Microsoft to Acquire Activision Blizzard • Hacker News Board

Re: Microsoft to Acquire Activision Blizzard

#511

Post by rusk » Tue, Jan 18, 2022, 4:13 PM UTC

JAlexoid wrote: post #450

kungito wrote: post #365

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are still missing a mobile platform and that's why I believe they will retry within the next few years

I don't think they will. There's no point. There is a stable duopoly, where Microsoft can reap the benefits of competition between the two, without wasting any resources. May not be best for consumer - really great for business. (especially, if courts hold that Apple/Google cannot outright ban apps from their stores)

I’ve heard that thanks to patents and stuff they already makes loads of money out of mobile as it is!

Re: Microsoft to Acquire Activision Blizzard

#512

Post by aetch » Tue, Jan 18, 2022, 4:13 PM UTC

Love the article header image. One of these games is not like the others.

Re: Microsoft to Acquire Activision Blizzard

#513

Post by sbelskie » Tue, Jan 18, 2022, 4:15 PM UTC

ghostly_s wrote: post #456

jpablo wrote: post #402

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't that basically the same Nintendo and Sony? Save for the cloud platform.

Pretty sure Nintendo operates their cloud platform as well, though it's hardly comparable as it only offers NES + SNES roms.

It offers some n64 titles now as well.

Re: Microsoft to Acquire Activision Blizzard

#514

Post by obayesshelton » Tue, Jan 18, 2022, 4:16 PM UTC

All we need now is a Microsoft VR / Metaverse platform and FB/Meta can finally sink into oblivion.

Re: Microsoft to Acquire Activision Blizzard

#515

Post by Tiktaalik » Tue, Jan 18, 2022, 4:16 PM UTC

MangoCoffee wrote: post #334

a lot of comments seem to be concern about the antitrust. Microsoft buying Activision Blizzard just put them in number 3 slot. Tencent and Sony are far bigger in gaming. if Apple lawsuit didn't take down Apple store just forced Apple to allows third party payment option. i don't think Microsoft will get slap with a antitrust. Microsoft isn't even number 1 in gaming.

In terms of the "console war" competitive landscape, Tencent is not relevant as they're not a significant stakeholder in that market.

The evaluation is between Sony and Microsoft and this shifts things pretty significantly toward Microsoft.

Re: Microsoft to Acquire Activision Blizzard

#516

Post by hannasanarion » Tue, Jan 18, 2022, 4:16 PM UTC

zenron wrote: post #501

madeofpalk wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think there should be more (gaming) companies, and (gaming) companies should not be owned by the platforms, so I see this as a pretty big negative for the industry and customers. Congrats to Phil on his resume bump I guess.

You are not entitled to play games or buy platforms. It is a net negative for the gaming industry to be limited in their revenue streams. You cannot split the baby because some customers CHOSE to buy PS5 but the game THEY want to play is on Xbox. If they want to play it, buy an XBOX too. If that is too expensive, the gamer should increase their disposable income. Gaming is not a human right.

Forcing people to buy some of your products in order to use others of your products is called "tying" and it's illegal monopolization.

Re: Microsoft to Acquire Activision Blizzard

#517

Post by aparticulate » Tue, Jan 18, 2022, 4:17 PM UTC

jpablo wrote: post #402

curiousllama wrote: post #315

It's wild how Microsoft has been able to vertically integrate gaming. They now own the distribution (Xbox Cloud Gaming, Xbox Game Pass), the games (Call of Duty, WoW, Starcraft + what they owned before), the OS (Windows, Xbox), the hardware (Xbox, many PCs), and the back end compute (Azure). The only thing they're missing, the network bandwidth, is mostly a commodity anyway. That's a heck of a moat.

Isn't that basically the same Nintendo and Sony? Save for the cloud platform.

Nintendo operates on different rules due their absurd array of reliable IPs. I get the sense that MS, Sony are still trying to sort out their own "Mario, Zelda, Pokemon" clone with mainstream movies/merch potential and all that entails.

Re: Microsoft to Acquire Activision Blizzard

#518

Post by gigel82 » Tue, Jan 18, 2022, 4:18 PM UTC

C'mon Microsoft, do a Starcraft 3. Pretty please!

Starcraft 2 is one of the last game I still play with my ("old timer") friends for social interaction in the Covid era.

Re: Microsoft to Acquire Activision Blizzard

#519

Post by ho_schi » Tue, Jan 18, 2022, 4:19 PM UTC

Competition oversight?

Probably dead since Regan? After they stopped controlling AT&T the UNIX-Wars happened, impcompatiblity, lawsuits, closed-source has become a normal thing and proprietary software locked users in and competitors out.

What platform will Microsoft support? Likely not:

  * Linux
  * BSD
  * MacOS
  * Nintendo
  * Sony

Does anyone miss id Software? Native ports on Linux, incredible source-code and impressive games? I use this opportunity to thank Gabe Newell and Valve and the people there for their work :)

Re: Microsoft to Acquire Activision Blizzard

#520

Post by macilacilove » Tue, Jan 18, 2022, 4:19 PM UTC

s3r3nity wrote: post #16

Congratulations to Phil Spencer, who started out leading an upstart team at Microsoft for a new game console called "Xbox" and is now "CEO of Microsoft Gaming" - a Microsoft Senior Leadership position. Oh, and he now leads the third biggest gaming company on the planet: > When the transaction closes, Microsoft will become the world’s third-largest gaming company by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony. It will be interes…

> spin off gaming into an independent company at some point

Unlikely without regulatory intervention. The added value for MS shareholders here is that MS has now more leverage to gently heard gamers towards their platforms.