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

Do you believe the deal will be approved?

  • Yes, will be approved without changes.

    Votes: 221 24.9%

  • Yes, will be approved but with structural changes to ABK.

    Votes: 102 11.5%

  • Yes, will be approved but only with behavioral concessions.

    Votes: 262 29.6%

  • No, will not be approved.

    Votes: 301 34.0%
  • Total voters
    886
  • Poll closed .
Status
Not open for further replies.
ManaByte

ManaByte

Rage Bait Youtuber
Kvally said:
Snl Okie Dokie GIF by Saturday Night Live
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Ghostwire is a PS exclusive and doesn’t yet exist on Xbox.
 
SteelCurtain 59

SteelCurtain 59

Member
Topher said:
Phil Spencer has said PlayStation will get the same version of COD that Xbox gets.
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They can take advantage of Xbox exclusive features and greater power, and even still that doesn't stop things like exclusive xp boosts or skins with game pass perks, as well as the mere fact that cod will be on game pass day 1. I didn't mean gimp the playstation version like Sony accused, but there can easily be extra benefits of playing on Xbox vs playstation that will make the Xbox Cod experience better than the playstation one.
 
FBeeEye

FBeeEye

Banned
3liteDragon said:
God this company’s a cancer in every industry lol, they apparently have access to ChatGPT’s entire codebase as well. Don’t like where the industry’s headed in the long-term with their sub service strategy, it is what it is now unfortunately.


Click to expand...

So you're upset that $1 billion doesn't come with some strings attached? I wasn't aware that Microsoft was a charitable foundation.
 
Topher

Topher

Gold Member
FBeeEye said:
Every publisher has to sign a publishing agreement with every platform. They can't just make games and release them where they want. I can't make a Nintendo Switch game without an agreement from Nintendo.

So again, when Sony signs the agreement, they'll have COD on Playstation going forward. It's that simple.
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We are not talking about standard agreements here. These are deals that were offered for the purposes of this acquisition. Yes, Sony and Microsoft will continue with the standard contracts used for any game on PlayStation. That isn't what is being discussed here though.
 
E

Elios83

Member
Topher said:
Jim Ryan ain't signing any deal.
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I wouldn't be sure about that.
If they believe the deal will go through and the only remedies being forced will be about the cloud market, if they don’t sign they only have to trust that Microsoft keeps their word forced by the backlash of having fooled regulators with fake promises.
I doubt they're going to risk that if they believe the deal is now done, they can't do anything to create an other u-turn and FTC poses little threat.
In any case if they move they'll do it in the next few weeks before the final ruling when it's certain that Microsoft can't backtrack on their words. So we'll get an answer about that quickly.
 
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Topher

Topher

Gold Member
SteelCurtain 59 said:
They can take advantage of Xbox exclusive features and greater power, and even still that doesn't stop things like exclusive xp boosts or skins with game pass perks, as well as the mere fact that cod will be on game pass day 1. I didn't mean gimp the playstation version like Sony accused, but there can easily be extra benefits of playing on Xbox vs playstation that will make the Xbox Cod experience better than the playstation one.
Click to expand...



Spencer was asked if that includes anything about exclusivity in regards to content and he said it does not.

"I sit here today with a great game that's come out in the last couple of weeks, Hogwarts Legacy. And yes, there is a quest that's available on PlayStation. It's not available on Xbox. And part of that - and I know this is part of the industry - that's not the game we're trying to play here either. It's not about a skin on a gun. It's not about a certain kind of mode of the game.

"The same version of the game will be available on all platforms, which is really what we do today. Like if you're a Minecraft player on PlayStation I don't think you feel like you have the lesser version of Minecraft or Minecraft Dungeons or [Minecraft] Legends, which is coming out when it ships."

www.vgchartz.com

Phil Spencer: Microsoft Will Not Make Any Call of Duty Content Exclusive to Xbox

Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer in an interview with Xbox On was asked about the Activision Blizzard deal [...]
www.vgchartz.com www.vgchartz.com
 
Q

quest

Not Banned from OT
StreetsofBeige said:
As soon as the deal gets approved and announced, get ready for MS to do a giant post saying a ton of games are coming to GP. They did the same when Bethesda got green lit.

Cant wait for Diablo 4 and COD on GP. They'll come.
Click to expand...
Won't be the current COD until Sony’s marketing deal runs out. Until then old versions on GP.
 
K

Kvally

Banned
Topher said:
Spencer was asked if that includes anything about exclusivity in regards to content and he said it does not.

"I sit here today with a great game that's come out in the last couple of weeks, Hogwarts Legacy. And yes, there is a quest that's available on PlayStation. It's not available on Xbox. And part of that - and I know this is part of the industry - that's not the game we're trying to play here either. It's not about a skin on a gun. It's not about a certain kind of mode of the game.

"The same version of the game will be available on all platforms, which is really what we do today. Like if you're a Minecraft player on PlayStation I don't think you feel like you have the lesser version of Minecraft or Minecraft Dungeons or [Minecraft] Legends, which is coming out when it ships."

[/URL]
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I do believe they will retain parity for the versions. Feature, content, and release date parity. I am guessing MS will do what they can to push PC and XSX to max performance/pixels though for an edge. I am not a Game Pass gamer, so putting the game on Game Pass (or PS++) does nothing for me.
 
