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[lostinblue]

Xbox Series X Slim confirmed? to be released by Sony?

 

[Gavon West]

It's nothing like the same. Street Fighter isn't owned by Sony. Blame Capcom as they own the IP and make the game. Nobody put a gun to Capcom and said make this exclusive.

Man!! That takes some balls right there!

Nobody put a gun to Microsoft's 20+ studios to sell either. This includes Bethesda and ABK.

 

[IFireflyl]

Real question: if your company was in dire need of new IPs and dev talent - quickly, I might add - or a particular division was going to be shut down in your company, would you, A) begin building new studios from the ground up in hopes that you can become competitive in time? Or, B) see if any established, well knows developers with years of experience creating games and managing their own company we're seeking to be purchased? Keep in mind, these developers all ready have a well established pedigree, built in fanbase, IPs, culture and studios! PLUS... you would minimize cost and risk by taking the "B" route.

Again, real question. You don't necessarily have to answer. Every Gafer on this forum made the same choice you did.

Just saying...

That's a false dichotomy and you know it. Microsoft isn't in dire need of new IPs and developer talent. They're in dire need of management to properly manage their existing studios and IPs, of which they have plenty. They have more studios than Sony! How on Earth can you spin this to say that they are in dire need of developer talent? Especially after the Zenimax acquisition.

 

[oldergamer]

Spencer seems desperate recently. Most likely that his job depending on this deal and he will get the boot if it will fail.

That is a stupid take.

 

[Gavon West]

That's a false dichotomy and you know it. Microsoft isn't in dire need of new IPs and developer talent. They're in dire need of management to properly manage their existing studios and IPs, of which they have plenty. They have more studios than Sony! How on Earth can you spin this to say that they are in dire need of developer talent? Especially after the Zenimax acquisition.

I should've been more clear. My apologies.

This WAS the position they were in before this gen began. It's precisely what they needed to do. It is what it is

You guys are aware that most of these studios under the Xbox umbrella run themselves pretty much independently, right? Part of the reason these studios have been chosen for acquisition is because of their affinity to RUN THEMSELVES? Matt Booty is head of XGS, also. Not Phil Spencer. They spoke about this earlier on in this generation.

 

[vivftp]

They also choose to make it platform exclusive, hurting market competition by removal of Street Fighter on other consoles that previous game entries had. Which by comparison to Sony's COD claims and MS keeping a 10 year deal in place is far worse given the FTC case. Also Nintendo and Steam don't have issue signing agreements off. Further Minecraft being available to any platform for almost 2 decades now also shits on this whole FTC and Sony claim or any replies in this thread inferring as much.

Yes, Sony chose to help fund a game that otherwise never would have existed without their assistance. Asking for console exclusivity is by no means unreasonable. Do you think Sony should've given Capcom even more money to help fund a port for Xbox and Nintendo platforms because they had previous entries in the franchise?

 

[gothmog]

I should've been more clear. My apologies.

This WAS the position they were in before this gen began. It's precisely what they needed to do. It is what it is

You guys are aware that most of these studios under the Xbox umbrella run themselves pretty much independently, right? Part of the reason these studios have been chosen for acquisition is because of their affinity to RUN THEMSELVES? Matt Booty is head of XGS, also. Not Phil Spencer. They spoke about this earlier on in this generation.

Seems like good evidence on why they should not be allowed to purchase more publishers. They're doing it for control over popular franchises. WRPGs alone they've practically cornered.

 

[IFireflyl]

I should've been more clear. My apologies.

This WAS the position they were in before this gen began. It's precisely what they needed to do. It is what it is

You guys are aware that most of these studios under the Xbox umbrella run themselves pretty much independently, right? Part of the reason these studios have been chosen for acquisition is because of their affinity to RUN THEMSELVES? Matt Booty is head of XGS, also. Not Phil Spencer. They spoke about this earlier on in this generation.

If this was the position they were in prior to this gen then your comment is meaningless to the person you were quoting. They are talking about the Activision acquisition, and a random flashback comment from you in response to them adds nothing to the discussion.

