Microsoft's acquisition of Activison Blizzard

[AshHunter216]

Michael pachter is going to give xbox fanboys copium until reality set in. I actually dont think reality will set in for some of them. This Qanon levels of conspiracy now "Trust the plan" and "Two more weeks." Literally.

I thought the CMA didn't have to answer to a court the same way the FTC does. What is he on about?

 

[anonpuffs]

Pachter runs a business doing consulting and market analysis...i wouldn't trust anything he says publicly because he wouldn't give out accurate info for free that he's charging his clients good money to provide.

 

[Swift_Star]

This clown really believes people buy this? Lmao nobody cares about the workers. I don't, he doesn't. It purely for console wars. The hypocrisy is palpable.


This one is pretty transparent. CMA is clowning because it doesn't want the consolidation to happen LMFAO.

At this point I just want this to fail to see the salt on twitter and on ERA.

 

[AshHunter216]

View attachment 453
This clown really believes people buy this? Lmao nobody cares about the workers. I don't, he doesn't. It purely for console wars. The hypocrisy is palpable.
View attachment 454

This one is pretty transparent. CMA is clowning because it doesn't want the consolidation to happen LMFAO.

At this point I just want this to fail to see the salt on twitter and on ERA.

One of the many problems with Resetera are the many posters who try to disguise their biases behind little facades like this.

 

[Swift_Star]

Idas just gave era a wake-up call.
Funny he tries to sugar coat the whole thing, though.

 

[Dabaus]

I thought the CMA didn't have to answer to a court the same way the FTC does. What is he on about?

Im seeing the same thing. All the "this is good for the deal" cope sounds delusional and insane to me.

 

[AshHunter216]

Idas just gave era a wake-up call.
Funny he tries to sugar coat the whole thing, though.
View attachment 455

That's a pretty big wake up all all things considered. I'm sure that other Foss lawyer guy will try to spin this harder into a positive for MS on his blog though.

Hoeg law may still be recovering, so I don't think he's making videos atm.

 

[KiryuRealty]

Phil caught in yet another lie. If this deal was about mobile/cloud, they would have just bought Blizz/King. People will tell you CoD isn't important, but it definitely is. sony getting marketing with cod in 2015 was a big push on making playstation the standard console.

they chose the worst possible publisher to buy, but I must say ABK is a very tasteless company, so they kinda go hand in hand with MS.

If it was really about mobile, they’d have bought King when Activision did. Bids were open, MS didn’t even try.

 

[KiryuRealty]

Im seeing the same thing. All the "this is good for the deal" cope sounds delusional and insane to me.

That is only because it IS insane.

 

[KiryuRealty]

Pachter runs a business doing consulting and market analysis...i wouldn't trust anything he says publicly because he wouldn't give out accurate info for free that he's charging his clients good money to provide.

He has even said so in interviews with gaming sites, but lots of gamers see something he said on a podcast for clicks not coming true as some kind of own.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

So what happens to this image?

Crtl + Alt + Delete

One point that I haven't seen anyone raise is server hosting. Activision and Blizzard (and king) all use Amazon Worldwide Services (AWS) and NOT Microsoft's Azure. Once those games migrate to Azure, Microsoft owns what happens to them by default. New contracts need to be signed etc etc

They could make it more expensive, more costly or slower to run games on a competing platform to Xbox. Afterall, servers are not part of the Xbox division and do not fall under the banner of "keeping all games equal on other platforms"

The ramifications of MS taking two of Amazon's biggest cloud clients away is actually a very interesting point. Like @Old Gamer said I'm sure regulators have been considered that, but like you also said I doubt most of the people vehemently pushing for the deal to go through in online debates ever once consider that side of things.
When you think about it, it significantly reduces whatever presence in gaming Amazon already had, in one fell swoop. That plus I've seen statements in the past that when game companies had the chance to renew on cloud providers, they picked AWS or Google over Azure. So in just buying said companies, MS essentially locks them down to Azure because there's no what they're going to own them and yet let these same companies use anything but Azure for their cloud infrastructure.

And now that you got me thinking about, that shows a massive contrast on Microsoft's part. They're willing to promise that Sony & Nintendo will get access to COD & other ABK content for some number of years into the future, and still publish ABK content on their platforms. Yet they aren't willing to provide Amazon and Google those same options. They aren't willing to say to them, "Hey Amazon & Google? We'll still let ABK choose to leverage your cloud servers for (x) amount of deals, of their choosing, even, after the deal's closed. And we won't impose any arbitrary limitations, either!".

So, why not offer that? I think we know why.

 

[Deleted member 417]

The ramifications of MS taking two of Amazon's biggest cloud clients away is actually a very interesting point. Like @Old Gamer said I'm sure regulators have been considered that, but like you also said I doubt most of the people vehemently pushing for the deal to go through in online debates ever once consider that side of things.
When you think about it, it significantly reduces whatever presence in gaming Amazon already had, in one fell swoop. That plus I've seen statements in the past that when game companies had the chance to renew on cloud providers, they picked AWS or Google over Azure. So in just buying said companies, MS essentially locks them down to Azure because there's no what they're going to own them and yet let these same companies use anything but Azure for their cloud infrastructure.

And what happens to online performance when an AWS system (PSN) tries to connect with Azure? Maybe nothing. Maybe Microsoft slip something in between to increase lag/latency

And now that you got me thinking about, that shows a massive contrast on Microsoft's part. They're willing to promise that Sony & Nintendo will get access to COD & other ABK content for some number of years into the future, and still publish ABK content on their platforms. Yet they aren't willing to provide Amazon and Google those same options. They aren't willing to say to them, "Hey Amazon & Google? We'll still let ABK choose to leverage your cloud servers for (x) amount of deals, of their choosing, even, after the deal's closed. And we won't impose any arbitrary limitations, either!".

