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Gaming => Game News Discussion => Topic started by: Xevross on Sep 21, 2020, 01:03 PM

Title: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Xevross on Sep 21, 2020, 01:03 PM




Why Microsoft Is the Perfect Fit (https://bethesda.net/en/article/1iLtcvwY6Nb1GeKADyDUEX/why-microsoft-is-the-perfect-fit?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Community)

Quote
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.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buying Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: kitler53 on Sep 21, 2020, 01:04 PM
holy fudge. 
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Xevross on Sep 21, 2020, 01:04 PM
Confirmed:
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: kitler53 on Sep 21, 2020, 01:08 PM
i really don't like where the industry is heading.   there will be no 3rd party developers soon.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Xevross on Sep 21, 2020, 01:12 PM
Games will still be published by bethesda: Why Microsoft Is the Perfect Fit (https://bethesda.net/en/article/1iLtcvwY6Nb1GeKADyDUEX/why-microsoft-is-the-perfect-fit?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Community)

Quote
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.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Xevross on Sep 21, 2020, 01:18 PM
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EicPjqVWkAE-vqC?format=png&name=large)

Sony has 14 dev studios for reference, xbox game studios is now massive compared to playstation studios.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Mmm_fish_tacos on Sep 21, 2020, 01:21 PM
Well gaming was good while it lasted.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: the-pi-guy on Sep 21, 2020, 01:22 PM
1.) F.

2.) GD.  

3.) This seems like a crazy good deal compared to some acquisitions.

4.) This is horrible.  Is TES VI not coming to PS5 anymore?  
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: kitler53 on Sep 21, 2020, 01:27 PM
i'm still getting ps5,.. playstation studios are a huge part of my gaming appetite.   but dang,.. ms is really going to buy up the entire industry.   sony's long term is screwed if this continues.   sony can't float their console entirely buy themselves like nintendo can.  
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Xevross on Sep 21, 2020, 01:29 PM
I'm so glad I invested in a gaming PC. I might actually have to stick with game pass, its looking better and better every day.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Xevross on Sep 21, 2020, 01:33 PM


That's 2300 devs added to xbox first party. iirc that almost doubles their numbers to about 5k employees for XGS. Sony first party is less than 3000.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Legend on Sep 21, 2020, 01:34 PM
What the fudge
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: the-pi-guy on Sep 21, 2020, 01:35 PM
My hope is that the only change for Bethesda is that their games are going to game pass.

MS really believes in Gamepass.  

I wonder how Sony will respond.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: the-pi-guy on Sep 21, 2020, 01:39 PM
MS: are you interested in Gamepass now, Sony?  
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: DerNebel on Sep 21, 2020, 01:51 PM
Disgusting.

Can't wait to see this being celebrated because Gamepass.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: BananaKing on Sep 21, 2020, 02:09 PM
fudgy hell. They cant make their own fudgy games so they go buy devs and publishers left and right.

Doom, elder scrolls, fallout. And now starfield. And a lot more.

Its so easy to hate Microsoft, cultivate your own talent for fudges sake
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: nnodley on Sep 21, 2020, 02:15 PM
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.

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.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Xevross on Sep 21, 2020, 02:20 PM
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.

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.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: kitler53 on Sep 21, 2020, 02:21 PM
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.

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.
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.  
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Xevross on Sep 21, 2020, 02:22 PM
fudgy hell. They cant make their own fudgy games so they go buy devs and publishers left and right.

Doom, elder scrolls, fallout. And now starfield. And a lot more.

Its so easy to hate Microsoft, cultivate your own talent for fudges sake
That's business for you I guess.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: kitler53 on Sep 21, 2020, 02:25 PM
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.

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.
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.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: nnodley on Sep 21, 2020, 02:28 PM
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.  

https://bethesda.net/en/article/4IwKWIj174Cb2QNTTtBAEb/todd-howard-on-joining-xbox (https://bethesda.net/en/article/4IwKWIj174Cb2QNTTtBAEb/todd-howard-on-joining-xbox)
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: kitler53 on Sep 21, 2020, 02:29 PM
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.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: nnodley on Sep 21, 2020, 02:30 PM
The way it sounds Todd Howard wants everyone to experience their games, but we will see when the time comes.

