Microsoft has purchased embattled Call of Duty and Crash Bandicoot publisher Activision in a deal worth a whopping $68.7 billion.
To give some perspective on the astonishing size of that figure, Disney paid $4.05 billion for Star Wars studio Lucasfilm in 2012, with half of the money paid in cash and the other half in Disney stock. A more interesting comparison is that Nintendo's net worth as of January 17th, 2022 is $59.39 billion.
This bold move calls to mind Microsoft's purchase of fellow industry heavyweight Bethesda in 2021.
Activision has been in the headlines recently for all of the wrong reasons, with multiple claims alleging harassment and misconduct being filed. Bobby Kotick, who denies the allegations, will remain as CEO of Activision Blizzard, but will report to Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming.
Here's what Kotick had to say about the deal:
For more than 30 years our incredibly talented teams have created some of the most successful games. The combination of Activision Blizzard’s world-class talent and extraordinary franchises with Microsoft’s technology, distribution, access to talent, ambitious vision and shared commitment to gaming and inclusion will help ensure our continued success in an increasingly competitive industry.
Spencer, who recently joined Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser in being vocal about the ongoing issues at Activision, had this to add:
Players everywhere love Activision Blizzard games, and we believe the creative teams have their best work in front of them. Together we will build a future where people can play the games they want, virtually anywhere they want.
How this will impact Nintendo fans remains to be seen. Microsoft enjoys an uncommonly comfortable relationship with Nintendo at present, and has allowed several of its games to appear on Switch, including Ori and the Blind Forest and its sequel, Ori and the Will of the Wisps. Banjo-Kazooie – an IP owned by Microsoft thanks to the fact that it owns Rare – is also coming to Nintendo Switch Online, and the game's characters appeared in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate a while back, too.
Here's the press release:
As a team, we are on a mission to extend the joy and community of gaming to everyone on the planet. We all know that gaming is the most vibrant and dynamic form of entertainment worldwide and we’ve experienced the power of social connection and friendship that gaming makes possible.
As we pursue that mission, it is incredibly exciting to announce that Microsoft has agreed to acquire Activision Blizzard.
Over many decades, the studios and teams that make up Activision Blizzard have earned vast wellsprings of joy and respect from billions of people all over the world. We are incredibly excited to have the chance to work with the amazing, talented, dedicated people across Activision Publishing, Blizzard Entertainment, Beenox, Demonware, Digital Legends, High Moon Studios, Infinity Ward, King, Major League Gaming, Radical Entertainment, Raven Software, Sledgehammer Games, Toys for Bob, Treyarch and every team across Activision Blizzard.
Until this transaction closes, Activision Blizzard and Microsoft Gaming will continue to operate independently. Once the deal is complete, the Activision Blizzard business will report to me as CEO, Microsoft Gaming.
Upon close, we will offer as many Activision Blizzard games as we can within Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass, both new titles and games from Activision Blizzard’s incredible catalog. We also announced today that Game Pass now has more than 25 million subscribers. As always, we look forward to continuing to add more value and more great games to Game Pass.
The fantastic franchises across Activision Blizzard will also accelerate our plans for Cloud Gaming, allowing more people in more places around the world to participate in the Xbox community using phones, tablets, laptops and other devices you already own. Activision Blizzard games are enjoyed on a variety of platforms and we plan to continue to support those communities moving forward.
As a company, Microsoft is committed to our journey for inclusion in every aspect of gaming, among both employees and players. We deeply value individual studio cultures. We also believe that creative success and autonomy go hand-in-hand with treating every person with dignity and respect. We hold all teams, and all leaders, to this commitment. We’re looking forward to extending our culture of proactive inclusion to the great teams across Activision Blizzard.
Around the world, there is no more exciting venue for fun and connection than video games. And there has never been a better time to play than right now. As we extend the joy and community of gaming to everyone, we look forward to welcoming all of our friends at Activision Blizzard to Microsoft Gaming.
[source news.xbox.com]
Comments 323
I can see someone coming and putting in a counter offer because they’re on the stock exchange. And this is all assuming it gets past anti monopoly commission
Bloody hell. Can I have a tenner?
Holy cow that's a big one
Fire Kotick please.
So Microsoft owns both Bethesda and Activision now.
I really really don't like this.
But please kick Kotick Immediately if you do.
Only game I care about from them is overwatch 2
Getting sick of Microsoft bullying the gaming industry with their money now, just because they flopped last gen doesn't mean they can buy all the big third party publishes left right and centre, if this is true they would have crash, overwatch, diablo and call of duty series as exclusives, to me they are ruining gaming for everyone else
Business is a horrible thing, who will be there next victim!
You need to update the text in the article, as it says $70 million, which comparatively speaking, would be an absolute bargain!
EDIT: I spoke too soon 😀
I’m speechless about this news. I can’t believe how much MS have been spending on acquisitions. I’d love to see the business plans that show how this is all profitable for them.
This definitely impacts PlayStation more than Nintendo, as historically Bethesda’s and Activision’s games have featured on their consoles more than Nintendo. But it’s still a shock. And ironically, Crash Bandicoot will no longer appear on a PlayStation platform!
Ugh this is not good for gaming….
And everybody was defending the Bethesda purchase, it’s a slippery slope and Microsoft one step closer to a monopoly.
UPDATE: Kotik is staying after acquisition.
Was not expecting that news this morning.
Not a fan of Microsoft buying up studios but at least they haven't targeted anyone I'm interested in yet.
And this is all assuming it gets past anti monopoly commission
@FragRed ... when was the last instance of the US government actually halting a corporate merger on that basis?
That actually sounds quaint now, like the Carnegie grants, or complete physical editions of Ubisoft collections...
THE BEST ENDING!
Oh my god, I'm actually lost for words.
@CANOEberry Agreed. They SHOULD stop this one, but they won't. Disney buying Fox was clearly too far, and they didn't care about that 😂
@GravyThief what about $70 thousand?
Wow, which IPs would be affected?
BLIZZARD STUFF
....
Activision with their shooters and other games such as crash and (I believe) Spiro...
Dann
Good move though
Because Xbox needs more First Person Shooter series….
Cant all you guys just give Microsoft the benefit of the doubt? Feels like you are all prejudging them as monopolistic...
Monopoly commission wouldn't care, as they just declare "We are entertainment and compete in said Industry" making them small fish, even though that's bull
One of these days, Microsoft will turn a profit in the games industry somewhere. Mark my words…
This needs to be blocked. Microsoft is buying way too many publishers rather than making their own IPs. They at least should sell of Bethesda. They can't have both.
@dew12333 Square Enix or Nintendo?
This is absolutely disgusting !
holy moly
like
wow
i mean
if we thought that bethesda deal was insane, then this is just out of this world.
this is insane, someone must stop this, before this become a monopoly.
The best thing about this is that now they can make it a better organisation than it currently is.
Another hobby slides further into the corporate abyss.
OMGclickbaittypointitle - process of buying does not equal bought.
@PessitheMystic Gonna be a few days yet if this deal goes through.
So does this mean no overwatch 2 for switch? Or was is the deal too late to change its platforms
EXCUSE ME!? WHERE THE HELL DID THIS COME FROM?!
I'm assuming the recent controversy with Activision Blizzard contributed to their willingness to sell. But I guess not many companies wouldn't sell for a figure that big.
Microsoft kind of needs to make big moves like this if they want to stay afloat in the market. Nintendo and Sony have consistently had better console sales (except for the Wii U), so Microsoft needed to get a better reason to own their console (or Game Pass on PC at least). Between Game Pass, Bethesda, and Activision Blizzard they're really showing they're trying to solidify their place in the gaming market.
It was a smart move by them, but hopefully it doesn't get too extreme.
COD hits gamepass for free day one sony fan boys all scream NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Switch fans whats COD
@CANOEberry They have on multiple occasions. But, this will probably go through because Playstation Studios, Nintendo, Capcom, Square Enix and EA are still massive publishers on the market. This is how Disney was able to acquire Fox.
@FragRed How is this a monopoly?
Just to put it in perspective, Disney purchased both Star Wars and Marvel for a fraction of this this!
I'm shocked by this. This is how Sony and Microsoft plan to continue in the video game industry. Both have now purchased major players in game design. I guess to be fair, Sony didn't fully purchase Epic games, just a share.
Personally, I loved my Xbox 360. I was lucky and never got the red ring of death, my controllers still work as good as they did day one, they have the best online features, but they had only a handful of exclusives at the time. Now, they have a stable of big titles. If I were going to get a second system, I would get the Xbox over the PS5.
@CANOEberry last year the DOJ blocked the merger of insurance brokers Aon and Willis.
I'm shocked at all the people upset in the comments. Here's all the reasons why this is a good thing:
1. Microsoft was like the first to take a stand against Activision's unethical business practices. They are the most inclusive of the big three, as evidenced by their controllers made specifically for people with various disabilities. I believe them when they say they will strive for fair treatment in the workplace--they've never given me a reason to doubt that. Kotick is no longer man in charge.
2. Microsoft is incredibly generous with lending their IP. I have no doubt that future Crash and Spyro games will come to Nintendo platforms. This probably even increases their chances of coming to Smash someday.
3. Someone had to buy them out, or Activision was likely gonna tank from all this bad press and people saying they were gonna boycott. Now I don't have to feel guilty about purchasing their products because of point #1.
4. Adding to point #2 about Microsoft being generous with multi-plat releases, they are also promising to give Activision the creative agency to make the games THEY want to make. Who cares if they have a monopoly if their practices are ethical? This is probably our best chance at getting a new Spyro game, with Activision shutting down every project that doesn't make as much money as CoD.
Feel free to educate me why I'm wrong, but I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone or something right now. Y'all went from "Xbone and Sony Ponies lol" in the Wii U days to "Xbox and Phil Spencer are awesome" to suddenly thinking they're terrible again?
Removed - inappropriate
This is gross. MS can't get anyone to buy their machine so they just buy out half of all publishers? How is this not creating a Monopoly?
