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Microsoft / Activision Deal Approval Watch |OT| (MS/ABK close)

Do you believe the deal will be approved?

  • Yes, will be approved without changes.

    Votes: 221 24.9%

  • Yes, will be approved but with structural changes to ABK.

    Votes: 102 11.5%

  • Yes, will be approved but only with behavioral concessions.

    Votes: 262 29.6%

  • No, will not be approved.

    Votes: 301 34.0%
  • Total voters
    886
  • Poll closed .
Status
Not open for further replies.
Astray

Astray

Member
RedC said:
Can you please cite these latest rumblings because I have yet to see anything official confirming this.
Click to expand...
www.equityreport.co.uk

Lawyers cautiously optimistic over outcome of Microsoft/Activision Blizzard's EC merger review

After a closed hearing at the European Commission (EC) last week, at which Microsoft fought for approval of its proposed $69bn acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Brussels-based competition lawyers are divided on whether the software giant’s […]
www.equityreport.co.uk www.equityreport.co.uk

It's paywalled, but Idas summarized it on ResetEra:


(I tried to find the exact post link for you, but ResetEra doesn't allow lurkers to search the forum and it's painful as fuck to go back page by page)
 
Mr.Phoenix

Mr.Phoenix

Member
The_Mike said:
Time will tell if future games and IPs from Bungie will become exclusives.
Sony is more locked than Microsoft in regarding sharing.
Click to expand...

Fact of the matter is, Bungie, while an independent studio, is just that. A studio. They are not a publisher. Its like peope forget that Activision actually published destiny for them even though Bungie owns the IP.

And even if future Bungie IPs end up not being multiplatform, that is no different than say sony buying insomniac. Or MS buying Rare or better yet, Ninja theory.

That is nothing compared to buying a publisher, that may have over 6 studios and 20 IPs in one move. At this point, you are not just talking about one game or studio becoming exclusive, you are talking about a massive library and talent becoming exclusive.

And you are right, Sony cannot afford to do what MS is doing. No other payer in the gaming business can. And if MS made their money primarily from the gaming business? they wouldn't be abe to afford it either.

Competing like this, is actually considered competing in bad faith. But that's not enforceable.
 
FoxMcChief

FoxMcChief

Gold Member
GreedyWaterloggedIslandcanary-size_restricted.gif
 
Thirty7ven

Thirty7ven

Banned
Ogbert said:
The odds aren’t ‘even’ that she’ll find your cock. Those odds are much further out - 15/1 at a push.

The even odds are just on the size of your member.

Drafting is important.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you’re speaking from experience, you certainly got the math figured out for the lifestyle of a micro cock.
 
E

Elios83

Member
b6a6es said:


Interesting, will they stay at 10 years though is the question 🤔
Click to expand...

The fate of this deal (if by fate we mean blocked or not) is and has always been in the hands of the CMA (although technically the biggest opponent is the FTC since they have already decided they want to block it...which means that if this is dragged to court and they appeal in case of a loss they could drag this on for a lot).

EU's decision is still very important as it will be the first major regulator forcing strict behavioural remedies on MS, it will be interesting to see if they will ask for more compared to what MS offered, for example they might ask the option for the 10 years license to be re-examimed and renewed if the anticompetitive concerns still hold in the future.

But the CMA is the one to look at for the biggest opposition, April 26th.
 
DJ12

DJ12

Member
Astray said:
Think about it, even if Sony accepts the current offer (all of ABK stuff for 10 years), that means +%70 of all thir revenues go to Microsoft, which essentially means that they managed to successfully monetize Sony's audience, what exactly will MS do with all that revenue? The sky is clearly the limit here.

Not to mention them potentially taking it exclusive after the contract lapses, or even saying fuck it and breaking it outright.
Click to expand...
In the unlikely even this deal gets approved, I imagine such a turn of events would further chasten MS's shareholders belief they xbox as a gaming device should be binned, imagine making a loss on your console business, only to have it rescued by you biggest and only real competitor.

Why waste so much money making a console, when the money is there and available through another platform.
 
