Microsoft is paying $7.5 billion for Zenimax/Bethesda
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) September 21, 2020
Xbox and @Bethesda have worked together for years. We share similar passions and beliefs. Proud to welcome them to Team @Xbox. Excited how we’ll advance gaming together for players everywhere https://t.co/0BcLULyFYF pic.twitter.com/2aectsejsk
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) September 21, 2020
But the key point is we're still Bethesda. We're still working on the same games we were yesterday, made by the same studios we've worked with for years, and those games will be published by us.
Xbox and @Bethesda have worked together for years. We share similar passions and beliefs. Proud to welcome them to Team @Xbox. Excited how we’ll advance gaming together for players everywhere https://t.co/0BcLULyFYF pic.twitter.com/2aectsejsk
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) September 21, 2020
But the key point is we're still Bethesda. We're still working on the same games we were yesterday, made by the same studios we've worked with for years, and those games will be published by us.
Bethesda is an incredibly talented group of 2,300 people worldwide who make up these studios across Bethesda Softworks:
— Xbox (@Xbox) September 21, 2020
@BethesdaStudios @idSoftware@ZeniMax_Online@ArkaneStudios@machinegames@TangoGameworks@AlphaDogGames
Roundhouse Studios
It still sounds like they will be coming to all consoles. If bethesda is still publishing the games. Not to say MS won't make some timed exclusives.that's not how i read that statement. i read it as "we are still going to work on AAA games". this was a statement for the benefit of MS not sony. current public commitments might be multiplat but i doubt it stays that way.
This is literally a buying war now between Sony and MS. Since there was either a statement or rumor that sony wanted to acquire more.
we shall see though.
fudgy hell. They cant make their own fudgy games so they go buy devs and publishers left and right.That's business for you I guess.
Doom, elder scrolls, fallout. And now starfield. And a lot more.
Its so easy to hate Microsoft, cultivate your own talent for fudges sake
I've said it before but xbox are playing an absolute blinder at the moment. Sony are getting caught with their pants down pretty hard.i can see that too. ps5's first year is nuts. but MS is likely to keep buying shame. by the end of ps5 there might be no big 3rd party studios left. at the rate i expect MS to buy: activision, ubisoft, EA before the end of the gen. capcom and SE would be harder because they are japanese but it won't matter,.. then the games industry is "fully" consolidated under MS at that point.
Xbox no longer relies on console market share for revenue due to xcloud, game pass on PC and releasing games on PC. Playstation heavily relies on market share of their consoles, if xbox gains ground in the console market then PS lose out big time.
Yet xbox are also making a big play for that console ground with Series S, game pass and huge acquisitions to make their first party much bigger.
Playstation absolutely will still be fine, PS5 will sell a lot. But xbox are about to hit some heavy growth while I think Playstation will do well to remain flat on revenue throughout this gen.
PS5 could have a Wii like sales curve. I was thinking this before today. First two years absolutely massive, you can see it with hype and lineup, but also I can only see the sales shrinking from PS4 overall. That makes a Wii curve by default.
that's not how i read that statement. i read it as "we are still going to work on AAA games". this was a statement for the benefit of MS not sony. current public commitments might be multiplat but i doubt it stays that way.Theres a statement from Todd Howard where he says no matter where or what you play on they will still experience their games. Let me find it.
Theres a statement from Todd Howard where he says no matter where* or what you play on they will still experience their games. Let me find it.*PC, xbox, gamepass.
*PC, xbox, gamepass.We shall see. I'm just saying its fully within the realm of possibility they are all still coming to playstation.
I've said it before but xbox are playing an absolute blinder at the moment. Sony are getting caught with their pants down pretty hard.It's not about Sony being caught with their pants down, it's about a trillion dollar company deciding "oh wait, our nearest competitor isn't even a tenth of our size, we can just start throwing money around in sums that they clearly can't".
Xbox no longer relies on console market share for revenue due to xcloud, game pass on PC and releasing games on PC. Playstation heavily relies on market share of their consoles, if xbox gains ground in the console market then PS lose out big time.
Yet xbox are also making a big play for that console ground with Series S, game pass and huge acquisitions to make their first party much bigger.
