Board 8 > Microsoft wins FTC case, Activision purchase to go ahead

(+) Yeah! (+)

Posting another topic because the other one doesnt have the news in the topic title.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jul/11/microsoft-may-proceed-69-billion-activision-blizzard-deal

Additionally, the CMA have re-opened negotiations so it is effectively a done deal.

ick

This is a weird one in that mergers and consolidation are inherently bad but also the opposing arguments didnt really have a leg to stand on as the system currently works. The admission that Sony was using their lead position to get exclusivity deals (itself anti-competitive) killed the case against the deal.

The FTC bungled this hardcore. It basically came across like they were specifically lobbying for Sony, poor self-serving arguments and all. Even if their lawyers don't understand the space and wanted expert insight, they really screwed up by going so all in on one source who honestly doesn't have a very compelling case here.

Best thing that will? come from all this is kicking Kotick the fuck out. Can pretty much only benefit the Blizzard games in particular and probably other games too

swordz9 posted...

Best thing that will? come from all this is kicking Kotick the fuck out. Can pretty much only benefit the Blizzard games in particular and probably other games too

Oh my this is some big optimism.

This is objectively a good thing.

With the current (and future by all measures) market, Sony was paying Activision tons for exclusive features that would never reach PC or Xbox, and in the course of this trial Xbox has promised to bring Activision Blizzard games to xcloud, which fucking rules.

Its more looking for a small glimmer of hope. I think he said hed leave if the merger went through? If not I hope hes forced out still because by all accounts hes fucking terrible and shouldve been booted ages ago

Xiahou_Shake posted...

It basically came across like they were specifically lobbying for Sony, poor self-serving arguments and all

I wouldn't be surprised if it was something to that effect. Don't really trust the FTC whatsoever

Kotick is 100% staying lmao.

ChaosTonyV4 posted...

This is objectively a good thing.

With the current (and future by all measures) market, Sony was paying Activision tons for exclusive features that would never reach PC or Xbox, and in the course of this trial Xbox has promised to bring Activision Blizzard games to xcloud, which fucking rules.

All major mergers are objectively a bad thing.

LightningStrikes posted...

The admission that Sony was using their lead position to get exclusivity deals (itself anti-competitive) killed the case against the deal.

Nintendo, Sony, and MS all pay for exclusivity deals, lol. Nintendo got two years of Monster Hunter Rise exclusivity by paying Capcom $6M for example. MS has bought exclusives like the upcoming IO fantasy game, Quantum Break, Immortality, etc.

MacArrowny posted...

All major mergers are objectively a bad thing.

Yeah this is accurate.

They are but the reality is the current situation in the dedicated console market is already anti-competitive which is why Microsoft won (in addition to the FTC bungling the case) and why the CMA and EU focused so much on the cloud. Making it all about consoles was never going to fly because Sony has such an advantage and uses that advantage to further lock out its competitors. Of course the logical solution would be tighter regulation of the market as a whole but thats obviously not going to happen any time soon so here we are.

Also yeah its undeniable that Sonys position helps them get better deals than Microsoft that was established. I love Immortality, but its not Final Fantasy in terms of size. Microsoft was benefitting from the same thing in the 360 era of course.

Has there been a merger/major buyout in recent history that didnt go through/was blocked?

_Keeby posted...

Has there been a merger/major buyout in recent history that didnt go through/was blocked?

Nvidia/ARM is the biggest recent one.

Simon and Schuster/Penguin is a bit smaller, but even more recent.

While not quite the same, there's also the time Facebook bought Giphy and then was forced to sell it.

It'd be interesting if we got something like that in the future - an actual breakup of Microsoft.

MacArrowny posted...

All major mergers are objectively a bad thing.

Maybe in a competitive market, but it hasnt been competitive between the two since 360.

Also as part of this, Microsoft legally swore to bring xcloud (specifically Call of Duty, but no reason to think they wouldnt want all their games) to Nintendo platforms.

I dont see how any could call that bad in any way.

ChaosTonyV4 posted...

Maybe in a competitive market, but it hasnt been competitive between the two since 360.

Because in a market that already struggles to be comeptitive, making it less competitive doesn't help anything.

