He spent all week trying to explain to Xbox fans that the process is not anything close to guaranteed. It includes both politics and independent judgments that could swing things potentially.
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Was there this uncertainty with the bethseda one?
No
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Donât think Zenimax represents a big enough chunk of PSX ecosystem for much uncertainty there. Plus Spartacus wasnât a thing anyone was talking about at that point.
Well said Tavish, people in here keep referring to these âoutlandishâ scenarios for Stalling the acquisition of ABK as âimpossibleâ this, or âit will never happenâ that. Hoeg said it best, when it comes to an acquisition of this size, you never give a definitive yes or no. And he says even if the deal is approved that doesnât mean the FTC canât come back 4 blood(mind the pun) and demand that Xbox make alterations. Look at what is happening with Meta and the FTC cracking down on them after they approved the WhatsApp and Instagram buyouts.
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Yup, which is probably why we heard murmurs of MS making assurances surrounding game accessibility and title availability. There are sensible arguments for defining what the relevant âmarketâ is in almost every imaginable way. The main competitor is not necessarily Sony here, unless regulators define the market in ways that pit them against each other. Iâm sure MSâs legal team already has all of the counter arguments for certain definitions sorted out in their favor as well as the arguments in favor of defining the âmarket competitionâ in ways favorable to the deal.
I think the only sensible position given the info at hand right now is: MS likely has already made some concession to keep CoD coming to PSX in order to let the deal sail smoothly through regulatory concerns, and that the deal will almost certainly go thru as a result but we canât be 100% certain of that outcome. I also think it is likely Sony makes concessions of some form to promote competition in the marketplace as well.
To me, that last part has become the more interesting thing. How will Sony respond outside of buying companies it realistically cannot afford? Will they be forced to throw their stupid crossplay playbook in the trash? Will they be forced to work with MS on having gamers get banned if their behavior on one platform is abusive like Phil suggested recently? Would Sony feel pressure to now make Spartacus games include day 1 releases of 1P games in order to be a better deal than what was leaked? What about Sonyâs own anti-consumer behavior wrt timed exclusive deals that donât make games on PS5 better (like FF7R staying exclusive despite its release already)? Will Sony feel the need to make more FPS games now?
^^more interesting questions imho than the regulatory elements at this stage.
Yea weâll see
This right here is what I hope happens. Both companies working together to better who??? Us the gamers. This is the ideal scenario gamers should want.
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EA is way too expensive for Sony. They wouldnât be sold for less than 40 billion dollars.
Also EA would have to want to sell too.
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Would probably have to be a merger if anything.
With a market cap of 37 billion, theyâd be looking at a sale of 48-56 billion.
The article spent as much time suggesting that Disney could buy them as it did Sony. Disney would be in a much better position to do that imo.
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I like how journous speculates about a Sony response, they really want it. Wasnât consolidation bad? XD
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I donât know what it says, but I got a feeling I know what.
Google TL
Notice to gamers, Microsoft has bought Activision! Choose your machine wisely
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I went straight to the comments for the lulz
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Iâve got a Cora market not far from where I live. I will have to check if they put that message there too 
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The US is doomed if they FTC looks around and decides the thing American companies are doing to people that they really need to come down on is potential Spyro exclusivity.