Astray

Astray

Member
DJ12 said:
In the unlikely even this deal gets approved, I imagine such a turn of events would further chasten MS's shareholders belief they xbox as a gaming device should be binned, imagine making a loss on your console business, only to have it rescued by you biggest and only real competitor.

Why waste so much money making a console, when the money is there and available through another platform.
Click to expand...
I personally think the future for Microsoft is indeed about being a publisher for the medium term, lots more money from Azure and their strong IP offerings, and much less R&D costs, it also fits very neatly into Satya's vision for MS being a service-focused company.

But it's very hard to know what the future holds, that's why we have companies fighting over 10 year deals and shit, they are seeking the same clarity we do.
 
FalsettoVibe

FalsettoVibe

Member
T4keD0wN said:
Imagine being the only one lobbying to block a deal that doesnt involve you in any way and it backfiring so spectacularly youre forced to reveal your internal documents to your biggest rival.

Nice to see bullies getting pushback. Good riddance.
Click to expand...

T4keD0wN said:
Duh, they dont want comptetiton. No company wants competiton, they all want a monopoly.
They have deals with ABK, but those are seperate deals from the acquisition one which they are not part of and they arent even affected by it since it doesnt matter if anyone owns ABK, they still have to upkeep all of their active obligations unless they want to face consequences. The one thing it might (even we all know it 100% will, we have to pretend its not certain) affect is the potential of making more deals like that in the future.

I dont blame them one bit for attempting to block, if i were their investor id complain that they arent doing enough. Id make even more objections, there is no lie i wouldnt tell, no law i wouldnt break, anything to get ahead in business since there is no morality in business.
Click to expand...


uhh.....kinda sounds like you're contradicting yourself.
 
T4keD0wN

T4keD0wN

Member
FalsettoVibe said:
uhh.....kinda sounds like you're contradicting yourself.
Click to expand...
Not really, the aquisition deal doesnt involve them in any way. Theres multiple deals, if that wasnt clear.

Deal 1 refers to MS buying ABK.
Deal 2 refers to all of Sonys deals with ABK.
Then there are the potential future deals, lets simpily them a refer to them as just deal 3, funny thing about deal 3 is that they dont exist, at least yet.

They are an outside party when it comes to deal 1. Theyd have to own either Microsoft or ABK for that deal (this refers to deal 1) between those 2 to involve them.

How is company X involved in company Z being aquired by company Y? LMAO
 
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Heisenberg007

Heisenberg007

Gold Journalism
quest said:
No they are only using market dominance to get cheap deals to take away content from competitors. I know one favors your plastic box so totally cool. The other omfg i am missing out on the first major studio game in a near a decade thats bullshit everything needs to be on my plastic box. Sony is aggressively trying to content starve the competition. The only economical way to fight back is to aquire assests.

www.neogaf.com

Report: Sony Contacted All Major Third Parties for Exclusivity Deals, Offered More Money Than Microsoft

Report: Sony Contacted All Major Third Parties for Exclusivity Deals, Offered More Money Than Microsoft Kinda Funny’s Imran Khan said: There isn’t a major third party out there Sony failed to approach asking what kind of deals they could work out. Some had content, some had games, some had...
www.neogaf.com www.neogaf.com
Click to expand...
That was an "insider rumor" that has already been proven wrong. How many PlayStation timed-exclusives have we seen from?
  • Capcom
  • Ubisoft
  • EA
  • Activision
  • Sega
  • Koei Tecmo
  • Take Two
  • Epic Games
  • Gearbox
  • CDPR
 
Wulfer

Wulfer

Member
quest said:
No they are only using market dominance to get cheap deals to take away content from competitors. I know one favors your plastic box so totally cool. The other omfg i am missing out on the first major studio game in a near a decade thats bullshit everything needs to be on my plastic box. Sony is aggressively trying to content starve the competition. The only economical way to fight back is to aquire assests.

[/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]
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I guess we'll see who backs out of this court date first? Talk about major damage control. Sony better get on it fast because if these deals come to light/public boy the cat will be out of the bag! Four years is along time to make big deals especially if you expected business as usual tactics.
 