*PC, xbox, gamepass.
We shall see.  I'm just saying its fully within the realm of possibility they are all still coming to playstation.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: DerNebel on Sep 21, 2020, 02:31 PM
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.

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.
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".

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.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: kitler53 on Sep 21, 2020, 02:33 PM
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.  

https://bethesda.net/en/article/4IwKWIj174Cb2QNTTtBAEb/todd-howard-on-joining-xbox (https://bethesda.net/en/article/4IwKWIj174Cb2QNTTtBAEb/todd-howard-on-joining-xbox)
nothing about that statement should be seen as confirmation for ps5 releases.

Quote
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. 



Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: DerNebel on Sep 21, 2020, 02:33 PM
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? :)

This forum needs a puke emoji.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Xevross on Sep 21, 2020, 02:33 PM
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.:

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.

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".

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.
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.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: kitler53 on Sep 21, 2020, 02:41 PM
Absolutely. Also the xbox/ PS total console sales has remained almost exactly flat since the first gen they were competing.:

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:

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.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Xevross on Sep 21, 2020, 02:49 PM
to get to the 100 m subscribers needed to sustain a profitable gamepass service:

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.
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.

I've just come to the end of my £1 game pass month on PC and I think I do want to keep it, there's just so many games to play for such a smaller price. If I get through everything on game pass that I want to play and then I'm just waiting for new additions then maybe it starts to become not worth it, but right now that's nowhere near happening. They add at least 5 games a month, most people don't play that many.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: the-pi-guy on Sep 21, 2020, 02:50 PM
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Xevross on Sep 21, 2020, 02:54 PM
Also for £8 a month or £96 a year it means I get access to all of xbox first party output on day 1, which is now 23 game studios.

If I want to play Sony games on day 1 this gen it seems like I'll be paying £70 per game. What a ridiculous offset in value.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: DerNebel on Sep 21, 2020, 02:58 PM
Absolutely. Also the xbox/ PS total console sales has remained almost exactly flat since the first gen they were competing.:

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.
I don't see Sony as complacent at all. They just don't have the same billions of loose change lying around as MS.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: the-pi-guy on Sep 21, 2020, 03:32 PM


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.
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.  
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: DerNebel on Sep 21, 2020, 04:10 PM

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.  
One or two, maybe. Meanwhile Microsoft could easily buy 10 or 20, if they really wanted to.

This whole thing sucks donkey sucker and I'd like to tell all those assholes who decided market consolidation of this kind was something worth circlejerking and celebrating to go fudge themselves.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: kitler53 on Sep 21, 2020, 04:11 PM
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.  
i do not like that idea but to survive i think sony might have to.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: the-pi-guy on Sep 21, 2020, 04:13 PM
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Legend on Sep 21, 2020, 04:33 PM
How much profit has xbox one made this gen? $7.5 billion is huge.


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.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: the-pi-guy on Sep 21, 2020, 04:35 PM
This really sucks.

If Starfield and TES VI are not still coming to PS5, I'm going to be pissed.  At the very least from MS and Bethesda it sounds like that probably won't change.

But ugh.  Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh.

This is probably the worst gaming news I've ever heard. I still can't believe it.  It's one of those absurd rumor things that you just don't believe because it's too absurd.  

Also irritating that people are now comparing Sony buying IG to this.  It's not even in the same universe.

How much profit has xbox one made this gen? $7.5 billion is huge.


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.
Sony should respond with "guess who is opening up 10 more studios?"
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Cute Pikachu on Sep 21, 2020, 04:43 PM
Seems like Nintendo is the only one who doesn't acquire stuff these days lol. But this is a humongous acquisition. I don't like it. I would like a Sony Take Two acquisition either. This is gross imo
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Dr. Pezus on Sep 21, 2020, 05:02 PM
What. The. Eff.

Also, that's way too cheap for a huge dev like Bethesda.

I guess MS saw the Deathloop exclusivity deal and decided they'd do one better lol
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: the-pi-guy on Sep 21, 2020, 05:15 PM
How will Sony respond?  (Assuming they will).

