Microsoft to buy Activision Blizzard?

[cyberninja2601 1,106]

36 minutes ago, Luseth said:

 

Where this may affect things is game pass, if Microsoft chooses to go down this route and sell Activision titles only by distributors it would mean that the UK could end up being the only country that COD does not come to game pass ^_^ Or at least that's what I read and tbh I would find that quite funny 😄

 

 

That's exactly what it would mean.

 

Activision has a unique version of Cod for China. So there is precedence of a product not being available everywhere. This would be as a result of the UK refusing to allow the merger and a limitation imposed by the UK 

 

So activation would be following the ruling. They wouldn't operate in a country which denied the merger

 

[IRaMPaGe 3,264]

US moves to block Microsoft's Activision takeover - BBC News

WWW.BBC.CO.UK

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Regulators have asked a judge to block the proposed deal, arguing it could harm competition levels.

 

[J4MES OX4D 10,064]

2 hours ago, IRaMPaGe said:

US moves to block Microsoft's Activision takeover - BBC News

WWW.BBC.CO.UK

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Regulators have asked a judge to block the proposed deal, arguing it could harm competition levels.

 

lmao! I guess the only solution is for Activision and Microsoft to pull out of the USA then amirite😎

 

The FTC outright rejected the heavily amended terms too, so butthurt MS and Activision can't accuse the CMA of being the ultimate cockblockers. 

[Tove 488]

On 6/13/2023 at 5:57 PM, J4MES OX4D said:

lmao! I guess the only solution is for Activision and Microsoft to pull out of the USA then amirite😎

 

The FTC outright rejected the heavily amended terms too, so butthurt MS and Activision can't accuse the CMA of being the ultimate cockblockers. 

That would be the logical way forward surely?

[J4MES OX4D 10,064]

17 hours ago, Tove said:

That would be the logical way forward surely?

It's the only way forward for them to save face because they said they would consider leaving markets that blocked the deal and now they've been bummed in their very own backyard which is absolutely hilarious. I did warn that their childish stance would come back to bite them when the FTC followed through their initial lawsuit with a blanket rejection of the amended terms and if they are true to their word after their response to the CMA then they have to abandon their home market of America or it will just look like their threats were nothing more than amateur blackmail of corporate coercion.    

 

This is what happens when corporations have no respect for jurisdictional laws or other companies. They've now been duly humiliated on their own doorstep and the only way to get the deal over the line is to make some serious concessions and amendments that respect law and other companies. 

[James 1,628]

Microsoft wins FTC trial to acquire Activision Blizzard.

[J4MES OX4D 10,064]

A terrible result for gamers and mainstream gaming today but an unsurprising one to say the least - a US company was never going to lose on home turf against challenges that may benefit a Japanese one.  The good news is that it forced Microsoft into making some calamitously painful admissions in court such as only buying Bethesda (who they didn't even want) to stop Sony getting a one year Starfield exclusive, and the game pass being of such incredibly detrimental value to external developers, that they'd have to own them outright just to make it a profitable move. Also MS have had to make some serious concessions to bulldoze this deal through to an more acceptable standard so smaller companies wont be hamstrung as bad as first feared but it's still yet to be truly assessed. 

 

The FTC did the right thing and the case really has exposed MIcrosoft's absolutely catastrophic approach to gaming in the last two generations and their inability to remotely compete with Sony and Nintendo even after trying to buy swathes of the industry to shut rivals out.  No matter how much they blow on acquiring another company they probably don't even want either, they will never get their dignity back and a lot of developers are going to think twice about Game Pass publication now. 

[cyberninja2601 1,106]

On 6/15/2023 at 9:13 AM, J4MES OX4D said:

It's the only way forward for them to save face because they said they would consider leaving markets that blocked the deal and now they've been bummed in their very own backyard which is absolutely hilarious. I did warn that their childish stance would come back to bite them when the FTC followed through their initial lawsuit with a blanket rejection of the amended terms and if they are true to their word after their response to the CMA then they have to abandon their home market of America or it will just look like their threats were nothing more than amateur blackmail of corporate coercion.    

 

This is what happens when corporations have no respect for jurisdictional laws or other companies. They've now been duly humiliated on their own doorstep and the only way to get the deal over the line is to make some serious concessions and amendments that respect law and other companies. 

