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Microsoft to acquire ZeniMax Media and Bethesda Softworks for $7.5B

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Re: Microsoft to acquire ZeniMax Media and Bethesda Softworks for $7.5B

#271

Post by formerly_proven »

ekianjo wrote: post #87
fendy3002 wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are more: - paradox interactive - rockstar, which is strong from gta v online and rdr - cd projeckt red, which also get income from gog and hyped cyberpunk - valve won't exit software devs in short time, their investment in vr is big. I won't be surprised if they release vanity knives with lootbox though IMO Bethesda decided to sell to MS because their recent games cannot generate enough popularity. They can on…

If Rockstar ever gets acquired, this will be one of the most expensive deals ever. They routinely sell games in the dozens of millions of units.

Contrary to popular opinion, Rockstar is actually not a competent game developer.

Re: Microsoft to acquire ZeniMax Media and Bethesda Softworks for $7.5B

#272

Post by tmccrary55 »

Andrex wrote: post #67
SSLy wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nintendo is self-sustainable, Apple is exerting a lot of influence among smaller studios with Arcade. Like Annapurna Interactive (which is nota bene funded by Oracle).

Nintendo is just two bad generations of hardware from being vulnerable enough to sell itself (IMO.) They had only $4.3 billion cash on hand as of 2018 (surely more by now thanks to the success and maturation of the Switch.) But Microsoft just dropped a little less than double that on ZeniMax. I wish Nintendo were in such a rock-solid place where I'd feel confident about them existing forever like Disney but I don't t…

You make good points but Nintendo is such an iconic Japanese brand, it seems like their government would get involved if they were in dire straights.

As a Nintendo baby, it'd be a dark day if some conglomerate bought them.

I was just thinking though, if they needed money they could easily raise crazy amounts of cash from their fanbase via crowdfunding.

Re: Microsoft to acquire ZeniMax Media and Bethesda Softworks for $7.5B

#273

Post by gogopuppygogo »

gabereiser wrote: post #214
logicOnly wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the inevitable trend of gaming since the 90s. Small team makes innovative and interesting game. Gets bought, makes a good sequel, then milks IP forever. It's up to you to move on.

Bingo! CoD, Quake, Doom, Civ, Madden, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, All of Nintendo... you can’t fault them for milking an IP though when fans vote with their wallets. I would love new stories, new hero archetypes, new consequences, in games and I think indie have done a decent job at showing it can be done. But even indie suffers from the “Hey! This worked! Let’s just keep doing this!” IP milkage. Game dev, like so…

Change = risk

If you want to build new IP and there isn’t established funding you can go start a Kickstarter campaign to raise money from gamers to go build the game.

Re: Microsoft to acquire ZeniMax Media and Bethesda Softworks for $7.5B

#274

Post by awill »

It's unfortunate that the Xbox Series X and PS5 are so, so, so similar. It seems stupid to have to purchase 2 nearly identical boxes. It's not just the console. You then need multiple controllers for each, and possibly other accessories (Sony has a PS5 specific headset, camera, charger, will have a PS5 VR etc.)

I've historically preferred PS exclusives (Uncharted, Spiderman, God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn), and the cross platform stuff, was a little worse than Xbox in the PS3 days, and a little better in the PS4 days (at least prior to XoX). Speaking as a biased PS4 owner, I'm happy with current layout of PS exclusives and cross platform stuff. Each new announcement like this sucks. I like DOOM and Dishonored. I liked being able to get them on PS4 and expected to get them on PS5. I don't think this will make me get an Xbox, but it sucks I'll likely be missing out on these games. I suppose what Microsoft hopes is that people like me get a PS5 and a cheaper Xbox Series S with Gamepass.

I love that the Nintendo Switch exists. It's completely different, and doesn't really compete with Playstation/Xbox. As a gamer, it makes sense to purchase a Nintendo Switch and one of either the Playstation/Xbox. I wish Xbox/Playstation differentiated somehow. I suppose Microsoft tried to do that with Kinect, but failed/gave up.