If Microsoft is leaving their studios to themselves and not properly managing them then that is negligence. I don't care about Matt Booty or Phil Spencer. Microsoft has studios that they need to manage, and part of managing their studios is finding out what parts fit where. Sony isn't acquiring studios and leaving them to fend for themselves. They're working with studio A to give support from studio B in an area where Studio B excels.

Sony is far from perfect, but this is the kind of management that leads to awesome first-party output. That's how businesses should operate, and as a multi-trillion dollar company it offends me that Microsoft still hasn't grasped this concept. That doesn't mean they need to micro-manage and overreach, but it does mean that they need to find a way to let the different studios handle different things, but with cohesion so that studio A can benefit from the experience that studio B has and vice versa. The entire purpose of management is to ensure that your team (the studios in this case) are working well together while also doing their independent jobs properly.

 

[quest]

Seems like good evidence on why they should not be allowed to purchase more publishers. They're doing it for control over popular franchises. WRPGs alone they've practically cornered.

Sony could of easily bought inexile and Obsidian entertainment they were dirt cheap. But Sony doesn't buy studios who are hurting financially and need tlc. Microsoft is the one taking a chance on a lot of fixer upers. There is lots of studios struggling financially Sony could buy out now but choose not to. This is their choice not Microsoft cornering the market. Lets not forget zenimax was not in good shape they were taking money hats for their games and doing desperate things like fall out 76. Sony could put a bid in if they paid near 4 billion for bungie. But don't like dealing with fixer upers.

 

[vivftp]

Sony could of easily bought inexile and Obsidian entertainment they were dirt cheap. But Sony doesn't buy studios who are hurting financially and need tlc. Microsoft is the one taking a chance on a lot of fixer upers. There is lots of studios struggling financially Sony could buy out now but choose not to. This is their choice not Microsoft cornering the market. Lets not forget zenimax was not in good shape they were taking money hats for their games and doing desperate things like fall out 76. Sony could put a bid in if they paid near 4 billion for bungie. But don't like dealing with fixer upers.

*cough*Housemarque*cough*

 

[Airbus Jr]

Didnt xbox just bought over 20 studios?

What happened to that

 

[alabtrosMyster]

The BEST argument against this deal, that no one has mentioned as far as I know, is that MS have already played one trade commission for fools with it's promises to commit to ensuring the products of its newly acquired properties are on as many platforms as possible. But no one is saying that. It's just "It's unfair that MS can use its resources to buy competitiveness. . ."

That specific point is misled, I don't know if this is in this thread, but I have seen it mentioned a couple of times.

Again, it's not unfair only because Sony could probably not do such gargantuan purchases, it's unfair because these big purchases essentially change the nature of the market. Nobody questioned the legality of the moves when when Halo and Gears of War were premium IPs in the shooter market, MS got involved in something new, they secured the rights and well it worked for a time.

If they had to lie about their intents with the Bethesda purchase it's because it was already reaching questionable proportions, otherwise the authorities would not have questioned the deal in the first place.

Another issue I have not seen mentioned at all is how that would affect third party stores on PC, given enough leverage I see MS releasing their games only on their store and gamepass (for obvious reasons). I have seen no hint about this, but this would be the logical direction to take. This is what I would do and what any marketing exec would think of first, at least those I worked with.

Now, I think that "the market" left to its own devices would correct itself if MS was to go into price control and let quality slide too much, but that would take time.

 

[alabtrosMyster]

Real question: if your company was in dire need of new IPs and dev talent - quickly, I might add - or a particular division was going to be shut down in your company, would you, A) begin building new studios from the ground up in hopes that you can become competitive in time? Or, B) see if any established, well knows developers with years of experience creating games and managing their own company we're seeking to be purchased? Keep in mind, these developers all ready have a well established pedigree, built in fanbase, IPs, culture and studios! PLUS... you would minimize cost and risk by taking the "B" route.

Again, real question. You don't necessarily have to answer. Every Gafer on this forum made the same choice you did.

Just saying...

The question is not about buying a studio, etc. obviously, these things happen all the time, not just in gaming either. The question is did it cross a line into monopolistic behaviour? and does it remain what the authorities consider "fair"?

I am not Microsoft, I don't care for MS, I care for gaming and I care for their legacy in gaming (they brought the worst of the worst so far, they can't even seem to manage their creative teams, all they do is PR and monetization)... So having them buying their way to the top does not make me happy as a gamer.

