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FTC Seeks to Block Microsoft Corp’s Acquisition of Activision Blizzard

ZehDon

ZehDon

Gold Member
gothmog said:
I'm still confused as to what specific regulation or laws you are referring to?
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No, that's the problem: there isn't a law or regulation that stipulates "big tech can't buy companies". The FTC's case isn't solid enough for them to get a win here in my view. In my opinion, Khan's FTC is simply making noise because she wants to be seen making it.
 
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Marvel14

Marvel14

Banned
DeepEnigma

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
Gavon West said:
It immediately makes Sony have to up their game and think outside of the box by adding some much needed competition to the mix in the gaming industry. That will ultimately assist devs by adding new jobs, bringing more creative minds into the fold, more innovation in gaming. This in turn benefits gamers ultimately as gaming will reach new heights in gameplay, visuals, etc. At the end of it all, gamers will benefit exponentially! Keeping the status quo only hampers real progress in this industry.

It's time to change the game, my boys!
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Cringe Reaction GIF
 
anthony2690

anthony2690

Banned
LiquidMetal14 said:
So let's kind of get this straight in the fanboy or adolescent childish way some may be behaving.

Does this hurt Microsoft people that this may get rejected or more Sony people because some games nay not come to their platform?

These kinds of threads or content always divulge into the system war driven Photoshop fest.

Will anyone here lose sleep in this holiday season? Breathe!
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Me personally.

I'd like it to go through, it means I can play the games on game pass with my buddies without worrying about whether they purchased the games or not. (I buy pretty much everything that takes my fancy, others don't and that is understandable, I'm lucky enough to love and enjoy a wide range of genres)

I wouldn't care if Microsoft signed a deal that meant all future Activision Blizzard games came out on playstation day and date too.

Other people missing out on the games doesn't benefit me in any shape or form.

If they still come to playstation I can enjoy the games with my buddy Quy still, who I've played fall guys with, and looking forward to playing sf6 against, as we use to have excellent games on sf4 back in the day on the Xbox 360 :).
 
Marvel14

Marvel14

Banned
Gavon West said:
It immediately makes Sony have to up their game and think outside of the box by adding some much needed competition to the mix in the gaming industry. That will ultimately assist devs by adding new jobs, bringing more creative minds into the fold, more innovation in gaming. This in turn benefits gamers ultimately as gaming will reach new heights in gameplay, visuals, etc. At the end of it all, gamers will benefit exponentially! Keeping the status quo only hampers real progress in this industry.

It's time to change the game, my boys!
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Look son. This is what " talking bollocks" looks like.
 
Gavon West

Gavon West

Spread's Cheeks for Intrusive Ads
Swift_Star said:
Don’t cry about thinking outside the box when the only one doing something different is Sony. Stop making nonsense and sugarcoated predictions when reality clashes with your silly conjecture.
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What I said is a fact. It's not everyone's cup of tea. Your opinion, in this case, isnt fact. It's an opinion. And that's cool, I guess.
 
Q

quest

Not Banned from OT
anthony2690 said:
Me personally.

I'd like it to go through, it means I can play the games on game pass with my buddies without worrying about whether they purchased the games or not. (I buy pretty much everything that takes my fancy, others don't and that is understandable, I'm lucky enough to love and enjoy a wide range of genres)

I wouldn't care if Microsoft signed a deal that meant all future Activision Blizzard games came out on playstation day and date too.

Other people missing out on the games doesn't benefit me in any shape or form.

If they still come to playstation I can enjoy the games with my buddy Quy still, who I've played fall guys with, and looking forward to playing sf6 against, as we use to have excellent games on sf4 back in the day on the Xbox 360 :).
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Sure as long as Sony had to agree to no money hats of any major studios like SE and any current money hats are void.
 
ZehDon

ZehDon

Gold Member
Marvel14 said:
Ok I'll bite...what's the FTC's case if you're truly knowledgeable?
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Read their complaint for the full case.

The core structure: “Today we seek to stop Microsoft from gaining control over a leading independent game studio and using it to harm competition in multiple dynamic and fast-growing gaming markets.” That's a scatter shot approach, hoping they'll get something will stick. If not home consoles, streaming. If not streaming, mobile. If not mobile, online. If not online, then subscription. Their notable individual claims have been outlined in this thread. They boil down to: "Microsoft has bought companies and made exclusives before, they'll do it again, they're lying". While simultaneously ignoring the context, statements, and results of each poorly chosen example, the FTC is claiming Microsoft plans to breach all of its agreements - such as its 10 year deal with Nintendo - because it made Starfield exclusive, despite Microsoft telling regulators it would absolutely make it exclusive if it made financial sense to do so, and the deal was approved then with that statement. The FTC will need to prove Microsoft's intent to lie to regulators so that it can use ABK to actively harm competition within multiple video game markets, while also demonstation Microsoft's ABK purchase allows it to have the power to perform that harm. They'll have a hard time proving any of that, doubly so when titles like Minecraft, Elder Scrolls Online, and Fallout 76 continue to be multiplatform with no degradation to their non-Microsoft releases, titles like Ghost Wire and Death Loop remained non-Xbox exclusives in accordance with existing deals, and its offered Nintendo and Sony 10 years of Call of Duty in writing. The FTC's case is flimsy at best from my perspective, and boils down to "trust us".
 
