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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

#601

Post by badsectoracula »

tdy_err wrote: post #375
flipgimble wrote: post #353

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The fact that Zenimax corporate, and likely some unknown exec in that machine, had a long standing grudge against John Carmack made me loose so much respect for them. I may not always agree with Carmack from what I've read on twitter (he works for Facebook now) but I have the utmost respect for him, his transparency in his key note lectures, and his supremely engineering focused priorities. His leadership at id Softw…

What grudge is he even talking about? The lawsuits? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZeniMax_v._Oculus https://techcrunch.com/2017/03/09/oculus-cto-john-carmack-is...

Perhaps, but also perhaps that recent thing where Nine Inch Nails released an LP with the Quake 1 soundtrack [0], had some notes from John Carmack and American McGee to be included with the record and Zenimax forced NIN to remove the notes [1]. Though of course people saved it [2].

[0] https://store.nin.com/products/quake-vinyl

[1] https://twitter.com/ID_AA_Carmack/status/1306279981459308546

[2] http://handscandance.com/quake/NINQuakeBooklet.pdf

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

#602

Post by supuun »

masklinn wrote: post #352
hundchenkatze wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> If you're releasing with the help of a publisher you're no longer independent. Dear diary, I was today years old when I learned that Stardew Valley is not an indie game. > What does it mean to be an indie game developer? There's no hard-and-fast rule, but generally speaking it means the devs are not subordinate to the publisher. There are games for which the publisher contracts a studio, therefore the publisher dec…

Since couple of years ago, Stardew valley at least on pc is self-published

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

#603

Post by monadic2 »

kingbirdy wrote: post #586
teddyh wrote: post #461

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pyramids are hard to build without a super-feudal economy and society. But we got rid of that, losing the practical ability to make pyramids in the process, because we value other things like democracy higher.

> Pyramids are hard to build without a super-feudal economy and society [citation needed] The 10th-tallest pyramid was built in Memphis, TN 30 years ago [0] and it's now used as a Bass Pro shop. Say what you will about working conditions in the US in the 90s, but I don't think it'd be fair to call it "a super-feudal economy and society". [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memphis_Pyramid

Yea building a pyramid is easy, you just need to invent the internal combustion engine first.

That said, pyramids seem to have been built with hired labor so the point is pretty muddy regardless.

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

#604

Post by vlunkr »

francis_t_catte wrote: post #22

Soon we'll just have Microsoft, Epic, and a conglomeration of EA, Activision, and Ubisoft after Bobby Kotick forces them all to merge. Facebook will bungle up any chance they have of capturing the gaming market after writing a cryptic paragraph about their legal right to request blood samples from all Oculous users in the TOS. Valve will quietly exit software development altogether, and pivot to building custom vanit…

As long as no one buys From Software everything will be ok. Praise the Sun.

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

#605

Post by liability »

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #153
apatters wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, if you ate McDonald's every day you'd probably think that there are no good restaurants anymore. My top 4 games by playtime in the last few years were Rimworld, Oxygen Not Included, Dwarf Fortress and WoW Classic. Honorable mentions go to Spelunky and Stellaris. It's to everyone's great regret that a single one of these titles was purchased by one of the shitty publishers you mentioned, fortunately it's the one…

You could make the argument that because of Steam having such reach / monopoly on the PC gaming market, Steam (and by extension Valve) is effectively the publisher of games like that, and a very large one at that. There's GoG that mostly focuses on vintage games, and Epic that spends tons of money to get (timed?) exclusives on indie games + free handouts, but I'm not sure how well it's working for them to get market…

FYI the 'id' in 'id Software' is lowercase. It's a word (not an initialism or acronym) so 'Id' would be more grammatically correct, though the name of the company is nevertheless lowercase.

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

#606

Post by dcrn »

whynaut wrote: post #569
squarefoot wrote: post #524

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The best games now are from independent developers who are themselves barely making it. I wish it was true, at least for my favorite genre. Technically speaking, a small team of developers can create excellent games when it comes to creativity, design, playability etc. but for some titles there is need for a good story, then turning it into acceptable animations, large worlds, complex graphics etc. that's where pro…

take a look at Nier: Automata or Dragon Age (1-2, and/or Inquisition). Both easily enjoyable if you like ME.

Seconding Nier: Automata. Rarely have I been as blown away by a game as I was with that one.

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

#607

Post by Server6 »

bstar77 wrote: post #159

This just further confirms that my energy and money is going to the indie space. The level of enjoyment I get out of Factorio, Cuphead, Cogmind, Crusader Kings III, Curious Expedition 2, EXA Punks, Elite Dangerous, Kenshi, etc is so much greater than any AAA title I've touched in the past 5 years, yet these games are cheaper and most can run on a potato. I want to play games, not interactive movies.

I'm not sure why we can't have both. Indies aren't going away.

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

#608

Post by ohyeshedid »

tmpz22 wrote: post #340
mattmanser wrote: post #259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fallout 4 was a massive hit and they've got a new franchise about to come out (Starfield). Wolfenstein + Dishonored have consistently sold well. In May 2016, 5 years after Skyrim was released, it was valued at $2.5 billion, now it's being bought 4 years later for $7.5 billion. I appreciate some Bethesda fans have a weird agenda, but you are wrong. Also, Starfield has been written in an overhauled engine, so again, wr…

Fallout 76 was an unmitigated disaster and absolute embarrassment to the studio however [1]. [1]: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kjyeCdd-dl8

So was No Man's Sky when it came out. Though rare, sometimes studios do the right thing over time. FO76 seems to be having a better second act.

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

#609

Post by madeofpalk »

throwaway13337 wrote: post #460
apatters wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, if you ate McDonald's every day you'd probably think that there are no good restaurants anymore. My top 4 games by playtime in the last few years were Rimworld, Oxygen Not Included, Dwarf Fortress and WoW Classic. Honorable mentions go to Spelunky and Stellaris. It's to everyone's great regret that a single one of these titles was purchased by one of the shitty publishers you mentioned, fortunately it's the one…

This is absolutely right. The best games now are from independent developers who are themselves barely making it. The games you listed were some of the breakout successes of indie games but there are a ton of fun, interesting indie games out there that are dying from lack of revenue. There seems to be an overall issue now where the quality of the good produced and the benefit to the consumer is divorced from the valu…

> The best games now are from independent developers who are themselves barely making it.

....yayy?

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

#610

Post by fedorareis »

mywittyname wrote: post #443
shuntress wrote: post #292

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To directly name some of games you seem to be implying are automatically bad; I'm personally very happy with Doom (2016), Doom Eternal, Breath of the Wild, and Mario Odyssey. I am glad that ID and Nintendo have been "milking" these IPs.

I think there's a difference between continuing an IP and milking one. When the same IP gets passed to a dozen different studios who each create vastly different experiences, that's milking and I generally don't like it. The whole point of an IP is that you know what to expect, and having different studios working on the same IP is contrary to that goal. Nintendo does not milk IPs, IMHO. They actually put a lot of th…

> The whole point of an IP is that you know what to expect, and having different studios working on the same IP is contrary to that goal.

Is that actually the point of an IP? I would argue that an IP is more like Star Wars where the games that can come from it can vary in format and mechanics. And less like Battlefront where the expectation is a specific set of mechanics and game modes. I would argue that if someone where to make a non RPG Mass Effect that would still be within the IP and wouldn’t go against the core concept of IP.

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