 

[Fredrik]

Checked a few of his posts, wow. How can one be such a fanboy publicly at his age? I'd be embarassed to leave my basement and the dude is posting real life pictures while acting like he's 12. We are truly doomed as a species.

Look at some of the crazier conversations here and compare to having a conversation with strangers out in the open. I don’t think anonymity is doing our species any favors.

 

[IFireflyl]

Sony could of easily bought inexile and Obsidian entertainment they were dirt cheap. But Sony doesn't buy studios who are hurting financially and need tlc. Microsoft is the one taking a chance on a lot of fixer upers. There is lots of studios struggling financially Sony could buy out now but choose not to. This is their choice not Microsoft cornering the market. Lets not forget zenimax was not in good shape they were taking money hats for their games and doing desperate things like fall out 76. Sony could put a bid in if they paid near 4 billion for bungie. But don't like dealing with fixer upers.

Sony doesn't have a history of acquiring studios just to own studios. They acquire studios after working closely with them and ensuring the studio is a good fit for them. Bungie is the outlier here, although I don't know how closely Sony worked with them when Destiny and Destiny 2 came out, so it's possible they aren't really an outlier. After all, there was a Destiny 2 edition PlayStation 4 console.

By the way, acting like Microsoft is the savior of gaming because they're acquiring studios that require a lot of maintenance and work is idiotic. That's just called poor decision making.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

It's nothing like the same. Street Fighter isn't owned by Sony. Blame Capcom as they own the IP and make the game. Nobody put a gun to Capcom and said make this exclusive.

Exactly

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

Yes, Sony chose to help fund a game that otherwise never would have existed without their assistance. Asking for console exclusivity is by no means unreasonable. Do you think Sony should've given Capcom even more money to help fund a port for Xbox and Nintendo platforms because they had previous entries in the franchise?

You assume too much. My issue IS NOT with Sony or MS creating or buying studios or exclusivity. I don't give a shit, let the corporates battle it out, consumers win when the market does that.

My issue IS Sony being dicks about ActiBliz given their own current or track record I have detailed in these threads and posts. It's clearly corporate manoeuvring for their own market position retention and classic business MBA walled gardens. When it's clear as crystal the market in all segments has the healthiest competition ever, historically and looking at the sustainable future of the next 10-20 years, this case is a joke and so are Sony. I fully anticipate the deal to go through and the FTC to get a few more concessions MS would have happily agreed to without the twat helming the FTC (his successor is directly from the Anti-Trust world) and bringing the case at all. It's just wasting everyone's time and money because Sony and the FTC guy want to be dicks beyond standard regulatory processes.

Sony has lost massive respect from me. Nintendo, Steam and MS have all gained more respect from me with these inner dealings being exposed publicly. I reserve judgement on the FTC and rulings for obvious reasons.

 

[vivftp]

You assume too much. My issue IS NOT with Sony or MS creating or buying studios or exclusivity. I don't give a shit, let the corporates battle it out, consumers win when the market does that.

My issue IS Sony being dicks about ActiBliz given their own current or track record I have detailed in these threads and posts. It's clearly corporate manoeuvring for their own market position retention and classic business MBA walled gardens. When it's clear as crystal the market in all segments has the healthiest competition ever, historically and looking at the sustainable future of the next 10-20 years, this case is a joke and so are Sony. I fully anticipate the deal to go through and the FTC to get a few more concessions MS would have happily agreed to without the twat helming the FTC (his successor is directly from the Anti-Trust world) and bringing the case at all. It's just wasting everyone's time and money because Sony and the FTC guy want to be dicks beyond standard regulatory processes.

Sony has lost massive respect from me. Nintendo, Steam and MS have all gained more respect from me with these inner dealings being exposed publicly. I reserve judgement on the FTC and rulings for obvious reasons.

I was discussing only your points regarding SF5.

On the subject of the whole AB thing, I couldn't care less. As a PS gamer, MS and AB can live happily ever after as far as I'm concerned as they don't make any content that I play, same as Bethesda. However I am not going to presume that I am qualified in any way, shape or form to lend an informed opinion on the whole AB acquisition. All the parties involved are capable of seeing the big picture better than I am, so whatever happens happens.