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Hendrick's

Hendrick's

If only my penis was as big as my GamerScore!
ChorizoPicozo said:
If so. Meltdown suicide account thread is on the menu.
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Not so fast friend.

If you have followed my long career here at NeoGaf, still my favorite forum despite my detractors, you would know that I have a passion for two things, Video Games and Bourbon. The latter often colors my posting language.

Passionate, playful, and often crass, my favorite brown elixir brings out all my best flavors.

The point being, Craig of War Craig of War is an ant compared to me.
 
porkchopexpress

porkchopexpress

Member
This whole thread should be subtitled, "Tell me what console you're a fanboy of without telling me what console you're a fanboy of"

More likely than not that FTC does not win here, the environment in the US is just not conducive to the FTC taking on companies with the resources that a a company like MSFT has.

Microsoft still has far more to fear from EU regulators than the FTC; they actually have the ability and laws on their side. If this deal falls through it will be the Europeans that make it fail.
 
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OsirisBlack

OsirisBlack

Banned
Tripolygon said:
Screenshot_20221208-120723.png
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SenjutsuSage said:
Pay very close to the politics of this going forward. The FTC has just entered into a big fight with Microsoft and one of the United States' most powerful Labor Unions with a very pro union President and Administration.

If the FTC hoped Microsoft would blink.. that has not happened. This isn't Nvidia they're dealing with. :messenger_tears_of_joy:

The FTC's job is to protect consumers, not competitors. The FTC better pray they at least get a judge that will have a temperament for this silly case, or else it could be over for the FTC a lot quicker than people think.




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They are trying to protect consumers. It’s weird how people don’t see that MS already lied about their intentions. Them having a monopoly over all gaming is not good for consumers. There is no competition when you simply buy them out which is what they are attempting to do. Neither company is good and exclusive games are not a bad thing but buying every company to make every game exclusive is. If they didn’t just lie about the zenimax acquisition this wouldn’t be so heavily opposed. If anyone else steps up and backs the FTC or launches additional legal action this deal is dead in the water.

Edited to add:MS first party is Gears, halo and forza…. That’s pretty much it over and over again. Yes I think they need to buy more studios or use the 70 billion dollars to I don’t know create good gaming studios.
 
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A

Ash Sparrow

Banned
This reminds me of the SEC making KIM K pay a million, knowing fraud is rampant in the billions if not trillions of dollars. I expect this to go through after the FTC pretends its doing its job.
 
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bentanchorbolt

bentanchorbolt

Banned
OsirisBlack said:
They are trying to protect consumers. It’s weird how people don’t see that MS already lied about their intentions. Them having a monopoly over all gaming is not good for consumers. There is no competition when you simply buy them out which is what they are attempting to do. Neither company is good and exclusive games are not a bad thing but buying every company to make every game exclusive is. If they didn’t just lie about the zenimax acquisition this wouldn’t be so heavily opposed. If anyone else steps up and backs the FTC or launches additional legal action this deal is dead in the water.
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Easy on the hyperbole. MS owning Zenimax and ActiBlizz isn't a monopoly, not even close to it. They aren't buying every company. Hyperbole like this makes these discussions impossible to have or get anywhere.
 
OsirisBlack

OsirisBlack

Banned
bentanchorbolt said:
Easy on the hyperbole. MS owning Zenimax and ActiBlizz isn't a monopoly, not even close to it. They aren't buying every company. Hyperbole like this makes these discussions impossible to have or get anywhere.
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You miss the point it’s the start. Definitely not hyperbole. How many ips does zenimax and activision give them ? I’ll wait.

Edited to add. Conversations can’t go anywhere when people are thinking about defending a company that is anti consumer as fuck. Don’t even get me started on windows and their pc policies.
 
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Kenneth Haight

Kenneth Haight

Gold Member
Gavon West said:
It immediately makes Sony have to up their game and think outside of the box by adding some much needed competition to the mix in the gaming industry. That will ultimately assist devs by adding new jobs, bringing more creative minds into the fold, more innovation in gaming. This in turn benefits gamers ultimately as gaming will reach new heights in gameplay, visuals, etc. At the end of it all, gamers will benefit exponentially! Keeping the status quo only hampers real progress in this industry.

