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Microsoft already tried the charm offensive to get its unfathomable $69 billion buyout of Activision Blizzard past regulators – and now the deal has been blocked by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), it’s just plain gone on the offensive. In an eye-popping interview with the BBC, president Brad Smith said the move was “bad for Britain” and marked the firm’s “darkest day in our four decades” in the country.
With an appeal pending but analysts insinuating it’s unlikely to shift the opinion of regulators, the trillion dollar tech titan has turned to heaping political pressure on the UK government instead. Smith said: “People are shocked, people are disappointed, and people’s confidence in technology in the UK has been severely shaken. There's a clear message here: the European Union is a more attractive place to start a business than the UK.”
Of course, the European Union still has its own regulatory process pending, and while it’s expected the deal will pass on the continent, the same was said to be a formality in the UK up until yesterday. For its part, the government issued a direct response to Smith, particularly his words about the decision being “bad for Britain”, with a spokesperson suggesting the comments “are not borne out by the facts”. It’s worth noting that the CMA is an independent organisation, and not directly part of the government.
Smith proceeded to pile on threats, claiming that Microsoft could reconsider its investment into the UK, and added that the country needs to “look hard at the role of the CMA and the regulatory structure”. But the CMA disagreed: “We want to create an environment where a whole host of different companies can compete effectively, can grow and innovate,” chief executive Sarah Cardell said.
While Sony originally worked hard to block the merger, it was ultimately obstructed due to concerns in the emerging cloud gaming market. Regulators argued that with Microsoft already owning Windows and server infrastructure Azure, the unprecedented acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $69 billion would tip the scales unfairly in its favour.
Whether this tirade from the top of Microsoft will successfully put pressure on the UK government remains to be seen, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that the juggernaut will not go down quietly.
[source bbc.co.uk]
Comments 176
So over dramatic they are being. Consumers don't want you strong arming them into service systems. The UK don't want you at a complete advantage over streaming and cloud. Not sure what ms doesn't understand about that.
Or Microsoft could just take the $69 billion and invest in the teams they already have and fix the clear managerial problems they have by hiring new talent.
But then again, they are just a poor little underdog getting bullied by that mean PlayStation. 🙄
If you have to resort to making threats you’ve already lost
@Fuzzymonkeyfunk Yeah, that's somewhat how I saw this interview. I don't really see how this kind of rhetoric convinces the CMA to change its mind; I actually think it'll have the opposite effect and encourage them to dig in.
This is proper "toys out of the pram" stuff, which I can fully understand occurring behind closed doors in Redmond, but I'm not sure they should be making it public.
@Cutmastavictory they understand it perfectly. they could easily make concessions with respect to cloud services, game pass restrictions, etc but they haven't made any effort to do so. That, at least to me, says they're well aware of this and were probably banking on CoD to take up al the spotlight and distract from other factors.
@get2sammyb not just the CMA but other regulatory bodies will look at these statements and also dig in given it makes MS look really bad. If there was nothing to worry about, why the bizarrely hostile responses and threats?
The megacorp equivalent of a sulky kid that has been denied access to the cookie jar.
Microsoft is like the Karen who wants to speak to your manager when you’re just doing your job as you were trained to do it.
Keep showing your true colours MS, I'm sure it will work wonders for your pending decisions and upcoming appeals process.
Translation : 'Microsoft, not content with their monopoly in home operating systems, word processing, and game streaming, throws toddler tantrum and resorts to threats as it contemplates monopoly in gaming possibly blocked too'
I lost track of this. I thought they were approved... but now they are not 🤷♂️
I could not even finish the short propaganda piece they called a single player campaign in the last COD. So for me it really does not matter who keeps Activision.
Glad more jRPGs are showing up on PC GamePass. Spend the money on that.
It seems ironic to me that when the main worry about this deal is that Microsoft's position in the market would be too dominant and they would be in a position to bully others out of the market, their response is to say "if you don't do what we want, we'll use our market position to punish you for it and withdraw access to our poducts." Almost doing exactly what they claimed they would never do with CoD
What pitiful children they and Activision are. Throwing their toys out the pram and looking to insult and put pressure on the U.K. government and people for their own greedy ends.
And people went on about Jim Ryan crying. MS and ABK are taking it to a whole new level now that it's them that isnt getting their way.
Jim Ryan is bad but this is way more pathetic.
@Njk125 Indeed. But are any of us really surprised?
@BeerIsAwesome They won't exit the UK, though, they're just trying to turn up the heat. It's all posturing.
@Njk125 completely correct. Not at all suprising, ive seen Microsoft bully and destroy little businesses since the 80s, and now the charm offensive hasnt worked we see their true clours.
Its not a good look and neither the UK or Europe respond to strong arm tactics.
@MayaMousavi
Plus not all studios are equivalent. The Call of Duty and Blizzard studios are much, much larger than the likes of Haven and Firewalk.
Mentioned this in Pure Xbox but this is not a threat that they will exit the UK, although hyperbolic, they are claiming/warning that this kind of thing discourages investors and other companies from investing and expanding into the region.
Edit: heck, if EU approves the deal, and ABK sees that is the only path forward to sell (that is all they want to do) they might go to the extreme of either entirely spinning off all UK operations (Sledgehammer, and local marketing/publishing arms) or even go scorch earth and entirely shut them down.
Sorry you didn't get to buy your way to dominance and destroy competition in yet another industry, Microsoft.
They should invest it in their studios and creating new studios. Maybe improve their management team because they haven't put out hardly anything while PlayStation has been putting out tons of games since the PS5 launched. I really think Microsoft biggest problem is their management. They're putting so much in the subscription basket, but don't think it wise. They noted a billion dollars in revenue, but didn't list the profit which really makes me wonder how much their expenses was. I mean when you got all those studio and AAA games cost hundreds of millions to make now how I don't know how it can survive.
@RBMango or they could just take the $69 billion and invest it in tying up timed third party exclusives like Sony. They could probably buy up an entire year's worth of games for $69 billion leaving PlayStation with 2-3 games for 12 months - apparently that wouldn't harm competition and the consumer in any way. For the record, timed exclusivity is a crappy practice by both Microsoft and Sony and needs to die.