So, why not offer that? I think we know why.

They won't offer Amazon that because like Microsoft said "their biggest competitors are Amazon and Google" which is true. Xbox biggest rival may be playstation but MS biggest rival is Amazon and Google.

It's another reason why I believe they want King for mobile. They take 250 million users away from Amazon AND google AND Apple (Apple use AWS). King weren't worth the money before, but now they are. We all know how short sighted Microsoft can be.

Imagine Microsoft not just owning the IPs or the consoles, but also 100% of the back end servers that supply the entire games console. They wouldn't even need IP's or Hardware if Sony and Nintendo had to pay mega money to MS to host their online services.

 

[AshHunter216]

Sony not returning Activision's calls according to Bobby Kotick.

Kotick Says Sony 'Not Returning' Activision's Calls to Discuss Future of COD & New Opportunities

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick has claimed that Sony is 'not returning' the former's phone calls to discuss COD & new business.

n4g.com

 

[daniel5043]

If it was really about mobile, they’d have bought King when Activision did. Bids were open, MS didn’t even try.

Or zynga quite literally last year

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

That's what the remedial discussions are for, CMA hasn't set anything in stone and all parties will now be allowed to remedy and offer concessions to pass it through.

We all knew this months ago.

"We all"? You speaking for the whole legion, now?

I can assure a LOT of people on a certain side pro-acquisition were NOT considering the possibility of concessions even two months ago. Or a month ago, in fact.

lol some people are ridiculously delusional
View attachment 452

Yeah I saw this post and immediately bustet out laughing. The reach some are doing to cope with what's happening.

So now that the FTC and CMA have shown their hands, do you guys think the smaller counties that kept delaying will weigh now? Particularly curios what China and Japan say after Koticks and Nadellas east vs west pitch.

Welp, Brussels just weighed in and agree with the CMA. I dunno about China; something tells me the ongoing political situation with them & the US will weigh against MS (OR, if China feel they could have "certain means" of accessing relevant data through a large American big tech company, maybe that helps MS with approval? ). Japan might probably approve it if only because ABK aren't a big deal in that market and they don't own any Japanese game devs or companies that would fall under a protected status IIRC.

Not that it would benefit Microsoft all too much, considering if things get shut down by the FTC, CMA & EC then they more or less have to offer serious concessions in ABK's main markets by far or walk away from the deal altogether.

 

[Aidendelaney95]

Sony not returning Activision's calls according to Bobby Kotick.

I wouldn't either when thrown under the bus despite a business relationship.

 

[Old Gamer]

Open Markets Weighs in on Latest in Microsoft’s Acquisition of Activision Blizzard — Open Markets Institute

The Open Markets Institute Europe Director Max von Thun released the following statement with regard to the United Kingdom Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) issuing of provisional findings from its investigation into Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

www.openmarketsinstitute.org

Open Markets strongly supports the UK CMA’s provisional findings from its in-depth probe of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. We share the CMA’s assessment of the threat to fair competition from this deal: Microsoft could use Activision's "must-have" games as a competitive weapon against rivals by withholding titles such as Call of Duty entirely or offering them on unfair and discriminatory terms. The public harms from this merger include less choice for console gamers to monopolisation of the nascent market for cloud gaming. In particular, we applaud the CMA’s willingness to take a long-term view on the evolution of nascent digital markets, instead of merely focusing on the here and now.

The CMA’s inclination to focus on structural rather than behavioural remedies is the right one. As the CMA itself acknowledges, behavioural remedies are notoriously difficult to monitor and enforce, and unlikely to be effective. The CMA should therefore reject any attempt by Microsoft to address its concerns by offering rivals temporary access to Activision’s game catalogue. It should also avoid entertaining any complex solutions involving partial divestiture, which could undermine Activision’s future as a successful independent business. We therefore urge the CMA to block the acquisition outright.

 

[Swift_Star]

Open Markets Weighs in on Latest in Microsoft’s Acquisition of Activision Blizzard — Open Markets Institute

The Open Markets Institute Europe Director Max von Thun released the following statement with regard to the United Kingdom Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) issuing of provisional findings from its investigation into Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

www.openmarketsinstitute.org

The CMA’s inclination to focus on structural rather than behavioural remedies is the right one. As the CMA itself acknowledges, behavioural remedies are notoriously difficult to monitor and enforce, and unlikely to be effective. The CMA should therefore reject any attempt by Microsoft to address its concerns by offering rivals temporary access to Activision’s game catalogue. It should also avoid entertaining any complex solutions involving partial divestiture, which could undermine Activision’s future as a successful independent business. We therefore urge the CMA to block the acquisition outright.

Gotta say, they know MS is full of shit. Them removing Bethesda from Sony was one of the worst moves they've ever made tbh.

 

[Dabaus]

Open Markets Weighs in on Latest in Microsoft’s Acquisition of Activision Blizzard — Open Markets Institute

The Open Markets Institute Europe Director Max von Thun released the following statement with regard to the United Kingdom Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) issuing of provisional findings from its investigation into Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

www.openmarketsinstitute.org

Who are they and why does their opinion matter? Serious Question.

 

[Dabaus]

Sony not returning Activision's calls according to Bobby Kotick.

Kotick Says Sony 'Not Returning' Activision's Calls to Discuss Future of COD & New Opportunities

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick has claimed that Sony is 'not returning' the former's phone calls to discuss COD & new business.

n4g.com

I genuinely believe hes lying here.