Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Microsoft wins FTC fight to buy Activision Blizzard

theverge.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

171–180 of 490 posts

Re: Microsoft wins FTC fight to buy Activision Blizzard

#171

Post by kemotep »

failuser wrote: post #168
kemotep wrote: post #158

Microsoft still needs more studios to make Game Pass a “Netflix for Gaming” service. WoW and CoD and the rest of the ActiBlizz back catalog help but Microsoft still doesn’t have enough studios to be pumping out a new major release every month.

Even Netflix itself is no longer “Netflix for video”

The idea of subscribing to get games (movies and TV shows) instead of buying to own them Netflix is certainly still doing. Constant, consistent revenue by having people subscribe instead of paying a bunch to market to them and hope it is a blockbuster, to me at least, seems far more sustainable for publishers and developers.

Re: Microsoft wins FTC fight to buy Activision Blizzard

#173

Post by tnel77 »

Aeolun wrote: post #172

This is weird. The judge says that because there won’t be any anticompetitive effects in the next 10 years (because MS made a pinky promise), this merger is fine? What about after those 10 years? What about anything not Call of Duty?

Activision’s portfolio of games aren’t that great. I think we’ll be fine.

Re: Microsoft wins FTC fight to buy Activision Blizzard

#174

Post by strictnein »

sgillen wrote: post #40
alexlesuper wrote: post #6

I have hope that Blizzard revives the Starcraft franchise. The RTS genre needs some love atm.

A lot of the StarCraft guys have already left and formed their own company (frost giant). They are making a quasi spiritual successor to StarCraft called StormGate.

Maybe it'll be great but this doesn't inspire confidence:

> Stormgate® is a _free-to-play_ real-time strategy PC game...

Re: Microsoft wins FTC fight to buy Activision Blizzard

#175

Post by Tiktaalik »

We know from history that exclusives are incredibly important in the console industry.

Microsoft buying ATVI will net them ownership over one of the most important game IPs of the last three console generations.

The only way this decision makes any sense is that the courts are somehow thinking that 10 years is long enough and things will be different by the time MS is in the position to tilt the deck to their favour by making parts of or the entirety of this franchise a platform exclusive.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is already 16 years old, so the courts are likely wrong as this franchise clearly has remarkable staying power to still be this relevant.

Re: Microsoft wins FTC fight to buy Activision Blizzard

#176

Post by ScoobleDoodle »

tnel77 wrote: post #173
Aeolun wrote: post #172

This is weird. The judge says that because there won’t be any anticompetitive effects in the next 10 years (because MS made a pinky promise), this merger is fine? What about after those 10 years? What about anything not Call of Duty?

Activision’s portfolio of games aren’t that great. I think we’ll be fine.

Activision / Blizzard / King includes: Candy Crush, World of Warcraft, and Diablo which are all heavy hitters.

Re: Microsoft wins FTC fight to buy Activision Blizzard

#177

Post by tnel77 »

ScoobleDoodle wrote: post #176
tnel77 wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Activision’s portfolio of games aren’t that great. I think we’ll be fine.

Activision / Blizzard / King includes: Candy Crush, World of Warcraft, and Diablo which are all heavy hitters.

I don’t like any of those games, but their sales numbers obviously show that others do haha.

Re: Microsoft wins FTC fight to buy Activision Blizzard

#178

Post by pb7 »

tnel77 wrote: post #173
Aeolun wrote: post #172

This is weird. The judge says that because there won’t be any anticompetitive effects in the next 10 years (because MS made a pinky promise), this merger is fine? What about after those 10 years? What about anything not Call of Duty?

Activision’s portfolio of games aren’t that great. I think we’ll be fine.

Call of Duty, Diablo, World of Warcraft, StarCraft, and Overwatch are some of the most popular games in the world. They may not be to your liking or mine but this is objectively not true.

Re: Microsoft wins FTC fight to buy Activision Blizzard

#179

Post by ScoobleDoodle »

AlexandrB wrote: post #61
zamalek wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Qualitatively, there are also more harms to the consumer by leaving Actiblizz in the incompetent hands of the current leadership. I still wonder what all of this is worth given that the merger was blocked in the UK.

Given how Microsoft has managed Bethesda (giving them a large amount of autonomy and shipping the doomed Redfall) it's way too optimistic to expect any positive changes for Activision/Blizzard customers. It wouldn't surprise me is Bobby kept running the whole thing, just under Microsoft's ownership. Meanwhile I do expect more Xbox exclusives - which will ultimately harm consumers.

Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda lead directly to Starfield not being released on the Sony PlayStation at all. I read the game’s developers were not happy with that.

https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/23/23771828/microsoft-bethed...

Re: Microsoft wins FTC fight to buy Activision Blizzard

#180

Post by Dalewyn »

ScoobleDoodle wrote: post #176
tnel77 wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Activision’s portfolio of games aren’t that great. I think we’ll be fine.

Activision / Blizzard / King includes: Candy Crush, World of Warcraft, and Diablo which are all heavy hitters.

Just going to point out Candy Crush is the inferior Solitaire and Minesweeper equivalent of the current generation.
Post reply on HN