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Heisenberg007

Heisenberg007

Gold Journalism
Wulfer said:
I guess we'll see who backs out of this court date first. Talk about major damage control. Sony better get on it fast because if these deals come to light/public boy the cat will be out of the bag!
Click to expand...
I don't believe Sony will be worried about that at all -- except for the risk of revealing information that they'd like to announce in a showcase / State of Play.

What's the worse that could come out in this context? Sony buys timed console exclusivity for games? That's an industry-standard practice that Microsoft is also heavily involved in: Tunic, Stalker 2, High On Life, etc.

There may be a couple of instances where Sony may have bought full exclusivity. Microsoft has also recently done that, e.g., The Gunk.

So I don't think there would be anything here in Sony's doc that Microsoft hasn't been doing.
 
T

Three

Member
Wulfer said:
I guess we'll see who backs out of this court date first? Talk about major damage control. Sony better get on it fast because if these deals come to light/public boy the cat will be out of the bag! Four years is along time to make big deals under the table especially if you expected business as usual tactics.
Click to expand...
If the deals "come to light" nothing will happen.
 
Tomeru

Tomeru

Member
Wulfer said:
I guess we'll see who backs out of this court date first? Talk about major damage control. Sony better get on it fast because if these deals come to light/public boy the cat will be out of the bag! Four years is along time to make big deals under the table especially if you expected business as usual tactics.
Click to expand...
"Under the table"

Lmao.

Try reading what said out load. Smh.
 
Wulfer

Wulfer

Member
Heisenberg007 said:
I don't believe Sony will be worried about that at all -- except for the risk of revealing information that they'd like to announce in a showcase / State of Play.

What's the worse that could come out in this context? Sony buys timed console exclusivity for games? That's an industry-standard practice that Microsoft is also heavily involved in: Tunic, Stalker 2, High On Life, etc.

There may be a couple of instances where Sony may have bought full exclusivity. Microsoft has also recently done that, e.g., The Gunk.

So I don't think there would be anything here in Sony's doc that Microsoft hasn't been doing.
Click to expand...
No, its how the deals got made. Those documents will have those details and that's what Sony would be afraid to reveal to anyone let alone a court room! MS is asking the reach Sony has gone to in blocking Xbox and why Sony thinks Gamepass and more importantly COD IP are a monopoly they can't live without. Simply put, Sony will have to prove it's deals are not better than what Gamepass offers like Sony claims. Also, why MS's 10 year deal will jeopardize Sony presence in the games industry with IPs like COD.
 
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Banjo64

Banjo64

cumsessed
intheinbetween said:
Well, IF the CMA is taking notes, or having some sort of collaboration with the EU like it has been rumored, well then I believe the deal is done.

Can't wait to see how this thread develops, the meltdown is going to be epic either the deal goes through or it gets blocked (less likely imo).
Click to expand...
They are sharing information, not collaborating.
FoxMcChief said:
I’m really looking forward to playing the latest Tony Hawk.
Click to expand...
https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-4/tony-hawks-pro-skater-5
 
T

Three

Member
Wulfer said:
No, its how the deals got made. Those documents will have those details and that's what Sony would be afraid to reveal to anyone let alone a court room! MS is asking the reach Sony has gone to in blocking Xbox and why Sony thinks Gamepass and more importantly COD IP are a monopoly they can't live without. Simply put, Sony will have to prove it's deals are not better than what Gamepass offers like Sony claims!
Click to expand...
So enlighten us. How were the deals made that's so incriminating?
 
HeisenbergFX4

HeisenbergFX4

Gold Member
Three said:
If the deals "come to light" nothing will happen.
Click to expand...
Spot on

The Twitter people will argue back and forth and point fingers but in the end nothing changes

Even when (I guess if) the deal goes through people will have their meltdowns but in the end nothing changes

Playstation is a monster that will still be the preferred platform vs Xbox for the ones who only choose one or the other
 
TheGodfather07

TheGodfather07

Member
adamsapple said:
And we can finally be done with this once and for all.
Click to expand...

for how long though? it doesnt end after activision does it? how long before we hear about another publisher being acquired and it starts all over again? worst generation ever for people who just want to discuss games and not console or corporation wars.
 