 

 

Humiliated huh? They win the FTC case  and now "UK watchdog halts legal battle with Microsoft over £55bn Activision takeover"

 

Seems to me like they are making the FTC and CMA look foolish once a court case comes up

 

 

 

 

[J4MES OX4D 10,064]

10 minutes ago, cyberninja2601 said:

 

 

Humiliated huh? They win the FTC case  and now "UK watchdog halts legal battle with Microsoft over £55bn Activision takeover"

 

Seems to me like they are making the FTC and CMA look foolish once a court case comes up

 

 

 

 

FTC and the CMA were simply acting in the interests of other global companies and the impact such a merger would have. I fail to see why you are so against this? MS were forced into damning admissions to in regards to their overall motive for the move and their knee-jerk purchases of other developers they have locked to their books but fail to support. Oversight bodies are perfectly within their right to raise any litigation or make rejections with credible reason.

 

I find it really bizarre that you are so far up Activision’s rectum with this whole saga - it’s a merger of two multi-billion dollar companies that will have no benefit to gamers or developers and will likely suppress other companies from making independent strides. It’s not going to make Call of Duty any better - it’s just gonna make Bobby and Bill even more money and that’s it. 

 

it’s also not in the interests of legal bodies to pursue further litigation because it would simply be too costly and an impossible battle to win against a homegrown corporation with endlessly deep pockets who can easily sway judges who can’t fathom how to even work a toaster. Any gamer and developer would be rather concerned about what has transpired from MS in court. 

[cyberninja2601 1,106]

33 minutes ago, J4MES OX4D said:

FTC and the CMA were simply acting in the interests of other global companies and the impact such a merger would have. I fail to see why you are so against this? MS were forced into damning admissions to in regards to their overall motive for the move and their knee-jerk purchases of other developers they have locked to their books but fail to support. Oversight bodies are perfectly within their right to raise any litigation or make rejections with credible reason.

 

I find it really bizarre that you are so far up Activision’s rectum with this whole saga - it’s a merger of two multi-billion dollar companies that will have no benefit to gamers or developers and will likely suppress other companies from making independent strides. It’s not going to make Call of Duty any better - it’s just gonna make Bobby and Bill even more money and that’s it. 

 

it’s also not in the interests of legal bodies to pursue further litigation because it would simply be too costly and an impossible battle to win against a homegrown corporation with endlessly deep pockets who can easily sway judges who can’t fathom how to even work a toaster. Any gamer and developer would be rather concerned about what has transpired from MS in court. 

 

 

I have no skin in the game at all. I just tire of you talking our of your ass all of the time

[J4MES OX4D 10,064]

16 minutes ago, cyberninja2601 said:

 

 

I have no skin in the game at all. I just tire of you talking our of your ass all of the time

Skin? Ok, not sure what you’re going on about there. Also not sure how I am talking out of my ass by relaying public information. Maybe it’s because you don’t like what’s being said but I honestly thought we left the fanboy gatekeeping behind back in 2012. 

 

It’s also funny because the last time you accused me of ‘talking out my ass’, everything I said turned out to be 100% correct and that didn’t even stretch to the educated predictions I made after which was a sweet bonus😎 

[James 1,628]

I think they keep losing to PlayStation and Nintendo because everyone says only 12 year old boys play XBOX 😂

 

That's all I used to hear in school and I never touched a XBOX after that 😂

[IRaMPaGe 3,264]

7 hours ago, Lurchzy said:

I think they keep losing to PlayStation and Nintendo because everyone says only 12 year old boys play XBOX 😂

 

That's all I used to hear in school and I never touched a XBOX after that 😂

 

Philip Scofield "Think I will buy an XBOX" 

 

Too soon? Hmmmm? 

[J4MES OX4D 10,064]

4 hours ago, IRaMPaGe said:

 

Philip Scofield "Think I will buy an XBOX" 

 

Too soon? Hmmmm? 

I nearly played that joke last night funnily enough🤣

[IRaMPaGe 3,264]

16 minutes ago, J4MES OX4D said:

I nearly played that joke last night funnily enough🤣

 

I can believe it James you sick bastard! 😂

 

Think I will have to drop some Phil Scofield memes in the TikTok thread later on. 

[Middle Class Caveman 980]

Well this thread got very heated, very quickly....

[GazzaGarratt 11,072]

39 minutes ago, Middle Class Caveman said:

Well this thread got very heated, very quickly....

 

Not really as Pat and James just disagree on a regular basis.