It would certainly raise concerns for no more Spyro, Crash and Diablo on portable consoles (I said "consoles", GPD and/or future Steam Deck users) until/unless Microsoft is finally tempted to make one. Then again, not improbably in part due to showing zero interest in portable consoles, Microsoft's offerings to Switch have had a pretty convincing track record as compared to the estimated zero from Sony (despite the latter bailing out of the portable market as well), so only time will tell.
@Giancarlothomaz IIRC they already tried it with Nintendo once and were "laughed out of the office".
@-wc- Windows is made by Microsoft and is pretty much a monopoly.
lol Microsoft is going to just buy the entire Western AAA industry, I guess.
@UltimateOtaku91 MS has been pretty open to publishing on other platforms. They can probably get enough ROI by timing exclusivity and whatever other perks they want on XBox.
@Bizzyb Because EA, Ubisoft, SquareEnix, etc are still bigger.
Not to mention when you look at Media giants like Warner and Disney. Microsoft XBox division is a dwarf compared to those.
I'm not gonna argue whether or not this is good for the industry or not. I think we can all agree it's probably not great for one company to wield all of these IPs. But at the same time, I can't fault Microsoft for making a sound business deal (at least in terms of acquiring some great and iconic IPs) or Activision for choosing to go with Microsoft.
I also don't know how it works or what the perception of monopolies are in regards to video games and companies acquiring developers. The Disney/Fox argument, I get. But this doesn't necessarily feel the same to me. Especially when this doesn't really result in a lack of choices out there in terms of content on other platforms
@NotoriousWhiz Totally... except for Apple iOS, Linux, ChromeOS, Android SteamOS and countless embedded systems.
@Jeronan kotik is staying according to Microsoft. Nothing good came of this purchase lol
Will this be the end of Crash bandicoot games on Nintendo devices? Hopefully not!!
I think they gain terrain to came on Nintendo and Sony and says "If you don't have gamepass, you won't have my games" to try to force them. I think this move is focus on next Gen, like PS6, they're not searching for all the hate if they do this immediately, with projects going on
@-wc- You don't spend 70 Billion (with a B) to share.
This is MS trying to create an exclusive ecosystem where you MUST use their machine/platform to play dozens of once 3rd party franchises
Hopefully Microsoft fixes things up at Activision. If they do, I might be able to buy Crash 4 without supporting something that isn't Glyph.
Also, Microsoft isn't against bringing there IPs to other consoles, like they did for Minecraft and Ori. I don't see why they'd make Crash an Xbox exclusive.
Now COD on the other hand I don't care what they do, i've never been a fan.
@Spiders Yeah, I bet the market share of all those other ones (combined) are not even close to Windows OS.
@UmbreonsPapa the problem is it’s a slippery slope. Once they buy one pub it’s only a matter of time until they buy more and more. This is not going to stop here. Microsoft is trying to purchase their competition so they no longer have to compete and Microsoft is notorious for this.
@Savino Can confirm. I am in disbelief that this has happened. I thought Bethesda would be the most shocking and surprising acquisition in recent memory, BOY WAS I WRONG.
@Strictlystyles Or it might be the plan for the time being until they work out an exit strategy.
For all the people saying this is a monopoly, I think you're wrong. It would be a monopoly if Microsoft bought Nintendo and Sony. Then they could release one system and jack the price up. Even though they purchased 2 bigger game developers, there are still many left. Plus, new developers are popping up all the time. Nintendo is still hanging tough, so is Sony. This is not even close to a monopoly.....yet.
Microsoft went from "for the gamers, crossplay yay!" To "everyone needs to buy an Xbox to play the games they like".
@Strictlystyles You missed the small letters in the announcement:
Until this transaction closes, Activision Blizzard and Microsoft Gaming will continue to operate independently. Once the deal is complete, the Activision Blizzard business will report to me as CEO, Microsoft Gaming.
So when the deal is done, it´s exit for Bobby K. As there is no way he can stay on, after all the controversy and how it has been mishandled. Especially the part in that he has been personally involved in some of those scandals.
when they accquired bethesda we were all joking "haha what next? activision?"
who is laughing now ?
Shelf-Man’s favorite game is monopoly.
How much potential does Activision/Blizzard have? It seems to me like their properties have all peaked. Though it should help XBox Series X sales quite a bit.
The dumpster fire might ACUTALLY be doused! THANK YOU MICROSOFT!
What!?
What!?
What is even going on!?
@dkxcalibur we know it’s not an official monopoly but it’s one step closer to it and we know this won’t stop here. Once you take away enough third party choice You might as well call it how you see it now tbh. The writing is on the wall.
First thing Phil Spencer should do is get rid of the vermin that is Bobby Kotick immediately.
Can someone say monopoly?
Is this the result of court trials Activision went through?
@UltimateOtaku91 They can though
@Strictlystyles I don't disagree. It is a slippery slope. I guess, as it stands, it's up to the industry to try and police itself on multiple different fronts so companies don't need to be in a position to sell and/or be acquired.
@Jeronan that’s old news, he will stay after the aquistion.
https://t.co/Am3YtSCNNE
“Bobby Kotick will continue to serve as CEO of Activision Blizzard, and he and his team will maintain their focus on driving efforts to further strengthen the company’s culture and accelerate business growth,”
This is your big chance, Microsoft, fire Bobby and be the hero we need
I can't think of a single game or IP tied up in that $68 billion that I'd particularly miss, so really not bothered right now.
That was a bigger bomb news than Bethesda. Now there are some things to consider:
1. The FTC will definitely look at this and question it as monopolistic
2. MS should use this buyout to hellfire those executives that failed their employees over the years.
3. $70B means that MS is far bigger than Sony and can do these kinds of things more freely.
4. What would happen to the Activision shares that I bought at huge discounts after the scandals? 😫
Would be better if they has bought or partnered up With SEGA in my opinion.
@Giancarlothomaz
I think they are allowing Tencent to buy all the Japanese companies, they are buying all the western ones.
People are happy about this because of Gamepass. All Gamepass truly represents is the end of owning your own games. I know it's probably the future at some point but I don't want a Netflix based gaming industry.
Also this means no more portable Crash Bandicoot, Tony Hawk, or Diablo. This is not a good day if you are a portable or physical fan of gaming
@dew12333 if they do buy Nintendo In the future I will smash my nes with a hammer.
@Savage_Joe f
This will head real hard sony… not so much nintendo.
People mad about Microsoft purchasing companies but the same people are fine with Tencent doing the literal exact same thing if not worse!
@jongred absolutely not.
Microsoft has bought two demons, EA's probably gonna be next lmao
Also Phil please, please fire Big Boy Bobby. He needs to go this instant
Well that was unexpected.
@Strictlystyles
They don’t care MS will wave their money wands and unleash their viral marketer legion and magically journos will either stop covering the story or start telling us we’re the real problem.
Call of Duty is a major console seller and I bet Microsoft isn't going to be making any more for Playstation.
I guess Phil's "re-evaluation" escalated to just buying the whole company. If you can't beat your competition, then just take away everything from them
@Zarudepie Doubt it, if they strike a deal with Nintendo (again), they'll just be laughed at (again)
@Arkay I hate both actually. It’s crazy how people were defending tencents practices and calling most criticism xenophobic lol
Mindblown.
The potential lack of Call of Duty on PlayStation hardware is going to hurt Sony massively.
Sticking to the adage: If you don't know how to make good video games, buy companies that do.
When MS entered the gaming space they were effectively SEGAs replacement. But because they were so new and not established, they were likely to crash and burn like all the other new competitors.
Even until the Xbox One there was that likely possibility floating in the background.
Since MS started buying up all these major studios, that possibility is now out the window. I consider MS as established as Nintendo and Sony now.
They finally cemented themselves as a legacy.
@CANOEberry they have halted some mergers or required promises of low cost services being continued for a few telecom mergers. And I believed blocked one or two cable acquisitions. But I doubt they will do anything over this as it can more easily be argued that it doesn’t negatively harm the consumer in the same way (as the market has tons of companies and starting a new one isn't comparatively costly).
Ms would most likely point to Sony and it's catalog of second party developers and other third parties like Ubisoft.
From my limited understanding of anti-trust law that is.
@Not_Soos "Bobby Kotick will continue to serve as CEO of Activision Blizzard"
Still think their strategy is to be the Netflix of gaming.
This is just another move towards securing "content".
Lets be honest. Call of Duty is still a hig franchise despite most of us not playing it. This is a big get for Microsoft. One thing about Microsoft is atleast they put games on PC day one unlike Dony, and especially Nintendo.
@gcunit this deal has likely been years in the making, if we're hearing about it now.
@Zarudepie lol, I think Nintendo already knocked them back a few years ago, but money talks.
@Strictlystyles That's just to calm investors and not tank the stock of ActiVisionBlizzard.
"Now that Kotick and the rest of Activision Blizzard will be reporting directly to Spencer following the completion of the acquisition, however, it remains to be seen how Spencer will deal with the organisation’s ongoing issues."
When the transaction is complete, nothing will be stopping Phil Spencer to kick Bobby K.
He simply doesn't fit in Phil Spencer's work culture and has done nothing to address and fix the current problems. So there is simply no way he can continue to stay at ActiVisionBlizzard when the transaction is complete.
They will just work on a graceful exit and let him leave the company on his own terms, as is how such businesses operate.
that's not a good look on Microsoft both Activision and Blizzard are toxic
Wow does that mean CoD will be xbox only? That would be an interesting shift. I will say as a shareholder (both companies) I am not pleased that Kotick is remaining on board though, however that may change.
...mixed feelings. I don't think this is as monopolistic as people act. A-B has fallen significantly from their height as a publisher, CoD is their only regularly released product at this point. Considering Toys for Bob is on CoD duty and Vicarious Visions shut down (and both are the only studios to put out or announce any non-COD games this decade so far), the Activision side was collapsing. Blizzard hasn't put out a new game since 2016 (6 years ago), and WoW is finally dying (and was always Microsoft exclusive anyways).
They may be notable in terms of their IP catalog, but their very low output outside of a single franchise makes this not really monopolistic. Same thing with Bethesda. Removing them only is a drop in the bucket of major game releases, like... One cod game a year, and one blizzard game every ~8 years or so are all that's lost.