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Wulfer

Wulfer

Member
Three said:
So enlighten us. How were the deals made that's so incriminating?
Click to expand...
I guess that's what we'll find out especially if this plays out in court! I honestly don't think it'll go to court like the Epic case did. There is to big a chance for records exposure on both sides. This is simply a old school game of chicken lets see who flinches first?
 
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splattered

splattered

Member
Well obviously the marketing/exclusivity deals will be no big deal, it's the other possibilities of shadier crap like paying companies to fully keep games off other systems, paying to ensure unequal parity between systems, paying to keep off of competing subscription services indefinitely, etc etc All of that may not even exist, but it would be awesome if anything like that should come to light. That's the sort of stuff i want to see that we will probably never be privy to.
 
TheGodfather07

TheGodfather07

Member
splattered said:
Well obviously the marketing/exclusivity deals will be no big deal, it's the other possibilities of shadier crap like paying companies to fully keep games off other systems, paying to ensure unequal parity between systems, paying to keep off of competing subscription services indefinitely, etc etc All of that may not even exist, but it would be awesome if anything like that should come to light. That's the sort of stuff i want to see that we will probably never be privy to.
Click to expand...

wheres the shady part though? its a deal between two parties. theres nothing "shady" about it. sony aint doing a don corleone on anybody.
 
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adamsapple

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
www.bnnbloomberg.ca

Microsoft and Activision Blizzard Meet UK Watchdog to Heal $69 Billion Deal Rift - BNN Bloomberg

Microsoft Corp. and Activision Blizzard Inc. met with the UK’s antitrust watchdog this week to hash out proposals over concerns their $69 billion deal would hamper competition in the video game industry, according to people familiar with the discussions, as global regulators step up their...
www.bnnbloomberg.ca www.bnnbloomberg.ca


Microsoft and Activision Blizzard Meet UK Watchdog to Heal $69 Billion Deal Rift​

Click to expand...

(Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp. and Activision Blizzard Inc. met with the UK’s antitrust watchdog this week to hash out proposals over concerns their $69 billion deal would hamper competition in the video game industry, according to people familiar with the discussions, as global regulators step up their scrutiny of the controversial deal.

Lawyers for Microsoft attended a private hearing with the Competition and Markets Authority in London on Monday to discuss the regulator’s provisional findings and assess the feasibility of proposed remedies, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing a confidential matter.
Click to expand...
Microsoft also said it’s willing to pay a third-party monitor to oversee their compliance, the people said, a measure designed to relieve the CMA from having to devote resources to make sure the tech giant follows through on its promises. The UK watchdog in its provisional assessment left the door open for behavioral remedies. The company has previously said it had a long record of keeping its promises to regulators.
Click to expand...
Spokespeople at Microsoft and CMA declined to comment. Activision Blizzard separately met with the CMA on Wednesday on the proposals. A further hearing with Sony Corp., the main opponent to the deal, is scheduled for next week, the people said.
Click to expand...
 
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ToadMan

ToadMan

Member
Astray said:
Think about it, even if Sony accepts the current offer (all of ABK stuff for 10 years), that means +%70 of all their revenues go to Microsoft, which essentially means that they managed to successfully monetize Sony's audience, what exactly will MS do with all that revenue? The sky is clearly the limit here.

Not to mention them potentially taking it exclusive after the contract lapses, or even saying fuck it and breaking it outright.
Click to expand...

MS aren’t interested in just monetising Sony - if they were this deal would be done already.

They’re trying to make a coercive monopoly - for that they’ll lose money now to make more later. If all they get out of this is 30% return they’ll sell xbox or just run it into the ground.

Look at the markets MS stays in - Windows, monopoly, office monopoly, azure - getting there. And they ditched phones, accessories and hardware devices, zune and … I’ve forgotten the others. They don’t stay in “profitable” markets - they try to establish monopolies and if they can’t they duck out.

As far as the regulators are concerned the endeavor to monopolise is fine. Where MS has problems is they’re doing it the wrong way with this acquisition which is why it is dead awaiting resurrection in some other form.
 
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