Playstation absolutely will still be fine, PS5 will sell a lot. But xbox are about to hit some heavy growth while I think Playstation will do well to remain flat on revenue throughout this gen.
PS5 could have a Wii like sales curve. I was thinking this before today. First two years absolutely massive, you can see it with hype and lineup, but also I can only see the sales shrinking from PS4 overall. That makes a Wii curve by default.
Theres a statement from Todd Howard where he says no matter where or what you play on they will still experience their games. Let me find it.nothing about that statement should be seen as confirmation for ps5 releases.
https://bethesda.net/en/article/4IwKWIj174Cb2QNTTtBAEb/todd-howard-on-joining-xbox (https://bethesda.net/en/article/4IwKWIj174Cb2QNTTtBAEb/todd-howard-on-joining-xbox)
Microsoft and their new Xbox crew had a view, that I came to share completely. Shouldn't we allow anyone to have this experience?until i see halo on ps5 ms's vision is still to let gamers play anywhere they want as long as they want to play on pc or xbox or xcloud. bethesda now shares that vision.
i can see that too. ps5's first year is nuts. but MS is likely to keep buying shame. by the end of ps5 there might be no big 3rd party studios left. at the rate i expect MS to buy: activision, ubisoft, EA before the end of the gen. capcom and SE would be harder because they are japanese but it won't matter,.. then the games industry is "fully" consolidated under MS at that point.And isn't that just what we always wanted? :)
i can see that too. ps5's first year is nuts. but MS is likely to keep buying shame. by the end of ps5 there might be no big 3rd party studios left. at the rate i expect MS to buy: activision, ubisoft, EA before the end of the gen. capcom and SE would be harder because they are japanese but it won't matter,.. then the games industry is "fully" consolidated under MS at that point.Absolutely. Also the xbox/ PS total console sales has remained almost exactly flat since the first gen they were competing.:
It's not about Sony being caught with their pants down, it's about a trillion dollar company deciding "oh wait, our nearest competitor isn't even a tenth of our size, we can just start throwing money around in sums that they clearly can't".Well yeah I guess it is similar, Sony are making some mistakes and are being somewhat complacent but this is also a huge move from Microsoft. Its a combination of both. Microsoft want xbox with game pass to become the netflix of gaming but even more dominant with no real rival services. Looks like right now that its going to happen. Game Pass will be monstrous in a few years time and will start making a lot of money.
It's gross, borderline anti-competitive and the worst direction the fudgy console war could take.
And yes, I'm actually mad at this. fudge Spencer.
Absolutely. Also the xbox/ PS total console sales has remained almost exactly flat since the first gen they were competing.:to get to the 100 m subscribers needed to sustain a profitable gamepass service:
PS2 155-160M + xbox 24M = ~180M
PS3 ~88M + X360 ~87M = ~175M
PS4 ~120M + XB1 ~55M = ~175M
I don't see any possibility that xbox doesn't grow this gen, I'm predicting 75M. I think due to series S total sales will grow for the first time due to more people owning both consoles, but some of that will still be a steal from playstation. Unless there's something unforseen which dramatically grows the console market this gen, PS4's 120M is the ceiling for PS5 I think. And I also see no scenario where PS5 is behind the PS4 launch aligned within at least the first two years.
About all that buying, that would be nuts. Microsoft have a lot of money but they don't want to go all in on xbox without evidence that its going to work out. Bethesda is huge already, that's probably it for a long time.
to get to the 100 m subscribers needed to sustain a profitable gamepass service:They already have a lot of other games releasing on it every month though, its not just their first party that goes on there. I think you're either ignoring a lot of what's on game pass or it just doesn't line up with your taste at all.
1. ms needs even more first party. more even than after this aquisistion really. to be "netflix" like ms needs to release at least 1 AAA game every month and 2-3 smaller games. ms will not get to 100 m active subscribers releasing only 5 games a year. it is too easy to subscribe for a month and drop for 11 months if there isn't new content each and every month of the year.
2. ms needs the rest of the industry to be dying so as to make their meager offerings more appetizing. being the "best deal in gaming" is easier to achievable by ensuring the competitors are weak instead of trying to make yourself strong.
FUN NOTE: Sony had been negotiating timed exclusivity on Starfield as recently as a few months ago. Going to guess either those talks are done or the price suddenly went way, way up.
