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Ignore Microsoft’s whines about the Activision takeover. The CMA did its job

theguardian.com

21–30 of 207 posts

Re: Ignore Microsoft’s whines about the Activision takeover. The CMA did its job

#21
The CMA has indeed done its job.

Microsoft is just throwing a tantrum over the CMA in the UK having a backbone to see for what Microsoft really is doing and this horizontal integration of existing multi-billion dollar franchises is bad for gamers. Even the UK Government isn't buying into Microsoft's bullshit of bringing title like Call of Duty to Nintendo Switch just to close the deal. [0]

Microsoft hasn't changed their anti-competitive behaviour. The methods are different but the strategy is the same, which they have gotten very clever over the decades.

[0] https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2023/04/uk-government-says-th...

Re: Ignore Microsoft’s whines about the Activision takeover. The CMA did its job

#22
post #20

I don't mind the complaint about CMA being undemocratic because it's a council of unelected bureaucrats, it's just trash-talk from someone that didn't get what they wanted; to be expected. IMO the reason why this decision is really dumb is because the reason given was cloud gaming. I think that people are missing this. This isn't a market. Almost nobody plays on cloud gaming platforms, like Stadia which recently clos…

Does "cloud gaming" encompass things like Xbox Game Pass though? Subscription model with downloadable access to all games definitely feels cloudy to me.

No

>The cloud allows UK gamers to avoid buying expensive gaming consoles and PCs and gives them much more flexibility and choice as to how they play.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/microsoft-activision-deal...

YET they next sentence

>Allowing Microsoft to take such a strong position in the cloud gaming market just as it begins to grow rapidly would risk undermining the innovation that is crucial to the development of these opportunities.

Which is really funny considering the closure of Google Stadia, so maybe it was a 4D chess move by Google after all

Re: Ignore Microsoft’s whines about the Activision takeover. The CMA did its job

#23

Aside from the other arguments in the article: "The chair of the CMA, its chief executive and the rest of the board are appointed by the business secretary of the elected government" if I'm reading this correctly, UK citizens elect a government, the government appoints a business secretary, and then the business secretary appoints the entire CMA? So that would be two layers of disconnect from the voter. AFAIK most US…

> If I'm reading this correctly, UK citizens elect a government, the government appoints a business secretary, and then the business secretary appoints the entire CMA? So that would be two layers of disconnect from the voter.

The business secretary would typically be an elected as a member of parliament (MP, equivalent to a congress person). The leader of the majority party in parliament will form a government, mostly appointing elected MPs to government roles. So the business secretary has been elected, but not as business secretary.

This is ignoring the absurdly anachronistic House of Lords, the upper chamber of parliament, who are mostly life appointments by various governments over the years (but also includes some hereditary peers, and an assortment of senior Church of England bishops). Lords can also be appointed to ministerial positions, although typically not the biggest jobs.

Re: Ignore Microsoft’s whines about the Activision takeover. The CMA did its job

#24

I don't mind the complaint about CMA being undemocratic because it's a council of unelected bureaucrats, it's just trash-talk from someone that didn't get what they wanted; to be expected. IMO the reason why this decision is really dumb is because the reason given was cloud gaming. I think that people are missing this. This isn't a market. Almost nobody plays on cloud gaming platforms, like Stadia which recently clos…

Did you actually read the report that the CMA released?

They are not basing the block on some "maybe" future, but on current reality.

> Microsoft already accounts for an estimated 60-70% of global cloud gaming services and has other important strengths in cloud gaming from owning Xbox, the leading PC operating system (Windows) and a global cloud computing infrastructure (Azure and Xbox Cloud Gaming).

Microsoft already has a majority of the market. CMA asked Microsoft to provide guarantees they wouldn't abuse their position if they also owned Activision/Blizzard, and whatever guarantees Microsoft provides weren't enough to convince CMA.

> Microsoft’s proposal contained a number of significant shortcomings connected with the growing and fast-moving nature of cloud gaming services:

> It did not sufficiently cover different cloud gaming service business models, including multigame subscription services.

> It was not sufficiently open to providers who might wish to offer versions of games on PC operating systems other than Windows.

> It would standardise the terms and conditions on which games are available, as opposed to them being determined by the dynamism and creativity of competition in the market, as would be expected in the absence of the merger.

Basically, Microsoft tried to weasel their way through the merger so they can prevent other actors from competing with them on a level playing field. Exactly the kind of shit CMA should block.

The conclusion:

> Accepting Microsoft’s remedy would inevitably require some degree of regulatory oversight by the CMA. By contrast, preventing the merger would effectively allow market forces to continue to operate and shape the development of cloud gaming without this regulatory intervention.

Paraphrased: "Either we have to keep close track of them if merger is accepted, or we can just let companies compete in the market"

Re: Ignore Microsoft’s whines about the Activision takeover. The CMA did its job

#25
post #20

I don't mind the complaint about CMA being undemocratic because it's a council of unelected bureaucrats, it's just trash-talk from someone that didn't get what they wanted; to be expected. IMO the reason why this decision is really dumb is because the reason given was cloud gaming. I think that people are missing this. This isn't a market. Almost nobody plays on cloud gaming platforms, like Stadia which recently clos…

Does "cloud gaming" encompass things like Xbox Game Pass though? Subscription model with downloadable access to all games definitely feels cloudy to me.