@RBMango exactly, why not build a proper infrastructure, get the correct talent put a couple of ideas into studios, restructure their own resources they have great studios it just seems that they aren’t really utilising any of them. Instead of taking shortcuts Invest wisely for a longer term solution!
Wow. The amount of salt in these statements is staggering. Dude's making it sound like the CMA committed high treason or something!
Knew the world's smallest violin would come in handy. At this rate, they'll make me learn how to play it.
"Oh yes...yes your anguish sustains me" - Stewie Griffin
@Neither_scene But, they already do that. Or did you mean more than they already are?
Cry harder dude, I need more salt anyway.
What a baby 😄
@Jill_Sandwich this doesn't affect Nintendo much at all so the comparison makes no sense.
@MayaMousavi
A very good point about those extremely valuable IPs, but don't forget when Disney bought Fox! That was the craziest.
Funny how Microsoft mentions technology when it's only about monopoly. I'd love for them to get hit by the anti trust law if they acquire any more big developers.
I think one of the problems here is that for the last decade there has been increasingly juvenile behavior tolerated within the populace. It's now at such a degree that there's little civility and those that yell the loudest usually get what they want due to those who would otherwise chastise them being spineless cowards. That's been the norm here in America for a while now. A majority of our large cities don't even have a functional police force anymore.
I truly hope UK officials have the spine to stand up to a whiney corporation that's acting like it needs a time out.
@Intr1n5ic they already have an entire year's worth of games on timed exclusivity? My bad, I didn't realise
Brad and Bobby have both seemed to be a bit irrational and unstable during this whole affair and to think I thought the crazy Takes would come from their rabid YouTube fanbase.
Where is Phil in all of this? Clearly locked away from the media for fear of saying something really crazy?! 😂
And the mask slips 😂
Microsoft just too busy to tell us by playing shooter games make us look cool and edgy.
Meh...!
I never like games like that.
I am cool by playing cute cartoonish games for kids. 😎
#keepplayingkidsgames 🤟
B*tts have been hurt.. bring down the masks! 😝
@naruball because nintendo hasn’t been a third party machine for decades , they’ve had their dark days and only survived because of the strong sales of the wii/ds
the deal should’ve went through , i feel for M$ . jim ryan has to be stopped, people are short-sighted
@Neither_scene You know which one of your points I was addressing. Besides, even if they wanted to, their platform isn't appealing enough to secure an entire years worth of 3rd party timed exclusives 😉
@nomither6 🤣🤣🤣
Harder to start a company? Imagine you want to start a company that makes and sells proprietary gaming consoles and licenses games from third parties to sell on your console’s store. Now imagine the biggest company in the world who owns 80% of the top 30 established IP, regularly lines the pockets of your local politicians, and is in the process of buying every business and property in your area, also operate in the same market that you want to break into. Do you think it would be easy or hard to start your company?
They have really good studios in the UK, probably the best they have imo. Why doesn't he just be a good boy, sit down and invest more in them.
@nomither6 yet my point stands. The comparison makes no sense at all.
@Tharsman Correct you get the context here, the UK has said it wants to be the silicon Valley of Europe. Moves like this won’t attract tech companies and expansion in the region. Hence America dominates tech.
@nomither6
Sony had nothing to do with the CMA’s decision.
Microsoft left their right flank wide open in terms of game streaming. They already have basically a monopoly there through Azure.
That’s what made the CMA scuttle the thing. Not Sony in the existing marketplace.
Frankly neither Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo should be allowed to buy any publisher valued at more than 5 billion US dollars. That should be a law.
@Green-Bandit
Because we love monopolies in general.
It’s the American way.
We all need to put these tech giants in their place. They are all way too powerful.
That's quite the course change with their communication strategy.
It's almost as if all of that PR over the past year was just PR.
Edit: One thing I know about the Brits - Trying to scare them in to doing what you want them to do doesn't really work out how you want.
Every time I see “scorched earth” I think of Les Grossman telling everyone “they don’t deal with terrorists” and everyone in the room applauds
With the recent sales figures of the Xbox consoles in the UK, it seems that people are giving up on them rather than the other way around. No matter what people have said, this deal would have been horrific for gamers in general. No company should have too much control of any industry. The facts are that Sony has taken 30 odd years to get to where they are. Sure, they bought their fair share of talent, but not in the same stratosphere as 69 Billion Dollars. Microsoft want to compete? Invest the money in their own studios instead of buying success at the levels they are trying. It will take them years to make a dent in Sonys dominance, if ever, but they were quick to challenge Sony to make their own competitor to COD and whatnot. Maybe Microsoft should practice what they preach and do the same thing.
This is also another good way to perpetuate the pathetic console wars, the comments on PureXbox yesterday were a ***** show, and Pushsquare got mentioned several times. Can't we all just get along? I like Xbox, PS and Nintendo, lets all be friends!
A lot of Xbox fans are dying for this merger to go through, and I just don't understand why. Really strange thing to get upset over
A few people were saying that this is helping Sony create a Monopoly......considering the studios Microsoft own, how can that possibly be a thing?
Good grief ..not a good look is it ,they're actually threatening a country 😂 i actually didn't care whether they bought Activision, but now I hope it all goes tits up for them, just ugh
Somebody call whaammbuuulance! (I've had my juvenile fun)
Ah yes, preventing the 69 Billion dollar buyout of a company affects new businesses. Such a convincing argument.
This really does sound overdramatic, and may hurt them more than help.
So if I understand correctly, this means they buyout cannot occur? I'm not quite read up on international law for this kind of purchase. It's usually out of my budget.
I have to say, I have been wondering why neither MS nor ABK have bothered to make any statements actually criticising the decision and explaining why its incorrect, but are attacking the consequences (as they see it) of the decision in terms of their investment decisions, etc. Do they not have an answer to the CMA's findings? Or can they not come up with another remedy which wouldn't require ongoing regulatory oversight (which is not supposed to be the CMA's job)?
Perhaps they're keeping their powder dry rather than prejudice their appeal by making inconsistent statements now.