 

[John Wick]

Everyone sees what MS would like to happen. That still doesn't answer the current question. If the FTC wants to knock MS on what they might get up to, I'd imagine MS saying "Have at it!" as that should be pretty easy to argue once this goes before a court next year.

. . .of course I'm not a corporate lawyer like some of the folks in this thread apparently.


Obviously.



So basically, its the governments job to protect a corporate entity from having to develop its own independent solution to a third party product to the detriment of another company building out its own competitiveness through acquisitions (one of the easiest and historical ways for a company to build out weaknesses in their own product line that is very rarely actually successfully challenged)?

This of course ignores the fact that we're all wildly overvaluing COD (and yes, this is about COD) and its place in the gaming space (and no, this isn't about how much money COD brings in).

Your willfully ignorant aren't you? Where has the Xbox division pulled $80 billion in acquisitions from?

 

[John Wick]

You assume too much. My issue IS NOT with Sony or MS creating or buying studios or exclusivity. I don't give a shit, let the corporates battle it out, consumers win when the market does that.

My issue IS Sony being dicks about ActiBliz given their own current or track record I have detailed in these threads and posts. It's clearly corporate manoeuvring for their own market position retention and classic business MBA walled gardens. When it's clear as crystal the market in all segments has the healthiest competition ever, historically and looking at the sustainable future of the next 10-20 years, this case is a joke and so are Sony. I fully anticipate the deal to go through and the FTC to get a few more concessions MS would have happily agreed to without the twat helming the FTC (his successor is directly from the Anti-Trust world) and bringing the case at all. It's just wasting everyone's time and money because Sony and the FTC guy want to be dicks beyond standard regulatory processes.

Sony has lost massive respect from me. Nintendo, Steam and MS have all gained more respect from me with these inner dealings being exposed publicly. I reserve judgement on the FTC and rulings for obvious reasons.

Again stop this nonsense. Sony haven't been buying publishers especially large ones like Bethesda or huge ones like ABK. There is no need for MS to be buying up 3rd party publishers. Maybe you should ask MS why they going to FTC to complain about Google eh?

 

[Majima Everywhere System]

I like Xbox and all, but would things truly be worse for consumers with just Playstation? PC would keep Jimbo in check without all the BS carving out games and features. Costs are kept in control by PC pricing and piracy. Graphics stay good. Online stays free or can only cost so much with PC.

The industry is always better with a lazy ass Sony. Trying hard has just shifted them away from Japan, into wank fest games.

I do like how MS spends themselves into oblivion for my favor, but they seem like a bad company to take all. They can't make games, they can only buy and be hands off. Office 365 aint cheap and it's zero fun.

 

[John Wick]

Man!! That takes some balls right there!

Nobody put a gun to Microsoft's 20+ studios to sell either. This includes Bethesda and ABK.

So where did the Xbox division get $80 billion from? Was it from revenue and profits from the Xbox division?
You see it's alright for MS to cry foul about Google but MS should be allowed to throw money at any competition it encounters eh?

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Real question: if your company was in dire need of new IPs and dev talent - quickly, I might add - or a particular division was going to be shut down in your company, would you, A) begin building new studios from the ground up in hopes that you can become competitive in time? Or, B) see if any established, well knows developers with years of experience creating games and managing their own company we're seeking to be purchased? Keep in mind, these developers all ready have a well established pedigree, built in fanbase, IPs, culture and studios! PLUS... you would minimize cost and risk by taking the "B" route.

Again, real question. You don't necessarily have to answer. Every Gafer on this forum made the same choice you did.

Just saying...

Where I feel like you're wrong here is that there was probably a middle route here where they could have purchased more talent and more IP for significantly less money.

They think they can money-hat their way into competitiveness through COD alone.

I think ultimately, Sony is looking to just delay Microsoft here. Whether or not the deal goes through, if Sony can add an extra year or two by getting regulators to try and stop this, Sony thinks best case scenario is they succeed in stopping it, but worst case scenario by drawing it out a couple of extra years, it buys them more time with CoD on PlayStation before any concessions would go into effect i..e. the 10 years and it buys them time to build out their own GaaS and FPS.