 

15 hours ago, Lurchzy said:

I think they keep losing to PlayStation and Nintendo because everyone says only 12 year old boys play XBOX 😂

 

That's all I used to hear in school and I never touched a XBOX after that 😂

 

You know, you could be right about that! I do see so many kids getting xbox but when they get older all they want is a PlayStation lol. Not sure how the demographic has ended up like that but I certainly hear that sentiment when I speak to mums and dads about all of this stuff.

 

I've got to the stage with this that they should just get on and do whatever they wanna do. I don't think it will really do anything in the next 10 years to gaming if I'm brutally honest. Sony might get hurt in the long term but I probably see it as they have a 10 year plan to make sure they do whatever they need to in order to protect what they have right now.

[James 1,628]

44 minutes ago, Middle Class Caveman said:

Well this thread got very heated, very quickly....

 

Tried my best to cool it down 😂

[cyberninja2601 1,106]

4 hours ago, GazzaGarratt said:

 

Not really as Pat and James just disagree on a regular basis.

 

 

You know, you could be right about that! I do see so many kids getting xbox but when they get older all they want is a PlayStation lol. Not sure how the demographic has ended up like that but I certainly hear that sentiment when I speak to mums and dads about all of this stuff.

 

I've got to the stage with this that they should just get on and do whatever they wanna do. I don't think it will really do anything in the next 10 years to gaming if I'm brutally honest. Sony might get hurt in the long term but I probably see it as they have a 10 year plan to make sure they do whatever they need to in order to protect what they have right now.

 

 

I have both and I mainly play on the Xbox because I find that the MS network is by far superior to the PSN one in Ottawa. It was is was superior in California when I was there as well.  I never had to complain about lag and network outages. Both boxes are side by side and use a hard wired internet connection with 500 Mbs so it's not my provider. 

 

I use to favor the PSN because it started with a free network and migrated to free for free to play games. So DMZ/Warzone is free to me on PSN but not on XBOX.  Seems like I get what I pay for

 

You friends list is also considerably better with  Xbox. I believe it caps at 1000. The PSN one is now too small for the Warzone/DMZ crowd I play with

 

 

[J4MES OX4D 10,064]

Microsoft have made an astonishing concession to appease the CMA by relinquishing publication rights outside of the EU on cloud-based gaming for the next 15 years which includes their own entire AAA portfolio past. current and future. Microsoft's hardline tantrum after being initially rejected is looking even more hilarious now as they've well and truly buckled. It's not much of a goalpost shift especially as they've roped in Ubisoft but it's a fantastic acknowledgement and victory to protect companies and laws globally on future cloud innovations and platform operations. 

Microsoft submits new Activision Blizzard deal to win over UK regulator | Microsoft | The Guardian

WWW.THEGUARDIAN.COM

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CMA opens new investigation into $69bn acquisition as tech firm offers to sell cloud gaming rights to Ubisoft

 

Personally, I still don't think it's enough and it just adds more of a mess, but with the EU quick to approve the deal without any ratification among its members and Microsoft having their own home courts on their side, it will probably have to do, but the u-turn will hold significance from a legal, moral and ultimately symbolic standpoint that no matter how big a company is or how much money they have, you cannot buy everything and legislation has to be respected. 

 

[Plumbers Crack 4,072]

Microsoft cleared to buy Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard

WWW.BBC.CO.UK

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UK regulators approve the $69bn tech giant's takeover of Activision Blizzard, the maker of Call of Duty.

 

[J4MES OX4D 10,064]

3 hours ago, Plumbers Crack said:

Microsoft cleared to buy Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard

WWW.BBC.CO.UK

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UK regulators approve the $69bn tech giant's takeover of Activision Blizzard, the maker of Call of Duty.

 

A good result in the end for all parties and the CMA as acknowledged did a ground-breaking job in driving several key concessions to protect other global developers, technological concepts and the industry as a whole which Microsoft duly amended to get the deal through. The UK may be slow in some areas but it really is thorough to a tee especially when it comes to legality. It's a testament to the CMA for all their work and it is utterly ridiculous that major entities like the collective EU would immediately sign off such a dangerous move without any scrutiny of consideration. The FTC tried but America seems to only have the Judge Judy method and no other form of negotiable resolution methods available🤣

 

I just hope Microsoft can actually make an impact because their acquisition of Bethesda has been nothing shy of a major disappointment. I have a feeling that nothing will change through especially if the keep Kotick in the seat.