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Microsoft to Acquire Game Studio Activision Blizzard for $68.7 Billion
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This will be nightmare for any internet that is not 5G and/or optical fibre.
It's the path that Bethesda is going down after microsoft's buyout - PC and XBox exclusives, so I'd expect Activision to follow this same path, even if for a few games.
Console for the premiere experience? PCs are far better for gaming, IMO, though they are more expensive, which of course is a show stopper for many people. But, I'd take a PC over a Console every day of the week for gaming. Better third party support ( tools, mods etc ) for many games as well.
Cloud gaming is still in it's infancy, and need good internet access, which not everyone has. In the future, I'd expect Cloud gaming to be dominant method of gaming, but we aren't there yet.
Haven’t we already gambling on PC long before this acquisition? EA? Anyone?
I see the future of all the game to go browser based, not sure if this is what the GamePass does, but going through a browser should eliminate any OS requirements, just need Chrome or whatever is supported. Nvidea does this, a friend used this for his son when Fortnite was removed from MacOS. Ran incredibly well and nothing really to install. I think this is where things will end up as it is open to pretty much everyone no matter what their OS or device.
Now Apple will have to buy Nintendo. ?
Activision Blizzard has a market cap of around $65 billion, so Microsoft seems to not be overpaying for it.
Nintendo has a market cap of approximately $54 billion. Apple has enough cash to buy Nintendo and to overpay for that.
It would be a good match. Both companies focus on mobile gaming; produce family-oriented content; work with significant profit margins; develop software for their own ecosystem.
It would not make sense for Sony or Microsoft to buy Nintendo. I am not even sure if Sony would have the resources to do it.
And what about the low resolution of the broadcast image, dependence on a paid service, the inevitable loss of beloved "old" clients that will be updated at the will of the owner / developer, corrected, or even completely deleted?
Exactly the same **** is happening on movie streaming services right now, when they make edits like the original Star Wars trilogy, and you can’t watch the original there.
So such a development of events will definitely be bad news - another entry into slavery under general rejoicing.
my thought exactly. i think this is way too much and i don't see how activision IPs alone will ever make that money back. but i guess we live in such a timeline.
Lots of benefits to owning a game, first and foremost is not constant subscription for eternity to play the games you love. I do this with movies, the ones I truly love I buy on physical media. I don't want to be at the whim of a company and have to go with whatever direction they think is best for me. I am reminded of Microsofts attempt at competing with the iPod. They had the Zune and had a music subscription service. The subscription service was ahead of its time I believe, every month you could keep 1 album. Lots of issues though with music being there one week and gone the next, and not small artists but big ones like Bruce Springsteen. I am not interesting in a rental service for games but I do get the appeal of a huge library for a cheap price, not interested in another monthly bill for my entertainment though and will continue on owning my games.
Gamers tend to imagine that computer and console gaming is a massive growth market. However, the stats show that PC and console gaming has held steady or shown very minimal growth over the past 2 decades (around $20B-30B/year each in annual revenue). It's a niche market, not a good investment for long-term growth.
I'm wondering if the Bethesda people are mad now seeing how much money Microsoft is willing to spend on another publisher.
macOS is already terrible for PC/Console games. Having a powerful chip will NOT increase the markets share because the platform is way more important just like what MS is doing. So just forget it, Apple abandoned PC/Console games industry for macOS and this is why only Baldur's Gate 3 is a new AAA game on Apple Silicon.
The good news is you can play most of their games on Xbox Game Pass or xCloud. Mac is also supported through web browser and I played Gears of Wars and Halo Infinite! I guess we can expect new Blizzard games on xCloud. The question is how will they gonna add WoW and SC2 on xCloud since it only works with xbox controller, not keyboard and mouse?
But instead, Apple is doing well on mobile games which is way more than what PC and Console are getting. This is why Apple is focusing on mobile ecosystems, not macOS.
The good news is you can play most of their games on Xbox Game Pass or xCloud. Mac is also supported through web browser and I played Gears of Wars and Halo Infinite! I guess we can expect new Blizzard games on xCloud. The question is how will they gonna add WoW and SC2 on xCloud since it only works with xbox controller, not keyboard and mouse?
But instead, Apple is doing well on mobile games which is way more than what PC and Console are getting. This is why Apple is focusing on mobile ecosystems, not macOS.
That's a lot of blather that overlooks the fact that Blizzard makes a lot of Mac games.
And when was the last time they made new games? Overwatch dont even support Mac and other Mac games from Blizzard are god damn old. I dont see your point.
Sony wants to keep doing their stupid exclusivity deals? Microsoft will just buy out the studios... ?
On a more serious note, hopefully they can unf*ck the call of duty franchise. It's just a massive cash grab at this point. Last one I bought was Modern Warfare and that was a decent mechanics and graphics upgrade and nostalgic. After two more COD releases, they turned Modern Warfare into a giant ad space for the two new games. You launch MW now and you see Vanguard, Warzone, and Cold War before you see MW.
On a more serious note, hopefully they can unf*ck the call of duty franchise. It's just a massive cash grab at this point. Last one I bought was Modern Warfare and that was a decent mechanics and graphics upgrade and nostalgic. After two more COD releases, they turned Modern Warfare into a giant ad space for the two new games. You launch MW now and you see Vanguard, Warzone, and Cold War before you see MW.
It would still have to be a hostile takeover, MS courted Nintendo when the Wii U was out and they were not interested.
I don't see why they would be interested in Apple buying them.