The thing about Activision and EA, is that they are huge, but also super generic. Activision being more generic than EA.

I think it would have hurt gamers to have lost out on more unique experiences than Activision has to offer.

If Sony fails to stop or delay Microsoft's purchase, it kicks off an arms race that Sony probably isn't in a great position financially to compete against, whereas after a couple of years of sustained revenue from PS5 will largely change that.

The PS4 basically put PlayStation back on a healthy path from the PS3. PS5 was their goal to really start becoming profitable again and so much of that profit is going to need to go towards purchasing studios and maybe even publishers, but the way Sony will do it vs Microsoft is going to be similar to how they've done it in the past. Purchasing companies that fit within its immediate strategy.

 

[Valedix]

Xbox Series X Slim confirmed? to be released by Sony?

 

[Three]

I fully anticipate the deal to go through and the FTC to get a few more concessions MS would have happily agreed to without the twat helming the FTC (his successor is directly from the Anti-Trust world) and bringing the case at all. It's just wasting everyone's time and money because Sony and the FTC guy want to be dicks beyond standard regulatory processes.

FTC guy? His successor? Do you have any idea what you're talking about?

 

[Heisenberg007]

You assume too much. My issue IS NOT with Sony or MS creating or buying studios or exclusivity. I don't give a shit, let the corporates battle it out, consumers win when the market does that.

My issue IS Sony being dicks about ActiBliz given their own current or track record I have detailed in these threads and posts. It's clearly corporate manoeuvring for their own market position retention and classic business MBA walled gardens. When it's clear as crystal the market in all segments has the healthiest competition ever, historically and looking at the sustainable future of the next 10-20 years, this case is a joke and so are Sony. I fully anticipate the deal to go through and the FTC to get a few more concessions MS would have happily agreed to without the twat helming the FTC (his successor is directly from the Anti-Trust world) and bringing the case at all. It's just wasting everyone's time and money because Sony and the FTC guy want to be dicks beyond standard regulatory processes.

Sony has lost massive respect from me. Nintendo, Steam and MS have all gained more respect from me with these inner dealings being exposed publicly. I reserve judgement on the FTC and rulings for obvious reasons.

Yeah, the company responsible for corporate consolidation and gobbling up billion $ independent multiplatform developers merely to take their games off competitor platforms (not to produce new games for their own gamers) is good.

The company resisting this and helping independent developers, funding their games, and setting up their studios so the industry gets even more games is bad.

 

[Three]

If Sony fails to stop or delay Microsoft's purchase, it kicks off an arms race that Sony probably isn't in a great position financially to compete against, whereas after a couple of years of sustained revenue from PS5 will largely change that.

That arms race has already been kicked off, mainly by MS. Sony only recently buying the studios that they had relied on since 1994 is a testament to that. If this arms race had not begun Insomniac would still be independent. It was clearly a defence move in this current climate that's required. To secure continued development of your IPs just in case somebody comes along there too.

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

FTC guy? His successor? Do you have any idea what you're talking about?

Yep, I do. The current FTC head who is the top dog responsible for this case being filed is off to court himself for being too aggressive with corporations, industry and regulation for his years in office currently. Nothing to do with MS or gaming but the same bullish and unwarranted attitude is being actioned in court for a case against the FTC, there have also been a number of high-profile tech turnovers or outright rejections of filings and rulings not in favour of previous FTC wins (see quote below). His successor is likely to be from the anti-trust world, much like himself. This means overregulation has not gone unnoticed in the last few years from the FTC by various industries but it might be a bumpy ride again with a new head of FTC.

Over the past two years, the Federal Trade Commission has suffered a series of stinging defeats in headline matters: the reversal in August 2020 of the district court order in the agency’s lawsuit against Qualcomm; the near-dismissal in June 2021 of one of its lawsuits against Facebook, and, most recently, the rejection in February and September 2022, respectively, by administrative law judges of its lawsuits against Altria and Illumina.

Source

Yeah, the company responsible for corporate consolidation and gobbling up billion $ independent multiplatform developers merely to take their games off competitor platforms (not to produce new games for their own gamers) is good.