Re: Microsoft to acquire ZeniMax Media and Bethesda Softworks for $7.5B

#275

Post by rndgermandude »

gregjw wrote: post #71

The year is 2040. Gigaconglomerates Tencent, Activision Blizzard Ubisoft (ABU), Microsoft and Apple gatekeep the entire gaming industry. Rebel guerilla groups of small publishers and indie developers rise up to take control of their encampments.

2040 huh? I'd have guessed Tencent (incl subsidies Facebook, Oracle, Microsoft, in order of acquisition) and Alphabet Activision share the market 75%/25%, with Apple still commanding a 30% sales tax in certain spaces.

Re: Microsoft to acquire ZeniMax Media and Bethesda Softworks for $7.5B

#276

Post by tmccrary55 »

murph-almighty wrote: post #262
dx87 wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

CS:GO is actually their biggest game now, but it does look like Dota 2 is dying. From a business perspective, they don't have any reason to try and save it though. They've lost ~40% of their players over the past 4 years, but are making more money than ever. The in-game tutorials have been unfinished for years, their Dota+ subscription service is all but abandoned (but still bringing in millions of dollars a year), a…

CS:GO is also going to trend downward soon with the release of Valorant, which is basically the same game with a few superpowers attached. All my friends who played GO switched over, they're attracting a pro scene, I think it's only a matter of time tbh.

I've avoided Valorant because it requires kernel drivers. But I'm in the minority, most gamers don't even know whats involved there.

Re: Microsoft to acquire ZeniMax Media and Bethesda Softworks for $7.5B

#277

Post by Sebb767 »

Whiteshadow12 wrote: post #58
DominikD wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No Microsoft game has monetization as bad as Fallout 76. So whatever Bethesda does from now on can't be worse than what it does today. ;)

This should be filed under the "Tell me in 2 years" section.

Let us hope, at least

Re: Microsoft to acquire ZeniMax Media and Bethesda Softworks for $7.5B

#278

Post by Pxl_Buzzard »

fartcannon wrote: post #143
Firebrand wrote: post #84

Bethesda Games are not going not be exclusive to Xbox -- Confirmed by Todd Howard: >Like our original partnership, this one is about more than one system or one screen. We share a deep belief in the fundamental power of games, in their ability to connect, empower, and bring joy. And a belief we should bring that to everyone - regardless of who you are, where you live, or what you play on. Regardless of the screen siz…

From now until acquisition, the language internally will be 'we have our own identity within Microsoft' and then 3 to 6 months later, there will be these offhand remarks from senior management about how nameless other employees are confused about their place in the company. Then within 1 year, there will be an email about how the CEO has decided to eleviate the confusion among the staff and unite the company under on…

You're right that can happen in most cases, but look at Microsoft's recent acquistions: LinkedIn, GitHub, Xamarin, and game studios like Mojang, Double Fine, Obsidian, and inXile. All well-established brand names that have continued to maintain their own identity and team culture, albeit like any culture I'm sure they've evolved over time.

Re: Microsoft to acquire ZeniMax Media and Bethesda Softworks for $7.5B

#279

Post by throw_m239339 »

toyg wrote: post #25
colesantiago wrote: post #14

Seems like a better deal than the vapid fad that is TikTok, in addition to them partnering with Oracle which looks like a marriage made in a hellstew. Well done Microsoft and Bethesda.

TikTok is not an investment in tech, it’s an investment in relations with the US public sector. The fact that it comes with an actual company attached is almost irrelevant for Oracle.

MS has plenty of "relations with the US public sector" already, they won the DOD JEDI contract. They didn't need to spend anything on TikTok.

TikTok is a fad, like Instagram and other social networks.

Re: Microsoft to acquire ZeniMax Media and Bethesda Softworks for $7.5B

#280

Post by hundchenkatze »

masklinn wrote: post #260
zeroonetwothree wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Paradox isn’t exactly an indie

Yeah Paradox is a publisher so there are indie paradox games (e.g. cities skyline) but CKIII is from one of their internal studios so… not indie.

What does it mean to be an indie game developer? If you're releasing with the help of a publisher you're no longer independent.
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