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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

#101

Post by iruoy »

staticman2 wrote: post #20
abluecloud wrote: post #9

microsoft are seeing that the money is going to be made in a subscription model for games. by purchasing the studios it makes it much easier for them to bundle games (possibly with exclusivity) with their gamepass. i know i'm more likely to subscribe to gamepass (and keep it running for years) vs. the 1/2 games i buy a year.

I wonder if they are moving to a subscription model because players hate the Windows store and basically refuse to use it instead of Steam when purchasing games. Having failed at running a store I wonder if they've decided plan b is running a rental service.

I think the Microsoft store is pretty good actually. I got 6 months of game pass for PC and didn't encounter any problems.

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

#102

Post by AkelaA »

als0 wrote: post #18

Microsoft bought the legendary game company Rare some time ago. That acquisition didn't go well, so I hope this works out well for Bethesda.

That was more then 18 years ago though, back when Microsoft was very new to the console game. They've had a lot of successes and failures since then. A more recent example would be Mojang which has gone extremely well for them - Minecraft is now the best selling game of all time with 147m copies by 2019 compared to around 14m back in 2014 when the company was acquired - largely down to their successful pivot to mobile and console.

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

#103

Post by phone8675309 »

wpdev_63 wrote: post #7

Holy sh!t. Bethesda is huge! Well I was just thinking the other day that Microsoft really doesn't have any first party studio that are really as good as Sony's first party. IMO they didn't release a game 'this' gen that makes picking up a xbox one worth it. This could change that with fallout and doom. Also this allows them to bring the ID tech engine under their stewardship.... I just hope that they don't trash the…

There's no way they could trash any franchise worse than Bethesda has trashed Fallout.

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

#104

Post by strikelaserclaw »

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…

In just a generation we will have our own version of zaibutsu and chaebols, isn't that exciting !

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

#105

Post by ArkVark »

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…

Because the 30% 'Standard' commission is fundamentally uneconomic. Independent publishers cannot thrive, when they could simply be acquired by a platform owner (ie. Microsoft) and pay 0%.

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

#106

Post by Wowfunhappy »

SSLy wrote: post #52
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…

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).

Annapurna Interactive has had their name on so many creative, well-done projects recently. I had no idea they received funding from Oracle, but quite frankly that just makes me think (somewhat) better of Oracle, not less of Annapurna.

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

#107

Post by lifty »

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…

While statements like these are common when mergers/buyouts happen, the final decision down the line will not be his to make. Not saying that things will not happen as he states, but it shouldn't be seen as a certainty.

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

#108

Post by Covzire »

syshum wrote: post #47
Covzire wrote: post #24

RIP Bethesda.

Honestly it is hard for me to see how Microsoft can ruin Bethesda any worse than ZeniMax was already.... the new Doom was ok, but the new Fallout was TERRIBLE, as with many other recent Bethesda ventures...

It's not looking good for another TES or FO game unless they're already very well under development.

EA has taught the industry that mega corps are where IP goes to die a long, slow, cash-cow squeezing death. I'm actually more disappointed in ZeniMax/Bethesda. In my mind, there is absolutely no possibility that Bethesda will ever produce another game on the level of FO3/NV now because corps do what corps do which is A/B test and second guess every decision until the product is a flavorless lump.

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

#109

Post by Trasmatta »

antonyh wrote: post #91

Bethesda has become formulaic, with the elements of gameplay virtually the same amongst titles. Same across the board really, not much genre-defying for quite a while. Outer Worlds, Fallout, and so on just differ by visuals and story, the general jist is all samey samey. No innovation. No just single series but across the estate. Nothings been as good as Fallout 3 & Skyrim, just repetitions and echoes of greatness. I…

Bethesda also includes id and Arkane. Arkane's games in particular are incredibly unique and well designed. There's still a lot of innovation happening under the Bethesda umbrella, even if Fallout and Elder Scrolls are stale.
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