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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

#141

Post by 42656e »

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…

They will definitely also release on Windows PCs. But that meaningless corporate speak doesn't really confirm that they will stay true multi-platform and release games on PlayStation and Switch as well.

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

#143

Post by fartcannon »

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 one name. And that name surely won't be Bethesda.

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

#144

Post by swebs »

sandworm101 wrote: post #54

I was looking at my list of favorite games when I realized that all my favorite games are indi, except for Fallout/Elder scrolls. KSP, Subnautica, factorio, minecraft, papers please, FTL, EVE, x-plane, city skylines ... they all at least started as indi titles. Then I look at fallout and oblivion, the only non-indi games I've really enjoyed in the last 10+ years. There is something difference about them. So when I se…

Coincidentally, they're all games that work very well on Linux.

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

#145

Post by Waterluvian »

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…

Todd has zero power to make that promise. In my opinion it’s irresponsible to make the claim.

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

#146

Post by curiousllama »

lifty wrote: post #107
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.

Xbox won't even mean the same thing then as it does now.

Would a platform agnostic game only available on the Xbox online store count as "exclusive to xbox?" What if it required an Xbox Live/GamePass subscription for significant features - but not everything? Or they introduced super-skewed pricing ($100 for ES6 w/ no sales vs. included with GamePass)?

My concern isn't that this won't be true (at the very least, they release everything for Xbox on PC anyway), it's that the platform will evolve so much that console lock-in won't matter, so the promise will elide the real concern.

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

#147

Post by shmerl »

This is an attack on Vulkan, since Bethesda were very strongly pushing it. Guess what MS will tell them to do now. No doubt more Xbox and DX-only stuff.

So it's a lock-in move and again something that should have been stopped by anti-trust, but of course, it's non existent these days.

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

#148

Post by pbhjpbhj »

nindalf wrote: post #124
me_me_me wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dunno about this. The current consensus of community is that Dota 2 is dying and valve couldn't be bothered doing anything about it. Just cashing in while they can. And Dota 2 is by far their biggest game.

> Dota 2 is dying I'm old enough that I remember people saying this in 2014. Actual data on active users - https://steamcharts.com/app/570#All . This indicates that it's far from it's peak of 1.2M active players but 700k active is still respectable. > Dota 2 is by far their biggest game. Not by players. That would be CS:GO ( https://steamcharts.com/app/730 ) with 900k active players.

900k active presumably includes the 50% of Deathmatch players that are zombies?

It's interesting to see there seems to be some evolutionary pressures at play as a couple of new routines are being used, not just 'rotate on the spot', one or two shoot now (yes, I got shot by an XP farming zombie) and one does epicycles which makes them surprisingly hard to shoot.

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

#150

Post by sandworm101 »

swebs wrote: post #144
sandworm101 wrote: post #54

I was looking at my list of favorite games when I realized that all my favorite games are indi, except for Fallout/Elder scrolls. KSP, Subnautica, factorio, minecraft, papers please, FTL, EVE, x-plane, city skylines ... they all at least started as indi titles. Then I look at fallout and oblivion, the only non-indi games I've really enjoyed in the last 10+ years. There is something difference about them. So when I se…

Coincidentally, they're all games that work very well on Linux.

True. And another reason to worry. Microsoft at large may be less linux-hating than it once wase, but Microsoft games have never been linux-friendly and show no substantial moves in that direction of late.
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