I think it would make sense to buy some smaller studios. And open up a few more.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: kitler53 on Sep 21, 2020, 05:24 PM
How will Sony respond?  (Assuming they will).

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:
1. it's not entirely a reaction to this news
2. the deal won't be 1/10th at big
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Legend on Sep 21, 2020, 05:27 PM
sony has already said they have their eyes open for new acquisitions.   they might acquire someone but:
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.

(Hit me up Sony)
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: kitler53 on Sep 21, 2020, 05:30 PM
Maybe sony will do a deal 1/10000th as big.

(Hit me up Sony)
would break the internet..
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: the-pi-guy on Sep 21, 2020, 05:33 PM
(Hit me up Sony)
As stupid as it is...  I'm feeling a little extra motivated to get into development.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Xevross on Sep 21, 2020, 05:36 PM
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.

They're complacent. Games wise they're not but the business side of PlayStation is very complacent right now.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: DerNebel on Sep 21, 2020, 05:54 PM
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.

They're complacent. Games wise they're not but the business side of PlayStation is very complacent right now.
Nah, having somewhat stupid messaging, doesn't make them complacent.

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.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Legend on Sep 21, 2020, 06:10 PM
Lol major nelson himself posted this news to the series x subreddit.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: the-pi-guy on Sep 21, 2020, 06:14 PM
Lol major nelson himself posted this news to the series x subreddit.
He posted to several other subs too.

The whole Bethesda deal was just to get some reddit karma.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Dr. Pezus on Sep 21, 2020, 06:20 PM
Lol major nelson himself posted this news to the series x subreddit.
He's such a fanboy
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Xevross on Sep 21, 2020, 06:22 PM
Nah, having somewhat stupid messaging, doesn't make them complacent.

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.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Legend on Sep 21, 2020, 06:27 PM
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.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: the-pi-guy on Sep 21, 2020, 06:34 PM
I think Sony is going to have to drop their prices.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Xevross on Sep 21, 2020, 06:41 PM
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.

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.

Edit: I'm not arguing "Sony doomed" or anything like that here, there's still going to do very well and I'll still buy a lot of their games. But a lot of my enthusiasm is gone and its very hard to defend to them.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Dr. Pezus on Sep 21, 2020, 06:44 PM
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.

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 ridiculous
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Xevross on Sep 21, 2020, 06:48 PM
What's the euro price? 80 euros? Kind of ridiculous
Yeah, that's rather insane. A lot of people will try to avoid paying that.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Legend on Sep 21, 2020, 06:51 PM
I think buying Bethesda really sucks but as a player only, yeah I'm glad I budgeted for a series x.

PS5 feels like PS3, and Series feels like 360.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Dr. Pezus on Sep 21, 2020, 06:52 PM
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
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: DerNebel on Sep 21, 2020, 07:18 PM
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.

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.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Xevross on Sep 21, 2020, 09:10 PM
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.

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.
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.

I am very much waiting to see what happens with prices, if it turns out this is just because PS5 isn't out yet and prices to pre-order games in the future drops then that's awesome. If £70 for new games sticks then I guess I'll be pre-ordering nowhere near as much this gen and waiting for sales a lot more.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: the-pi-guy on Sep 21, 2020, 10:03 PM
Quote
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
I feel like a lot of the articles glossed over this bit.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Dr. Pezus on Sep 21, 2020, 10:52 PM
https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-buys-zenimax-bethesda-id-arkane-131006192.html
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 ps5
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Xevross on Sep 21, 2020, 11:04 PM
Oh its 2021. So they will mos def release their current works in progress on ps5
Xbox 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.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Xevross on Sep 21, 2020, 11:07 PM
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.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: the-pi-guy on Sep 21, 2020, 11:36 PM
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.  

Like it's big. But I am not convinced yet that Sony is in trouble.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Legend on Sep 21, 2020, 11:46 PM
Yeah. I kind of feel like you were/are overselling how big of a get this is for MS.  

Like it's big. But I am not convinced yet that Sony is in trouble.
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.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Xevross on Sep 21, 2020, 11:49 PM
Yeah. I kind of feel like you were/are overselling how big of a get this is for MS.  