The company resisting this and helping independent developers, funding their games, and setting up their studios so the industry gets even more games is bad.

What are you on about? Do you even know where the success and revenue for ID @ Xbox and Gamepass even comes from of recent years? Microsoft financially backing indies, devs, studios and publishers with various and dynamic business arrangements. There are threads about articles and tweets from devs with solid numbers and interviews of exactly this growth the successful game release and repeated game developer thereafter. It's currently at a success ratio of 8 out 10, you can do your own research or look back over the Gamepass catalog of the last 2 years yourself. You're complaining about the company championing accessibility (adaptive controller), sustained updates to the ecosystem more frequently and in tune with what insiders' feedback as well as a poster child for a modern day corpo workplace. Weird.

Do I really have to do an exhaustive list, ID @ Xbox and funding/agreements have shipped over 2,000 games -

• Minecraft
• Ori
• Tunic
• Cuphead
• Flight
• Super Meat Boy
• Limbo
• Castle Crashers

Christ retrospectively one could argue Bungie bought, sold and the creation/sustain of 343 are valid arguments that Microsoft's supposed consolidation in fact grew market content creators and publishers/platforms alike. That success has mostly come from mutual growth and not blocking tactics or closing tactics. Sony have done similar but generally far more for their closed system than say something Gamepass that spans mobile, console, PC and streaming all day one and one ecosystem.

 

[Three]

Yep, I do. The current FTC head who is the top dog responsible for this case being filed is off to court himself for being too aggressive with corporations, industry and regulation for his years in office currently.

Who on earth are you talking about? The FTC chair is a woman named Lina.

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

Who on earth are you talking about? The FTC chair is a woman named Lina.

My apologises, I had forgotten the name and gender. Thanks for the correction. The content remains the same. *this is spare time armchair expert stuff for me.

 

[Gavon West]

So where did the Xbox division get $80 billion from? Was it from revenue and profits from the Xbox division?
You see it's alright for MS to cry foul about Google but MS should be allowed to throw money at any competition it encounters eh?

Microsoft is a software company and the 3rd richest company in the world. We aren't talking about Google in this instance. I can't comment there. We're talking about Sony: a company that barely even registers when compared to Microsoft when it comes to finances and resources. Big picture; you can't really compare the two That's why Sony is utilizing the FTC and not their bank account to try and stop the ABK merger. They couldn't financially stop it themselves by spending their own $70 billion. They simply don't have that kind of money. It is what it is.

 

[Gavon West]

Again stop this nonsense. Sony haven't been buying publishers especially large ones like Bethesda or huge ones like ABK. There is no need for MS to be buying up 3rd party publishers. Maybe you should ask MS why they going to FTC to complain about Google eh?

But why shouldn't they be buying publishers who want to be bought? You honestly believe Sony wouldn't if they could afford it? The first time Microsoft bought Bethesda, Sony would've come back with the purchase of 2K, EA or multiple smaller studios. They didn't because they couldn't. That's the ONLY reason there isn't a massive bidding war between the two companies concerning ABK.

 

[Heisenberg007]

Yep, I do. The current FTC head who is the top dog responsible for this case being filed is off to court himself for being too aggressive with corporations, industry and regulation for his years in office currently. Nothing to do with MS or gaming but the same bullish and unwarranted attitude is being actioned in court for a case against the FTC, there have also been a number of high-profile tech turnovers or outright rejections of filings and rulings not in favour of previous FTC wins (see quote below). His successor is likely to be from the anti-trust world, much like himself. This means overregulation has not gone unnoticed in the last few years from the FTC by various industries but it might be a bumpy ride again with a new head of FTC.


Source



What are you on about? Do you even know where the success and revenue for ID @ Xbox and Gamepass even comes from of recent years? Microsoft financially backing indies, devs, studios and publishers with various and dynamic business arrangements. There are threads about articles and tweets from devs with solid numbers and interviews of exactly this growth the successful game release and repeated game developer thereafter. It's currently at a success ratio of 8 out 10, you can do your own research or look back over the Gamepass catalog of the last 2 years yourself. You're complaining about the company championing accessibility (adaptive controller), sustained updates to the ecosystem more frequently and in tune with what insiders' feedback as well as a poster child for a modern day corpo workplace. Weird.

