel it. Its like any subscription service.

Also ignoring the group of users whom actively change user behaviour to take advantage of the subscription service.

 

[kuncol02]

I had no idea that Bamco was worth so much. I assume they have some juggernaut mobile games that i dont know about?

It's whole Bandai Namco Holding. With Gundams, models, figures, anime, TV channel, amusement park...

 

[DaGwaphics]

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.

The monopoly talk was silly anyway. Activision is at best a $9b dollar player in a $180b+ a year industry, and like you said even adding this to current MS leaves them behind their gaming rivals in revenue. This will sale through the process and they can still make future acquisitions as well (once this closes), there are no laws against moving yourself up a couple rungs on the ladder. And, on top of all that, gaming isn't going to be viewed as a necessity for civilization like the mobile carriers, internet providers, the food industry, mobile phone makers, computer chip makers, automotive companies, aviation companies, defense contractors, etc., so while monopoly rules apply to everything some industries are scrutinized a lot more than others.

 

[ManaByte]

The monopoly talk was silly any way. Activision is at best a $9b dollar player in a $180b+ a year industry, and like you said even adding this to current MS leaves them behind their gaming rivals in revenue. This will sale through the process and they can still make future acquisitions as well (once this closes), there are no laws against moving yourself up a couple rungs on the ladder. And, on top of all that, gaming isn't going to be viewed as a necessity for civilization like the mobile carriers, internet providers, the food industry, mobile phone makers, computer chip makers, automotive companies, aviation companies, defense contractors, etc., so while monopoly rules apply to everything some industries are scrutinized a lot more than others.

 

[Noboru Wataya]

 

[Gavon West]

There’s a line between competition and monopoly! And it’s been crossed! If you think this is good for the gaming industry… you are putting a lot of faith on a single corporation.

I would say the same thing if it was Sony or Nintendo.

this is bad, people can spin it as much as they want.

LOL! You realize even this acquisition still puts Microsoft in 3rd place, BEHIND Sony, right? This is no monopoly. You need to do some research.

 

[Megatron]

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

Because Sony is getting those games no matter what they do. There is literally no difference to a ps5 gamer when they moneyhat an exclusive. Meanwhile an Xbox gamer now has a ton more game coming to game pass and now will definitely get to play these games and will get to do so on the time of release. Nobody is going to pay companies to make them wait to play a game or maybe never get to play it at all.

Activision wanted to sell if MS didn’t buy them someone else would. That’s not true for moneyhats. Major third party Companies weren’t offering MS the opportunity to buy exclusives, even timed ones, because they didn’t want to miss out on the PlayStation user base. If Sony didn’t moneyhat them then nobody would get to.

 

[Imru’ al-Qays]

they might be next

seriously i think we're past the point of underestimating Microsoft. they've spent 77,500,000,000 so far. They are serious and they have more money to spend.

I think to buy Take Two would be about 40-50 billion. MS could afford that. Just need to see if they wanna buy and if Take Two is willing to sell. but honestly...after today it's not as impossible as some might think.

if MS did own GTA it would be a devastating blow. Today was bad for Sony but if GTA became an Xbox exclusive....hoooo boy.

I'd go so far as to say Microsoft should have bought Take Two instead of Activision. GTA Online synergizes better with Gamepass than CoD does.

I'm not sure Microsoft brass is going to keep OKing purchases of this scale, though. It's still a business, and the Activision purchase alone is equivalent to half of their cash on hand. If this is a defensive move to keep Apple Google Amazon Facebook out of gaming I think it's likely to work, which means it won't need to be repeated

 

[TrebleShot]

Monopoly and this acquisition is laughable.

Anyone suggesting MS can be blocked in any way live in a dystopian fantasy in their heads.
MS pockets are deep and so are their relationships within government, politicians, investments in third parties and connected businesses.

Even if there was talk of blocks etc, there isn't a chance those invested interests would allow it to happen.

 

[Tomeru]

Bobby Kotick that sellout coward.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

I actually was waiting on Diablo IV for PC so this doesn’t change that and I also enjoy Heroes of the Storm…. Casually. The big picture in my opinion is this move is bad for all gamers in general. I don’t care if you own one or all consoles and a pc. The whole it’s good for game pass is also a very iffy argument. Not going to get into a debate about the condition of games rushed out as a service. How and why is this bad? Monopolistic business practices. Ms is putting gamers in a position where if you want a certain gaming experience you have to buy into their service. Say you don’t want game pass and the only game you play is CoD but you only own a Sony console. (These gamers exist) Microsoft could as an example release CoD warzone only on game pass and no where else.

