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[JokerMM]

SEGA, Capcom, Konami, EA...
What will stop MS from buying their way to the top?
Activision was like the big wall standing between them and everyone else, and now the wall is down, what will happen next?

 

[OverHeat]

They will. End of an era

 

[Thaedolus]

The exact same process that just allowed it, because the inputs will have changed.

Also AFAIK the injunction has been rejected but they could deal could still be broken up after they go through with it, which would be kinda funny.

 

[tusharngf]

It's all about money.. they can buy anything they want and consumers feel free to buy anything they want. I just want good games from the industry rest I don't care about any acquisition.

 

[Helghan]

Marketshare… have you paid attention?

 

[M.W.]

Take Two is next.

 

[adamsapple]

Sega has always been the end-game.

 

[SirKicksalot]

What stops you from spending all your money on shit?

 

[Fabieter]

Nothing will. We are fucked.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Like any company buying, it’s easy to stop. Just prove that the deal is bad for consumers and it shouldn’t it be done.

It’s not like there have never been blocked deals. So whatever those lawyers did in those cases to block a merger, they did the right thing to prove it. For whatever reason the FTC couldn’t in this MS/Activision deal even though the deal was announced ages ago.

 

[Robb]

Anything MS purchase going forward will probably be investigated since they now own a lot of the industry. I don’t think MS in particular will be allowed to just buy everything.

I think what’s worrisome is that this deal opens the doors for other major players, like Tencent, to just go crazy. Soon 95% of the industry could potentially be owned by 4-5 different companies.

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Regulators are toothless so they (MSFT) won't be stopping anytime soon, since current marketshare is all it matters, and not how the marketshare will look like in 5 maybe 10 years from now when they've already gobbled up all big 3rd party pubs on the market.

 

[dem]

If they were smart... they'd kick ol Phil to the curb and put Bobby Kotick in charge.

I'd be surprised if they don't buy some studios they've been rumored to be after. May take a while though. I think they will have their hands full for quite a while after this deal goes through.

 

[oji-san]

Why don't you just get an Xbox?

 

[nightmare-slain]

It's hard to see anything that could stop them.

$70 billion is pocket change to them. Once the dust settles they will start to look at what to buy next. They might even be already planning the next purchase.

EA seems like the next logical one. Take Two could happen as well.

Guess we'll see

 

[Deerock71]

I voted no because I like to be contrary.

 

[LQX]

Doesn't Sony have way more exclusives from SEGA, Capcom, Konami, than MS? You would think quantity would matter more but many seems hang up on COD which likely will never be an exclusive.

 

[TheDreadLord]

If they start buying everything then it will fall on antitrust regulations. The purchase of Activision alone is far from a monopoly despite a few claiming here.

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

They barely got ABK by.

They won’t be able to get another big one.

 

[Riky]

I don't think any more publishers are on the cards, studios like Crystal Dynamics, Avalanche and io are logical next steps as they are already involved with them.

 

[nightmare-slain]

What stops you from spending all your money on shit?

$70 billion is like 3% of what Microsoft is worth.

So not exactly them spending all their money. They have a lot more.

 

[graywolf323]

they openly said they weren‘t going to stop back at the start of this

Regulators are toothless so they (MSFT) won't be stopping anytime soon, since current marketshare is all it matters, and not how the marketshare will look like in 5 maybe 10 years from now when they've already gobbled up all big 3rd party pubs on the market.

exactly, the EU will be like “oh no, how did Microsoft end up with another monopoly after we let them buy the largest third-party companies in the industry?”

 

[trent_the_gent]

Look at all the devs they have now and look at all the must have AAA amazing exclusives that they simply aren't producing.

I wouldn't be too worried about it to be honest. Nintendo and Sony will keep them at bay by just releasing better games than them.

 

[ulantan]

If they start buying everything then it will fall on antitrust regulations. The purchase of Activision alone is far from a monopoly despite a few claiming here.

Yeah but nothing is bigger than ABK and they have a lot more companies to buy until they are the market leader.

 

[TheDreadLord]

Yeah but nothing is bigger than ABK and they have a lot more companies to buy until they are the market leader.