Like it's big. But I am not convinced yet that Sony is in trouble.
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.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: DerNebel on Sep 22, 2020, 12:10 AM
It is big and certainly at least worrisome to Sony on several levels in my opinion.

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 precedent 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.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: kitler53 on Sep 22, 2020, 12:17 AM
It is big and certainly at least worrisome to Sony on several levels in my opinion.

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.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: DerNebel on Sep 22, 2020, 12:23 AM
take two interactive,..  it will be bought.  the only question is who does it.
Not Sony, that's for sure.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: the-pi-guy on Sep 22, 2020, 12:26 AM
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.  
TES, Starcraft, etc is the only thing that Sony isn't able to match.  

This is really biggest concern here


Quote
It sets a huge precedence for acquisition sizes that I imagine Sony wasn't expecting
MS is interested in gaming on a level they never have been before.  
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Xevross on Sep 22, 2020, 12:30 AM
BGS is easily the biggest get.  
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.  
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.

Subscription models is where every other entertainment media industry is going and gaming is the biggest of them all by revenue. If that gets converted to sub models and game pass has a monopoly then that's going to be insane.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: the-pi-guy on Sep 22, 2020, 02:35 AM
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 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.  
Quote
"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.  


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.  
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: the-pi-guy on Sep 22, 2020, 06:56 AM
[
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: the-pi-guy on Sep 22, 2020, 07:23 AM
(https://i.redd.it/mmd8z3zvdlo51.jpg)
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Xevross on Sep 22, 2020, 11:46 AM
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 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.

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.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: SWORDF1SH on Sep 22, 2020, 12:29 PM
What's annoying is that Sony had an headstart over Games Pass with PS Now but blew it.

Games industry is a business and MS have hit an home run with the Bethesda deal. It's not a good sign for Sony that MS are now fully behind Xbox and willing to spend billions. Long term right now doesn't look good for PlayStation.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: kitler53 on Sep 22, 2020, 01:16 PM
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.

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.

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..
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Legend on Sep 22, 2020, 01:33 PM
a huge part of your happiness with the service is since last month you have +250 games to play.

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..
That's where I'm at.

It's a great amazing deal for me only if I buy gamepass on an as needed basis. If I only pay for "holiday" months and when Microsoft launches a new big game, that's like $60 a year.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Xevross on Sep 22, 2020, 02:00 PM
a huge part of your happiness with the service is since last month you have +250 games to play.

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..
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.

Also its already provided me a lot of fun on multiplayer games with my friends, games I would never have bothered playing before or where at least one of us wouldn't want to pay for it.

I think if there's at least 3 or 4 games a year that I would have bought anyway that I can play on it then its 100% worth it, considering the ability to try other games I might not have been sold on and extra multiplayer stuff.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: the-pi-guy on Sep 22, 2020, 07:05 PM


:facepalm:
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: DerNebel on Sep 22, 2020, 07:14 PM


:facepalm:
Didn't think we'd move to "Microsoft is just helping the little guy here" this quickly. What a pathetic clown.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Legend on Sep 22, 2020, 07:34 PM
It is really dumb but fanboys be fanboys.

At least publishing exclusives is viewed as a good thing again.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: DerNebel on Sep 22, 2020, 08:03 PM
It is really dumb but fanboys be fanboys.

At least publishing exclusives is viewed as a good thing again.
Take a guess how many "Well PC" or "but Gamepass" type arguments I've been seeing around this acquisition since yesterday.

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.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Xevross on Sep 22, 2020, 08:09 PM


:facepalm:
God he really is an xbox fanboy isn't he.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: DerNebel on Sep 22, 2020, 08:32 PM
Oh and I see Era has already moved on to drooling over the next acquisition rumor.

I swear these people would be celebrating a Microsoft monopoly.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Legend on Sep 22, 2020, 08:37 PM
Take a guess how many "Well PC" or "but Gamepass" type arguments I've been seeing around this acquisition since yesterday.

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.
I've seen those a bunch too.