— Imran Khan (@imranzomg) September 21, 2020
Absolutely. Also the xbox/ PS total console sales has remained almost exactly flat since the first gen they were competing.:I don't see Sony as complacent at all. They just don't have the same billions of loose change lying around as MS.
PS2 155-160M + xbox 24M = ~180M
PS3 ~88M + X360 ~87M = ~175M
PS4 ~120M + XB1 ~55M = ~175M
I don't see any possibility that xbox doesn't grow this gen, I'm predicting 75M. I think due to series S total sales will grow for the first time due to more people owning both consoles, but some of that will still be a steal from playstation. Unless there's something unforseen which dramatically grows the console market this gen, PS4's 120M is the ceiling for PS5 I think. And I also see no scenario where PS5 is behind the PS4 launch aligned within at least the first two years.
About all that buying, that would be nuts. Microsoft have a lot of money but they don't want to go all in on xbox without evidence that its going to work out. Bethesda is huge already, that's probably it for a long time.
Well yeah I guess it is similar, Sony are making some mistakes and are being somewhat complacent but this is also a huge move from Microsoft. Its a combination of both. Microsoft want xbox with game pass to become the netflix of gaming but even more dominant with no real rival services. Looks like right now that its going to happen. Game Pass will be monstrous in a few years time and will start making a lot of money.
To answer the question everyone is asking: Phil Spencer tells @dinabass that Xbox plans to honor the PS5 exclusivity commitment for Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo.
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) September 21, 2020
Future Bethesda games will be on Xbox, PC, and "other consoles on a case by case basis." https://t.co/Agyttr53LO
I don't see Sony as complacent at all. They just don't have the same billions of loose change lying around as MS.They might not have spare change lying around.
One or two, maybe. Meanwhile Microsoft could easily buy 10 or 20, if they really wanted to.To answer the question everyone is asking: Phil Spencer tells @dinabass that Xbox plans to honor the PS5 exclusivity commitment for Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo.
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) September 21, 2020
Future Bethesda games will be on Xbox, PC, and "other consoles on a case by case basis." https://t.co/Agyttr53LO
They might not have spare change lying around.
But they can almost certainly afford a company or two on this scale.
I hate this whole thing.
Next up Sony should buy Take Two.
They might not have spare change lying around.i do not like that idea but to survive i think sony might have to.
But they can almost certainly afford a company or two on this scale.
I hate this whole thing.
Next up Sony should buy Take Two.
Fun fact: Phil had Todd sitting on his bookshelf back on July 1 and nobody noticed. ???? pic.twitter.com/RDT06B1wIi
— Steve Kim (@Fobwashed) September 21, 2020
How much profit has xbox one made this gen? $7.5 billion is huge.Sony should respond with "guess who is opening up 10 more studios?"
Even if Zenimax was going to be like Sony online and do their own thing, this isn't good. We need lots of independent pubs to have a healthy industry.
I hope Bethesda stays awesome and I hope Sony doesn't respond by buying their own pub.
How will Sony respond? (Assuming they will).sony has already said they have their eyes open for new acquisitions. they might acquire someone but:
I think it would make sense to buy some smaller studios. And open up a few more.
sony has already said they have their eyes open for new acquisitions. they might acquire someone but:Maybe sony will do a deal 1/10000th as big.
1. it's not entirely a reaction to this news
2. the deal won't be 1/10th at big
Maybe sony will do a deal 1/10000th as big.would break the internet..
(Hit me up Sony)
(Hit me up Sony)As stupid as it is... I'm feeling a little extra motivated to get into development.
I don't see Sony as complacent at all. They just don't have the same billions of loose change lying around as MS.Price hikes for games, bad regional prices (all while Xbox are providing the best value offering ever ), misleading their fans, their showcase being shoddy with lots of mistakes.
Price hikes for games, bad regional prices (all while Xbox are providing the best value offering ever ), misleading their fans, their showcase being shoddy with lots of mistakes.Nah, having somewhat stupid messaging, doesn't make them complacent.
They're complacent. Games wise they're not but the business side of PlayStation is very complacent right now.
Lol major nelson himself posted this news to the series x subreddit.He posted to several other subs too.