What’s worse is that this isn’t the end it’s only the beginning. No idea what other companies will be bought up but it’s starting to look like MS intends to pull s Disney in the gaming space. If this happens expect Japanese companies to be lured in to Sony only deals for the foreseeable future. That’s not good for anyone either just what it looks like is headed our way.

The only group that may hate it is PS gamers. But that assumes MS comes down with the hammer to cut the cord. And so far with Minecraft and Bethesda games, MS hasnt done that to any competing platform. MS even released Minecraft Dungeons on PS4 in 2020.

Now will MS flip the switch at some point? Probably. But nobody knows when or how severe.

And if and when they do that's business. People have to accept and adjust. Most gamers wont even care. It's not like all 140 million PS4/PS5 gamers even play COD or Diablo. And if they are that begging for it, at least it's on PC too. And long term, MS seems really into cloud and mobile access, so you dont even need an Xbox or PC rig to play games. Give it another 5 years for them to sort out streaming, and the access points of Activision gaming will be more than PS user base. So it can be argued they are expanding the pie.

 

[DaGwaphics]

Agreed. The other thing that they didn't mention is cost of entry into any particular industry, that plays into things to. As it stands, the cost of entry for developers is relatively low in comparison to other industries (say the mobile carrier market where building a national mobile network from scratch would likely cost many, many billions of dollars or the unimaginable costs associated with spinning up a credible automobile brand). The console hardware market can be tough to break into, but the development side not as much.

 

[Snake29]

Suddenly, COD is shit again huh? Or is it Bethesda games? They all turned (misteriously) to shit once the aquisitions are announced.

Note: couldn't give two shits about COD, never liked those but it's one of the best sellers on any ssytem.

It is a multiplatform game...every side was hating on it, so your argument makes no sense.

Immaterial. The game is an unstoppable juggernaut. It’s the perfect pick up and play shooter when you have a spare 30 minutes. Nothing else compares or lasts.

I hate this years COD (compared to others), but have still put more hours into it than anything else. And I will buy next years regardless. I am thinking I am not alone in this behaviour!

Exclusive COD would be a huge system seller, no doubt about it.

What I will say about this acquisition though is that I have gone from humming and hawing over maintaining a Gamepass subscription when it jumps to full price, to a resounding ‘yes’. The value would most definitely be there.

I could be, but i'm not really seeing CoD will be any better after this if it goes fully exclusive. I'm not even sure if they can hold the the current quality the game has. If the teams will focus on completely something else, only Warzone will be left over as the CoD game, and no real standalone CoD game anymore.

 

[Low Moral Fibre]

Outside of the CODs, Diablos and WoWs Activision & Blizzard have a ton of dead IPs that I would love to see reincarnated and stuck on Gamepass as AA games.

 

[iHaunter]

Let me guess, Bethesda sucks too? And EA, and Ubisoft?

Well, yeah, they do. Last good game Bethesda released was Skyrim. Most people thought it was a downgrade from Oblivion.

What has EA and Ubisoft done? The same exact game on repeat with Microtransactions? Only outlier for EA was Star Wars Fallen Order. Most of their IPs are mediocre or dead, outside of the shitty COD games.

 

[Coolwhhip]

Outside of the CODs, Diablos and WoWs Activision & Blizzard have a ton of dead IPs that I would love to see reincarnated and stuck on Gamepass as AA games.

How is Microsoft going to bring them all back at a good quality?

 

[Low Moral Fibre]

How is Microsoft going to bring them all back at a good quality?

Maybe they won't but there's more of a chance of them letting the smaller studios do their own thing like they have done with Double Fine, Obsidian and inXile than Activision who only seem interested in the three huge IPs these days.

 

[Flintty]

How is Microsoft going to bring them all back at a good quality?

So far, MS seem intent on allowing their acquisitions a degree of autonomy to create the games they want to make, without the overarching pressure of delivery by 'x' date and income expected via MTX from the likes of Activision. The thought of a WoW dev team working on the game with a 'ready when it's ready' and 'player is centre of the experience' ethos (like it used to be) is kind of exciting to me.