Some children never grow up. If you don't get your way, just throw a tantrum, I guess.
@Jill_Sandwich Rather easy to look good in a situation that doesn’t involve you. I came out of the Fox News/Dominion lawsuit smelling like roses, if I do say so myself.
@__Seraph xbox owners want cod to be taken away from ps players ,thats the top and bottom of it ,they think gamepass has saved gaming, and don't see it as the indie s***athon it actually is
Its going to be FASCINATING to see what the EU makes of all this. On the one hand, making themselves look open for business compared to the UK definitely poses political and economic advantages.
On the otherhand, Microsoft is not showering themselves in glory here and such threats should not be enabled or endorsed to support political point scoring as it demonstrates weakness in the face of the mega corporations.
I'd like to think the EU, traditionally among the strongest for regulation, take a hard stance on such language and rhetoric being used.
Im personally still annoyed that yesterday Lulu Cheng Meservey felt it appropriate to comment on the 'dire economic prospects of UK citizens', which is an issue that has zero to do with her - particularly someone representing a multi billion dollar company
@CaptD I think his recent botox jabs went wrong
Bit of a tantrum by the Microsoft exec. Does he not know that "I want doesnae get"! Previously I wasn't bothered about the takeover either way but this sort of behaviour has me hoping the appeal now fails - I reckon plenty of others will feel the same. Will be interesting what he has to say if the EU also block the deal (the CMA have proven that nothing is a sure thing).
Thats one of the funniest things i’ve ever read about this whole deal.
What a clown.
@Jaz007 They can appeal, but as things stand right now the only way Microsoft can buy Activision is if they retract all their business from the UK. Which obviously won't happen.
(That's how I understand it anyway! Anyone else is free to clarify if they know more!)
@get2sammyb Thanks! I appreciate the quick explanation.
@Intr1n5ic my point wasn't directed at the possibility of Xbox doing that. It was highlighting the fact that the practice is harmful to both the consumer and in terms of competition (especially when using an extreme example), yet it's a persistent feature of the video game industry that has yet to be addressed. Also, as I stated before, I think it's crappy whenever Microsoft or Sony do it.
@OrtadragoonX Not quite correct to say that the CMA's decision had nothing to do with Sony. Sony's "Theory of Harm 3" in their responses to the CMA's preliminary decision focussed on cloud gaming. See page 15 onwards here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/637cecede90e076b8043d8cd/Sony_Interactive_Entertainment.pdf
@get2sammyb “They won't exit the UK, though”
Ok, I agree it’s posturing, but what if both the EU and US approve the deal so MS buys them anyway? What happens in the UK then? Wouldn’t MS be FORCED out of the UK? Wouldn’t the CMA look like a bunch of buffoons if the deal goes through and they let them operate there business as usual?🤷🏻♂️ MS has always operated as an illegal monopoly, consequences be damned. Some people here are too young to remember maybe.
Everyone who doesn’t understand what’s going on should read this at least Part IV: A Villain is Born
https://www.theringer.com/tech/2018/5/18/17362452/microsoft-antitrust-lawsuit-netscape-internet-explorer-20-years
Shows what their really like, all that charm offensive but as soon as they don't get what they want they resort to threats.
I guess I am just confused by the logic of this decision. Clearly Microsoft is willing to put its games on other cloud platforms.
How is this any different from any other cloud platform starting up who wants games on their platform? Don't they, too, have to go to certain companies and say "Hi, we want your games on our platform. Let's make a deal"
So, all these cloud companies have to do is go to Microsoft and say "let's make a deal" and I am sure Microsoft will make a deal.
There is already precedent with the deals it's made with 3 different cloud companies.
My point: I just don't see how the acquisition stifles the ability for another to compete, when Microsoft is willing to add its games to other platforms.
I could see the CMA's point if Microsoft were trying to buy a Cloud Streaming technology company, not a video game publisher.
The real battle with Cloud gaming is streaming quality, and input latency - not the games themselves as that is a matter of licensing.
This deal isn't about the technology behind Azure, but the library of games that Microsoft is clearly willing to provide.
🤷♂️
@get2sammyb Although younger at the time,the current "throw the toys out of the pram" & veiled threats by Microsoft are far from new...if you'd seen Microsoft/Bill Gates at war with the U.S. Government over the "browser wars" & its monopoly in the Windows PC market & being threatened with a corporate break-up this is exactly how ugly the real Microsoft can get when things don't go its way.🙄
Just look at the similarities to the Gun lobby having a strong influence in the US Congress, you now suddenly are seeing several politicians waving the American flag & pushing outlandish claims of a "Sony monopoly" when the likes of Arkane/Redfall revelations & undoubted cancellation of Starfield & Elder Scrolls Vi etc prove the opposite of Microsoft flexing its monopoly & paywalling AAA 3rd parties off its biggest competition.
Certain games media love to push the narrative that Microsoft/ABK are the good guys of gaming. The same Microsoft that keeps trying to force users to create a Microsoft Account & enable its spyware just to install or run Windows updates?
That claim Sony could create their own COD but are spending $70 billion to get control of it themselves?
The same Activision Blizzard that were happy to do timed exclusives with Xbox before Sony likely offered more $$ prior to the PS4 launch & extended said deal until Bobby Kotick's dirty laundry management was finally exposed enough to tank the value of his shares & bonuses?
ABK could sell games cheaper if they were truly worried about people's cost of living...they sell them higher because people are still buying them & they tie them into battle passes & mtx live services,& were among the vocal "single player games are dead" crowd going back to the 360/ps3 era.
The current Activision Blizzard execs want the deal because like the recent Murdoch lawsuit once they pay off all the multiple lawsuits & investigations with NDA legal settlements they want a nice golden parachute to compensate them funded by Microsoft & its arsenal of corporate lawyers.🙄
People need reminding Microsoft have flexed their monopolies in Windows,Office for years & now dominating in areas like Azure,& A.I. tech. They want a similar dominance in the gaming space & streaming & want to push subscriptions over the concept of buying games.