I can't see this getting stopped. Still dont like it but...
@Jeronan that’s all speculation tbh. Officially he will stay and if he does eventually leave it won’t be for a while.
I love how NL had to put in Nintendo's valuation here. Nintendo already Lol'd at MS and I'm sure for the foreseeable future that won't change.
Also, I guess it's a good thing I bought into Xbox, which was mostly for third-parties and random exclusives. Now, add Activision games to those random exclusives.
@Strictlystyles Anything that can counter Sony and their monopoly over western AAA studios is a good thing
@glaemay buying devs is ok but publishers is not ok.
@Ryu_Niiyama There is simply no future within ActiVisionBlizzard after the transaction is complete.
Microsoft will give Bobby K. the option for a graceful exit and leave on his own terms. That is how these things work at those levels.
Just gets on the site Reads headline Oh for the love of GOD!
Xbone’s original DRM where they had control over every sale of every Xbone morphed into a subscription service where they have control over every game and even how they are developed so they can retrain/attract subscriptions using telemetry data, billions are spent sucking publishers/developers into this so there is so escape from being part of the subscription service, a decade from now there will only be the The Service where certain types of games aren’t allowed to exist because their algorithm says they don’t benefit The Service.
@Strictlystyles That's the opposite bro. Big corp buying devs is bad for their creativity
@Strictlystyles That is how it always works. Just look at other mergers/buyouts.
It's exceptionally rare for a CEO to be fired in public, unless the situation is so extreme and the CEO refuses to go, that the Board of Directors have no other choice.
Microsoft will give him a deadline for a graceful exit and the option to leave on his own terms.
It's disgusting really how that corporate world works, as that pig Kodick deserves to be humiliated in public.
@Curator I don't because Nintendo and Sony made THEIR names from their own internal studios, talent and culture.
Not just buying out the talent for exclusivity to keep from the other platforms. MS was garbage because their gaming studios outside of a few were crap. They were kept afloat mainly due to Halo and excellent 3rd party support during the 360 days. They don't deserve credit for simply buying outright those 3rd parties and IPs of others.
Hope they do something more with Crash and Spyro.
And this comment section could need more moderation.
I guess Microsoft got tired of Sony trying to take Call of Duty from them. 🤣
@Bizzyb Didn’t say anything about “credit” or ingenuity. Just made the claim that they’re now as established as the other two.
You can very well argue MS took a route that wasn’t as authentic, but that doesn’t mean they’re no longer here to stay.
Tell them to buy EA next.
Geez, might be time to bring back the "Micro$oft" moniker. Optimistically, Microsoft has been pretty decent for gaming posterity in ways of backwards compatibility, cloud gaming, Game Pass value, and generally playing nicely with their competitors... But cynically, they have a history of underutilizing some acquisitions to a near-criminal degree (Rare in particular).
It's not like Acti-Blizz can get any worse, but I'm not crazy about the potential monopolization of Western gaming (in NA). EA and Take-Two are kinda the only other big fish left over here, and that's, uhhh... not ideal.
@dkxcalibur What people also forget is since the Xbox 360 Microsoft's foothold in the hardware side of the gaming industry has been rough. Even the original Xbox only sold slightly better than the GameCube (24 million v. 21.74 million). The Nintendo Switch has almost doubled the Xbox One's total sales and is nipping on the heels of the PS4 despite being on the market for 4* years less than those consoles. And while the PS5 and XSX are neck and neck in sales that is mostly due to supply chain issues and we have no idea how they'd perform in a normal non-COVID restrained market. It's hard to call them a monopoly when they have only one console that can be called a total success.
Microsoft wants to develop a platform where you buy Microsoft Software and you play it quote "best" on Xbox. But, Halo Infinite is on PC and Minecraft is literally on everything. Microsoft wants Gamepass to be what they are known for and the Xbox is just the vehicle to push Gamepass. Buying Activision works perfectly into that plan as they can shove their foot into the giants of PC gaming (Overwatch, World of WarCraft, etc) and use Activision to push Call of Duty on PS5 and gain profit there, but control the IP on Xbox and PC. It is a win-win for Microsoft's future plans.
@Tobiaku If I remember right we are still supposed to get a spyro 4 I think.
@DTFaux Ubisoft as well, but I get your point.
@Jeronan Regardless, Phil Spencer now being top dog sends a message.
“Bobby Kodick no longer runs things. I do.”
@UltimateOtaku91 well OW2, was planned for multiplatform. Maybe Xbox will honor that
@Snatcher Crash 4 has already been released, I'm more hoping for a potential 5.
Well, at least its like @Tobiaku said, There probably planning to do more with crash and spyro then they did for the longest time, Even then I think nintendo switch has a chance to get those games... sony, er.
@NatiaAdamo I went and added "in NA" because while Ubi still exists, they're originally European publishers.
But heck, that kinda speaks of the state of gaming over there, as well.
@Curator If I were Bobby Kodick I would resign as soon as the sale goes through. With Phill Spencer getting total access to Activision files he will start "re-assigning" people and slowly remove Kodick from the Activision side of the business. I would not be surprised if he splits Activision and Blizzard into two separate companies.
@Tobiaku I said crash, my bad, I meant spyro.
@Strictlystyles the xenophobia part is just people looking to be offended for attention.
@Snatcher Spyro 4 would be great
@glaemay it is but buying publishers is worse because there are umbrellas of devs and ips going away then say getting developer.
@Jeronan again still speculation I don’t really wanna get into that(not invalidating the point you’re trying to make)
@Tobiaku It was in a little concept art book I think, and they asked you to look for something on it, and it was a big holographic spyro, with a big 4 at the bottom, lets hope so.
So does this deal with activision also spread to things like overwatch?
@Wexter They want to create a business model where 80% of all major western IPs can ONLY be played on their box or their service and where you ultimately never own any of it yourself.
How is this a good thing?
@Bizzyb the death of physical media ! Screw MS and anyone who approves this none sense
@Curator They've definitely cemented themselves. As to what? We'll have to wait until next season.
@Strictlystyles Has someone explicitly said he was staying after if/when they close?
So uh, what are the odds of getting COD on the switch now? 😋
Should have photoshopped Crash's shorts green in the image.
This affects me in no way at all, I don't play Xbox or any Activision Blizzard games.
In all seriousness though this is not good for the industry, Xbox have been relying on 3 IP for the past 3 generations and now rather than creating their own new IP to compete with Nintendo and PlayStation they are just buying up the biggest publishers.
Nothing would make me happier than for this to backfire and Xbox to disappear (I can dream can't I)
That's a lot of money for Pitfall and River Raid.
$95 per share cash deal??
What a GD power play by Microsoft. This could have got a controlling interest for 1/3rd that price!
Instead, they want completely control and HELLA overpaid for it, so expect this acquisition to be leveraged in a dramatic way. It's pretty much a given that Game Pass will include a premium WoW subscription now, and I would expect MS to ink an E-sports deal with Valve or Nintendo, seeing they are picking up MLG in this deal.
It's impossible to overstate how dramatic and meaningful it is to pick up 10,000 staff, most of them experienced game developers, overnight. It took Nintendo over a year to find 270 people worth hiring.
Just wow. This effects Nintendo exactly zero, but GD it sucks to be Sony right now. We're expecting their answer to Game Pass in the next few days, but this is not only going to completely overshadow that announcement, it also basically guarantees Sony's offering is going to be vastly inferior.
"buy EA next" ... why? Game Pass ALREADY includes EA access. So with MS you get all EA releases, all Bethesda releases, all blizzard activation releases, and all 21 Microsoft Studio games on day one. How the honest to god heck do you compete with that?
@Wexter I agree 100%. Well said.
@Bizzyb I did not say it was a good thing. I said that is their goal where you subscribe to Gamepass on either PC or Xbox and that is where they get their profit. They are shifting from the traditional Nintendo approach of software sells hardware, to the Microsoft Windows approach of software sells subscriptions and it does not matter what hardware you use.
As for my view on the idea as a whole, it is good and bad. It is good because Gamepass is super convenient and has great service. It is bad because much like Netflix and Disney+ in that soon we'll have a Playstation services, a Steam service and soon a Nintendo service and it won't matter what box I'm using, but I will be spending potentially hundreds of dollars a year to retain access to these services. So in the long run, I'll probably be spending more money than a console once a generation and a few games a year.
Big news for Xbox and MS. I might consider buying an Xbox Series X now. But anyway. I don't think Call of Duty will be exclusive to Xbox. It makes a ton of money on PlayStation to let that go away. But Crash & Spyro? Those are console exclusives, no doubt, on my mind.
The same goes for any multiplayer game. They won't be exclusive.
Activision must be in pretty dire straits if they’re in need of a buyout. The incensed comments are kind of funny. Like, capitalism doesn’t care about your fanboy loyalties.
That Xbox Series S we bought a couple weeks ago sure was a great purchase
@Strictlystyles I disagree, it's not even close. A monopoly is when there is no competition or very little competition. There are many developers left standing on their own, as well as other companies that produce consoles. When there's only a Microsoft console and Microsoft PC gaming, and they're using this power to control the prices people pay, then you can call it a monopoly.
If Microsoft Windows wasn't considered a monopoly, then this is no where close.
Alright Microsoft you need to calm down
It has been 8 years since Xbox previously held timed exclusivity rights to Call of Duty. I'm not happy because it's still probably gonna exist, but I'm not sad because PlayStation had it for much longer in terms of downloadable content.
Xbox acquiring Activision Blizzard is a huge step towards getting that much-needed balance in the video games industry. Exclusivity from Xbox is never really the end of the world because they greatly support Windows.
One of the things I blindly hope for, however, is that their multiplatform games are truly multiplatform. For once, I'm actually optimistic that some more games will make it onto the Switch. Even if they are water-downed, I'd rather have that option than not.
@Banjo- They could, but they won’t.