Will it happen? Who knows. But the future of WoW is certainly brighter today than it was last week, from a long time player's perspective.

 

[Banjo64]

How is Gamepass a better option for someone who only plays maybe 1 or 2 games a year. That person rather just buy COD pay for Gold and resell COD once the next one comes out. That person paying for Gamepass will end up spending more money. And this is Gamepass now what about when price of Gamepass increases.

Price of Game Pass Ultimate at RRP for 1 year = £131.88 spread out over 12 small monthly payments.

Price of CoD on PlayStation, 1 other game and PS Plus for 1 year = £189.97.

With Game Pass, they don’t just get CoD and 1 other game, but about 300-400 other games including other AAA games and day one releases that they can try at anytime.

 

[Coolwhhip]

So far, MS seem intent on allowing their acquisitions a degree of autonomy to create the games they want to make, without the overarching pressure of delivery by 'x' date and income expected via MTX from the likes of Activision. The thought of a WoW dev team working on the game with a 'ready when it's ready' and 'player is centre of the experience' ethos is kind of exciting to me.

Will it happen? Who knows. But the future of WoW is certainly brighter today than it was last week, from a long time player's perspective.

Eh I think Wow is beyond saving. The original Blizzard created Wow in the early 2000s and it has been on a steady decline ever since. Unless a miracle happens I don't see it suddenly changing. And Microsoft is not the company I personally equate with a huge creative boost. They would need to fire half the current Wow team including management and replace them somehow with a passionate team on the level of the original team. No way that's happening.

 

[jshackles]

Outside of the CODs, Diablos and WoWs Activision & Blizzard have a ton of dead IPs that I would love to see reincarnated and stuck on Gamepass as AA games.

Be careful what you wish for

 

[Loope]

It is a multiplatform game...every side was hating on it, so your argument makes no sense.



I could be, but i'm not really seeing CoD will be any better after this if it goes fully exclusive. I'm not even sure if they can hold the the current quality the game has. If the teams will focus on completely something else, only Warzone will be left over as the CoD game, and no real standalone CoD game anymore.

Everybody loved Skyrim (or at least the majority) until the deal was announced, then it was the shit from Bethesda. Same shit, different argument, how is not that the same thing?

 

[don-mika]

MS bought ***, and everything is worse now…

 

[Zeroing]

LOL! You realize even this acquisition still puts Microsoft in 3rd place, BEHIND Sony, right? This is no monopoly. You need to do some research.

monopoly - buying something to devalue and limit the competition, securing total control

 

[Flintty]

Eh I think Wow is beyond saving. The original Blizzard created Wow in the early 2000s and it has been on a steady decline ever since. Unless a miracle happens I don't see it suddenly changing. And Microsoft is not the company I personally equate with a huge creative boost. They would need to fire half the current Wow team including management and replace them somehow with a passionate team on the level of the original team. No way that's happening.

Oh for sure, it has definitely declined massively. But there's still a huge player base with people who want to continue playing. MS can either let it die, or give it a much needed creative kick up the arse. What do you think they'll do? I don't think it's beyond saving. Numbers are unknown but I'm almost certain it's still a huge cash cow. Give the players what they want and it has potential to carry on for another 15 years. My shopping list:

1. No more borrowed power systems
2. Meaningful story and end game content
3. Meaningful character choices (new talents ffs!)
4. No more time-gating content to extend subscription time (false engagement)

If they have to clean shop to do that then fine. Though I think the teams on the coal face are still very talented - the problem with WOW these days is in strategy. The leadership is piss poor and keeps rehashing the same shit over and over. A change in strategic direction is all it will take to bring back the good days, in my opinion.

 

[Elginer]

So Diablo 4 when?

 

[Ozriel]

hey we all love different games my dude i'm just mentioning that Sony's 1st party games are not only lookers they're also really fucking good to play.. also R+C & Spiderman are hardly cinematic games, neither is Horizon or God of War.. Uncharted & The last of Us, yes but the others hardly, unless any game that has a load of cut scenes is now considered a cinematic game

But that’s not what you’re saying. You’re saying that Insomniac or Guerilla are better studios than the likes of Playground, Bethesda or Coalition.
They don’t even make the same type of game, so where’s the comparison point?
I’ve always thought studio comparisons were some of the weirdest things anyone could do.

