• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

FTC Seeks to Block Microsoft Corp’s Acquisition of Activision Blizzard

bentanchorbolt

bentanchorbolt

Banned
spons said:
With the FTC involved, this sounds like a massive waste of tax-payer's money. It's fucking video games, who gives a shit.
Let Sony die if it cannot survive without Call of Duty. I won't shed a tear over this absolute nonsense.
Click to expand...
I mean, its kind of their job to make a stink about deals this size.
 
DJ12

DJ12

Member
Hendrick's said:
What do you think MS is coming to the table with? Tons of Sony dirt is going to be unearthed.
Click to expand...
Unluckily for you fanboy drivel written by 12 year olds wont be included
DForce said:
It mentions Starfield and Redfall.

Did MS back out or not?
Click to expand...
They made it clear there is no incentive for them to make games exclusive as they would lose money. Its pretty clear in the summary document that this was the argument. All ms's responses are in 'form co' which seems to be confidential.
 
Last edited:
HTK

HTK

Banned
Nobody is stopping Microsoft from getting exclusive rights to a Call of Duty Beta or some other dumb content like PlayStation is currently doing. Hell, it was Microsoft that started that shit with getting the Map Pack DLC a whole month before PlayStation, I thanked them for beta testing but that was way more offensive to the PlayStation userbase than PlayStation getting one extra weekend of Call of Duty Beta and few content pieces here and there.

Plus these are short term agreements that expire and they get their shot at negotiation or buying those exclusives....
 
Mibu no ookami

Mibu no ookami

Demoted Member® Pro™
Ar¢tos said:
I said before, "in my opinion". That article is very polite towards Sony, doesn't even mention the attrition between Psygnosis and Sony or that they tried to sell them.

I guess having issues with a studio, trying to sell them and being forced to keep them because nobody offered as much as they wanted, then closing down 2 of their locations, changing the studio name and forcing them to make the IPs Sony wants doesn't keep devs motivated to do their best work.
Click to expand...
Where did you see that they were FORCED to make the IPs Sony wanted them to make?

The reality is they were never all that good and quickly fell behind. You can look at their games on metacritic for historic aggregate scores. Sony probably wanted to sell them (though not sure that is confirmed beyond rumor) because they were an expensive underperforming group, which is ultimately why they closed down some of the studios.

None of that suggests mismanagement.
 
Rusty Shackelford

Rusty Shackelford

Member
If they want CoD that badly, just hire all the key devs from the three CoD studios and since they already own id Tech, which the games are made upon, they can make their own modern war shooter. Nothing in the way of them doing that.
 
bitbydeath

bitbydeath

Member
j0hnnix

j0hnnix

Member
Video Games GIF by The Game Awards
 
bentanchorbolt

bentanchorbolt

Banned
MisterXDTV said:
Exactly, if they let a deal of this magnitude pass like it's nothing then why any Antitrust deal should exist?

Just let everyone buy whatever they want...

The richer wins it all...
Click to expand...
For what its worth, which isn't much, I fully expect the deal to go through but I don't want to live in a world where the FTC and other committees and regulatory bodies let things like this go unchecked. If MS wants this deal to go through they are going to play ball, at this point its a negotiation, one that ensures MS doesn't walk away with the ability to target other platforms in a negative way.
 
Hendrick's

Hendrick's

If only my penis was as big as my GamerScore!
Swift_Star said:
Why would any Sony dirt be unearthed? It’s not Sony who is suing. It’s not Sony vs MS, it’s the FTC vs MS.
If MS keeps pointing fingers instead of making a good case, it’ll look really bad for them.
Click to expand...
The fact all these organizations are parroting Sony lies makes it evident that MS will use examples of Sony tactics to fight this being that they are the market leader.
 
Swift_Star

Swift_Star

Banned
spons said:
With the FTC involved, this sounds like a massive waste of tax-payer's money. It's fucking video games, who gives a shit.
Let Sony die if it cannot survive without Call of Duty. I won't shed a tear over this absolute nonsense.
Click to expand...
Lots of people gives a shit. Games move the economy and thousands of jobs are involved. If your think this is irrelevant, you need to educate yourself a little.
 
thebigmanjosh

thebigmanjosh

Member
Drewpee said:
Sony has created and dictated the direction of the industry so long that their way of doing business is now being accepted as the only way to do it and being regulated that way. We all know that Microsost is at a huge disadvantage in this situation due to consoles in the market.

That is wild when you think about it but I'm sure most people won't think beyond "haha Sony wins" or "haha Xbox wins."

I am very curious to see what happens with Activision if this deal is blocked. They wanted to be sold but I'm not sure how that happens if this deal falls through.
Click to expand...
Let’s not rewrite history. Microsoft benefited from exclusivity deals until they dropped the ball with XB1 and lost market share. The majority of games that don’t make it to XB hardware now are from Japan, where MS has struggled to find any footing in 20 years.

They’ve failed at building studios/IP internally and can’t buy exclusives with low install base, so they are now leveraging cash to buy the top publishers in gaming and build their own ecosystem through acquisition. The only disadvantage was Don Mattrick and whatever marketing lead thought it was a great idea to make a media box and not a games console.

This FTC news was expected, and their track record on merger lawsuits is mixed. It will come down the judge and how they interpret the law vs. the merits of the case. If it doesn’t go through, AB will get picked up by a company like Amazon or have new majority investors within a year taking the reigns.
 