Is Sony perfect? No,& it's a concern seeing the push into live services over single player by them too & the less said about Nintendo & its full priced minimal effort "remasters" & subscription retro games service the better!
But a future where Microsoft can keep swallowing up ABK, Zenimax etc.,what then,Take-two,Embracer,Capcom etc?
Again,why not practice what they preach & use that $70 billion to make their own COD since they claimed it was soo easy for Sony?
Shameful stuff from MS here, but after the ruling what else have they got?
This is so embarrassing :')
@rjejr I don't think the CMA looks like it's going to budge regardless of what the EU/US decide. I certainly don't think this kind of rhetoric from Microsoft is going to help convince them to change their mind!
@OrtadragoonX i agree let’s spilt Playstation up into two different companies since they have a successful product. Or let’s make Apple give money back to windows and Nokia phones. The switch should bring Mario to the steam deck, look I’m kidding but what i am trying to get at is a monopoly is bad, but people don’t use that word correctly. A monopoly is almost 100% marketshare with no competition. Neither MS, Sony or Nintendo has that or will they. Cloud has competitors in it as well. In fairness MS isn’t saying the UK will not get Windows support, it is saying these types of blocks stunt advancements and when the UK is saying publicly they want to be the silicon Valley of Europe, this won’t be a good look to those companies. It’s a confusing case and i don’t want to bore you with details but as a 3 way console owner, i want them all to do well, but this deal would have been good for ABK and many many industry vet’s have spoken in it’s favor. I know this is a PS site, so i don’t want to go to Pro Xbox here, but not everything MS does is bad just cause 90% of this site don’t support Xbox or MS. All 3 are doing really great things and cloud is a strength MS spend billions on to grow while Nintendo and Sony couldn’t be less interested in cloud and it’s reach to players, or they simply don’t have the infrastructure and cash to produce it. Either way it’s funny to me that gamers go from cloud don’t matter to now it’s the most important reason for the CMA’s decision.
@Green-Bandit It's less about cloud logic specifically, more so that MS wants to buy their way into the industry in a way that is harmful to consumers instead of doing something that benefits consumers with innovation and a better product, not just a big wallet that can upset the industry by taking things away.
It's monopoly tactics, even if not a monopoly, and we have a right to have the government step in and stop this kind of anti-consumer behavior. Sure, maybe it would be good for ABK, but not for the consumers of ABK.
Prudence, simple prudence.
@Neither_scene It's something I've never been a fan of either, but timed exclusivity has been a thing for a long time now. It's a viable means to make your platform look more appealing than the competition, at least in the short term. Does it suck for the opposing platforms, absolutely, but the key word here is "timed". That is vastly different to, we have far more money than you, we're just going to buy as much as we can and prevent you from ever being able to play them outside of our services.
I would happily support timed exclusivity over publisher acquisitions any day of the week.
Removed - trolling/baiting
@Shepherd_Tallon yeah, CMA effectively trolled MS over the last year, then pulled that rug away and had themselves a good chuckle.
Also it’s pretty bad look when they are threatening to take their own employees jobs away just to prove a point over frickin video games
Firstly wtf does it have to do with the government. Secondly you don’t speak for me Microsoft you bunch of disgusting cretins!!! Trying to snaffle up games to cover YOUR failures with your own studios!! F*** ***
@Green-Bandit As if Activision couldn't stream those games anyway. You want to talk about lazy takes while forgetting basic Business deals? This isn't expansion, is buying out the competition and removing from it competing platforms. Yes, MS must own the industry in order for more people to play the games.
Somebody call the waaaaaaah-mbulance.
@Mikey856 A lot considering we have a right with self-government to have these kinds of anti-consumer practices stopped.
@Green-Bandit What's stopping those 150 million people from accessing ABK's games as an independent 3rd party publisher?
@RonnieL i disagree I’m not a gamer and have been since the super Nes, but sure. I don’t disagree they have that ability, the fact is ABK is still for sale, so can Apple or Amazon or Tencent buy them? Would that be ok to the CMA, cause that is a scenario that could play out. ABK is not just suddenly off the market.
@Intr1n5ic depends on the platform or country they live in. Lot’s of factors, like in Brazil where games are to expensive. GP and cloud was and is a big thing there. It’s not a one size fits all answer i know, but in some cases this deal was bringing more games for value to others around the world. Again just playing devils advocate here. Cause most want to see it only one way, and thats MS BAD, Sony GOOD! It’s a little more complex of a deal and the vision/game plan MS has set for itself for the next 10-15, they will still be just fine and they still have their GP and Xcloud to reach gamers but this is a big hit to what they really wanted which was mobile access with King.
@RonnieL I would happily support timed exclusivity over publisher acquisitions any day of the week.”
I am glad you mention that, good chance MS opens up a wallet on COD and others going forward without this deal. GP will have lots of timed deals going forward i would assume and that will be the next argument on the never ending fight machine known as the internet 😀
@RonnieL yes I’m a hardcore gamer, i had a NES at the tail end of it if that counts haha, my first console i remember getting day one as a kid was Super Nes that was my first day one launch. I do however have a $4,000 dollar set up in my game/Media room and enjoy high end tech very much. I own all 3 console and want to see them all do well as they all bring me joy in their own unique ways.😀
@RonnieL agreed I could see that happening. Full circle seems to be a thing in life, so this is fitting.
@RonnieL no no company has that much of Cloud cause they didn’t invest in the infrastructure or they had the infrastructure and pulled the plug (Google), that is no more MS’s fault then it is Sony’s fault for having a more desirable platform in PS5 over Series X. That’s business and market demand.
"People are shocked, people are disappointed, and people's confidence in technology in the UK has been severely shaken." LOL what an insane overreaction from Microsoft, they're so desperate it hurts. I'm shocked that they think we care about this deal going through. trust me, 99% of the UK don't even know that this deal exists. pipe down Microsoft PR shill number 246.
They just don't get it. The sleazy American corporate politics don't work on these people. No one is charmed by them, no one cares about their theatrics besides the weirdos on Twitter who think Phil Spencer is their gamer buddy. It was the right decision. Microsoft, hold this L.