If this day arrives then it won’t be the first time a company was broken up due to antitrust regulations.

 

[GermanZepp]

The question is, how many franchices are going to ruin until they stop.

 

[kirby007]

apple

 

[ulantan]

If this day arrives then it won’t be the first time a company was broken up due to antitrust regulations.

You can't be broken up for just being the market leader.

 

[jshackles]

Look at all the devs they have now and look at all the must have AAA amazing exclusives that they simply aren't producing.

I wouldn't be too worried about it to be honest. Nintendo and Sony will keep them at bay by just releasing better games than them.

Exactly this. Microsoft's management structure just doesn't seem to be working for game studios.

People are worried that Call of Duty won't be on PlayStation, but they should probably be more worried about Call of Duty actually existing in 10 years time. Look at Halo as an example.

 

[Stare-Bear]

Watch the talent leave the studios en masse.

 

[systemr123]

The industry will be even deader from now on than it already is. A very sad decision this.

 

[Historia]

Japan regulators would consider Microsoft as hostile entity though.

For entities like EA, Ubisoft, there nothing can be done to stop them if literal Activision Blizzard is bought.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

oh yeah because didn't take them like 2 years of this circus.

 

[TheDreadLord]

You can't be broken up for just being the market leader.

No, but if you’re considered a monopoly yes.

 

[cireza]

At what moment did it look easy for MS to get ABK ?

 

[Calverz]

Let’s focus on abk first. Hasn’t closed yet.

 

[mckmas8808]

It's hard to see anything that could stop them.

$70 billion is pocket change to them. Once the dust settles they will start to look at what to buy next. They might even be already planning the next purchase.

EA seems like the next logical one. Take Two could happen as well.

Guess we'll see

I agree. Over the next 5 years......it's impossible to see MS not spending at least another $50 Billion on buying more publishers.

 

[Gudji]

Change the poll to publishers instead of studios.

 

[systemr123]

I agree. Over the next 5 years......it's impossible to see MS not spending at least another $50 Billion on buying more publishers.

Yep it’s a slippery slope, and it’ll go downhill fast.

 

[radewagon]

Nothing. Once it came to light how anticonsumer and dishonest MS's moves were with the Bethesda deal, preventing the Activision deal from moving forward was a no-brainer.

And yet here we are.

 

[schaft0620]

I am 99% sure that the FTC did not ask this question.

 

[mansoor1980]

nothing can stop them

 

[fart town usa]

EA being bought is whatever. Company may as well not exist for me when it comes to gaming.

I fear most for Capcom. I don't want anyone buying them. Capgod has their shit together again and are arguably the best in the industry, Sony and MS need to stay the hell away.

 

[Bernkastel]

Hand Halo over to Activision. Have an Activision studio make Halo and turn 343i into a support studio.

 

[YCoCg]

Nothing can stop them, that's capitalism baby.

All they have to do is be nice to everyone else (Nintendo, Nvidia, etc) with their deals to prove it's not a monopoly.

 

[dotnotbot]

Marketshare… have you paid attention?

Marketshare won't go up immediately. If MS proceeds to buy publishers year after year, we will be able to see the real impact of these acquisitions with a few years delay.

 

[SEGAvangelist]

Really hoping for SEGA next.

 

[Bernkastel]

Capcom, Konami

will never happen. anti-trust lawsuit and Microsoft gains nothing of value from them anyway.

EA

Its easier to just keep EA Play in Game Pass.

 

[Historia]

I agree. Over the next 5 years......it's impossible to see MS not spending at least another $50 Billion on buying more publishers.

Oh boi I can wait to pay 40 dollars/month just to play shitty Assassin's Creed, Call of Duty and EA Sports FC with microtransactions hell even worse than 5 years ago.

For anybody think they will still sell those games, you are delusional. They will lock you in an ecosystem and you will own nothing and be happy about it.

 

[Dlacy13g]

I think future acquisitions from MS will be focused now on small studios that can fill gaps for genre, etc... ABK buy gives them quite a lot of dev support studio power too imo, and that if managed could really help a number of their current devs.