@Wexter
The math isn't that hard. Game Pass PC is the same price as buying 2 full price releases a year, and Game Pass on Xbox is 3. I can't see how in any way this could possibility be a negative; if that saves you money, sign up. If it doesn't ... what, it's not like MS is suggesting they are going to stop selling game individually.
This is just an additional option that has no impact on the traditional model if that's what you want to do. There is not a single person who loses anything because of the existence of Game Pass.
Also given you can sign up month to month, you can do things like get a month of game pass for $11 instead of buying a full price release like Halo. If you don't end up playing the game longer then 6 months ... well there is just another usage case where more options save people money without any negatives to people who just want to buy the game outright.
@dkxcalibur If people want to know what a monopoly is in modern terms they should look into the comic-book industry and a little company called Diamond.
@HeadPirate Yeah it's going blindside Sony a bit who swapped focus from Japan to the West and shutting down JapanStudio...only for Microsoft to hoover up two of the biggest western publishers.
And in Japan the Switch to have dominated the Market with still an exceptionally strong performance in the west without being in direct competition.
@Strictlystyles It doesn't really matter.
Currently Bobby K. is a top dog (predator) at ActivisionBlizzard and too comfy having been in that position for too long.
After the transaction is complete, it's going to be an impossible situation for Bobby K. anyway, since he is never going to accept having to suddenly report to someone higher, who can overrule his every decision.
@HeadPirate Mostly a joke for them to buy EA, too. I think it's sad that Microsoft is devouring the entire industry. At this point Ubisoft, Rockstar, EA, and a few other big companies are probably being eyed by Microsoft as we speak. The funny thing is that Microsoft could've been doing what they're doing now years ago, when those companies were less expensive. They're really just showing off at this point.
@HeadPirate For now that is the case. no garentees it will remain that way as Sony, EA, Valve and Nintendo start to eye up the Gamepass model. I mean you can still buy a blu-ray player and blu-rays, but streaming is what is pushing the film industry not individual releases. Gaming is going in that direction if we like it or not.
This move was all about buying while the stock (and likely the asking price) was nice and low given Activision/Blizzard's recent internal troubles. The upside is certainly there from a business angle.
If you think about it, Gamepass is really just Xbox One "Always online" DRM just repackaged/rebranded but worse; no trading, no owning, no physical, and now no choice.
Good lord....
WOW. That's pretty shocking.
@MetalMan They will even if it's just for marketing or liability purposes but they can't until the process is over and it could take a year or longer. It's not a medieval conquest. Spencer has confirmed that Microsoft and Activision will "continue to operate independently" until it's wrapped up.
@Bizzyb
Now watch happens when they start making games subscription only with no physical/digital purchase option, the writing is on the wall for that and will lead to games existing and being designed around retaining subscriptions aka hell.
@cherryghost41 yes, Microsoft did. Check my quote I posted a while back
@Dr_Lugae
Exactly man. Sony had completely market dominance and the only way they could lose it was to be completely shut out of the Western market while also losing all their Japanese exclusives. Either one of those things and they would have been fine.
But not only are most of the Sony exclusives in JP publishing on Switch and PC now, some exclusives jumped ship to Nintendo. And now Microsoft has decided to just buy everything. This is HUGE not just for the obvious reasons, but because it's really only the West that drives graphical performance. MS flagship console this generation is a $299 unit they are augmenting with Game Pass and Cloud gaming, Nintendo has a $299 portable hybrid, and Sony has a $499 monster powerhouse that can run games focused on the absolute peek or performance ... which Nintendo and Japan already don't make, and given the huge sales numbers the lower powered systems are brining in, it's not very attractive for any developers to invest in that now.
You want to play JP games you get a switch. You want to play Western games, Xbox and PC are really starting to look like the only options you need. What's Sony's market now?
Wow! The industry had been expecting Microsoft to make a purchase, but I don't think many thought it would be Activision. This is massive.
Sony will be reeling. This following on from the PS5 trouble and we genuinely could be seeing the first steps towards there being no PS6.
Cannot understate how big an acquisition this would be... literally only EA would be on a par. Ubisoft, Warner Bros were what I thought they might go for... this is an entire other league.
@Snatcher @eaglebob345
Looks Microsoft is tired of Sony getting COD rights. Also COD wouldn’t even come to Switch. Games take up a lot of space anyway.
Looks like I shall be securing an Xbox Series S for the future
@dkxcalibur we are talking about publishers not developers here. There were only but so many big publishers and now Microsoft has taken 2 of the biggest. Of course this isn’t the end of it and the more publishers they get the closer this gets to a monopoly. You would be right if this was just an issue of them snatching up developers this another level.
As far as Microsoft pc you still have a choice it’s just that devs don’t make that choice, the same way a lot of devs overlook android.
@noobish_hat
It basically is. They did a hard 180 on "bring gaming to everyone" when Sony said no to enabling cross platform. Now Phil Spencer has been pretty clear that MS games will be exclusive to MS platforms. I don't see any reason this game is going to see a Play Station release ever again.
Microsoft's buying power doesn't even feel legal anymore. It's time to prepare some anti-trust lawsuits
I'm worried about the future of videogames.
Now, it's going to become just like the movie industry, one company buying another, the market is getting more and more concentrated in a few companies, at this rate, soon we will have news that 5 companies control the entire USA videogame industry, just like it's happening at the moment with the movie and TV industry.
We need antitrust laws for Microsoft, they can't make another acquisition like that.
Well, despite all that, there are good things about this:
Usually these major acquisitions ruin the company acquired but Microsoft two steps ahead and buys an already hollowed out shell.
This seems unrealistic large sum, at some point it might be money laundering lol
Bar Warzone, what else does Activision/Blizzard has that could consider 70bn dollars huge.
@Strictlystyles yeah I've seen what they said since I asked. It is unfortunate, but it doesn't say what is going to happen if/when the deal is approved and final. I bet he will be gone once everything is finalized. You can bet he will leave with a massive golden parachute though.
As a Series S owner, this is awesome. Game Pass is genuinely phenomenal. Maybe Nintendo are friends with Microsoft because they deep down want to join forces to kick their old rivals Sony out of the business?
Of course Sony prob here to stay but the Ps5 is an expensive console with a dull as dishwater software offering, so they will have to plan some hotness for ps6 to survive.
@UltimateOtaku91 No. Microsoft has every right to buy whatever company they want, as long as both parties agree and the government doesn't have to step in for anticompetitive or other reasons to stop the deal. That's business, not bullying.
And I'm actually not necessarily against either the Bethesda or Activision deal personally. In fact, ever since the Bethesda announcement, I honestly predicted that Activision would be next, and I thought that they may be a good fit. Although in a way this seems weird and hard to believe now after all the notoriety the company has gained due to their legal issues over in California.
Look at all the companies Sony has bought over the years. I never heard any complaints of "bullying" directed at them. The only difference is, Sony has bought a lot of companies over a very long period of time (think decades), while Microsoft has made two absolutely massive aquisitions over the last few years. There's nothing inherently wrong with any of that.
@Strictlystyles Yeah, you’re probably right that would be bad and affect SEGA negativily. But a publishing deal with more games for Xbox and game pass would be could. I just feel like it such a waste to spend 70 billion on Activision.
@SalvorHardin Once you sign up you are beholden to whatever the hell they decide down the road i.e., price hikes, policy changes, digital ONLY releases etc. etc....these Gamepass stans have no idea what they are (potentially) giving up in the future so they can get some game "cheap" now...smh
@Faruko They own King, the makers of mobile game behemoths like Candy Crush.
@Strictlystyles You're right, publishers not developers; but there are still plenty of big "publishers" left too. This still provides you with options.
Like some of the others, I'm not looking at this as a totally negative thing. This may return Activision/Blizzard back to their roots a bit.
@Bizzyb Remember Nintendo more or less run a model like this. Tonnes of exclusive IPs.
It is also a good thing because you can access most of gaming now with a Switch and a Series S, which is super affordable and highly pro consumer.
@moodycat EA maybe
What.The.**** Hopefully this means the blizzard launcher on PC will go away and they will just bring their games to Steam.
@Faruko I agree! Disney didn't even pay a quarter of this amount for both Star Wars and Marvel!
This is massive!
And no, it’s not even remotely close to being a “monopoly”. I swear ppl just spout off without knowing anything about anything. Yes, it’s a huge acquisition, but they’re so far off from “monopoly” it’s almost comical anyone would suggest it.
I literally just bought a Series X yesterday, too. Swore I wasn’t going to buy PlayStation or Xbox consoles again, due to no gyro aiming. PC and Switch only moving forward. But then I decided to buy a PS5 just in case, and after a year of my brother going on and on about game pass, I decided why not give it a try. Maybe I can use it to demo games and just buy the ones I like afterward on a different platform with gyro.
I’m glad to see this, honestly. For too long Sony has screwed gamers by bribing companies to not release on competing platforms, incredibly late PC releases (if they release on PC at all), and I’m just tired of it. I kickstarted Little Devil Inside for Nintendo and PC, then Sony pays them to make it PS5 exclusive, screwing the backers. Just another example of them doing all they can to devalue other platforms as much as possible.
MS puts every game on PC day and date. They even allow some games on Switch. I’d much rather that than Sony bribing them every year for exclusive content, delayed releases elsewhere, etc.
@UltraZelda64 there's a big difference, sony didn't buy massive third party developers though, Bethesda and Activision were two of the top 5 biggest devs who's games are enjoyed by millions across playstation, xbox and nintendo.
@dkxcalibur please don't mention Disney. That's just a way to get them to buy the future Microvisionsoft to complete their cyberpunk gigacorp-grade chokehold onthe entertainment industry
"Everyone is here? More like everyone is ours." - Microsoft probably
@Wexter
Come on man, that's just silly and you have to know that. Just on every level this makes less the zero sense.
First and foremost, MS would rather sell you the individual game. They are pushing Game Pass because it brings in new gamers and allows them to show dominance in the market, and because investors really like "stable" income, but the profit MS gets from putting Halo on Game Pass is zero. Even if someone was to sign up to Game Pass JUST for Halo, the sub is $11 a month which gets split up over network costs and paying out to partners on the platform. It's likely 2+ years before they recoup the same profits they would from simply selling the game.