Microsoft also called the FTC unconstitutional, before reasonable minds had that argument removed.
@Green-Bandit Okay, but you said this deal was bringing games to 150 million new players, that's not true is it. These supposed 150 million already have access to ABK games through a variety of different systems of their choice.
Did you mean to say, this deal was going to pull 150 million people away from other platforms and on to a cheap service where all revenue leads back to Microsoft?
@Green-Bandit Timed exclusive deals doesn't give MS what they want though. They want the games on game pass to increase its value. They would need to negotiate a deal for that and if you were to add some sort of timed exclusivity on top of that then it may not be worth their while.
It's called a corporate tantrum
I’d like to see what happens when a major company reduces their support for an entire country. For Microsoft to imply such an option to implies their local support overall may not be economically necessary.
The CMA know absolutely nothing about the games industry. They have proven this several times throughout this exhausting fiasco.
I love my PlayStation but this deal should have gone through. Cloud gaming is not a good reason to block it.
I also think that if the deal gets completely blocked from happening it could get even worse for PlayStation. Microsoft having $69 billion to spend could mean a big number of smaller acquisitions could happen. Capcom, Sega, Square Enix, Konami? I could even see them doing something as crazy as going after Take2.
They’re acting worse than a 2 year old throwing a temper tantrum. This isn’t funny, it’s embarrassing.
@RonnieL dude i want you to live more than 86. Hope you have a long healthy life.
I call any gamer a fake gamer if they find joy in hating on others way to enjoy the industry they enjoy, i call a fake gamer out cause they only want to see the industry in their way and not advance, grow access to new players and gamers on different types of budgets or restrictions and i can tell you are a smart person, you know these gamers exist. More than enjoying games they enjoy seeing other gamers lose out. I don’t want to beat a dead horse on this topic, but a fake gamer isn’t someone who only owns or needs one console to get the proper level of enjoyment out of the industry.
@__jamiie but all that would go to the regulator and again look at cloud, Microsoft probably will struggle to buy a decent sized company in the near future,
Expect them to go after small indie type developers that are already on games pass. They may aswell get those in house.
@get2sammyb I think part of the reason they failed is they tried things that may work in the US to persuade people, but not elsewhere. Typical ugly American ignorance….and I’m from the US
I guess that 10 year deal to host games on that cloud platform in Kazakhstan is off to then.
This stinks of "it's my ball and I'm going home" to me. M$ won't exit the UK market, the odds are much higher of me winning euro millions 3 draws straight than that happening.
I'm tired of big tech overrunning the industry and the pool of talent getting ever restricted, M$ and Sony are guilty of this...
@__jamiie trust me Jamiie, a company such as MS that is hellbent on fixing their past mistakes, grabbing large amount of active users and worth 2 trillion dollars is going to make people that dislike them complain for decades to come.
@Intr1n5ic it was bringing ABK games to Boosteroid which is an Ukraine based company, and Ubitus a Japanese company. Which i assumed was new players to ABK games on cloud, but if i missed that i apologize, but would need to see the wording again, plus a deal with Nvidia.At any rate it doesn’t do what you claimed, what it did do was bring more options to pay and play. Plus last i checked, correct me if I’m wrong, Sony took their Vita and went home, meaning they have no portable cloud options, but if you have a mobile device and Xcloud you do, and that completes MS vision of play where you want and how you want. So that’s not pro consumer? But if Sony does make a handheld and gives players another option to play when not in front of their TV’s that is pro consumer?
@RonnieL yeah at 86 the world will be to much for me to handle, so i am with you haha, just wanted you to know i wish you and your family good health. Games aside we are all people that should agree on one another being happy and healthy 😀
I agree with that, I believe this will create new deals and ways games get distributed, and honestly that might be a good thing, i am not saying i want MS to have complete control of everything gaming wise. But in my opinion this deal was good for a lot of players and many countries approved it, including Japan which knows a thing or two about the games business and many would think protect Nintendo or Sony and sided with this MS deal. Maybe thats nothing burger but it struck me as a good thing.but i like your thinking on that and i have enjoyed your input and feedback, you are fun to chat with, i mean no disrespect or harm, only saying i sided with the deal and think many players took the wrong view on it’s reach to players around the world. Cloud is the future and MS is setup really good there.
@Shepherd_Tallon Obama openly threatened us shortly before the Brexit vote. "Britain will be at the back of the queue". 17 million of us showed him the middle finger.
Just lock Brad Smith and Jim Ryan in a room with each other, let them fight it out like the days of old.
@RonnieL The boxing one. We don't need dead men over this, this is still a somewhat civilized world.
Now you're seeing the actual Microsoft.
Having a monopoly is bad for any individual business. & Also, Final Fantasy 16 looks worse than FF13( greatly underappreciated trilogy in my opinion.)
@Jill_Sandwich don't ever call Nintendo a "kids company" when half of YOU kids can't even Beat half of Nintendo's Masterpieces!
@Kevw2006 i agree thats a really good point, GP needs the games to stay on the service. They will work something out. It might be different but this is far from over. It will just look different.
@Green-Bandit
You really love "America", don't you?
I don't want to derail the topic but there is a reason I moved to USA for the salary. USA cares mostly about money, and Canada, EU, UK have a lot of more integrity when it comes to its consumers. Sorry to say. You go to a hospital without insurance and you get a life time 200k debt, if your college debt wasn't enough.
So this deal getting blocked is good for consumers. They are not creating anything or making anything possible. They just want to steal to get ahead.
Microtransanctions and Games prices raises started in America.
@RonnieL thanks buddy, i enjoyed the chat. Take care😀
@GodofCapcom i do LOVE America. But you do make some valid points.
@Green-Bandit
I like usa more than my home country, but when it comes to taking care of the population, other first world countries do it better.
@nomither6 nah they got what they deserved, and is hella funny XD
@get2sammyb I don't think CMA will change their mind. Well they can, you watch FIFA you know about bribes, but they probably won't. 🤑
I just find it odd that 1 agency, not even a govt one from what I've read, CMA is "independent", can block 1 US company from buying another. But that's what this BBC article says so I guess it's true. Weird.