>Subscription model with downloadable access to all games definitely feels cloudy to me.

"Subscription" =/= "cloud"

Re: Ignore Microsoft’s whines about the Activision takeover. The CMA did its job

#26

What would happen if Activision is acquired anyway by Microsoft? Could they simply exist as two separate entities in the UK, and a unified entity elsewhere? With all of the repercussions that entails for the users? Or simply they exit the market in the UK?

I think they could possibly say that they will move forward with the merger, but cease to publish or sell games in the UK, but I very much doubt they would. The UK is still too big / profitable of a market.

As an aside, it is interesting to see how this merger is received in the tech space vs gaming space. Most folks in gaming seem to welcome the merger because Activision has long been anti-consumer / bad stewards of game franchises, and many people feel positive about the direction of the Xbox division as of late.

I also think the CMAs rationale for their decision is bizarre and shows a lack of understanding of the space. I can’t help but feel much of European tech regulation is about feeling out of the loop on tech and a certain fear of falling even further behind the United States and Asia.

Re: Ignore Microsoft’s whines about the Activision takeover. The CMA did its job

#27
post #13

Microsoft basically said that the UK is a bad place to do businesses because they didn't got what they wanted. An extremely entitled and childish comment coming from someone that should know better. Microsoft is showing its most unprofessional and belligerent face going back to the worst times of the company. Remember the FUDs about Linux, the lies about DR-DOS, ... Microsoft is back and needs to be corrected.

I don't know how anyone fell (or continues to fall) from companies acting like the good guys when things are hard for them, because as soon as they can, they'll abuse their position. And this is not specific to Microsoft, it's every public company driven by shareholders. Why would anyone expect anything differently here?

Re: Ignore Microsoft’s whines about the Activision takeover. The CMA did its job

#28

I don't mind the complaint about CMA being undemocratic because it's a council of unelected bureaucrats, it's just trash-talk from someone that didn't get what they wanted; to be expected. IMO the reason why this decision is really dumb is because the reason given was cloud gaming. I think that people are missing this. This isn't a market. Almost nobody plays on cloud gaming platforms, like Stadia which recently clos…

Did you actually read the report that the CMA released? They are not basing the block on some "maybe" future, but on current reality. > Microsoft already accounts for an estimated 60-70% of global cloud gaming services and has other important strengths in cloud gaming from owning Xbox, the leading PC operating system (Windows) and a global cloud computing infrastructure (Azure and Xbox Cloud Gaming). Microsoft alread…

>It did not sufficiently cover different cloud gaming service business models, including multigame subscription services.

This is actually incredibly funny reading because Google Stadia was 100% worse than Xbox Cloud. You had to sub + pay for the game too. And some of them were exclusives too.

Compared to that how Gamepass works in tandem with Xbox Cloud (you can play on PC, Xbox, and streaming) is day and night YET it's still a problem

Plus I don't get the publisher part

>It was not sufficiently open to providers who might wish to offer versions of games on PC operating systems other than Windows.

Most of the Xbox Cloud games are multiplatform, and I don't just mean PC (Windows) and Xbox but Playstation and sometimes Linux or Mac too

Re: Ignore Microsoft’s whines about the Activision takeover. The CMA did its job

#29

I don't mind the complaint about CMA being undemocratic because it's a council of unelected bureaucrats, it's just trash-talk from someone that didn't get what they wanted; to be expected. IMO the reason why this decision is really dumb is because the reason given was cloud gaming. I think that people are missing this. This isn't a market. Almost nobody plays on cloud gaming platforms, like Stadia which recently clos…

Did you actually read the report that the CMA released? They are not basing the block on some "maybe" future, but on current reality. > Microsoft already accounts for an estimated 60-70% of global cloud gaming services and has other important strengths in cloud gaming from owning Xbox, the leading PC operating system (Windows) and a global cloud computing infrastructure (Azure and Xbox Cloud Gaming). Microsoft alread…

> Microsoft already has a majority of the market.

You didn't address the point of parent comment, which is, it's not really a market. It's trying to become a market, but so far is just a small niche where companies lose money.

Re: Ignore Microsoft’s whines about the Activision takeover. The CMA did its job

#30
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you actually read the report that the CMA released? They are not basing the block on some "maybe" future, but on current reality. > Microsoft already accounts for an estimated 60-70% of global cloud gaming services and has other important strengths in cloud gaming from owning Xbox, the leading PC operating system (Windows) and a global cloud computing infrastructure (Azure and Xbox Cloud Gaming). Microsoft alread…

>It did not sufficiently cover different cloud gaming service business models, including multigame subscription services. This is actually incredibly funny reading because Google Stadia was 100% worse than Xbox Cloud. You had to sub + pay for the game too. And some of them were exclusives too. Compared to that how Gamepass works in tandem with Xbox Cloud (you can play on PC, Xbox, and streaming) is day and night YET…

>You had to sub + pay for the game too.

You didn't. You just had to sub to get access to the "free" games + play at resolutions higher than 4K + other stuff. After you bought the game, you could just stream it at 1080p.

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