In which they will have a even harder time trying to pass it since they just bought 1 a couple years ago (Zenimax) and now this one (soon to be?) who is even bigger. On top of the fact they cancelled their competitors versions of the games that were originally in development as multiplatform right after buying them. There's absolutely no way that's going to fly again.
honestly that’s why I thought they’d not get approval for ABK, but after this what grounds really can the regulators block anything since they’ve allowed Microsoft to follow-up buying one large third-party publisher (Zenimax) by then buying the LARGEST third-party publisher (ABK)? none of them have cited consoles as a concern they had in this (except the FTC which can’t do a damn thing with the courts & politicians in Microsoft’s pockets)
With this whole thing I don't think anyone was prepared at all for this purchase on the regulators side of things. Which is why MS was able to practically steamroll through everything. However the regulators are most definitely not going to let another thing like this slide at least in MS case. Sony and Nintendo however might be able to pull through this same situation atleast once.
Come on, now. You know exactly how MS got away with this, and it has nothing to do with circumstances.
Corrupt, bribe, bully. Judge Corley is the most egregious example. Impeach her.
Yep, this is the correct reasoning. There is no publishers as big as Acti, so none of the regulators arguments would work if MS tried to acquire someone else because they allowed this huge one through. Everything else would be inconsequential in comparison. and frankly with the way layoffs and flops are going, it seems like the gaming industry is dying a slow death anyways.
Also the FTC was super incompetent to let a compromised judge go unchallenged. They should have sought another venue.
www.cnbc.com
Of course it's still worrying. Consolidation is consolidation. Regulators allowing this also sets the tone for the market going forward. I fear that the industry is going to go through a big acquisition bubble and when it pops it's going to spell the end for a lot of studios and franchises that people love.
Yeah of course it will. Then new studios and groups will rise out of those ashes. It's a cyclical thing that will come and go as it always does. You can't stop change in the industry.
New studios will come but the old ones are gone forever, I still haven't forgiven EA for buying Westwood Studios and forever ruining the Command and Conquer franchise, then shutting it all down. Also Mythic entertainment, they made some fire ass games and no one will ever bring back Silent Death Online because EA owns the rights but it's apparently "lost" in some repository somewhere so fans can't even buy it out.