"For the deal to work, it has to be approved by regulators in the UK, the US and the EU."
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-65407005
Oh well. My guess is both the EU and US were going to block it anyway, UK just went first, so it's probably dead.
Maybe MS will retaliate by buying Squenix now. $69B could probably get that done, even in Japan. MS is probably looking over this list right now. Maybe they'll try to buy EA or Nintendo next. 🤷♂️
https://www.denofgeek.com/games/biggest-video-game-companies-worth-value-market-cap-stock/
@Green-Bandit You're still sidestepping the point. What is stopping people from the Ukraine, or people from Japan, from currently accessing ABK games? Why is Microsofts ownership of them needed to facilitate that?
And I'm well aware of the vision MS is trying to sell to everyone, they don't shut up about it.
I'm not interested in what they allow you to do on a mobile phone, nor do I care about Sony making another handheld. What I do care about is one of the worlds richest companies attempting to collect some of the biggest and most profitable publishers in the industry like pokemon, and I'm glad that regulators are starting to pay attention to it.
Wow MS’s charm offensive has definitely taken a different turn!
They’re like a spoilt kid that didn’t get their way. Bad-mouthing the UK is a terrible slant to take imo as people may take it to heart.
By all means have an issue with the CMA but don’t blame the “UK” for your business failings MS.
Personally I’m glad the CMA have blocked this. That 10 year COD deal sounded like a fishy way to get the deal over the line then in 10 years guess what… “oh we’ve changed our mind, CoD is now Xbox exclusive…”
Ooooo Xbox throwing toys out of the pram.
With all the ridiculous Sony baiting and goading online over the deal it’s funny to see.
This has brought the worse out in so many
@Intr1n5ic i am not sidestepping anything, i am trying to have a honest debate, share, learn and enjoy is my only goal here. But what i am seeing you say is you don’t care about cloud, well lots of player do and will even more so in the future, that is future proofing your business thats how you stay rich. Is it bad that a rich company can buy big things when they are for sale? I don’t think so unless they say COD is exclusive to Xbox and PC and no one gets to play unless they buy those devices. What is stopping people from playing ABK games in Ukraine in Japan? Well nothing if they are at home and in front of their Tv and Console, assuming they have one. But everything is in their way if they choose to play on the go via a laptop and mobile phone or tablet device. In the future some of them could buy just a TV and stream their games without the need of a console or tablet. This is what you are tied of hearing about, that plan that MS has, the one they have invested billions of infrastructure dollars into. The one that google tried and pulled the plug on.
This has been the most shocking aspect of the saga and frankly unlike other bodies, CMA is highly unlikely to change their opinion on the appeal.
What's more amazing is that they reject Sony's position and still block Microsoft...
@GodofCapcom with a 3rd of the size in population and often times pointed out doctors with no second options. I ain’t here to get into health care or even politics. I think we will get into trouble for that, but i see and hear your points, no country especially one this size is without it’s faults, but such as anything in life you have to weigh the pro’s and con’s. More so i wish more people that didn’t like our country would do something and leave instead of complaining without a better place for them to go. So i give you lots of props for that buddy 😀
I don’t know why Xbox fans want this deal to happen they were going to get the games anyway, it just seems like a big waste of money
@The_Crow_Chat yeah that's the odd part. Xbox users lose nothing, not sure why they are so emotionally attached to the deal.
@Green-Bandit Yes, I specifically said I don't care about it, as in, it isn't something that I have any interest in personally and likely won't in the future. I didn't say I don't care about others, or that there shouldn't be options available to people if this is their chosen way to game, options being the key word here.
If Microsoft already own between 60 to 70% of this market, and are currently trying to strengthen that position even further by making enormous acquisitions that their nearest rivals cannot financially compete with or match, then what "options" do the competition have if they want to expand in to cloud gaming in the future? I have absolutely no issue with MS building upon their existing studios and ip's for that market, but their continued pursuit of the biggest 3rd party studios and publishers to add to it needs to be stopped.
"Is it bad that a rich company can buy big things when they are for sale?"
It is if the things they're buying have a history of making products for multiple companies, and then after purchasing they stop current and future production for those companies.
"This is what you are tied of hearing about, that plan that MS has, the one they have invested billions of infrastructure dollars into. The one that google tried and pulled the plug on."
Precisely. I'm tired of listening to them rabbit on with disingenuous claims about how much they care about gamers. If they care so much they should be focusing on getting games out the door from their own studios instead of buying up the intellectual property and hard work of everyone else.
There have been complaints against Microsoft by smaller competitors in the UK as they have been offering their software free (especially teams/ outlook/ 365) during COVID to NHS. Now almost all NHS trusts adopt Microsoft software and windows. (Although ipad is largely used by them too)
@The_Crow_Chat To gloat over PlayStation, they really want it. Thing is gamepass has been dry since launch apart from very occasional first party titles. They really need big name. Microsoft will likely raise the fee after the merger. Even now they close the promotion which the vast majority use to subscribe 3 years. Tbh, that whole 3 years have been pretty meh and my subscription will finish in coming Sept.
@Intr1n5ic that's true, such titles can usually be played in a year or so on other platforms. I'll be playing final fantasy 16 on ps5 because timed exclusivity means it won't be coming to Xbox at launch, the information regarding exclusivity is also intentionally vague and merely states that it won't be coming to "other platforms" for at least 6 months. If it's coming to Xbox in 6-12 months I'll wait and buy it using my reward points rather than spend £70 on it. Obviously there's absolutely no clarity on this as Sony want you to buy it on ps5 rather than a rival platform. It's in the consumers interest to know the full details on exclusivity contracts and whether other platform versions are already being worked on. Are "other platforms" pc and Xbox or just pc? Is there currently any intention to bring the title to Xbox?
The same is completely true of Microsoft and their timed deals. Starfield is a confirmed exclusive now, but Microsoft went months dodging questions about launch platforms despite knowing internally exactly how things would play out. They were/are equally vague about which bethesda titles would/will be coming to PlayStation.