This would also DRASTICALLY reduce MS's position in gaming; You CAN buy Game Pass to play a lot of games at a low monthly cost is a great marketing position. You HAVE to buy Game Pass of you can't play the ... what, 0.0001% of games Microsoft directly publishes? All that does is make your games irrelevant.
Logistically, no one knows better then MS that online only isn't going to work. They said that out loud once, and it is literally the only reason Sony didn't go bankrupt. Almost 30% of the US doesn't have even the OPTION of internet speed that could support this, it's WORSE in the UK and AU, and even worse in other markets. The only part of the world that could support online only gaming is SEA, where Xbox isn't even a thing.
I get that companies are evil and don't care about anything but money. But they are not going to go out of there way and give up billions in sales just to spite us.
On one hand, it kind of sucks that Bobby Kotick is still the CEO of ActiBlizz, but on the other, at least he's gonna have Phil Spencer to answer to now.
Oh wow that’s crazy how can they get away with this.
Not sure if this makes me more or less hopeful for Hearthstone on Nintendo Switch. I guess there's nothing to lose from hopeful.
@Ludovsky Ha ha, who's buying who? Maybe neither? Amazon is probably waiting to buy both.
@Jeyl It's not ideal, but at least he has someone over his head to hold him accountable now. It's an objectively better situation than if Microsoft didn't buy them out. He wasn't going anywhere anytime soon anyways (though in a perfect world, he would be fired and prosecuted), but preventing him from allowing other women to be harmed is more important than punishment.
Wow. This is megaton big. Huge blow to Sony, like their balls are sore right now. As for gaming in general ?…can’t say this is good for EVERYONE. An absolutely aggressive move by MS, as Nintendo and Xbox gamer this has me excited. However I understand the monopoly concerns. What an interesting time for gaming. Gaming values are blowing away other forms of entertainment, Star Wars for $4 Billion to Disney is a dirt cheap steal looking back.
Activision/Blizzard house some massive IP, Sony will not like this move at all. While Nintendo could care less lol
Honestly, that picture of Crash for this article is perfect.
Wow that's N-Sane! 😉 but seriously, that blew my mind reading it. Microsoft is getting all the big players now.
@-wc-
As someone who owns all 3 consoles as well as a fairly decent MSI gaming rig, all I see here are sony fanboy tears.
ActiBlizz are an absolute STATE right now, if you really think MS buying them will make them somehow worse? really? just like bethesda got worse by cancelling Deathloop on Playstation right after being bought by MS....oh, wait. If the shoe was on the other foot you'd be seeing SWEET FA on anything other than Sony, at least you have options, and MS hasn't been in the news/on social media for god-knows-what bad stuff recently, unlike Ubisoft, EA, Activision, etc etc.
Have to wonder what the reactions would be had it been SONY that purchased Activision/Blizzard? Those IPs would be guaranteed to be exclusive to Sony’s ecosystem I imagine
@HeadPirate I disagree with that, Game Pass might not be profitable now, but what happens when they are are at 100m subscribers? If the cost then is $15 per month, that's $18bn per year, say then spend $6bn a year on game development and $6bn a year on managing the service etc that's $6bn profit.
My predictions:-
1. This could be the last Microsoft console generation - if XCloud really works it will be PC + Streaming devices only.
2. Microsoft will stop releasing games at retail, everything will be Game Pass only within maybe 5 years
3. Microsoft can't buy another big publisher (EA, Ubisoft, Square Enix etc)
4. They could still buy some smaller companies, it wouldn't surprise me if they buy SEGA and Konami
As someone who owns a Switch and an XBox series, this is awful news. It's a shame that a mega rich company who got into gaming as a curiosity has the wealth to simply buy everyone as opposed to carve a legacy themselves with zero risk. They really want everyone tied to games as a service even if they have to buy everyone to do it. I suppose it's one way to get day one third parties on Gamepass, and cements future Gamepass originals. I suppose EA is next. And then SONY really are sailing up stream. Just feel like corporate vultures as opposed to a creative team.
@HeadPirate I think you are missing my point. I'm just pointing out that Gamepass is more profitable for Microsoft than an individual release. If a game sells 2 million units for $60 that is a lot of money, BUT if a game comes out and 4 million people try Gamepass for a month for $11 that is better and let's say 2 million stays on for $11 a month that is sustainable profitability. It is how Disney can have their cake and eat it too with Disney+. They could make millions selling Book of Boba Fett on Blu-Ray and on syndicated TV. Rather they can drive their other properties and watch time on Disney+ by getting renewed subscriptions as they stay for other content.
I don't think we will go purely the subscription model this year. But, Microsoft sees that there is a larger profit to be made with Gamepass and when other companies join in then that is where I will start seeing a larger and larger hole in the pocket much like Streaming has with Netflix, Disney+, Paramount+, HBO Max, etc.
Though for the record I'm pro-Gamepass.
This is the move that will completely destroy Sony.
nintendo needs to aquire platinum studios they work better with nintendo then anyone else so we can get more sequels to astral chain and others as well.
@MarioBrickLayer i dont think anyone would care about konami being bought out since they havent put out a good game for a while and treating their ips like trash.
Maybe a cod on switch now. At this point just port the mobile version.
@MarioBrickLayer I don't think they can buy Sega. Sega is already part of SegaSammy, which does much more than games. And as we seen, Microsoft goes for the whole company, not just one part. Them buying Sega is about as likely as them being up all of Warner Brothers.
How is Activision worth more than Nintendo? WTF?
I would just like to say that I am not a business person and don’t care at all about this. I’m not having a go at the article at all I just want to say that I play good games that are released, and there are always good games around no matter what xxx
@HeadPirate Expect to see Gamepass price hikes on the future. How do you think they plan to pay for this sh*t?
Once they got ppl hooked and NO CHOICE, Gamepass is going to see major hikes. This is how they plan to create a digital only future where you own nothing and they control everything
@Raffles When you're buying a company you're not just paying for what they are worth now, but future profits. When Disney bought Lucas Film they were not just buying out Lucas and the worth of the company at that moment, but what they'd also be worth in the future. Remember, Lucas was working on 7,8 and 9 on his own before Disney expressed interest and ILM always had work to do so Disney was also buying those projects and had to buy out Lucas from those potential profits.
@NatiaAdamo Sega's divisions are fairly standalone, I don't know why a deal couldn't be done - at the right price, from Microsoft's perspective, they have loads of underutilised IPs.
@Raffles if MS bought Nintendo they would go for much more, i'd guess $100bn+ there is often a premium above Market Cap when a takeover happens.
@sanderev Sony is getting crushed in Japan by Nintendo and now MS plans to exclusively own 80% of all major Western IPs...
Its not looking good for Sony...
@MarioBrickLayer Just buying out Nintendo alone and not including their stake in the Pokemon Company... OUCH that would be WAY too rich for Microsoft's blood. Pokemon alone is more valuable than any IP MS owns currently. I think $100 Billion is lowballing (as just the Pokemon Company is worth $92.121 billion).
Must be all that Bill Gates vaccine money.
@Bizzyb If Sony buy Square Enix, Capcom, Konami, and Sega then they'll still had a chance. Even so they are bleeding money right now so I don't see them taking the risk. Right now they had enough money to make another studio but not enough to buy one huge third party company.
God, I remember thinking how crazy it was when they bought Zenimax. I didn't think it would get even crazier!
@Rainz Yes but not totally, those same franchise could still come out on PC even if Sony acquired them. It'll just be like God of War and Horizon Zero Dawn's case and more money in Sony's pocket.
Can’t wait to play “Warcraft 3: Reforged: Reforged.”
The funny thing is without even dropping a dime….Nintendo is still the KING of the exclusives.
My guess is that they have done this because of 3 factors.
1. Game changer against their rivals
2. USA vs china.. they are trying to make sure that tencent dosent Get to big or takes the lead.
3. was the right time to buy while Activision/blizzard lay wounded and needed a helping hand/escape route.
@Wexter You're probably right, which would be a big premium on their current $60bn market cap.
@sanderev If Jim Ryan doesn't see the writing on the wall yet he soon will. The PS5 is lacking titles and lagging sales, if Sony doesn't had a killer PS5 exclusive soon Sony will fall behind Nintendo and Microsoft in the west too.
i wonder how long it will take until Microsoft tries to buy out Nintendo (again)? lol
its either that or Microsoft is getting ready to take down Sony and win over the majority of the gaming market. however them owning 80% of the gaming Market is a bad idea especially since they are already at a risk of being a monopoly.
thankfully Nintendo is safe (for now) since they are currently good friends with Microsoft. so it seems as though Sony may be the first to drop out of the console wars; well the second if you decide to include Sega which dropped out many years ago. i forget how many years ago it was, but it feels like its been 20 years.
@victordamazio They'll probably killed Crash and Spyro like they did Banjo and Conker. A game with all four mascots would be nice, it's too bad Microsoft isn't a gaming company to give that idea a run. Even if they did it'll suck just like Nuts and Bolts or Project Spark.
I had to sign up on NL to say this: I really like Gamepass, it's absurdly good for its price. Coming from a lower income country, it's kinda absurd to choose to pay 60+ USD + fees on a single Nintendo/Sony game, whereas Gamepass barely costs 100 USD a year with tons of games.
Another thing: I really doubt they will make any game Xbox exclusive. Microsoft earns much more selling their games in multiple platforms, especially on Windows with Steam and MS Store, than keeping a title locked on a console.
@UltimateOtaku91 Size, again, doesn't matter. Microsoft has every right to buy whatever company they want as long as the government does not flag them for anticompetitive reasons, and the same is true for Sony, although Sony's history of acquisitions shows a very different strategy.
But I will say that there is one very, very big difference between Microsoft buying a company, and Sony or Nintendo buying a company. Although Nintendo doesn't tend to buy too many companies and tends to use their own internal resources, they are similar to Sony in that you will never find their games on a competitor's system. The only exception is an occasional game Nintendo releases for phones just to try to tap into a massive market, or some Sony games going to PC just because Sony doesn't see the PC as a threat to the home console market.