Swift_Star

Swift_Star

Banned
Hendrick's said:
The fact all these organizations are parroting Sony lies makes it evident that MS will use examples of Sony tactics to fight this being that they are the market leader.
Click to expand...
Here’s the thing: Sony isn’t lying. It’s time for you to come with terms that MS is what people say they are. Wake up.
And again, this is not on Sony, is on MS for making the wrong choices. Their problem.
 
Last edited:
Dolomite

Dolomite

Member
DForce said:
It literally says MS assured them Starfield would appear on rival consoles. You're telling me that's a lie?

I'm only quoting what it says and you're sitting here ignoring the report.
Click to expand...
"Agency notes that Microsoft decided to make several of Bethesda's titles including Starfield and Redfall Microsoft exclusives despite assurances it had given to European antitrust authorities that it had no incentive to withhold games from rival consoles "

Games my guy. Not "the games" not "these titles". The two unreleased games listed in the sentence are arbitrary games mentioned in a blanket statement.
 
SLB1904

SLB1904

Banned
Swift_Star said:
Lots of people gives a shit. Games move the economy and thousands of jobs are involved. If your think this is irrelevant, you need to educate yourself a little.
Click to expand...
The problem I noticed with gamers. Nowadays we discuss billions like uts nothing lol

Now we talking about games selling over 20mil copies and if somehow you don't manage that is some kinda of failure. While in other industries more budget involved don't see that kinda of return
 
Last edited:
DForce

DForce

NaughtyDog Defense Force
Dolomite said:
"Agency notes that Microsoft decided to make several of Bethesda's titles including Starfield and Redfall Microsoft exclusives despite assurances it had given to European antitrust authorities that it had no incentive to withhold games from rival consoles "

Games my guy. Not "the games" not "these titles". The two unreleased games listed in the sentence are arbitrary games mentioned in a blanket statement.
Click to expand...

No, they were planned to be released on PlayStation. Sony even tried to get an exclusive deal.

I don't know why you guys play dumb when it's right there for everyone to see.
 
Dirk Benedict

Dirk Benedict

Gold Member
Topher said:
Except Microsoft will be $3 billion poorer. Not sure I'd call that a win. Will AB and MS be closer? Eh....hard to say. I can see AB stockholder being pissed that MS didn't deliver on the deal. Kotick is toast no matter what though.
Click to expand...
3 billion poorer? Sure. But, I'm thinking long term, and 3 billion doesn't mean much in the long term for a company like Microsoft. It's a lot of money to lose. However, if Microsoft is good at anything else, besides software(lol) then it would be generating money.
 
Ronin_7

Ronin_7

Member
Hendrick's said:
The fact all these organizations are parroting Sony lies makes it evident that MS will use examples of Sony tactics to fight this being that they are the market leader.
Click to expand...
What tactics? The same tactics Microsoft also uses?

Scorn
Medium
Stalker
???

Didn't Microsoft paid these time exclusives too? How is this different from SONY paying for Final Fantasy?

Stop living In Dreamland.
 
DeepEnigma

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
DForce said:
No, they were planned to be released on PlayStation. Sony even tried to get an exclusive deal.

I don't know why you guys play dumb when it's right there for everyone to see.
Click to expand...
That’s the funny part. You have two very conflicting reasons why it’s not releasing for PlayStation from the same camp.

> third party publisher who has been publishing all their games the last 3 gens on almost every platform, especially where they sold the most on recently, was never going to publish this on PlayStation.

> Sony tried getting exclusive rights, wether outright or timed, that’s why MS was forced to buy them.

Honk honk.
 
Last edited:
Hendrick's

Hendrick's

If only my penis was as big as my GamerScore!
Ronin_7 said:
What tactics? The same tactics Microsoft also uses?

Scorn
Medium
Stalker
???

Didn't Microsoft paid these time exclusives too? How is this different from SONY paying for Final Fantasy?

Stop living In Dreamland.
Click to expand...
You guys are the delusional ones. Plenty of evidence Sony is both anti-competitive and anti-consumer. Stay tuned. As Brad Smith said, MS is going to war.
 
FUBARx89

FUBARx89

Member
Dick Jones said:
If only there was a COD deal between Activision and Sony ending in 2023 that could be bid on by MS for the same rights and Gamepass Day 1. If only that's how negotiations work, if only.
Click to expand...


The same rights they had in the 360 days? Of timed exclusives dlc (30 days), marketing rights etc.

Wonder why MS let it lapse for Sony to pick up the deal.

Anyway, be intresting to see if any proof comes out that MS lied to the EU regs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

The FTC’s noncompete agreements ban is blocked
News
1
714
GHG replied
  • Locked
FTC accuses Microsoft of misrepresenting its Activision Blizzard plans after layoffs
News
12
1K
ChuckeRearmed replied
Microsoft has settled its Antitrust Gamers Lawsuit Over $69B Activision Blizzard Buy.
News
26
2K
DenchDeckard replied
FTC appeals to block already-completed Microsoft-Activision deal
2
63
7K
Mythoclast replied
  • Locked
Microsoft and Activision Blizzard accused of 'bad faith bargaining' by Raven Software union workers
News Business
3
490
Topher replied
Top Bottom