If Microsoft can no longer add to their studios and game catalogue with acquisitions, I could see them spending a lot more money on third party timed exclusivity and third party "day one gamepass" titles. Consolidation of publishers and titles is crap for the industry, but I think consolidation of titles through timed deals is also pretty crappy.
@Neither_scene "It's in the consumers interest to know the full details on exclusivity contracts and whether other platform versions are already being worked on."
"Consolidation of publishers and titles is crap for the industry, but I think consolidation of titles through timed deals is also pretty crappy."
I completely agree.
Common sense would be to block it everywhere.
@GodofCapcom
Hey bro our 13 Super Carriers won’t pay for themselves.
@GodofCapcom
I think our primary age education system here is our weakest thing about us as a country.
If I was in charge I would hire the Germans to come over and rebuild our primary education system to be based on theirs.
@Green-Bandit
I love the US. Proud patriotic American here.
But I do have some issues with how we do things. Mainly our education system sucks.
I very much admire the Germans in that regard. And considering our personal intertwined history (the largest ethnic group in the US are Americans of German descent) I would love to see us adopt a version of their primary and secondary education systems. I think it would improve things dramatically.
I would also like to see an American take on single payer universal health care. I think we can do it.
But there are some things the Europeans do that I don’t want for the US. I don’t want their firearms laws for example.
@Kidfried @The_Crow_Chat @Balosi It not even just about Gamepass. A lot of people was hoping that the inflex of studios who specialize in first person shooter would see the Halo franchise removed from 343 studio into more capable hands, or those studios could play a support role cause 343 and Certain Affinity just ain't cutting it.
Potential possible release of WoW and Starcraft on consoles.
There is the aspect of crossbuy for Xbox-PC gamers and hope that Blizzard releases their games on Steam.
There are a lot of IP that Activation is just sitting on that isn't being used because they choose to just pump out CoD. Microsoft could have revived alot of those dead IPs. I guess we can just look forward another 10 years of just CoD. I also give Toys for Bob another year and a half before they are put into the CoD mines.
TYPICAL, GREEDY, SLIMY Microsoft still trying to put Sony and Nintendo out of business! Unfortunately for them everyone else on Earth can see their plans to form an UNFAIR monopoly over the video game business! No one feels sorry for you, Microsoft!
@OrtadragoonX I'm with you full stop. Healthcare in the US makes little to no sense to me. I don't really understand what part of the insurance business model is compatible with human health. It's like trying to buy car insurance and telling them, "Oh yeah, just so you know. I'm going to file at least one claim per month, guaranteed. Not my fault, though!" Then wonder why your premium is $500 a month for next to no coverage and awful deductibles. It doesn't seem to take much thought to realize it makes virtually no sense or is practical for most, and the ACA really didn't do a whole lot to fix it.
@Kidfried fair one I didn’t even think about that thanks 👍 Bit gutted you reminded me of the GameCube I miss the rogue squadron games now I want a new one please 🙏 lol
@AverageGamer noble ideas, but even if Microsoft gets Activision, I can't imagine them wanting to pull resources away from the COD teams, they are still going to want them to pump out as many cod games as possible.
@Neither_scene Dont they have Bethesda, RARE, several other studio's. Maybe a strange thing to say spend some on them to make games?
Guess the ads they put in the "tube" didn't help...
This whole deal has been a clown show. Was hoping it was going to end soon but guess not.
@RonnieL Sony was game streaming before Microsoft. They could easily shrink the 60% percentage if they wanted to but like Nintendo they don't want to.
So salty i love it. No darling you won't pull away due to the money we make you.
@Balosi They already have how many studios working solely on CoD? And it not really about them pull renounces away. TBH Sledgehammer Games should not be working on CoD at all. None of their games have been good. I have no idead why Activation continues to let them spear head projects.
But It more so about them continuing to add further studios to the CoD mines. Activision have Toys for Bob working on Warzone. That warzone effort could be put toward a Crash 5 or new Spyro, and maybe under Microsoft we could have saw that, but now we're stuck with Crash Rumble.
@SgtTruth Blocking this $69 billion deal is not "reducing the competition" if they're already the leader at it, is it? The competition already exists and is strong.
In fact, the argument is that by allowing this acquisition to go through there will be no viable competition at all, regardless of the standard of it.
@OrtadragoonX i agree Firearms and fishing are my outdoor hobbies and video games indoor, i do not want their laws. I get what you are saying and i really can’t find much fault in it. But i don’t want to load the forums up with Political post and anger the nice people at Push Square. I don’t think they like that much as a pure gaming site. I love talking politics tho in the right places, but again you make valid points sir.
Lol more like a good day for Britain, but not for Microsoft.
For once they did something right and protected their consumers. I hope the EU follows suit.
Microsoft's childish reaction is deplorable. They know perfectly well what it is they are trying to do and no one is buying the crocodile tears. They are just mad they got caught this time.
The 68B buyout was a tad on the nose.
@Intr1n5ic they care to do both and are doing that. The thing is they aren’t buying ABK to pull games away from no one. In fact the facts are they were bringing COD to places it’s not at and giving gamers choices. I personally don’t see that as a bad thing. I am not sure how anyone outside of just hardcore MS haters and heck i could even be labeled that outside of Xbox. My house between me, my wife and daughter have 3 iPhones, 3 iPad Pro’s, 2 Apple TV’s, 2 Mac’s, 3 Apple Watches and 3 Airpods , etc etc ( did i make the apple fan annoying and apparent enough) so i am in no way a windows or MS fan and i am as annoyed of a Xbox owner and fan as many others. But i applaud them for moving their business in line for the future growth market in cloud computing and play anywhere and everywhere, along with active monthly users. It’s cool you don’t like the deal and it likely won’t go through, i have a feeling a company worth 2 trillion dollars looking to right their past mistakes and be a major player in the gaming space is going to have a plan B and C that you for sure won’t like. So i think we will be revisiting all this again in the near and distant future.
Microsoft have huge "Fat guy kicked out of All-you-can-eat Buffet complains to tabloid media and sues the Buffet" energy
@SplooshDmg
Healthcare in the US is basically this.