Do I really have to do an exhaustive list, ID @ Xbox and funding/agreements have shipped over 2,000 games -

• Minecraft
• Ori
• Tunic
• Cuphead
• Flight
• Super Meat Boy
• Limbo
• Castle Crashers

Christ retrospectively one could argue Bungie bought, sold and the creation/sustain of 343 are valid arguments that Microsoft's supposed consolidation in fact grew market content creators and publishers/platforms alike. That success has mostly come from mutual growth and not blocking tactics or closing tactics. Sony have done similar but generally far more for their closed system than say something Gamepass that spans mobile, console, PC and streaming all day one and one ecosystem.

Funded and setup? Most of them were just timed-exclusive games.

Besides, that's not my actual point. You "lost respect for Sony" because they resisted corporate consolidation and gained respect for Microsoft instead who is gobbling up billion $ multiplatform publishers to take their games off competitors' platforms and minimizing options for gamers? That's a special one.

 

[Heisenberg007]

That arms race has already been kicked off, mainly by MS. Sony only recently buying the studios that they had relied on since 1994 is a testament to that. If this arms race had not begun Insomniac would still be independent. It was clearly a defence move in this current climate that's required. To secure continued development of your IPs just in case somebody comes along there too.

True. Same with HouseMarque. Head of HouseMarque told that they got multiple offers from the usual suspects. Sony swooped in after that and acquired them.

 

[ANDS]

Your willfully ignorant aren't you? Where has the Xbox division pulled $80 billion in acquisitions from?

And? What's this got to do with the price of tea in China? The government isn't looking to block this merger because MS has a lot of cash. As someone not "willfully ignorant" that should be obvious.

. . .thanks for the contribution though.

 

[Dafegamer]

Carnival of Stupid still continues I see

 

[PharaoTutAnchAmun]

I wonder what phil promised to eu back when they bought zenimax which led ftc to straight up calling them you lied then.

Wish eu release the documents with out deduction...

You can find that on the youtube channel of Jezz7780 from last monday...
He has an item in his podcast that explains why the EU let that deal with Zenimax pas. But the deal with Bethesda and Activision is in a complete other ballpark....

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Who on earth are you talking about? The FTC chair is a woman named Lina.

And she is hot.

 

[Swift_Star]

You assume too much. My issue IS NOT with Sony or MS creating or buying studios or exclusivity. I don't give a shit, let the corporates battle it out, consumers win when the market does that.

My issue IS Sony being dicks about ActiBliz given their own current or track record I have detailed in these threads and posts. It's clearly corporate manoeuvring for their own market position retention and classic business MBA walled gardens. When it's clear as crystal the market in all segments has the healthiest competition ever, historically and looking at the sustainable future of the next 10-20 years, this case is a joke and so are Sony. I fully anticipate the deal to go through and the FTC to get a few more concessions MS would have happily agreed to without the twat helming the FTC (his successor is directly from the Anti-Trust world) and bringing the case at all. It's just wasting everyone's time and money because Sony and the FTC guy want to be dicks beyond standard regulatory processes.

Sony has lost massive respect from me. Nintendo, Steam and MS have all gained more respect from me with these inner dealings being exposed publicly. I reserve judgement on the FTC and rulings for obvious reasons.

Sony doesn't care and they should be worse about this.
They're pursuing their own interest and they're right to do so.
Get a grip.

 

[TheGodfather07]

Phil Spencer looks like he's aged 10 years in only 2 years. Guy should step down for his own sanity.

 

[thismeinteil]

What a whiner. Reminds me of when he whined all last gen about exclusive deals, yet still made exclusive deals, just not as many as he would have liked.

Spencer has no one to blame for the state of Xbox but himself. He's supposed to be in charge of overseeing its health, yet its actually gotten worse under him. When the PS3 stumbled, Sony made sure to correct course and get out affordable HW and push out exclusive after exclusive. They eventually won that gen against Xbox. When Xbox One stumbled, their output got anemic and all they had for their gamers was excuses and promises for next year over and over.