Using Metacritic as an evaluation tool for talent isn’t a reliable Metric. Imagine if you wrote off Guerilla Games after Killzone Shadowfall.

Suddenly, people like CoD again huh?.....

“Suddenly people like the best selling game”

This site is bananas

 

[Coolwhhip]

Oh for sure, it has definitely declined massively. But there's still a huge player base with people who want to continue playing. MS can either let it die, or give it a much needed creative kick up the arse. What do you think they'll do? I don't think it's beyond saving. Numbers are unknown but I'm almost certain it's still a huge cash cow. Give the players what they want and it has potential to carry on for another 15 years. My shopping list:

1. No more borrowed power systems
2. Meaningful story and end game content
3. Meaningful character choices (new talents ffs!)
4. No more time-gating content to extend subscription time (false engagement)

If they have to clean shop to do that then fine. Though I think the teams on the coal face are still very talented - the problem with WOW these days is in strategy. The leadership is piss poor and keeps rehashing the same shit over and over. A change in strategic direction is all it will take to bring back the good days, in my opinion.

Hope you're right, but I'm not counting on it really. If I have to guess most of the income right now comes from the Classic versions and the current team had nothing to do with those and they actually made it worse. But that's the problem they have with over 100 million people that played Wow, what direction do you even take? Classic was huge, but the current retail players wouldn't like it if Wow went with those design principles.

 

[K' Dash]

People don't make logically decisions. If a group think they are getting a great deal but end up not using it then the large portion of the group don't cancel it. Its like any subscription service.

Also ignoring the group of users whom actively change user behaviour to take advantage of the subscription service.

GP isn't taking your choice to buy games, they actually encourage it when games are leaving the service and usually are cheaper since you subbed.

 

[Thebonehead]

It's ok. There is one Activision exclusive Phil is going to keep on the Sony platform.....

.... The $70 price tag

 

[Flintty]

Hope you're right, but I'm not counting on it really. If I have to guess most of the income right now comes from the Classic versions and the current team had nothing to do with those and they actually made it worse. But that's the problem they have with over 100 million people that played Wow, what direction do you even take? Classic was huge, but the current retail players wouldn't like it if Wow went with those design principles.

Yeah, in reality none of us can guess how this is gonna play out. MS already sit on a shit ton of IP they do nothing with. Fingers crossed though!

I tried wow Classic, and whilst I loved it back in the day, that's firmly where it belongs - in the past. Modern QOL things are so much better, but I can see there's still a demand for it.

 

[Achille0s]

Microsoft don't see Sony as competitor anymore they don't have the resource or the tech.
I think in near future Amazon will buy Sony, that's the only way to sony for survive.

 

[Coolwhhip]

Yeah, in reality none of us can guess how this is gonna play out. MS already sit on a shit ton of IP they do nothing with. Fingers crossed though!

I tried wow Classic, and whilst I loved it back in the day, that's firmly where it belongs - in the past. Modern QOL things are so much better, but I can see there's still a demand for it.

Fair, in my ideal world they would split them up. Make new content for Classic Wow and for retail Wow. But that probably aint happening.

 

[ManaByte]

Yeah, in reality none of us can guess how this is gonna play out. MS already sit on a shit ton of IP they do nothing with. Fingers crossed though!

I tried wow Classic, and whilst I loved it back in the day, that's firmly where it belongs - in the past. Modern QOL things are so much better, but I can see there's still a demand for it.

People mocked this when Classic came out

Now Classic is dead because he was right

 

[Flintty]

People mocked this when Classic came out

Now Classic is dead because he was right

From what I've heard, it's dead from stupid systems, Mage boosting, in game store and paid character boosts. I haven't paid too much attention though, so you may be right It was dead to me after less than an hour. In that regards, yes, Brack was spot on.

 

[reksveks]

GP isn't taking your choice to buy games, they actually encourage it when games are leaving the service and usually are cheaper since you subbed.

yeah, i buy more games now than i did before. and didn't want to imply that gp restricts choices or leads to reduced software sales cause we don't have the data to prove so.