Just kids and kids at heart having playground talking points. Xbox, Steam, and PlayStation fanboys will always be hypocritical.

I don't think the state of the industry is too bad compared to years prior, but people are getting better at manufacturing momentum.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: the-pi-guy on Sep 22, 2020, 08:39 PM
Oh and I see Era has already moved on to drooling over the next acquisition rumor.

I swear these people would be celebrating a Microsoft monopoly.
What you wouldn't be happy if they bought

*Checks notes*

Sega?  

Worse things I suppose.  

Supposedly they bought two other studios.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: the-pi-guy on Sep 22, 2020, 08:44 PM
https://www.resetera.com/threads/microsoft-ceo-nadella-zenimax-bethesda-acquisition-is-all-about-future-of-software-will-consider-buying-even-more-video-game-companies-in-future.292613/
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: DerNebel on Sep 22, 2020, 08:46 PM
What you wouldn't be happy if they bought

*Checks notes*

Sega?  

Worse things I suppose.  

Supposedly they bought two other studios.
Considering 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.

Also I still don't see what believable source that rumor has.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: the-pi-guy on Sep 22, 2020, 10:19 PM
(https://i.redd.it/rbsu3tud9ro51.png)
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Dr. Pezus on Sep 22, 2020, 11:18 PM
God he really is an xbox fanboy isn't he.
I mean what?! MS is enabling Bethesda to keep making games? I mean lol...
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Xevross on Sep 23, 2020, 12:29 AM
The video game market is like the mobile market right now.

Xbox are google, Sony are apple.

The more I think about this the better that analogy feels.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Dr. Pezus on Sep 23, 2020, 07:06 AM
The video game market is like the mobile market right now.

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 popular
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Xevross on Sep 23, 2020, 09:17 AM
Eh Xbox feels more like Apple except less popular
I guess depends how you look.

Apple do everything for their own platform, they make stuff which is only available on their own platform and nowhere else. Google has their own phones that they sell but they're really wanting to put their services and products on as many other phones as possible, its only apple that won't let them.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Mmm_fish_tacos on Sep 23, 2020, 12:50 PM
I want sony to buy sega.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: darkknightkryta on Sep 23, 2020, 02:06 PM
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.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Xevross on Sep 23, 2020, 02:41 PM
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.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Legend on Sep 23, 2020, 02:42 PM
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 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.

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.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: kitler53 on Sep 23, 2020, 02:46 PM
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:

(https://oi1131.photobucket.com/albums/m543/kitler53/Subscriptions_zpspz7uogsx.png)

a subscription service as MS is pitching it (AAA game releasing day 1 on gamepass) is a massive money pit if you have 10 million subscribers and a massive money maker if you have 200 million subscribers.  MS needs to hit around 100 million subscribers (imo) to start being profitable.   to get to 100 million subscribers you need a few things:
- games need to be cross platform (console(s), PC, mobile, toasters)
- games need to be cross gen (nothing locked to high end hardware)
- games need to be released frequently (10 games a month minimum to keep people subscribed all year long instead of just 1 month out of a year)

so the top 2 points makes clear their commitment to PC and xbox one and a lack of next gen exclusives
the bottom point makes clear the massive amount of acquisitions because they need a lot more content

the math i put into that chart is very optimistic by the way,.. i gave gamepass credit for the full $15 even though that includes xbox live which is a subscription a majority of the xbox user base was already paying for.   it's not a subscription their PC base was paying for though so the real value of gamepass probably averages out to $10/month.

the math also improves if you release your software on competing platforms (steam, EGS, ps4, switch).  For those that will not buy into a subscription service any sales captured from unit sales reduces the cost of game development and lowers the amount of costs in providing content to the subscription service.   i'm not saying MS won't have any exclusives to their platform anymore but it's in their best interest to lure people to gamepass on "value" not exclusives for the short term or they are going to bleed money.  in the long term (once subscriptions are >50 million) exclusives will probably be required to move the needle to 200 million.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Xevross on Sep 23, 2020, 02:54 PM
Microsoft has been making xCloud for streaming. It's already launching so no way would they partner with Sony for streaming.