W

wolffy71

Banned
Heisenberg007 said:
This is a new benchmark that will accelerate the consolidation. Things were never this bad.

ABK is already the biggest acquisition in the gaming industry. If this was blocked, consolidation would have slowed down. No company would think of buying a publisher Take Two because ABK got blocked. Now you can bet that someone will approach and buy Take Two sooner or later, because ABK won't be independent.
Click to expand...
You can't realistically stop s company from selling especially one that needs to
 
Topher

Topher

Gold Member
Kvally said:
I do believe they will retain parity for the versions. Feature, content, and release date parity. I am guessing MS will do what they can to push PC and XSX to max performance/pixels though for an edge. I am not a Game Pass gamer, so putting the game on Game Pass (or PS++) does nothing for me.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I can see that. Obviously being first party they want to go the extra mile with their own hardware and use Xbox specific tech. Nothing wrong with that, imo.
 
O

Ozriel

M$FT
3liteDragon said:
God this company’s a cancer in every industry lol, they apparently have access to ChatGPT’s entire codebase as well. Don’t like where the industry’s headed in the long-term with their sub service strategy, it is what it is now unfortunately.
Click to expand...

Not sure if serious. They’ve invested $10 billion, own 49% stake in OpenAI and have worked with OpenAI for years to build out Copilot in GitHub + Bing Chat etc.

Dick Jones said:
I was really getting at if someone keeps lying you'd tend to not believe anything they say. You don't pick and choose what to believe from a habitual liar.

There will be no PS6 native COD game, and the Free to Play Warzone game will be pushed for a few years near the end of this gen's life cycle so only Next gen COD is on Xbox.

The 10 year deal will be a few yearly releases with the last PS5 game until the year before NeXtbox releases. Push Warzone and wait out the clock until the 10 years is up.
Click to expand...

If Sony signs the 10 year parity deal with Microsoft for COD, there’s no way you won’t see a PS6 native version of COD on PlayStation.
 
StreetsofBeige

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
Chaplain said:
Will be interesting how this turns out 5, 10, or 15 years down the line. Frankly, I don't like where this could possibly end up going...
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As long as MS feels there's money it, they'll leave Activision money makers on competing platforms. They never took away Minecraft.

Even stuff like MS Office, MS Teams and Skype are available on Mac. If there's money to be made, MS will grab it no matter which hand it comes from.

MS even did some kind of Azure deal with Sony. MS could had said screw off and go hire Amazon or HP for cloud servers. But the two companies agreed a couple years ago.
 
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FBeeEye

FBeeEye

Banned
Chaplain said:
Will be interesting how this turns out 5, 10, or 15 years down the line. Frankly, I don't like where this could possibly end up going...

Click to expand...

Who is he talking about, Google? "AI" is just a marketing term. These are advanced search bots at best. So far all they can do is search Google or Bing more efficiently than you can.
 
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GHG

GHG

Gold Member
wolffy71 said:
You can't realistically stop s company from selling especially one that needs to
Click to expand...

Activision never needed to sell, nor do they currently need to. Their balance sheet is bulletproof.

Bobby just wanted a way out that involved him getting paid handsomely. Microsoft made it clear they wanted to make an offer, given his situation at the time he would have been a fool to not entertain it.
 
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W

wolffy71

Banned
TurnOneYeti said:
If the buyout goes through, I think the base game will eventually hit gamepass but not by June 6th launch. I would love to be proven wrong and get refunded $100 bucks though. TBH I don't think MS has even charged D4 digital buyers for their preorders yet.

Diablo's General Manager Rod Ferguson:

"It's awesome seeing the excitement around the Diablo IV Beta, and our Wolf Pack puppy! We've been getting some questions about D4 on Game Pass and I want to let you know we have no plans for that. See you in Sanctuary during the Beta Early Access weekend starting on March 17."

https://www.gameinformer.com/2023/03/14/there-are-no-plans-for-diablo-4-on-game-pass
Click to expand...
In other words, we as the current boss, would like you to buy the game and not wait for gamepass.
 
gothmog

gothmog

Gold Member
Heisenberg007 said:
Yeah, but these billion $ corporations don't need to sell their companies. They are financially self-sustainable and earn billions of dollars every year.

Smaller studios like HouseMarque and Ninja Theory ... makes sense. Take-Two and Activision, not really.
Click to expand...
If these megacorps want to overpay then it makes sense that anyone is for sale.
 
Bernardougf

Bernardougf

Gold Member
Heisenberg007 said:
Eh, I wouldn't count on that, to be honest.

They have used the same arguments as they did with Zenimax, i.e., making COD exclusive will not be financially viable. After a few years, they can decide that it's now financially viable (surprisingly!) so they are making it exclusive now.
Click to expand...
Those years coinciding with the end of actual agreements between sony and AbK will be just a strange coincidence... (if no new deals aka 10 years... are made)
 
StreetsofBeige

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
Sanepar said:
Sony made a stupid move with Bungie. With that money at that time they could had Capcom now. They will never recover 3bn with Bungie.
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Supposedly the Bungle deal wasnt so much about Destiny or their next game. Bungie leadership is suppose to be able to call the shots and release multiplat games if they want. But more for their expertise on GAAS models Sony can use for their GAAS games under development.
 
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