We get to this gen, and it's obvious that those same problems in management exist. I mean launching with no games after having years of a lackluster lineup for the XBO? And the one that was supposed to come out at launch, and just so happens to be your tentpole franchise, launches in a poor/mediocre state after a year delay. There's just no excuse. What have their studios even been working on?

So, they say just screw it, we can't compete by making good games with our own IPs, or by making new ones, we'll just buy up the big 3rd party publishers and their popular games become ours.

What I do look forward to is IF this deal doesn't go forward and Spencer is let go, all the Xbox fanboys who sang his praises will finally start talking real about how he poorly ran Xbox and it's studios, and the new head will become the new messiah of the Xbox brand.

 

[-Zelda-]

 

[John Wick]

And? What's this got to do with the price of tea in China? The government isn't looking to block this merger because MS has a lot of cash. As someone not "willfully ignorant" that should be obvious.

. . .thanks for the contribution though.

It shows exactly what MS typically does which is to buy their way to success. They've had years to cultivate their own studios and have failed time after time. They are using cash from other divisions to consolidate the market and take away 3rd party party developers and IP from other platforms. This is what it has to do with the price of tea in China. Feigning stupidity isn't the answer.

 

[lh032]

Didnt xbox just bought over 20 studios?

What happened to that

they are waiting to work on Acti/Blizz IP as support studio.

 

[John Wick]

But why shouldn't they be buying publishers who want to be bought? You honestly believe Sony wouldn't if they could afford it? The first time Microsoft bought Bethesda, Sony would've come back with the purchase of 2K, EA or multiple smaller studios. They didn't because they couldn't. That's the ONLY reason there isn't a massive bidding war between the two companies concerning ABK.

Where's your evidence they would have? If that was the case they would have bought a publisher by now other than Psygnosis. Your projecting what MS fangirls would like their company to do which is buy up all the 3rd party publishers and remove competition and choice, consolidate the industry.
Sony can buy a couple of publishers quite easily like Capcom and Ubisoft for example. The reason they don't need to is that their studios are releasing great games every year.
They would rather grow their own studios or buy smaller studios they have worked with. Thus leaving 3rd parties to add variety to their catalogue.

 

[John Wick]

Microsoft is a software company and the 3rd richest company in the world. We aren't talking about Google in this instance. I can't comment there. We're talking about Sony: a company that barely even registers when compared to Microsoft when it comes to finances and resources. Big picture; you can't really compare the two That's why Sony is utilizing the FTC and not their bank account to try and stop the ABK merger. They couldn't financially stop it themselves by spending their own $70 billion. They simply don't have that kind of money. It is what it is.

Exactly the Xbox division doesn't have 80 billion. It's funneled from other divisions to prop up the Xbox division. This is typical MS. Haven't got the talent or idea themselves let's throw money at it. That's why the FTC exists so companies like MS can't just bully and outspend rivals then cry like bitches when other trillion dollar companies do it to them.

 

[GymWolf]

I bet phil also hate girls with huge hands.

 

[SSfox]

Hope if ABK deal goes through Sony will buy Take 2. So Phil can cry even more.

 

[Snake29]

Didnt xbox just bought over 20 studios?

What happened to that

Different universe.

 

[ANDS]

It shows exactly what MS typically does which is to buy their way to success. They've had years to cultivate their own studios and have failed time after time. They are using cash from other divisions to consolidate the market and take away 3rd party party developers and IP from other platforms. This is what it has to do with the price of tea in China. Feigning stupidity isn't the answer.

One more time: And? Nothing you've typed out in your continuing quest to condescend (try saying that three times fast. . .or don't, I don't care) justifies the administrative complaint the FTC is using here. All you've whinged about is a corporate culture that hits you "in your feels" as something bad. Great. Argue that (very easily, I might add) in the numerous threads about MS and its expansion strategy. The post you ORIGINALLY slithered in to respond to was ostensibly about the justification of this complaint, particularly me asking how this deal (stay focused) creates a monopoly for MS.

Your [sic] projecting what MS fangirls would like their company to do

Oh. Well this explains it. You think this is a proxy "console war" discussion, instead of a neutral conversation about whether this is government overreach in the face of legitimate corporate expansion or justified government intervention against anti-competitive practices.

. . .forget the first message block. Carry on.