Lol major nelson himself posted this news to the series x subreddit.He's such a fanboy
Nah, having somewhat stupid messaging, doesn't make them complacent.So you're just ignoring the price hikes and horrible regional pricing then? When your competitor has game pass and a cheap console, xbox all access as a great deal, rising the prices of your games dramatically in most countries is a massively complacent move. They're taking Europe for granted, the UK especially is not going to be as happy with playstation this gen that's for sure. The price rise is only $10 in the US so it won't be much of an impact, but I think with Series S xbox will take back the US this gen anyway.
And they might just not want to get dragged into a "price dumping" war by MS, because they don't make tens of billions of dollars in profit from other business segments every year to subsidize their games business.
So you're just ignoring the price hikes and horrible regional pricing then? When your competitor has game pass and a cheap console, xbox all access as a great deal, rising the prices of your games dramatically in most countries is a massively complacent move. They're taking Europe for granted, the UK especially is not going to be as happy with playstation this gen that's for sure. The price rise is only $10 in the US so it won't be much of an impact, but I think with Series S xbox will take back the US this gen anyway.If microsoft doesn't increase prices, I think this will be the biggest blunder of the gen. Just makes Sony look so bad.
If microsoft doesn't increase prices, I think this will be the biggest blunder of the gen. Just makes Sony look so bad.Oh for sure. I would have pre-ordered at least Demon's Souls and probably most of Sony's lineup for PS5 by now without the price hike. I'm going to wait until a lot of them are on sale now, they may end up getting less money from me. And I'm much less enthusiastic about Sony now, people like me spreading buzz and positivity does a lot for them but right now I'm more likely to convince people to get game pass than a PS5.
Oh for sure. I would have pre-ordered at least Demon's Souls and probably most of Sony's lineup for PS5 by now without the price hike. I'm going to wait until a lot of them are on sale now, they may end up getting less money from me. And I'm much less enthusiastic about Sony now, people like me spreading buzz and positivity does a lot for them but right now I'm more likely to convince people to get game pass than a PS5.What's the euro price? 80 euros? Kind of ridiculous
The game price hike has seriously killed a lot of my enthusiasm for next gen, I still can't believe it. I'm checking like twice a day to see if any store in the UK is coming to their senses but no, still £70. Still would be the new highest amount I've ever spent on the regular edition of a game by £20 if I pulled the trigger on a pre-order. fudge that.
Meanwhile I'm looking at game pass PC and access to lots of games I'll enjoy for £8 a month. 8 months of game pass for less than a single game on PS5. Yikes.
What's the euro price? 80 euros? Kind of ridiculousYeah, that's rather insane. A lot of people will try to avoid paying that.
Yeah, that's rather insane. A lot of people will try to avoid paying that.The fudge is that. Prices in Iceland will be insane. Ah well I'll buy everything with the US account
How about you wait until the games are out to see if they'll actually be sold for that price. The MSRP in Europe is apparently 70€ at the moment, which I sure as hell wouldn't have known if I didn't have to buy Final Fantasy VII Remake on the PS Store during lockdown. I've never had to actually pay that price day 1 at a store.Sure we've been lucky in the UK that physical games have stuck at £45-50 to pre-order or buy new for so long, I've been expecting that to go up. However, stores know that this is how much we've been paying so suddenly expecting £70 is a huge ask and it feels like a big shock. And yeah £70 probably lines up well with the currency situation right now but jumping straight up to that is the problem.
And no offense to the UK but the pound has lost a lot in value and with Brexit there is probably not a lot confidence of that turning around. 70 pound is about $90 sure, but consider the 20% VAT and you're actually a lot closer to the US price without taxes at the equivalent of $72.
Microsoft is paying $7.5 billion in an all-cash deal, which is expected to complete in the second half of 2021, subject to regulatory approval.https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-buys-zenimax-bethesda-id-arkane-131006192.html
https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-buys-zenimax-bethesda-id-arkane-131006192.htmlOh its 2021. So they will mos def release their current works in progress on ps5
I feel like a lot of the articles glossed over this bit.
Oh its 2021. So they will mos def release their current works in progress on ps5Xbox already confirmed that Deathloop and Ghostwire Tokyo deals remain unchanged. As for Starfield and further out then I think they're far enough away to change.