In comparison, over the last few years Microsoft has proven to be very friendly to their competitors, and is no stranger to releasing their games not only on PC (even Steam) and Xbox, but Switch as well. And in the case of Minecraft, well, that game's everywhere--you can even play that one on PlayStation if you want. For this reason alone, of the three companies, Microsoft is the one that I would rather see buying these companies.
Like it or not, Microsoft does not have anywhere near a monopoly in the gaming industry, and this is a good business decision. As a Nintendo fan for life and an owner of a Switch, PS4 Pro, Xbox One X and Xbox Series S, I'm personally happy to see it happen. Based on Microsoft's recent behavior, I feel like Activision is in good hands and will have a promising future.
@stevenw45 They can't buy their competition unless their competition is liquidating, struggling, or in bankruptcy. Microsoft could buy Sony if Sony had no more money to make a new console or is struggling to hit hardware sales in all regions.
@DennisNOR #3 definitely played a role. Kotick probably wanted out in the best way he could come out on top.
MS probably convinced him to convince the shareholders to sell and they (MS) would give him (Kotick) the nicest most golden parachute he ever saw.
@Lakelimbo Welcome!!
I think Microsoft recognise the limitations of games being locked to a console, that's why Game Pass is also available on the PC and they are doing trials for cloud streaming. There were news reports last year that they were talking to TV manufactures about having an App pre-installed on TVs like Netflix. So if you can access Game Pass on your TV, PC, phone etc I think they will then start making games only available via Game Pass.
@UltraZelda64 It does seem like Microsoft is planning to go third party by slowly dissolving their console platforms. Game Pass and xCloud does better on PC and mobile than console so it wouldn't surprise me if Xbox Series X/S would be their final home consoles.
@Specter_of-the_OLED I've been thinking the same thing. I think Microsoft see console generations as a limitation. If they can make cloud work properly, it may be better for them and gamers if they stop making consoles.
If microsoft can't win a console war
Then just buy all the gaming companies instead lol
@Specter_of-the_OLED Is people still blaming Microsoft for killing Banjo and conker? .-. They just don't have a suitable studio to make new games of those ips. As for Crash and Spyro, they still have Toys for bob.
@RiasGremory Sadly, Platinum games seems not to like the idea of being bought.
There's at least one upside to this. Now Raven Software is free to make a new Heretic/Hexen game.
@Specter_of-the_OLED
i know; that's why i said "take down" and not "boy out". besides, i don't think Microsoft is interested in purchasing Sony. besides, both companies do business in other markets outside of gaming (a.k.a. the console wars). either way, its impossible for one company to buy out the other without creating a monopoly.
for all we know the two companies are enjoying the competition between each other and possibly a (theoretical and made up) game of chicken in which may lead to an unwanted monopoly...lmao
Just put crash and Spyro on switch and I will be happy.
@Specter_of-the_OLED It will be interesting to see what direction Microsoft will go in terms of cloud gaming, but I don't think the Xbox Series S|X will be their last duo of traditional home consoles. I think they've got plenty of room for growth even in the "traditional" (aka. non-cloud) gaming space. I think Microsoft will undoubtedly put some focus on cloud gaming, but I just don't know how much. I know they'd love to make Game Pass available as a part of their competitors' consoles and maybe build it into an app for smart TVs that requires nothing more than an Internet connection, a Game Pass subscription and an Xbox controller, but that's going to be a long uphill battle with both Nintendo and Sony.
I don't think cloud gaming can ever truly replace traditional gaming, because while traditional gaming only requires one absolutely essential, basic service that literally everyone has access to (electricity), cloud gaming adds the requirement of a very fast, stable Internet connection on top of that--which not everyone has access to or even cares about. And even with a good connection, cloud gaming has its flaws, compared to just running your software/games on your own hardware.
I checked my calendar if today was April 1st, but no, oh wow, Microsoft really wants return to Monopoly, they didn't understand the last time when they were fined and punished by just this, monopoly!, But, oh well....
Therefore, from Activision-Blizzard, the only IP that I am interested is Overwatch (and one old (well, no much old) racing game named Blur), then, well.
Crash better not be Xbox exclusive because of this.
Otherwise, I don’t really care, I don’t really care for either Activison or Microsoft, so I can ignore them both more easily
Been playing a lot of Yakuza Like a Dragon on GamePass for my Xbox One X recently. What a great service. It just got a lot more better.
@Wexter @MarioBrickLayer
Ah I see I see, yeah that makes sense.
Tbh it is still much more than I expected. I would have thought Nintendo would be worth a few times more than Activision, at least.
@SakuraHaruka Microsoft has nowhere near a monopoly on the gaming industry, and this acqusition--as big and expensive as it is--will put them no closer to having a monopoly in gaming.
WHAAAAAT???!!! Incredible!
@Strictlystyles You obviously do not know what a monopoly is if you think that this move will bring Microsoft any closer to being one in the gaming industry. They are about as far as they can get from having a monopoly in the gaming market. There is no risk now, and there will be no risk after this deal is finalized.
Hint: Microsoft got absolutely annihilated last generation in terms of hardware sales by Sony with the PS4, and even the Switch has sold many more units than the Xbox One. Past generations weren't all that different. That is kind of the exact opposite of a monopoly.
This is for mocking them for their lack of exclusives isn’t it.
The bottom line is Microsoft know they can't compete with Sony or Nintendo for quality AAA games. So they have to buy as many 3rd party publishers as possible to keep Xbox afloat. Absolute joke really, but that's Microsoft for you, bottomless pockets. They have to win!!! They relied on 3rd party in the 360 era, then with no IP of there own the wheels fell off on Xbox one. So now it's eliminate the competition, buying everything in sight.
@Axelay71 I dunno... Microsoft has some big IPs with Halo and Gears of War. Plus they have all of Rare's back catalogue and their own pre-Xbox titles. They have a stable of IPs already and I think these purchases more have to do with establishing different branches of Microsoft studios. Think how Disney has the Walt Disney Company, Marvel Studios, Pixar, 20th Century Fox and ABC. Microsoft is trying to establish different publishing houses under the Xbox umbrella.
So will Activision games become exclusive to xbox systems???
ALL WILL BE IN GAMES PASS! MUHAHAHA!
@FragRed Putting in an offer over $70 billion? Very few companies could pull that off and the ones that could do not have the experience to run a gaming division. As far as a monopoly, I doubt that would fly. Even if MS was the only western publisher in all of gaming and ran it like slave owners, it would probably still be better for the gaming studios involved than Activision.
@Axelay71 You just described how Sony even entered the gaming industry. They threw money around and paid off third parties, going so far as buying sports cars and houses for certain developers to make it happen. Every single AAA game Sony creates is by someone they bought...live by the sword, die by the sword
*Disney proceeds to buy Sony
Well Crash, we had a good run, but I'm sure you'll become an exclusive now, and I have no intention of ever buying a Microsoft Gaming system.
Maybe now, Crash can be in Smash - in the next game, if there will be one
@Axecon 70 billion dollars sounds legal to me.
@Jeyl As if.
@NIN10DOXD Don't act as you know more about business than anyone else here does.
@BenAV What's the issue with that?
@UltimateOtaku91 Activision didn't even own Blizzard until they bought Vivendi. Vivendi didn't own Blizzard until they bought their publisher before that. These things snowball.
Sony threw its money around in other ways to get every third party on their systems in the 90's. That went a long way for them.
Why are people negative to this?
Sony did this for over 2 decades, and when Microsoft is doing exact same as Sony it's suddenly wrong?
I smell Sony fanboy'ism.
I think Geometry Wars Galaxies is the only Activision game that I own.
@UltimateOtaku91
You have to remember Sony pushed Microsoft to do this.
Sony opened wallet left and right for decades to get 100's of exclusives.
Sony bought far more than Microsoft ever did.
@Scrubicius It's not even close to monopoly.
This purchase only makes Microsoft the 3rd largest game company.
They would need to buy EA, THQ, Warner Games, Square, Koch, Deep Silver +++ to even get only halfway to monopoly.
@Iconoclysm Everyone has to start somewhere difference is Sony invested in creating new IPs with great 1st party devs, making the PlayStation brand the force it is today. Sony certainly isn't anywhere near falling on the sword just yet!!
@Bizzyb Microsoft is not caring about console sale.
Game Pass is a multiplatform sub and have a way bigger market potential than a console can ever get.
Even Sony started to release exclusives on PC, because one console market isn't good enough anymore.
@FragRed Sony and Nintendo can't afford to make a higher bid, or even doing deals like this in the first place.
Only conglomerates can do purchases like this.
@Entrr_username I never implied I did. It's just a bad thing for the two of the four biggest publishers in the United States to bought by one company.
@Ventilator you mean timed exclusives, where the game would still come to xbox.
And as far as I remember xbox were paying for exclusives left right and centre at the beginning of the xbox 360 gen
Sony buy smaller devs, not huge third party devs to take games away from millions of players full stop
@NIN10DOXD Why? Microsoft have released a bunch of games on Switch, but only Minecraft on Sony consoles.
And besides. Some Activision games will still be multiplatform, but probably timed exclusive on Xbox, PC, XCloud, Android and Apple first.
Game Pass exists on 5 systems.
Xbox, PC, XCloud, Android and Apple.
When they release the Xbox dongle, everyone can play Xbox games directly on TV.
It's not like Game Pass is Xbox exclusive.
1 Billion can get Game Pass right now if they want.
@Ventilator Not all games will be. They are already planning on making Elder Scrolls an Xbox Exclusive again when the sixth game finally releases. Even if they release multiplatform games, the is all going to one company.
@NIN10DOXD Yes, but you have to remember Game Pass isn't Xbox exclusive.
It's available on 5 systems so far, and will be expanded to even more non Microsoft systems.
Game Pass is 100% software only, and is why it can work on any media device on the planet.
Both Sony and Nintendo refused to get Game Pass on their consoles.
@Ventilator My point is most of the revenue from sales on other platforms will still go to Microsoft which will become a problem if they keep buying every publisher for sale.