It's time to change the game, my boys!
Click to expand...

GIF by launchsquad
 
ComputerBlue

ComputerBlue

Member
Mibu no ookami said:
They don't have the studios to create and sustain IP. Historically, Microsoft was never really a console game publisher. They had some mixed success with PC games.

They got extremely fortunate to buy Halo and Bungie, but their focus historically had been not that much different from Sony a hardware focus.



It's in Sony's best interest because CoD is ultimately more replaceable than some more quality studios and publishers and IP that if Microsoft looks to spread out significant money they could really do a lot more damage to Sony's player base who has no interest in the sole IP of CoD.
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They don’t have the studios, so they should backtrack on their word? You’re making no sense. They haven’t been in console gaming for much less time than Sony has. They’ve had over 20 years to develop studios and IPs and they have failed to do so. They got fortunate with Bungie, so what? They gave up there? Why did they get into console gaming if they weren’t planning on building studios to make games?

Your explanation for why it’s in Sony‘s best interest is nonsensical, under no circumstance is it better for Sony if Microsoft was to own Call of Duty. Just because they can buy other studios does not make this in Sonys best interest, in any way.
 
Mibu no ookami

Mibu no ookami

Member
ComputerBlue said:
They don’t have the studios, so they should backtrack on their word? You’re making no sense. They haven’t been in console gaming for much less time than Sony has. They’ve had over 20 years to develop studios and IPs and they have failed to do so. They got fortunate with Bungie, so what? They gave up there? Why did they get into console gaming if they weren’t planning on building studios to make games?

Your explanation for why it’s in Sony‘s best interest is nonsensical, under no circumstance is it better for Sony if Microsoft was to own Call of Duty. Just because they can buy other studios does not make this in Sonys best interest, in any way.
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Backtrack on their word? What do you think their word is worth exactly?

Like I said, they came into the industry and played the game much like Sony did, but from a minor position. They haven't had the ability to really focus purely on developing internal development studios and this was never really their focus or Sony's. Sony's head start into gaming certainly helped them. By the time Microsoft got into the game Sony already had significant relationships with Naughty Dog and Insomniac. You look at Sony's biggest success stories and they came from that 2000-2005 time frame (Naughty Dog, Insomniac, Santa Monica, Sucker Punch, Guerrilla Games). Microsoft had similar success, but just wasn't able to cultivate it while focusing on keeping up on hardware.

Microsoft nearly got out of gaming and had it not been for the success of the 360, they wouldn't be where they are now. They've basically had to do a major studio reboot well into a time period where competition for developers is already a harsh landscape. You can ignore the realities of that, but that doesn't change who they are.

They didn't "give" up on Bungie, Bungie wanted to leave.

Similarly, the failures of the PS3 are what lead to the PS4. Sony fighting for consumers is the best thing for the industry. Sony diversifying and putting out games that aren't just 3rd person adventure games is going to be good for the industry. They knocked it out of the park on PS3 and PS4, but they need to evolve as a company and this will help push that and it already has. They wouldn't have purchased Bungie had it not been for this.
 
OsirisBlack

OsirisBlack

Banned
bentanchorbolt said:
Slippery slope is a logical fallacy
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Logical fallacy?

How is it logical that all of these games, fallout, elder scrolls, doom, quake, rage, wolfenstein, warcraft, starcraft, Diablo, star field, red fall, call of duty, crash bandicoot and many more have the possibility of being exclusive in one fell swoop? How is that good for consumers? How is that good for competition? How is that logical? Of course they would let a few slip in the first years but have already shown they don’t mind cutting people off. Not Sony, not Nintendo but people. That’s anti consumerism at its finest.
 
Amiga

Amiga

Member
“Microsoft has already shown that it can and will withhold content from its gaming rivals,” said Holly Vedova, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition.

They took a hard position. A move this strong could only mean other big companies are opposing this move. Not just Sony, and not just gaming rivals. The government of Japan could also be involved.
 
Sanepar

Sanepar

Member
bentanchorbolt said:
Easy on the hyperbole. MS owning Zenimax and ActiBlizz isn't a monopoly, not even close to it. They aren't buying every company. Hyperbole like this makes these discussions impossible to have or get anywhere.
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Yeah I hope u are not naive or dumb in life like your post... come one wtf u think they are trying buying all these companies and locking content with this bullshit of doing that for gamers?

Playstation gamers will be able to play Starfield or Redfall? Why not since they are the good guys for gamers?
 
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