One thing that xbox haven't bought their way to here is GOTY contenders, which is the biggest area they lack compared to Sony. Bethesda Game Studios are the only dev team in the XGS roster to have won a fair few GOTY awards this gen with Fallout 4 and I think its safe to say they seem to be going downhill and a GOTY contender from them is no guarantee for their next game.Yeah. I kind of feel like you were/are overselling how big of a get this is for MS.
Yeah. I kind of feel like you were/are overselling how big of a get this is for MS.I think Bethesda has a lot of potential. If Starfield and TES6 are Skyrim level while the other studios keep doing what they did this gen, that's huge.
Like it's big. But I am not convinced yet that Sony is in trouble.
Yeah. I kind of feel like you were/are overselling how big of a get this is for MS.Well no. GOTY awards don't matter at all, its mainly just bragging rights. The size and popularity of games is what everything is all about. Bethesda have some of the biggest IP in gaming and they sell fantastically. This is absolutely insanely big for MS but that doesn't mean Sony are in trouble either.
Like it's big. But I am not convinced yet that Sony is in trouble.
It is big and certainly at least worrisome to Sony on several levels in my opinion.take two interactive,.. it will be bought. the only question is who does it.
A) Elder Scrolls, Fallout & Doom are all big to huge series that will hurt not having. Starfield could be that too. It also remains to be seen what kind of domino effect this has on WRPG's on Playstation as a whole.
B) It sets a huge precedence for acquisition sizes that I imagine Sony wasn't expecting. What if MS is willing or even looking to do more than this? A fully Microsoft backed Xbox that actually has real access to the "warchest" isn't something to take lightly. In fact it's hugely troublesome.
I don't know how I would even want Sony to react to this. I don't agree at all with people who brush this aside. This is big - huge - even. Sony can't just act like this is business as usual and like this couldn't affect their position. But I don't want this to turn into a fudgy natural pine-for-tat acquisition extravaganza. That road leads to nothing good.
take two interactive,.. it will be bought. the only question is who does it.Not Sony, that's for sure.
I think Bethesda has a lot of potential. If Starfield and TES6 are Skyrim level while the other studios keep doing what they did this gen, that's huge.BGS is easily the biggest get.
It sets a huge precedence for acquisition sizes that I imagine Sony wasn't expectingMS is interested in gaming on a level they never have been before.
BGS is easily the biggest get.I think MS must have been convinced by the vision for game pass. They expect that it's going to be absolutely massive and one of Microsoft's biggest money makers down the line.
TES, Starcraft, etc is the only thing that Sony isn't able to match.
This is really biggest concern here
MS is interested in gaming on a level they never have been before.
"We know when somebody is playing one of our Xbox games there is an expectation that I've got my Xbox Live community, I have my achievements, Game Pass is an option for me, my first-party library is completely there," Spencer added. "And the other competitive platforms aren't really that interested in having a full Xbox experience on their hardware. But for us, we want to be where gamers want to be, and that's the path that we're on."In this case, Bethesda is huge enough that Sony might need to start considering. But who knows.
The second-biggest news in Microsoft's announcement today was the massive leap in Xbox Game Pass subscribers, from 10m in April to 15m today. Microsoft didn't buy Zenimax to battle the PlayStation 5 -- Microsoft bought Zenimax to quadruple that number https://t.co/Fpau8Rg4pC
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) September 21, 2020
The biggest thing that MS gets from this is Bethesda's brand power with Elder Scrolls in particular. There are plenty of cheaper ways to build up a solid studio base of the quality and quantity but you can't really build an IP like TES.I think that's all true, the IPs are the biggest part of this, however they bought over 2000 very talented employees all at once as well, that's almost as many as PS studios have an in total. They're going to put out more quality games a lot faster now, which is a big thing for game pass.
I think with where ND, SSM, IG, GG, and PD to an extend, they can match almost all of this. If it were Zenimax minus BGS, i think it would still be Sonys court. But BGS tips the scale a bit.
There are so many ways things could go from here.