@NIN10DOXD Yes, and is why they denied.
TV brands like Samsung, LG and Philips is neutral and can't refuse Game Pass dongles to be used on their TV's.
The Xbox dongles don't have a release date yet.
When it comes to Activision, it's confirmed that some games will still be multiplatform.
@Ventilator it has less to do with size but more exclusivity. Microsoft has been known with this strategy. Office, Internet Explorer, Intel, online services and so on. Fact is Microsoft is a monopoly that damaged consumers and competition. It’s all there just have to look.
As history does repeat itself in a form and another. I can see Microsoft stepping back from hardware and offer only a service with their game “software” IPs.
@Scrubicius Yeah, but remember they wouldn't need to buy Zenimax and Activision if Sony hadn't prevented 100's of games to be released on Xbox consoles last 20 years.
Blame Sony for forcing Microsoft to buy whole publishers.
@Bizzyb
@NotoriousWhiz
@CopyX1982
sorry guys i thought my sarcasm would come across a bit better but the only ppl who responded one way or the other didnt get it! haha.
i was around when MS was THE evil monopolistic corporation to hate. to this day i haven't owned an xbox of any kind ( and i have almost every other console nes and on.)
that and i dont care for guns or war propaganda.
i will always exist in the space that MS (and for the last few gen, Sony) doesn't and im comfortable with that. indie games are the future of real gaming anyway ✊
@UltimateOtaku91 Sony can't even afford to buy companies like Zenimax and Activision and is why they have to stick with smaller developers instead.
"huge third party devs to take games away from millions of players full stop"
I guess you don't know how Game Pass works at all.
Game Pass is a multiplatform sub.
Game Pass is already available on billions of phones alone.
Everyone with a phone and tablet on the planet can play Xbox games right now if they want.
The 5 systems supported so far. Xbox, PC, Web, Android and IOS/Apple.
Those 5 systems combined have a possible market for 1 billion as of today.
@Ventilator that's great and all but you need a controller and grip for android and a good Internet connection and even then what happens if the Internet provider is playing up etc you can't play any games, plus I've tried playing console games on my 6 inch phone for multiplayer shooters and it's not good you need the big screen for those kind of games, then there's connecting Bluetooth headphones which theres noticeable latency especially more some when there's a controller also connected via Bluetooth.
Out of their 25 million subscribers I'd wager the vast majority are on xbox consoles and pc
Hahahahaa , Well thats some news, I read that Kotick will be out once its all signed over, you can't have a person like that associated with your new purchase. Also a slight kick in the teeth for Sony, A bit of Karma, and well due after there heavy handed dealings in the 90s and wanting to destroy Nintendo and Sega, Unfortuantly we lost Sega as a hardware manafacturer ,but some of that was their own doing,
I reckon it will be good for Nintendo as they have colaborated in the past with MS. Also some of those Studios who have done nothing for years other then surport might be able to do some real fresh programming on older IP's and fresh ideas. Studios like Toys for Bob, Treyarch, and Vicarious Visions use to make great games. Treyarch did the Spiderman games I remember on PS1.And this is why the rumoured Golden Eye is coming as Activision held some of the rights. Now Microsoft and Nintendo can get ot on.
Bad for Sony = yeah a bit
Good for Nintendo = I think so , they wo't hog all the IP
Brilliant for Xbox owners and Microsoft = Hell yeah , nows thier chance to deliver the goods.
@Ventilator Karma for Sony. As they say do unto them as they will do to you. I'm loving this
@UltimateOtaku91 You are not forced to use gamepad on phones.
Microsoft is having a team that spend a lot of time making as good touch controls as possible. Every game gets their own touch setup due to different controls.
I don't like touch controls, but there is millions of people who even play online FPS with touch controls on phones.
Like you, i would never play a FPS on a small screen.
Touch controls is too unreliable unless it's for a puzzle game.
As for reliable internet. Android phones and Tablets supported wired LAN for nearly 10 years. Android even supports LAN Adapters made for Wii, Wii U and Switch.
Majority of Game Pass today is on PC and Xbox, because majority of mass market have no clue about what Game Pass is..Yet. In fact not even most PC, Nintendo and Sony users know that it is.
When XCloud is out of beta, Microsoft will probably have TV adverts and whatever for Game Pass to show people what it is.
@KITG_GROUP I love it too and Sony deserved this so hard like with Zenimax/Bethesda on top of Obsidian, Ninja Theory and many others.
Japan woke up the sleeping giant at Pearl Harbor, and got 2 cities ruined with Nukes.
Japan/Sony have for years kicked Microsoft until the giant woke up.
Result. Microsoft is nuking Playstation library. lol
Cool but I literally never played an Activision/Blizzard game lol.
Megaton! No doubt this move was made to continue to bolster Game Pass, just as Bethesda and their other acquisitions were.
Very curious to see how they handle CoD. A big multiplayer game like that is an entirely different beast to single player titles like Starfield. If I had to guess, the main games go Xbox/PC only while Warzone stays multiplatform
@Bizzyb
First ... obviously. The price of products goes up over time. I want my $59.99 new releases back.
Second ... I'm not scared of your tinfoil hat talk. Nintendo, Sony, and MS could all brick your system with an online update without telling you and force every game to include code that bricks it if they don't like you. Just because it's a physical object doesn't mean you own it, you have a licences to use it, revocable at any moment. So sure, you can stay offline forever and never buy a new game, but if MS wants to force you to give them more money to use your physical system and play your physical games, that's totally a thing they can do.
I mean if it ever costs too much, you can just stop paying for it. If you value the illusions of ownership and can't handle the idea of not being able to play every game you've ever played for the rest of your life, power to you. Buy physical games and stay away from Game Pass.
But me, I have 750 games on steam and I'm old and mortal. Hell, I actually really like it when I see Game Pass is pulling a game, it motivates me to actually try it.
@MarioBrickLayer
Game Pass is profitable as hell, I don't see where I said otherwise.
But beyond that, 100 million, 200 million, 4 billion, none of that ever changes the fact that selling an individual game is more profitable. If I have 200 million Game Pass subs and I release Halo only to Game Pass, I make .... 200 million people happy. If I release it on Game Pass AND as an individual game, I make 200 million people happy AND half a billion dollars in individual sales.
All this crazy talk also seems to be based on a tragic lack of understanding on how Activation makes money. What do Skylanders, Tony Hawk, DJ Hero and Guitar Hero have in common? Skylanders is the 4 most profitable IP activation owns, the others are in the top 15, and you literally can't make them digital only. Yeah, MS's plan to stop publishing physical games started by paying $70B USD for the one publisher that more then anyone else, is absolutely dependent on people buying physical crap for games. That's some 4D chess right there!
Activations 2nd most profitable IP is Candy Crush. They didn't just buy Overwatch, they bought MLG which means anything that makes it harder to play your E-sport is stupid. Forget digital only, they are going to put DVDs with that game on it in cereal boxes.
See and this is the problem with one size fits all fear and conspiracy theories. It's not just in general, but when you look at what MS just bought, they are more pro physical gaming now then they ever have been before.
@dew12333 oh no! Tecent is gonna buy Nintendo.
@Not_Soos Microsoft is a gigantic company, and gets tons of its money from government contracts. It's the last of the console manufacturers I would hope to have bought Activision, or any other gaming company, and really, knowing how they operated at the executive level in the offices from what has been reported, Activision's office environment would be about the same, so I guess Microsoft buying Activision makes sense?
@HeadPirate I don't think Microsoft has commented that Game Pass is profitable, unless that's a recent update? When Phil Spencer was asked about it, he didn't say profitable, but "...Game Pass is sustainable.".
They're forward thinking with it, and want it to be like a Netflix, but the issue will be like Netflix in that it burns a ton of cash for content, and as more competition has entered that streaming market (Disney, NBC, Paramount, etc.), Netflix has started losing subscribers.
I think this is an interesting move but who will truly benefit, if you look at stock Activision is up by 25% by Microsoft is down so who knows
@CoffeeWithGames
You're not wrong. Depends on who is giving you the numbers really. On both the earnings calls it has been mention it's been called a profit centre for Xbox division to investors, while Phil and others point out it's an investment and not meant to make money to the press. The two reasons for the disconnect are likely that Xbox division operates at a loss as a whole and how profitable it is depends on where you assign the overheard. As such, the statements "it's the most profitable part of Xbox" and "it doesn't make a lot of money" are not mutually exclusive.
Some insight from earning calls as well. When you map out how much you are going to spend on something like content for Netflix or games for Game Pass, you do it as a percentage of revenue the same way you do for R&D and advertising. I don't actually understand why, but for some reason investors really like this. The actually prefer "we will spend X% of Game Pass revenue on a Halo game to release on Game Pass" over "we are going to budget X amount of money to make a game that we project is going to sell Y. I've had it explained and even mathed out to me as stability always winning out over risk, but I guess I'm just not rich enough to really understand.
The reason this isn't a one to one with Netflix is that Microsoft was already making games. This isn't new, they have no less then 21 studios pumping out content at any given time, so unlike Netflix they already have a working model to make money by releasing content. So did Bethesda. So did Activation. So did Blizz .. well, let's just go with so did Bethesda and Activation. So realistically, unless MS makes some insanely bad management choices, their games publishing division should be profitable with zero subscriptions to Game Pass.
If anything, you point out on of the more compelling arguments as to why MS isn't going to rock the boat or make some sort of "all in" commitment to Game Pass exclusivity. They make money publishing games. Why risk that?
Damn. Microsoft really muscling in on Western AAA third parties. First Bethesdia and now Activision. This hurts mainly Sony because this Gen they rely on third parties more then ever
Also let’s not be hypocritical everyone. Nintendo and especially Sony have history buying up studios too. It’s just Microsoft has the largest war chest for acquisitions compared to the former two. If they both had remotely the amount of money Microsoft had that they can
It’s kind of ironic that last Gen people cried that Microsoft barely has any studios and now it’s a complete flip this Gen with people still crying about it.
@Arawn93
They’ve bought massive publishers not just studios to support their subscription service that will be streaming only sooner or later, there is no comparison to be made here with anything Nintendo or Sony have done.
