So, it looks like the Microsoft-Activision merger is actually going<snip>
through. After spending $69* billion, and fighting off an FTC and UK
lawsuit trying to block it, Microsoft has finally won.
So, it looks like the Microsoft-Activision merger is actually going
through. After spending $69* billion, and fighting off an FTC and UK
lawsuit trying to block it, Microsoft has finally won.
/snip/
This merger isn't the end of PC gaming... but neither is it anything
to celebrate either. The video game industry needs MORE players, not
fewer.
The company has made a
pledge not to make its biggest franchises exclusive to its platforms
for 10 years... but that's actually not that long a time
On 2023-10-13, Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
So, it looks like the Microsoft-Activision merger is actually going
through. After spending $69* billion, and fighting off an FTC and UK
lawsuit trying to block it, Microsoft has finally won.
/snip/
This merger isn't the end of PC gaming... but neither is it anything
to celebrate either. The video game industry needs MORE players, not
fewer.
Thanks for a great summary as usual of this situation. I'm only reading
about this via your posts. I don't think I play many of the affected
games /currently/. Will be interesting to see how this plays out and how >having three (MS, Sony, Nintendo) big players in the market pan out.
So, it looks like the Microsoft-Activision merger is actually going
through. After spending $69* billion, and fighting off an FTC and UK
lawsuit trying to block it, Microsoft has finally won.
Which, honestly, surprised me. I really thought that - whether it was
in the UK, the EU or the USA - one of those lawsuits would have put
the kibosh on the whole deal. Because consolidations like this never
end up benefiting the end-user, and Microsoft has already gotten in
trouble for its monopoly position (albeit, back then with operating
systems) before. Surely, I thought, one of those regulatory agencies
would see sense. Silly me.
Some people, of course, point to Sony and use that company's massive >influence as an excuse for this merger. But if the problem is that
Sony has too much power over the market, the answer isn't to create
another software kaiju to stomp all over the industry. Others are
hopeful that this merger means that Kotick - and indeed, all of the >ActiBlizzard C-levels - get a well-deserved boot to the curb. And
while Kotick is indeed out (with a 300 million golden parachute), it
is unlikely all the people behind the more atrocious stories at the >Activision/Blizzard will be culled.
Microsoft itself is mostly interested in the merger for the mobile
side of things; Activision is one of the largest mobile gaming
companies in the world, and Microsoft was particularly weak in this
area. But this merger also greatly strengthens the company's influence
on the PC and console side of things too. The company has made a
pledge not to make its biggest franchises exclusive to its platforms
for 10 years... but that's actually not that long a time, and anyway,
a violation of this agreement would take years to litigate and likely
only result in a pittance of a penalty.
As a PC gamer, I look at this merger with trepidation: Microsoft would
love to dominate the market, and now - with Bethesda, Activision,
Blizzard and Halo all under their aegis - they have a very impressive
stable of games. Should Microsoft - in a year or five - decide to yank
all these games off Steam, this would have a much better chance of
succeeding than EA, Ubisoft, or Epic ever did. They would have an
instant audience of hundreds of millions... and that's before taking
into account any marketing gimmicks, like attracting people with free
games or year-long free access to their streaming service.
As much issue as I take with Steam at times, Valve has been - largely
- a good, hands-off caretaker for PC gaming, more interested in
competing in the merits of their platform than gaming the system. I've
no confidence in Microsoft being the same (especially not after
ActiBlizzard C-levels infiltrate their gaming division).
This merger isn't the end of PC gaming... but neither is it anything
to celebrate either. The video game industry needs MORE players, not
fewer.
* nice! (tongue-click/wink)
I didn't know that Blizzard was part of the deal. Are they part of >Activision?
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/microsoft-finalizes-dollar69-billion-activision-blizzard-acquisition?lrh=e475157eecb7dd5a143f7c36aea0032717f5d2d16d286111a58b04424ffe30f4
I'm much more concerned about MS taking a hard line on the Windows Store
and gaming. If they get big enough to feel they have a viable independent gaming ecosystem they may try to mandate exclusive use of their Store. At that point, it's time for an antitrust lawsuit to break their gaming arm
off of the OS arm.
Or just break someone's arm. Whichever works best.
On Sat, 14 Oct 2023 10:51:50 -0600, PW
<iamnotusingonewithAgent@notinuse.com> wrote:
I didn't know that Blizzard was part of the deal. Are they part of >>Activision?
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/microsoft-finalizes-dollar69-billion-activision-blizzard-acquisition?lrh=e475157eecb7dd5a143f7c36aea0032717f5d2d16d286111a58b04424ffe30f4
ABK is a combined company that includes Activision + Blizzard + King.
So, yes, Microsoft gets all three. Activision gives them, among other
things, "Call of Duty" (which terrifies Sony), Blizzard (which still >dominates MMORPGs), and King (which owns Candy Crush and a big chunk
of the mobile gaming market). It is a massive gain for Microsoft.
So, it looks like the Microsoft-Activision merger is actually going
through. After spending $69* billion, and fighting off an FTC and UK
lawsuit trying to block it, Microsoft has finally won.
Which, honestly, surprised me. I really thought that - whether it was
in the UK, the EU or the USA - one of those lawsuits would have put
the kibosh on the whole deal. Because consolidations like this never
end up benefiting the end-user, and Microsoft has already gotten in
trouble for its monopoly position (albeit, back then with operating
systems) before. Surely, I thought, one of those regulatory agencies
would see sense. Silly me.
Some people, of course, point to Sony and use that company's massive influence as an excuse for this merger. But if the problem is that
Sony has too much power over the market, the answer isn't to create
another software kaiju to stomp all over the industry. Others are
hopeful that this merger means that Kotick - and indeed, all of the ActiBlizzard C-levels - get a well-deserved boot to the curb. And
while Kotick is indeed out (with a 300 million golden parachute), it
is unlikely all the people behind the more atrocious stories at the Activision/Blizzard will be culled.
Microsoft itself is mostly interested in the merger for the mobile
side of things; Activision is one of the largest mobile gaming
companies in the world, and Microsoft was particularly weak in this
area. But this merger also greatly strengthens the company's influence
on the PC and console side of things too. The company has made a
pledge not to make its biggest franchises exclusive to its platforms
for 10 years... but that's actually not that long a time, and anyway,
a violation of this agreement would take years to litigate and likely
only result in a pittance of a penalty.
As a PC gamer, I look at this merger with trepidation: Microsoft would
love to dominate the market, and now - with Bethesda, Activision,
Blizzard and Halo all under their aegis - they have a very impressive
stable of games. Should Microsoft - in a year or five - decide to yank
all these games off Steam, this would have a much better chance of
succeeding than EA, Ubisoft, or Epic ever did. They would have an
instant audience of hundreds of millions... and that's before taking
into account any marketing gimmicks, like attracting people with free
games or year-long free access to their streaming service.
As much issue as I take with Steam at times, Valve has been - largely
- a good, hands-off caretaker for PC gaming, more interested in
competing in the merits of their platform than gaming the system. I've
no confidence in Microsoft being the same (especially not after
ActiBlizzard C-levels infiltrate their gaming division).
This merger isn't the end of PC gaming... but neither is it anything
to celebrate either. The video game industry needs MORE players, not
fewer.
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