It's easy to assume this means that companies are going to get bought up like we have never seen before. But that might not be the case. MS mainly wants to make Gamepass worth it as a service. Which who knows how far MS wants to go to prove that. Considering how the past ~20 years have gone, I doubt MS would be confident enough to start spending 10's of billions on tons of acquisitions. I don't think we will see anything on this scale any time soon. (Though who knows). The industry is paying attention to them. And again, it all depends on what MS is hoping financially for GP. But I think right now they've established that GP has value. EA + MS + BGS all under one service. I'm sure they'll push for more deals like EA play.
Part of me expects that MS will try pushing GP on PlayStation. Phil Spencer originally promised the service would come to every platform, and then even when he "backed" down from idea. It wasn't a total rejection.
In this case, Bethesda is huge enough that Sony might need to start considering. But who knows.
I'm sure Sony is looking at ways to even things out again. Could be a big acquisition, probably a few smaller acquisitions, or maybe they'll do a timed exclusive GTA or something big like that.
Who knows. Nothing on this scale has ever really happened before. I don't think anyone really knows what will happen after this. This whole story is just so out of left field, it's the kind of thing you dismiss as wild fanboy nonsense. But here we are.
I think that's all true, the IPs are the biggest part of this, however they bought over 2000 very talented employees all at once as well, that's almost as many as PS studios have an in total. They're going to put out more quality games a lot faster now, which is a big thing for game pass.a huge part of your happiness with the service is since last month you have +250 games to play.
Basically this is a huge move that benefits game pass enormously, Schreier is right in what he said. Xbox probably want an absolute minimum of 50 million subs by the end of this generation and I think they will achieve that. Currently at a rate of over a million per month, boosted by lockdown but the more people get it it has a knock on effect of WOM and friends getting it. Like one of my friends got it a month ago and now 4 of us have it. I can't see many people dropping it once they've got it, it is fantastic and now with this news you know its going to get even better.
a huge part of your happiness with the service is since last month you have +250 games to play.That's where I'm at.
wait until you are in the middle of playing a game and it leaves the service and you can't play it anymore.
wait until you realize for december, january, feburary you're still paying your sub and there are no new games.
too much of the service is old games. once you catch up a bit you're going to realize real quick that the number of games added that you have any desire to play is less than the service charge you're paying and too many games you really want to play aren't coming to the service. this service isn't $180 a year,.. it $180 a year on top of your typical yearly games budget..
a huge part of your happiness with the service is since last month you have +250 games to play.Yes I said this before, but I know what games I want to play and I know what games are from xbox and which are likely to leave, so I'm prioritising. I tend to play games til the end then don't go back to them so games leaving is fine by me. Currently they're adding 10 games a month and its not my only source of games or entertainment. I think even if I only play one new game on a month on it it will be worth it.
wait until you are in the middle of playing a game and it leaves the service and you can't play it anymore.
wait until you realize for december, january, feburary you're still paying your sub and there are no new games.
too much of the service is old games. once you catch up a bit you're going to realize real quick that the number of games added that you have any desire to play is less than the service charge you're paying and too many games you really want to play aren't coming to the service. this service isn't $180 a year,.. it $180 a year on top of your typical yearly games budget..
Also, I personally don't get worked up about Sony buying exclusives, but I do think there's a distinction. Microsoft is buying Bethesda to enable its studios to continue making games. That's different than paying a company to keep an existing game off of a competing platform.
— Jeff Grubb (@JeffGrubb) September 22, 2020
Didn't think we'd move to "Microsoft is just helping the little guy here" this quickly. What a pathetic clown.Also, I personally don't get worked up about Sony buying exclusives, but I do think there's a distinction. Microsoft is buying Bethesda to enable its studios to continue making games. That's different than paying a company to keep an existing game off of a competing platform.
— Jeff Grubb (@JeffGrubb) September 22, 2020
:facepalm:
It is really dumb but fanboys be fanboys.Take a guess how many "Well PC" or "but Gamepass" type arguments I've been seeing around this acquisition since yesterday.
At least publishing exclusives is viewed as a good thing again.
God he really is an xbox fanboy isn't he.Also, I personally don't get worked up about Sony buying exclusives, but I do think there's a distinction. Microsoft is buying Bethesda to enable its studios to continue making games. That's different than paying a company to keep an existing game off of a competing platform.
