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

[kitler53]

yeah, CoD is soo going exclusive if xbox gets ABK.

[kitler53]

not sure which thread this belongs it but ABK is why we are getting this number so here we go!!

For the first time in years, we have an Xbox shipment number.

For the Q4 2022 calendar period, Xbox shipped 3.2M consoles compared to PS5's 7.1M

This is from the FTC v Microsoft evidence. pic.twitter.com/c8rTDnMgkl

— John Welfare (@Welfare_JBP) June 29, 2023

[the-pi-guy]

Phil Spencer called for all Zenimax games to be exclusive in 2021 meeting

During Xbox CFO Tim Stuart's time on the witness stand, the FTC called attention to a chat conversation from November 2021 between Stuart and Xbox's Matt Booty. The two were messaging about a recent monthly business review meeting between Xbox and ZeniMax, where Spencer apparently made the call to make all ZeniMax games exclusive going forward, not just new IP. Stuart was asking Booty about what happened during the meeting.

"All games going forward?" Stuart asked. "Not just new IP, but ALL games going forward? Wow."

Booty confirmed this during the chat conversation, writing, "Phil [Spencer] told them all titles going foward, Xbox exclusive."

So much for case by case basis.

[Legend]

Phil Spencer called for all Zenimax games to be exclusive in 2021 meeting


So much for case by case basis.

No that was the old plan. They're not pursuing that anymore    /s

[Legend]

Closing arguments time, decision should be soon...

Closing arguments begin in the hearings for a preliminary injunction in the FTC's lawsuit to block Microsoft's acquisition of Activision

FTC lawyer starts with prepared remarks. Judge has made clear she'll be asking plenty of questions

— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) June 29, 2023

[the-pi-guy]

Strongly getting the feeling that MS will get to close.

Judge is pushing pretty hard on the FTC.

[Legend]

Judge: Isn't this just about Call of Duty? Sony just acquired a publisher (think she means Bungie) and can do exclusives.

FTC: Diablo is big, too

Judge: If Sony secured 10-year deal for CoD. Would we be here?

FTC: Would still investigate.

— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) June 29, 2023

Not a good sign when the judge still thinks Sony buying bungie is relevant.

[the-pi-guy]

the FTC is really struggling here. Another lawyer has had to step up and try to explain as Judge Corley wants to know how this will harm consumers. She's all about Call of Duty https://t.co/aPQgk9JU8L

— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) June 29, 2023

[Legend]

20 minutes later lol

FTC finally finds Lee's writing about the 20% as Lee defended criticism of the stat. FTC says what might be tripping up people is that 20% rate is calculated based on people who are new to Xbox. (Hard to follow this, but FTC has now found a page number, at least)

— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) June 29, 2023

[SWORDF1SH]

It's so up and down. Who is getting the better atm?

[Legend]

It's so up and down. Who is getting the better atm?

Right now it's just the judge grilling the ftc. Then she'll grill Microsoft. Then she makes her decision.

Hard to tell how it's going, but she seems somewhat uninformed on the gaming industry which might help Microsoft (FTC should have explained everything to her long before now)

FTC: A gaming PC is special, not cheap.

Judge is baffled. During Covid, everyone was home with $1000 PCs. (She definitely seems to think everyone has a CoD-ready computer.)

— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) June 29, 2023

[Legend]

Judge suggests Switch might be better than gen 9, because it hooks up to TV and you can take it to the airport. This observation somehow briefly knocks out the audio feed.

— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) June 29, 2023

I wish we had this on video lol.

Microsoft lawyer brings up Elder Scrolls and is here to clarify. There are two!

Elder Scrolls Online is on PlayStation

Microsoft lawyer mentions Elder Scrolls 16 (!), says is slated for release in... 2026? It's not multiplayer, she notes.

— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) June 29, 2023

FTC: We can't model partial foreclosure.

Judge is marveling that "all this" is for a "shooter video game"

FTC: I completely understand where your honor is coming from. Our responsibility isn't to make a judgment.

Judge back wondering how many people would switch.

— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) June 29, 2023

These last few minutes have been funky.

[Legend]

lol guess I misunderstood, won't have results for a while

Microsoft lawyer says they hope ruling won't be delayed.

Judge says she will file her order under seal and will solicit redactions from both sides. Says she won't take 2-3 months to decide.

Congratulates both sides for civility and prep.

— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) June 30, 2023

[kitler53]

sounds grim for Sony and the video game industry.  

[the-pi-guy]

lol guess I misunderstood, won't have results for a while

Probably the next week or two.