Microsoft-Activision-Blizzard Discussion Thread |OT3| - Sony bends the knee!

[Searsy82]

@binarymelon

Honest question. Have you ever traded in a game you have bought DLC for? I used to be of the same mind as you and then realized I had definitely purchased DLC for games I no longer had.

I dont buy physical games. Im 100% digital on all platforms.

[Haven (Victor)]

@howlingmosquito

The CMA hopefully will take the hint that if they can’t argue making CoD exclusive will create a monopolistic situation for console or cloud, how do they expect to apply a block for Persona and Sonic?

The CMA stance seems based on ideology, and I doubt that changes from a defeat. I think it would be wise to segregate them and not risk another silly battle.

[ParkerPetrov]

@Boosted_Gear

So, the FTC got the TRO. No we have to wait 2 weeks, is that it ?

yup, they were always going to have the restraining order placed against them. As you can’t have a company closing a deal before the trial to determine if they can close the deal takes place. So the restraining order is more procedural then anything.

[No-1HoloLens-Fan]

The scrutiny of big tech is undeniable

Sad part is these countries don’t have proper constitutional laws which apply to every company

[Sparda3g]

Florian Mueller

[Zappy5]

It’s wise I think to just not expect much. I think it’s at the point now where it could close or fall apart quite quickly.

Have no idea which way this will go. Have a gut feel but will keep that to myself as frankly it’s worthless.

[BRiT]

And Sony just announced they will bring PS5 game streaming for titles on PlayStation Plus Premium as well as some games you own. Feels like that drastically changes the CMA’s numbers and SLC when the Market Leader decides to step-up and participate.

[Haven (Victor)]

I believe Microsoft will close the ABK deal so I’m leaning on the side of a US approval, and I would hope the CMA is amenable to work things out once that is done.

[AllianceOfficer]

Its going to be very difficult for the FTC to convince a judge that there weren’t remedies that could be discussed that resolves every one of their concerns. The head of the EC gave a speech literally a few weeks ago that ironically addresses every single point that the FTC made and emphasizes that remedies led to procompetitive effects:

Press corner

The FTC refused to even discuss remedies despite the parties being eager and willing to make very generous concessions.

Remedy alternatives that resolve the concerns are a big part of what the judge reviewing PIs has to look at and the FTC threw up a big 0 on the scoreboard in discussions held.

[peter42O]

@Swanlee

Diablo 4 is awesome and deserves to be played, even if this deal closes tomorrow it may be months before it lands on gamepass, it is currently silly to wait on Diablo 4 because of the chance it may eventually land on gamepass maybe one day

If their is any AAA title that has launched recently that is feature complete/polished has tons and tons of content and is worth the full price it’s Diablo 4

I’m waiting for two reasons - first, I don’t want to spend $70 (base game) + $10 (gold) to play it and second, I have games this summer to play and a shit ton starting with Starfield in September through the last four months of 2023. Hell, im going to have a backlog of October/November/December games depending on how long Starfield takes me. I was going to buy and play Diablo IV in September after Atlas Fallen in August and before the onslaught of October games while pushing Starfield to late-November after Like a Dragon Gaiden but with Avatar being announced for December 7th, my empty gap is gone so I decided to change around my gaming schedule. With September being empty for me outside of Starfield, im no longer going to wait to play Starfield. Day one premium digital edition baby!!!

Back to Diablo IV, it’s gotta wait. lol

[proelitedota (Andrew)]

@binarymelon

I’m starting to get deja vu with everyone dancing around claiming victory over the FTC. This is starting to look shockingly similar to how things were leading up to the CMA block. I feel like we should just wait for the situation to play out and not lose our minds regardless of the outcome.

MS will ultimately prevail in US court even if FTC gets the PI. The chances of FTC of getting a PI is not low because it’s not completely based on the merits.

[Rsebi]

@proelitedota

MS will ultimately prevail in US court even if FTC gets the PI. The chances of FTC of getting a PI is not low because it’s not completely based on the merits.

The FTC couldnt get a PI in the Meta Within case and cant prove imminent harm of the ABK merger, and I highly doubt MS would have baited the FTC into this with Smith, Kotick and Lulu all celebrating if the FTC had a reasonable chance of getting a PI

@Vivir

Wait and see approach is the best method for all of this.

Florian spent half the year talking as if it was a fact that CMA would pass the merger and we saw how that played out.

Just gotta hope rationality wins out and people in those powerful places listen to facts.

To be fair everyone thought the CMA would pass. The Financial Times was reporting it and ATVI stock was at $86 a pop until that morning

@binarymelon

I’m starting to get deja vu with everyone dancing around claiming victory over the FTC. This is starting to look shockingly similar to how things were leading up to the CMA block. I feel like we should just wait for the situation to play out and not lose our minds regardless of the outcome.

Because unlike the CMA, this decision isnt in the hands of the FTC. Its in the hands of the courts (and even the same judge who shot down the gamer lawsuit)

Sure if it was the FTC call then this deal would be dead but it isnt up to them

Anything can still happen of course but given the FTC abysmal track record theres no reason why theyd be able to get a PI when they couldnt even bother updating their filing from December. What are they going to tell the judge?

FTC: “if MS buys Activision they will cause imminent harm to Google Stadia”

[proelitedota (Andrew)]

@Rsebi

Because unlike the CMA, this decision isnt in the hands of the FTC. Its in the hands of the courts (and even the same judge who shot down the gamer lawsuit)

Sure if it was the FTC call then this deal would be dead but it isnt up to them

Anything can still happen of course but given the FTC abysmal track record theres no reason why theyd be able to get a PI when they couldnt even bother updating their filing from December. What are they going to tell the judge?

FTC: “if MS buys Activision they will cause imminent harm to Google Stadia”

The Judge that ruled against the FTC in the Meta case is not the same judge. Also the gamer case ruling won’t be the same as this one. In the gamer one the bar is really high for PI. FTC has a much lower bar to hit.

Besides in the Meta case, the FTC got a lot of stuff going in to their way, including market definition, immediate harm, etc.

MS can ultimately prevail in the US based on merits but the PI ruling won’t be entirely based on merits. It’ll be based on likelihoods.

As it stands the FTC’s complaint has little to no evidence and will get dismissed, but I think they’ll drop a bunch of things to focus on what sticks with the judge.

[Sparda3g]

Microsoft's $75-billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard put under anti-trust review | DW News

It’s the bean guy!

[Munki]

If anybody is interested.

Florian Mueller

[Rsebi]

Listening to Foss Twitter space and hes 100% right, the FTC filed purely out of desperation

[anon74828371]

First Squawk

[AllianceOfficer]

@anon74828371

Where is the filing?

There’s one quote here:

Microsoft, Activision ask judge for speedy schedule in FTC challenge | Law-Order

[anon74828371]

@AllianceOfficer

Microsoft and Activision Blizzard asked a U.S. judge on Wednesday to quickly schedule a case management conference in the Federal Trade Commission’s legal bid to block the companies from completing a $69 billion tie-up.

U.S. District Judge Edward Davila on Tuesday set a June 22-23 evidentiary hearing and temporarily blocked the parties from completing the deal pending a future decision on whether to grant a preliminary injunction.

“Time is of the essence,” the companies wrote in a court filing, noting that Microsoft’s agreement to acquire Activision has a termination date of July 18 and contains a $3 billion termination fee. “Let there be no doubt, a preliminary injunction ruling is the only decision that matters under these challenging deadlines.”

[Zappy5]

This reinforces my view that MS don’t think they will be able to negotiate an extension to the deal….