— Jeff Grubb (@JeffGrubb) September 22, 2020
:facepalm:
Take a guess how many "Well PC" or "but Gamepass" type arguments I've been seeing around this acquisition since yesterday.I've seen those a bunch too.
Don't believe Sony would be given the same treatment if they were to do something like this.
God I hate the state of this industry.
Oh and I see Era has already moved on to drooling over the next acquisition rumor.What you wouldn't be happy if they bought
I swear these people would be celebrating a Microsoft monopoly.
What you wouldn't be happy if they boughtConsidering that Sega owns Atlus I would legitimately be fuming. Then again Sega is publicly traded, so I don't even see how that could just be hidden.
*Checks notes*
Sega?
Worse things I suppose.
Supposedly they bought two other studios.
God he really is an xbox fanboy isn't he.I mean what?! MS is enabling Bethesda to keep making games? I mean lol...
The video game market is like the mobile market right now.Eh Xbox feels more like Apple except less popular
Xbox are google, Sony are apple.
The more I think about this the better that analogy feels.
Eh Xbox feels more like Apple except less popularI guess depends how you look.
Someone at MS probably ran numbers to Nadella for Gamepass "Gamepass + Xbox Live = billions a year in profit" or something. Would I have thought they'd go and buy a publisher? No, but here we are. They're probably going to try and push Gamepass up the wazoo. As far as Sony goes? Believe it or not I can actually see down the line Sony and Microsoft partnering over gamepass. Why? I don't think Microsoft has been investing in game streaming and Sony already has a useable solution in place. Plus with the rumours of PSX/PS2 games going to the service, I can see renewed interest in Sony pushing that. Microsoft puts gamepass games in there and Sony still makes money off of the streaming, and depending on how much Microsoft wants to keep their Live subscriptions, the games might still need the PS Plus for online. For this future to work though, the entire razor blade model has to go and hardware turns to profit. That's where I feel everything is heading, and unfortunately, it's a scary future. I'm glad I've been so disinterested in new games cause I don't think I'd want to play in this future.Microsoft has been making xCloud for streaming. It's already launching so no way would they partner with Sony for streaming.
I have to wonder how much game pass costs to run. If they get to 100M subs that's about $1B revenue a month which is loads but they're also spending a lot on game dev and fees to over publishers and devs that have games on the service.Pubs definitely get the majority of that revenue. That's probably one reason why they are so focused on increasing their first party studios.
Someone at MS probably ran numbers to Nadella for Gamepass "Gamepass + Xbox Live = billions a year in profit" or something. Would I have thought they'd go and buy a publisher? No, but here we are. They're probably going to try and push Gamepass up the wazoo. As far as Sony goes? Believe it or not I can actually see down the line Sony and Microsoft partnering over gamepass. Why? I don't think Microsoft has been investing in game streaming and Sony already has a useable solution in place. Plus with the rumours of PSX/PS2 games going to the service, I can see renewed interest in Sony pushing that. Microsoft puts gamepass games in there and Sony still makes money off of the streaming, and depending on how much Microsoft wants to keep their Live subscriptions, the games might still need the PS Plus for online. For this future to work though, the entire razor blade model has to go and hardware turns to profit. That's where I feel everything is heading, and unfortunately, it's a scary future. I'm glad I've been so disinterested in new games cause I don't think I'd want to play in this future.i mean, the numbers are easy to estimate. I posted them in another thread but here they are again:
Microsoft has been making xCloud for streaming. It's already launching so no way would they partner with Sony for streaming.Microsoft and Sony are teaming up for the future of gaming - The Verge (https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/20/18632374/microsoft-sony-cloud-gaming-partnership-amazon-google)
I wonder how the economics of streaming really work. I think consoles will be sold "at cost" next gen because they'll make more money if people pay for the subscription but use local hardware to run it. Plus there are still lots of people and games that don't mesh well with streaming.
Pubs definitely get the majority of that revenue. That's probably one reason why they are so focused on increasing their first party studios.
Microsoft and Sony are teaming up for the future of gaming - The Verge (https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/20/18632374/microsoft-sony-cloud-gaming-partnership-amazon-google)my understanding is this relationship is more about sony needing MS's azure to power their cloud gaming. not so sure MS is getting anything out of this. ...but if xbox and playstation merged in the hardware-less future i suppose that is a win/win situation.
