Bet: Will the Activision Deal close? - It has closed

[the-pi-guy]

I thought the UK didn't have a way to appeal a decision?

wow and I'm happy!

They do, but it goes back to the CMA.

So it's not likely to change.

[kitler53]

They do, but it goes back to the CMA.

So it's not likely to change.

okay,..  we'll i'm continuing to read through era and it seems like even if MS were to suceed on the appeal the process can take over a year and the end result is they assign a new CMA board and start the process over.   so like,.. 2025 at the earliest to get approval.  

diablo 4 pre-orders must have had a huge spike today...

[kitler53]

my favorite part is where bobby says MS needs ABK in order to invest in AI...

[nnodley]

Activision does realize they can help the UK benefit without the MS merger. Like why does it all rely on being acquired. I get that MS has deep pockets but call of duty makes them so much money it shouldn't even matter

[Horizon]

Threatening the UK is not the way to go. The UK is such an important market for Xbox.

[Legend]

Wow. The official summary is pretty accurate. I don't think Microsoft can succeed in appealing this; they're just trying to save face.

This part was funny: "It did not sufficiently cover different cloud gaming service business models, including multigame subscription services."

Xbox is building their entire future around a multigame subscription service yet they acted like that's a secondary business model. Why did they think the CMA wouldn't have issues with this?

Speaking of money, so when do i get that money i bet on for it to not go through? heheh

I'll pay once the appeal is over  

[kitler53]

all we need now is for EU to throw up another road block and i think MS walks away.  they still have the FCC to deal with too and the block in the UK can probably be used to bolster their case against MS.  if EU rules against MS too than i think MS will see it's too much of an uphill battle to be worth fighting.

[the-pi-guy]

What seems wild to me is how some Xbox fans are responding to this.

Talking like MS can't stand on their own qualities.

[the-pi-guy]

Food for thought... the UK says it is blocking the Microsoft-Activision deal because of Microsoft's advantages in cloud gaming, which are stronger because Google Stadia failed... in other words, the deal is now in jeopardy because of Phil Harrison

— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) April 26, 2023

(Pretty sure he's joking   )

[kitler53]

What seems wild to me is how some Xbox fans are responding to this.

Talking like MS can't stand on their own qualities.

exactly.  like:

Yep. A lot of people want MS to compete until they actually do. Competition has to involve securing ips that people desire to play and it's absurd that it has to be limited to absolutely none of the existing ones that are known at the moment. Making new ones is only part of the strategy. Ones that are established on other systems cannot and should not be off the table. That is the critical part here. I don't think there is a path that doesn't involve dipping into a deeply rooted legacy of gaming. Making a new one from scratch simply isn't feasible. It would take decades.

like, holy shame.   nintendo and sony have thrived by introducting new IPs.   the idea that the very idea of competition is "acquiring successful 3rd party IPs" is so laughable.   

MS hasn't been great at managing their studio but FFS,.. the number of new studios and IPs they could create with $95 billion of investment would be crazy.   like no joke they could probably fund 40+ new studios and IPs.  that would be soo much more effective at "competing" than acquiring CoD.

[Legend]

What's our thoughts on Phil Spencer assuming the deal falls apart? Will he be replaced over this or do you think the higher ups still have faith in him?

Same goes for fanboys. Will they still have faith in him? Bethesda + Obsidian might be enough to carry the rest of the gen.

[SWORDF1SH]

Brilliant news but I fear Sony will get a backlash from this. MS wont like this one bit and might flex their muscle a different way.

[nnodley]

I'm not sure if he will be replaced, but i think there will be huge shakeups in Xbox division.  The faith people have in him is absurd at this point.  He hasn't brought anything to the table in years, but people still think he's gonna save xbox.

[the-pi-guy]

What's our thoughts on Phil Spencer assuming the deal falls apart? Will he be replaced over this or do you think the higher ups still have faith in him?

Same goes for fanboys. Will they still have faith in him? Bethesda + Obsidian might be enough to carry the rest of the gen.

What is your reasoning?

On the Activision part, I feel like it's being pushed above Phil's paygrade. The President and CEO of MS have been pushing on Activision being acquired pretty hard:

Xbox revenue is very good, even if hardware is pretty awful, and even if there just haven't been many software launches (read: any in the past year), they're still managing to do very well. 

[Horizon]

Brilliant news but I fear Sony will get a backlash from this. MS wont like this one bit and might flex their muscle a different way.

I think MS cares more about mobile and PC than console gaming so I'll always see Sony having an edge in the console space when it comes to deals especially with their market share.