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)

Microsoft and Sony are already partnered on development of the cloud for gaming and content streaming.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: kitler53 on Sep 23, 2020, 03:05 PM
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)

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.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: darkknightkryta on Sep 23, 2020, 05:08 PM
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.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: kitler53 on Sep 23, 2020, 06:10 PM
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.
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.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: the-pi-guy on Sep 23, 2020, 08:33 PM
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Legend on Sep 23, 2020, 08:37 PM
Microsoft can ride this news for years. As a gamer, feeling like they could buy anyone at anytime is huge.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: kitler53 on Sep 23, 2020, 08:39 PM
sony needs to by ubisoft, SE, and take two asap.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Legend on Sep 23, 2020, 08:48 PM
sony needs to by ubisoft, SE, and take two asap.
What if Sony merged with Nintendo?

Would be horrid but would be unstoppable.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: DerNebel on Sep 23, 2020, 08:53 PM


The actual state of this industry for this to be a thing.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Dr. Pezus on Sep 23, 2020, 10:40 PM
The actual state of this industry for this to be a thing.
Yeah lol....
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: darkknightkryta on Sep 24, 2020, 12:53 PM
so xbox exists the hardware gig and sony continues to make hardware.
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.
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.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: the-pi-guy on Feb 01, 2021, 12:47 PM
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)

March 5th.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: kitler53 on Feb 01, 2021, 03:40 PM
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)

March 5th.

i hope they rule against.  i know they won't but they really should.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Legend on Feb 01, 2021, 04:18 PM
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?
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: kitler53 on Feb 01, 2021, 04:40 PM
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.   
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: the-pi-guy on Feb 02, 2021, 07:20 PM
https://www.resetera.com/threads/microsoft-claims-to-have-18-studios-in-regulatory-document.371937/

MS has 18 studios.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Legend on Feb 02, 2021, 07:42 PM
https://www.resetera.com/threads/microsoft-claims-to-have-18-studios-in-regulatory-document.371937/

MS has 18 studios.
Not all studios are comparable in size/purpose. Does this include HoloLens and things like that?
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: the-pi-guy on Feb 02, 2021, 08:13 PM
Not all studios are comparable in size/purpose. Does this include HoloLens and things like that?
Nah, just their gaming branch.

Seems likely they either have 3 new internal studios or they are counting something else.  
They officially have 15 studios.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: the-pi-guy on Feb 21, 2021, 04:46 PM
https://www.resetera.com/threads/jeff-grubb-microsoft-will-hold-an-event-in-march-following-bethesda-deal%E2%80%99s-closure-to-discuss-future-plans.382275/

Event in March to discuss plans.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Legend on Feb 21, 2021, 05:40 PM
Either it will be a really boring investor focused thing, or we have a 99% chance of seeing more Starfield and Elder Scrolls!
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: kitler53 on Feb 21, 2021, 10:02 PM
Either it will be a really boring investor focused thing, or we have a 99% chance of seeing more Starfield and Elder Scrolls!
neither?   

I don't expect specific games but I do expect them to state xbox and PC exclusivity.  from there the internet will fill in the details for themselves and the ps5 doom articles can thrive.  
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: the-pi-guy on Feb 26, 2021, 03:09 PM
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: kitler53 on Feb 26, 2021, 03:18 PM

am i supposed to care about windows updates now?
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: the-pi-guy on Mar 08, 2021, 03:04 PM
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: kitler53 on Mar 08, 2021, 04:30 PM
"nintendo executes mario"

is that referring to nintendo pulling 3D mario world or are they trying to say nintendo will announce new stuff?
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: the-pi-guy on Mar 08, 2021, 04:35 PM
"nintendo executes mario"

is that referring to nintendo pulling 3D mario world or are they trying to say nintendo will announce new stuff?
Probably the former.  
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: Legend on Mar 08, 2021, 04:53 PM
That's just three days! Feels like it'll just be a video drop.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: kitler53 on Mar 08, 2021, 05:36 PM
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.
Title: Re: Microsoft Buys Zenimax/ Bethesda for $7.5B
Post by: the-pi-guy on Mar 09, 2021, 02:52 PM
The deed is done.