This is a really good breakdown of what could happen with the FTC.
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I really want to see what type of agreement Sony made with ABK to prevent ABK from making deals for COD on Game Pass, it couldâve even been part of the deal where ABK was getting 80% of sales from PlayStation, that extra 10% is huge from a franchise that is selling 10+ million at full price, Iâm sure Sony Sony was happy with making up the difference from MTXs while handicapping Xbox a bit more.
While Microsoft did screw up big in 2013, which allowed Sony to dominate once more, I think many donât see or just ignore that theyâve been stepping on Xboxâs necks nonstop since with every chance they got, many of their timed exclusives many not seem that impactful but they are strategically hitting Xbox hard like Street Fighter 5 and Final Fantasy but since the industry was free of regulation nobody ever noticed or cared and Microsoft never complained about such practices.
I really donât see Sony going on a publisher buying spree as a response, they will have trouble in Japan due to Nintendo and they have too much market share in the west, Europe especially, to be able to get away with one with little scrutiny, so I personally donât think this deal is opening up the floodgates like Shinobi said, if anything, it seems like for the first time ever regulators are paying attention to the gaming industry.
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Whatâs even more interesting is Xboxâs reply under this tweets. They mention Skyrim, Resident Evil and Hades along with Modern Warfare.
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I always knew the CMA being some untouchable God was a myth and whats crazy is even News channels were rolling with it on top of OtherEra peddling the same crap
âBu buh but theres no appeal processâ
The real issue would have been the time frame. It isnât like MS appeals and CAT overturns next week. Its safe to say it would have likely gone beyond the initial closing date
Granted it isnt getting that far eapecially with the CMA telling Sony to fk right off but this deal was always going to go through because MS wants it bad enough
Saw that The Wallstreet Journal published an article this morning about the deal.
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Perception is reality. If you repeat a million times that the deal has no chance of passing, you actually put pressure on regulatory agencies not to let it through. Which is why Christopher Dring and Eurogamer immediately started writing articles how Microsoftâs proposed remedies are nowhere near enough when Microsoft presented them to the European Commission back in February.
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How can Diablo be considered a surprise hit?
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hades?
Media Pundits. Incredible.
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The politics and PR surrounding Microsoft Corp.âs $69 billion bid for video-game developer Activision Blizzard Inc. are becoming increasingly delicate for the UKâs antitrust regulator. The Competition & Markets Authority took a strident lead among global watchdogs in challenging the deal last year. Now itâs backtracking.
The UK will need cast-iron grounds to argue Microsoftâs preemptive licensing deals arenât enough to address the danger that Activision helps the company dominate the cloud-gaming ecosystem. Had the flawed provisional findings stayed unchanged, Microsoft could well have successfully appealed any ultimate block on the transaction â something that would inflict a big blow to the CMAâs standing. The agency needs to be 100% sure that the modelling underpinning its remaining doubts doesnât leave it exposed to the same risk.
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Common sense slowly winning out. Remains to be seen if the FTC have enough common sense to do the same or are prepared to damage their reputation further as a credible entity.
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Thereâs zero hope for the FTC, theyâve been making that very clear
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Was literally about to come in and post this when I saw the tweet⊠âsurprise hitâ for a new entry of a franchise that sells millions and still manages to sell in the same entry a decade later. But yeah⊠surprise hit indeed.
I swear legacy gaming media is as bad as legacy media for covering fascists and insurrectionistsâŠ. At least the former doesnât get people killed I suppose.
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The countdown is on now for the final part of this whole affair.
Iâve got a feeling that we wonât need to wait until the end of May for a final decision on this. Both the EU/CMA will be talking to each other about all this and whilst the EU deadline is 22nd May, it is only a deadline. I think both will likely come out with their decisions about the same time. The EU does also have a track record in approving deals ahead of their self imposed deadlines.
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While the title is definitely a little click-baity, according to someone on OtherERA who temporarily had access to the article the âsurpriseâ bit is that it will likely be bigger than even expected based on the amount of people that took part in the beta.
This is what an expert in litigation cases said about the FTCâs case.
These partnerships could help the takeover gain clearance, argues Bloomberg Intelligence litigation expert Jennifer Rie, given the European authorities appear likely to accept Microsoftâs commitments and the deal has âthe law and factsâ on its side in the US. Theres aboslutely nothing ilegal about this deal.
Yeah I think noone doubts D4 is going to be big but after knowing that D3 sold more than 30 million copies back ik 2015, more than 65 million people have played D3 and now D4âs beta numbers and near universal praiseâŠits really possible D4 could end up being 2023âs best seller game.
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The FTC have ordered Illumina to divest Grail ($7B) which was acquired in 2021.