“Oh I’ve broken my arm. Let me go to the hospital.”
“Alright broken arm is fixed. Let me see the bill and make sure my insurance covered it correctly.”
“Due to some stupid clause in tiny writing you couldn’t have seen we have determined that we are going to pay 10% of what your broken arm cost to fix. Total bill is 50 grand so we will pay 10,000. The other 40,000 is your responsibility. Thanks and don’t call us again.”
If you don’t have insurance it’s worse.
“Oh you need this life saving antibiotic to avoid a worsening of the infection in your spleen? Well guess what buddy you might as well just beg on the street. Cause we don’t give a **** about you, your wife, your children, or the cocker spaniel that depends on your being able to work a hard physical job that doesn’t provide insurance.”
@get2sammyb I agree with both of you I'm glad the UK is standing up unlike the USA! We're we just take up the behind and let everyone have their way. It's refreshing to see their country's soul is not forself or can be bought with money. Shows some dignity somthing this country is very short of.
Removed - flaming/arguing
Removed - flaming/arguing
Removed - flaming/arguing
@get2sammyb over at the Pure Xbox site, the second largest cloud competitor, key word competitor to MS’s cloud gaming ,Nvidia had the following to say. https://www.purexbox.com/news/2023/04/nvidia-xboxs-acquisition-of-actiblizz-would-be-a-benefit-to-cloud-gaming
That is something you don’t see everyday. The second largest competitor in a space saying this would be good and think the CMA got it wrong to the larger provider. This is the kind of post many on Push square might not see and it spins a different look to the bigger picture of what others had to gain in the process.
@Green-Bandit but it’s just people who stand to gain £££ from the deal supporting it. Of course they would.
Issue being still is Microsoft have the largest share, and you want to get involved in that space, then as a new company you would HAVE to deal with Microsoft as they own so much of it and majority of the content.
People say cloud only worth £2bil, but yet they are willing to spend £69bil on it. It shows where it is believed cloud is heading.
Evil companies being evil. Will never buy anything related to either so it doesn’t bother me on that level. But anti consumer behaviour and monopolies need to be treated accordingly.
@Green-Bandit Judging by their responses to the deal being blocked I'm beginning to think there is no plan b or c. The longer they focus their attention on fighting the decision the longer it's going to take them to come up with a plan b or c too.
It's not going to pass in Europe and with the FTC either. They will literally use the same excuse as the CMA and block the deal.
This deal being blocked is the best thing that has ever happened. Even if Sony was buying them, I still wouldn't approve, but at least Sony would do something with the IP they bought. Everything Microsoft acquires just rot and die.
Also, I hope Sony buy Square-Enix now. Not big enough for the regulators to bother blocking and it would be a serious blow.
The grapes are well and truly sour.
@PsBoxSwitchOwner Cloud is heading for a big future for sure. But it’s King that MS wants cause mobile is where the money is at today, tomorrow and forever. Mobile sales and profit crush console.
@Kevw2006 that could be true, good point, but time will tell.
@Green-Bandit yeah I agree, honestly MS may even try to separate king and buy them. But it wasn’t rejected over king/Sony, because Microsoft don’t have a monopoly in that area.
It was rejected on an area where they do have a monopoly, that was only going to get larger. So the CMA did it’s job. Had they rejected on Sonys stance, then I think things would be different. And nobody is losing out on games. All that’s actually happening is Microsoft is making slightly less revenue compared to having ABK. ABK can still make deals with whoever, as can Microsoft to put their games.
@PsBoxSwitchOwner Ukraine just approved the deal saying it would bring games to that nation that aren’t yet there. So many countries are still signing on, have to wait and see how it plays out. I am just ready for some great games to hit all 3 consoles. I feel like this week i have commented on this more than gamed. 😀
https://www.purexbox.com/news/2023/04/ukraine-the-latest-nation-to-pass-xboxs-activision-blizzard-acquisition
@Green-Bandit "saying it would bring games to that nation that aren’t yet there. " - absolutely no clue where are you getting this from, it's certainly not mentioned in the article, they only say that MS and ABK do not provide cloud gaming in Ukraine so it's none of their concern. And ABK games have been available in Ukraine for decades... I do not mean to sound antagonistic, but wishful interpretations and quite frankly fabrications to follow ones narrative are rarely a sing of person looking for an open debate...
@NitrousX correct it does not yet say it would bring games there, but it’s that the whole point, is to bring cloud gaming to more countries that don’t yet have it. Like MS did with GP this month bringing it to 40 new countries and more on the way. I was hopeful not informed when i said they would get the games. Those people could use some positives after what has happened in the region. Sorry i misspoke and made it sound like it was a sure thing, i meant i was hopeful they were on the way after this last list of 40 new countries.
Yes, threaten a country because your corporation didn’t get its way. That in no way entirely proves exactly why this sort of deal needed to be stopped in the first place…
@ItsBritneyB_tch Best post in a thread filled with excellent posts.
@Eagly I'd say that ship has already sailed...
Britain making dumb choices again... 1st was brilliant idea of brexit with their arrogance thinking that it would kick the immigrants out...backfired and shot themselves in the foot, not blocking a purchase which could be beneficial for gamers... CMA, how much did sony pay you to block?? sony should just make their own call of duty and stop whining about it.
@Eagly everyone is making this big fuss about Cod, to be honest COD is not even as good anymore, it feels more like a copy past game, but companies find comfort in what is already there and its working instead of creating something new, better. I'm not defending microsoft because I have one, in fact I have an xbox x and a ps5. But for instances, I would like a possibility of having the likes of Wow on xbox/console which I believe there are higher chance of that if activision is acquired by Ms. As I see right now, ps has much better titles than xbox, and it wouldn't be because of call of copy paste that xbox would be monopolising anything lol @RonnieL the same ill say for sony.
Ps: everyone complaining about microsoft all I'll say is, if it weren't for them, we wouldn't have half the tech we have nowadays
Also, talking about monopolising, let's just say, governments exploit everyone, steal from you calling it taxes, national insurances, fees and I don't hear many people complaining or doing much about it.
@RonnieL sony is no better
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