Yall do know you're trying to talk to Tony about Xbox right

ChaosTonyV4 posted...

Maybe in a competitive market, but it hasnt been competitive between the two since 360.

Also as part of this, Microsoft legally swore to bring xcloud (specifically Call of Duty, but no reason to think they wouldnt want all their games) to Nintendo platforms.

I dont see how any could call that bad in any way.

Steam is a bigger competitor to Sony than MS is. Who cares about "the two"

Yeah the end result of this has, peculiarly, been that there will be less exclusivity not more. Xbox games will come to Nintendo and be available on other cloud providers. So its kind of this odd case where the end results are not necessarily what is typical of mergers like this. I also think the titanic struggle to get this over the line will seriously dissuade other big mergers like this in the future.

Edit: Also if Steam really was Sonys main competitor I doubt they would be so gung-ho in putting their first party games on there.

red13n posted...

Because in a market that already struggles to be comeptitive, making it less competitive doesn't help anything.

Microsoft swore in court theyd bring games to Nintendo and PlayStation if either manufacturer would have them.

Bane_Of_Despair posted...

Yall do know you're trying to talk to Tony about Xbox right

lol to be fair to me, I havent sat at an Xbox in like 6 months.

I do be playing xcloud on my Steam Deck all the time, though.

LightningStrikes posted...

I also think the titanic struggle to get this over the line will seriously dissuade other big mergers like this in the future.

Never underestimate what big corps will do for that sweet sweet cash. There will inevitably be more questionable mergers to come.

I'm mostly just not looking forward to who Sony might try to acquire now as a counter measure.

swordz9 posted...

Best thing that will? come from all this is kicking Kotick the fuck out. Can pretty much only benefit the Blizzard games in particular and probably other games too

Kotick will be the next CEO of Microsoft

Have you seen how much he just sold his company for?

the FTC is basically the weakest it's ever been*, desperately needs more enforcement authority

*since like the late 1800s i guess

conspiracy theory: ftc threw the case, they didnt even want to stop the purchase because they whole organization is filled with Xbox fanboys

foolm0r0n posted...

Kotick will be the next CEO of Microsoft

Have you seen how much he just sold his company for?

Is Microsoft looking to sell?

MacArrowny posted...

It'd be interesting if we got something like that in the future - an actual breakup of Microsoft.

Why do you feel they need to be broken up? They have competition in cloud. They've barely begun the AI race against Google. They are bottom of the barrel in both search and browser. They are getting outsold 2:1 probably even 3:1 by Sony. They're only really problematic in the OS front.

Every trillion dollar corporation should be broken up.

GranzonEx posted...

Is Microsoft looking to sell?

Merge with Amazon maybe

MacArrowny posted...

Every trillion dollar corporation should be broken up.

This but be careful, sometimes the component parts just form a cartel and the situation gets even more dire.

I got a call from a friend saying to buy Activision stock because it's below the agreed upon $95 per share sale price. I also saw an article saying FTC might appeal. The stock is currently hovering around $90 per share. Is this a good buy?

MacArrowny posted...

All major mergers are objectively a bad thing.

What about sirius and xm radio

Or sprint TMobile

Or square enix

Yes, those were all bad.

MacArrowny posted...

Yes, those were all bad.

What about Square Enix selling off assets to make themselves easier for Sony to acquire in the next 6 months?

It is still deeply hilarious that Square sold a significant portion of their business including Tomb Raider for less than the value of Tomb Raider on its own.

GranzonEx posted...

What about Square Enix selling off assets to make themselves easier for Sony to acquire in the next 6 months?

This is what I dread the most.

GranzonEx posted...

What about Square Enix selling off assets to make themselves easier for Sony to acquire in the next 6 months?

That is also bad. Why wouldn't it be bad?

LightningStrikes posted...

It is still deeply hilarious that Square sold a significant portion of their business including Tomb Raider for less than the value of Tomb Raider on its own.

I feel like there were some liabilities involved in that. For example, Embracer ended up paying the salaries of hundreds of Square-Enix Montreal employees for months, then closed down the studio and paid everyone their some level of severance.

But yeah it's definitely a sign of poor management.