Microsoft is utterly toxic to lots of people and burnt down the bridges they had with a lot of gamers after what they tried to pull in 2013 that’s why the attitude you’re talking about exists especially after people are realizing the link between game pass and Xbone’s DRM scheme which will become more clear as time goes on, they want complete control over this industry so they can steer it into streaming only to give them even more control so folks have every right to be unappeasable with them. If Nintendo or Sony attempted this I’d feel exactly the same towards them as I do Microsoft.
Looks like I won't be seeing much of those IPs ever again.
Couldn't care less,not interested in anything from these studios.
@HeadPirate to make $500m you'd have to sell more retail copies than any Halo game has ever sold $500m/40 = 12.5m ($60 - $20 - for the retailer) and I think the idea is that having all these games which can only be played via Game Pass then you attract more players.
There is nothing stopping them selling a line of accessories etc which can be used in game, but why does that mean the game can't be distributed digitally? How will the games you mentioned be played on XCloud on a mobile? MS will want to do that!! Also, how will those games be played on the XBOX Series S?!
Didn't knew high moon studios were Activision's
They should make another Transformers game or port those to switch
@SalvorHardin Uh yes there is an adequate comparison lol
Sony did the same type of tactics MS is doing now back in the 90s when it was Sony, Nintendo, and Sega back when Sony was the one with the most money of the three
Hate to say this to you, but every business is “toxic”. Sony or Nintendo isn’t your best friend. If either of them had remotely the same amount of disposable revenue that MS have you bet they would be buying exclusive release deals, IPs, developers, publishers, etc as their history has shown they done multiple of times before. Fat kid at the candy store mode for the two of them.
End of the day putting all the moronic bias console fanboy war nonsense aside: Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft are the same types of businesses save their minor deviations that includes MS happening to have the most money of the three.
Seems. To me like Microsoft is overpaying to get them. Seriously that is way to much money for an damaged brand like blizzard /action vision. Plus the fact that most of their ips aren't really worth much if your being honest
Its a crazy purchase too. Now Xbox is the third largest video game publisher by revenue just behind Sony and Tencent. What a crazy audacious purchase, I personally hope it somehow hit an anti trust suit as I am very against market monopoly. Games (ex. Crash, Tony Hawk, Spyro) from activision regardless of what Nintendo fans think of them, potentially not ever coming to Nintendo platform.
Come on Nintendo. Buy up the Castlevania rights before Microsoft takes over Konami 😁
Activision looked for other buyers:
https://www.purexbox.com/news/2022/01/activision-looked-for-other-buyers-before-accepting-xbox-offer#comment6770779
@Specter_of-the_OLED as if Activision was doing anything besides CoD and a bit of Diablo tho.
This is a way better buy for thw gaming community than the Bethesda one IMO, it might mean we get new games from pretty dead ips.
@Arawn93 Do people forget NES Nintendo? They had very draconian policies and even limited the number of games each publisher could release per year. They even had a policy where if you were to publish a game on the Sega Master System you would lose your licence for the NES. Yes, they did these policies because Atari burned the entire industry to the ground in 1983, but Nintendo did some messed-up *****. They did not start being your quote "modern-day friendly Big N" till Iwata took over with the Gamecube. And even then modern Nintendo is not perfect. We just tend to be kinder to them because they don't enslave their employees with crunch time and don't tend to partake in nasty practices like loot boxes, NFTs and pay-to-win mechanics in their AAA releases.
Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo have all done some nasty things to their competitors when they were top dog.
@Arnold-Kage uh what? Putting aside the Japanese game bias…They have multitude of high profile Western IP now that makes ton of money. They even have Crash and Spyro now for the hell of it which is weird since most people always associate those two as “Sony mascots”.
CoD in particular [despite how people meme is a “dead” franchise] is a huge get alone objectively considering it’s the current most mainstream first person multiplayer shooter series. Combine this with Bethesdia and Xbox went with “just having Halo, GoW, and Forza” to a ton of high profile third parties now.
If they get Take Two, Ubisoft, or EA next then I would say they successfully muscled Sony out of high profile Western third parties which means they have to take a page out of the Nintendo playbook and rely on their first parties because Sony already burned their bridges with Japan besides the big companies like Capcom or SE
@Ventilator blame Sony for Microsoft decisions?
Sounds like a excuse but not a reason.
@Arawn93 I concur. Microsoft owns, Halo, Gears of War, Forza, Minecraft, Fallout, Elder Scrolls, Doom, Wolfenstein and now COD, Crash and Spyro (and I'm just listing some notable franchises). Microsoft's 1st party catalogue has grown considerably. I don't think they plan to make all of them exclusive... but I do see them leveraging them against Sony when it comes to the next big entry in some of them. If Sony is going to buy off companies like Square Enix to put Final Fantasy and other exclusives to their platform.. how did they expect Microsoft to respond? Their greatest weakness is their lack of first-party titles that are not Halo and Gears of War is now their greatest asset. I'd argue within five years their first-party catalogue now rivals Nintendo in sheer breadth, quality and legacy. AND they even have the family market with Minecraft, Crash, Spyro and any Rareware title they want to revive probably will be Banjo and Kazzoie thanks to the great press they've gotten on Switch.
This generation has gone from yawn... to ooooh there is some spice in the sands real quick!
More Netflix content for PC and Xbox owners except when you do look at what is available I doubt Nintendo will be quacking in their boots.
@Arawn93
You mentioned 3 franchises. 1 of them very successful, but I said that that 60 billion is way to much for an company with imago issues, and not lot of current successful franchises.
At best they got 6 franchises that are worth money. Still another problem is the fact that Xbox is seen as the shooter console.
Now I will agree that for Sony it an big blow, but even then 60 billion so that Sony won't have access to 4 franchises is still to much
@Arnold-Kage I’m not gonna waste my time to list every single IP that MS reaped from the acquisition. You can Google to actually see what they got.
Spoiler: CoD isn’t the only successful series they snagged and it’s more then just six lol. Activision/Blizzard had a lot of fingers in different pies which is why they were the top 5 biggest Western game entity. Try to not look at it from a “I only care about Japanese games” perspective.
Also “too much” is all relative. There is never a thing as “too much” in business because everything has a figurative price tag. So it’s not “too much” if Sony spends hundreds of millions each for multiple acquisition of small/medium sized purchases, but it’s “too much” if Microsoft does it for a giant single purchase? Please. All three companies are playing the same game it’s just Microsoft has the biggest war chest out of the three is the only difference
Based on what very little I know about all of this, this almost seems to push the Xbox brand onto a similar scale as Nintendo - or at least, much closer to it.
@Scrubicius I have different take on this.
Tencent is the largest game company on the planet who buy a lot of developers.
Would you want a Chinese company to own Activision and Bethesda, or Microsoft?
People should be scared of Tencent, and Not Microsoft.
@Arnold-Kage I guess you never played games in 1980's and 1990's?
Activision have loads of unused very famous franchises.
On top of it, they also own 100% of the legendary Sierra Game franchises which gamers grew up with.
@NotoriousWhiz How much did you want to bet?
https://gs.statcounter.com/platform-market-share/desktop-mobile-tablet
You owe me a coke.
@Ventilator Yeah 2nd paragraph may a bit harsh, as I actually have a lot of respect for Japanese culture and people . I just find Sony for years ripped of people with high prices on consumer electronics which where below par compared to other brands, When they entered the gaming space they locked out many franchises splashing there cash on adverstising and deals the others good not afford, Sega,Nintendo ,SNk they all suffered. For me this is Sony getting some pay back.
@Ventilator ah okay not sure what you are referring to?
Okay, yes Tencent the worlds largest video game vendor which was founded on the Cayman Islands. That says it all right?
Nobody said not to worry about Tencent.
But If there is someone worse, it does not make the bad, good.
Yes Tencent ate no Gentleman you have to thank that to your Fortnite, Call of Duty, League of Legends and Co. players!
Microsoft is not doing anything different then Tencent.
But hey maybe Amazon will buy EA, this might mix things up. LoL
@Scrubicius Yeah. I think it's better if Americans dominate than China. In fact most of these are Studios are from USA already.
Snagged from Wiki.
"Tencent started inn Cayman, but is Chinese nowadays.
Tencent Holdings Ltd., also known as Tencent (腾讯), is a Chinese multinational technology and entertainment conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen"
Amazon can afford anything, but they are slow at buying any gaming company. It's probably years ago last time.
MGM the movie company seem to be most interesting for them now. Haven't been news about that for a long time.
@Scrubicius Sony hardware like TV's etc. is still not quality, and even releases without announced features. They are also very slow at fixing problems, if they ever do it in the first place.
I remember a dude that bought a expensive Sony 3D TV many years ago, but the 3D never worked. The Sony support had the balls to tell him that they had no plans to fix in a firmware upgrade on a brand new 2000$ TV.
Toshiba and Yamaha is way more reliable, and they support things for a long time. Panasonic is great too thinking of it.
I pay permanently for Game Pass, so it suits me better that Microsoft buy companies as their games will be added to the sub. It's never been as cheap to play new games as now.
@Spiders Lol. I appreciate the effort you went through to find that.
@NotoriousWhiz Haha thank you! To be fair, Windows has had a near monopoly on PC for many years, but it so happens PCs no longer have the monopoly on computing.
I’m not sure if this MS buyout can be looked at in a similar way. From our enthusiast perspective, it looks like they have all these cards in hand, but if you look at gaming as a whole across platforms and devices, I think it’s a much smaller piece of the pie relative to the mindshare we’re giving it.
@Ventilator I thought we where talking games here?
Sony not reliable? Still more reliable then most of the TV manufacturers from the US! lol
I also had a buddy that complained about 3D not working but issues was more the user, since it worked fine for me.
Myself also not a big Sony fan but still they produce good quality and innovate with their products.
Now no need to be too serious - this is Nintendolife remember?
...who I am even kidding? I'm kinda scared of Microsoft now. What was Nintendo's net worth value again? I know Nintendo will never let themselves be bought, but still..
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