Microsoft and Sony are already partnered on development of the cloud for gaming and content streaming.
my understanding is this relationship is more about sony needing MS's azure to power their cloud gaming. not so sure MS is getting anything out of this. ...but if xbox and playstation merged in the hardware-less future i suppose that is a win/win situation.My guess is Sony will still provide the boxes. I vaguely recall Nadella not caring about the game division, or someone anyways, because you'd need 300 million (Or whatever high number it was) Xboxes sold to make the profits that Microsoft wants. The Xbox will never be able to do that. So by divorcing from hardware and using all devices; you can reach that number more easily. I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft wants gamepass on the PS5. I wouldn't be surprised if MS buying Zenimax was more of a "Our way or no way" to make Sony play ball.
My guess is Sony will still provide the boxes. I vaguely recall Nadella not caring about the game division, or someone anyways, because you'd need 300 million (Or whatever high number it was) Xboxes sold to make the profits that Microsoft wants. The Xbox will never be able to do that. So by divorcing from hardware and using all devices; you can reach that number more easily. I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft wants gamepass on the PS5. I wouldn't be surprised if MS buying Zenimax was more of a "Our way or no way" to make Sony play ball.so xbox exists the hardware gig and sony continues to make hardware.
…and btw, there won’t be any new acquisition news at the show ?
— Xbox (@Xbox) September 23, 2020
sony needs to by ubisoft, SE, and take two asap.What if Sony merged with Nintendo?
The actual state of this industry for this to be a thing.…and btw, there won’t be any new acquisition news at the show ?
— Xbox (@Xbox) September 23, 2020
The actual state of this industry for this to be a thing.Yeah lol....
so xbox exists the hardware gig and sony continues to make hardware.Not necessarily exit hardware, but rather, not care about hardware. Kinda like how Google still makes phones, but don't really care to push theirs over others. Microsoft just wants Gamepass on everything.
all xbox first party comes to the playstation store as console exclusives. bascially still on PC but fudge nintendo.
playstation allows gamepass to come to the playstation store,. sony takes a 30% cut on gamepass as is standard these days
sony first party comes to gamepass day-1 with a fair compensation level per game published.
i dunno. wouldn't be the worse future i can imagine. at that point i would subscribe to gamepass too. i'd be pretty sad that consoles are basically shame PC though. the best part of consoles has always been games can be uber optimized for the locked hardware configuration meaning far more performance then you'd otherwise get out of the hardware.
EU to rule on Microsoft's $7.5 billion ZeniMax deal by March 5 | Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-zenimax-m-a-microsoft-eu/eu-to-rule-on-microsofts-7-5-billion-zenimax-deal-by-march-5-idUSKBN2A11YK)i hope they rule against. i know they won't but they really should.
March 5th.
Why does the EU have a say on this, since both companies are US based? Or does their ruling only affect Microsoft business in the EU but no one would skip the EU?i think you have it right there.
https://www.resetera.com/threads/microsoft-claims-to-have-18-studios-in-regulatory-document.371937/Not all studios are comparable in size/purpose. Does this include HoloLens and things like that?
MS has 18 studios.
Not all studios are comparable in size/purpose. Does this include HoloLens and things like that?Nah, just their gaming branch.
Either it will be a really boring investor focused thing, or we have a 99% chance of seeing more Starfield and Elder Scrolls!neither?
Microsoft is apparently holding a "what's new for gaming" event on March 23.
— Paul Thurrott (@thurrott) February 26, 2021
To be followed by a "what's new for Windows" event! No date yet.
am i supposed to care about windows updates now?Microsoft is apparently holding a "what's new for gaming" event on March 23.
— Paul Thurrott (@thurrott) February 26, 2021
To be followed by a "what's new for Windows" event! No date yet.
— Jeff Grubb (@JeffGrubb) March 8, 2021
"nintendo executes mario"Probably the former.
is that referring to nintendo pulling 3D mario world or are they trying to say nintendo will announce new stuff?
That's just three days! Feels like it'll just be a video drop.well, i think MS is legally bound to not talk about it until they formally cleared. i could see the march 11th being an announcement of an announcement to build hype but I don't think they can start to hype it until it is done done.