 

[assurdum]

The monopoly talk was silly anyway. Activision is at best a $9b dollar player in a $180b+ a year industry, and like you said even adding this to current MS leaves them behind their gaming rivals in revenue. This will sale through the process and they can still make future acquisitions as well (once this closes), there are no laws against moving yourself up a couple rungs on the ladder. And, on top of all that, gaming isn't going to be viewed as a necessity for civilization like the mobile carriers, internet providers, the food industry, mobile phone makers, computer chip makers, automotive companies, aviation companies, defense contractors, etc., so while monopoly rules apply to everything some industries are scrutinized a lot more than others.

It's not silly. It's monopoly pure and simple. But USA laws are clows show for such deals (hie Disney) and MS can do whatever they want with their money and convince their fans they are the good guy because "technically", "formally" blablablah meanwhile goodbye to Activision and Bethesda games playstation owners, you are free to choice our gamepass or kiss our ass.

 

[reksveks]

It's not silky. It's monopoly. But USA laws are a clows show for such deals and MS can do whatever they want and convince their fans they are the good guy because "technically", "formally" blablablah meanwhile goodbye to Activision and Bethesda games playstation owners, you are free to choice our platform or kiss our ass.

it's not a monopoly just cause you say so. please define the market?

 

[ManaByte]

From what I've heard, it's dead from stupid systems, Mage boosting, in game store and paid character boosts. I haven't paid too much attention though, so you may be right It was dead to me after less than an hour. In that regards, yes, Brack was spot on.

I played a Lock up until 11 or 12. It was like going back to highschool.

 

[Kacho]

It's monopoly

"I don't like thing" =/= monopoly

 

[Ozriel]

How and why is this bad? Monopolistic business practices. Ms is putting gamers in a position where if you want a certain gaming experience you have to buy into their service. Say you don’t want game pass and the only game you play is CoD but you only own a Sony console. (These gamers exist) Microsoft could as an example release CoD warzone only on game pass and no where else.

I want you to explain carefully to me how this differs from Final Fantasy 7 Remake console release being playable only on PlayStation consoles. When Avengers releases, Sony had a press release stating “you can only play Spiderman on PlayStation”.

MS buys Activision and suddenly everyone realizes that all purchased exclusivity = monopolistic.

Why’s it taken you this long to get this epiphany?

Microsoft could as an example release CoD warzone only on game pass and no where else.

Microsoft could also send killer ninjas to your house, but that’s not realistic, is it ?

Let’s stop manufacturing implausible scenarios. Nothing is going Gamepass exclusive.

 

[Coolwhhip]

People mocked this when Classic came out

Now Classic is dead because he was right

Eh no. Classic in 2019-2021 was HUGE.

But in typical modern Blizzard style they fucked it up after.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Good article

Monopoly money: is Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard good for gaming?

The company’s bottomless appetite for new acquisitions is creating a megalith where the art of the deal is threatening the art – and heart – of the game

www.theguardian.com

Microsoft sees games as content. It seems not so much interested in creating games – or selling consoles – as owning where and how we play them.

 

[assurdum]

it's not a monopoly just cause you say so. please define the market?

You can turn around the word how much you want but this is how monopoly work in the reality.

 

[assurdum]

"I don't like thing" =/= monopoly

"I like my favourite company buy publisher to prevent them to release their games in the others platforms" =/= free market. People should be free to buy their games in whatever platforms. But USA are what are.

 

[Kacho]

I like my favourite company buy publisher to prevent them to release their games in the others platforms =/= free market.

I get that you're upset with this news but it isn't a monopoly. Not even close.

 

[assurdum]

I get that you're upset with this news but it isn't a monopoly. Not even close.

I'm more upset with people like you which play the words because "technically" lol but I guess we deserve company as MS if people even appreciate such approach.

 

[Hendrick's]

"I like my favourite company buy publisher to prevent them to release their games in the others platforms" =/= free market. People should be free to buy their games in whatever platforms. But USA are what are.

Cool. Waiting for Sony games on my Xbox.

 

[Lognor]

I'm more upset which people like you which play the words because "technically" lol but I guess we deserve company as MS if people even appreciate such approach.

You seem upset. I can't even understand what you're trying to say.

 

[assurdum]

Cool. Waiting for Sony games on my Xbox.

Sony has built their companies dude. It's not remotely comparable.