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Microsoft to Acquire Activision Blizzard

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Re: Microsoft to Acquire Activision Blizzard

#671

Post by obert »

rusk wrote: post #511
JAlexoid wrote: post #450

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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!

they make money but they lack control, e.g. MS can't decide how software/apps are distributed, what is trusted and what not, how apps are glued together, that's a huge miss, plus the 30% cut Apple and Google apply to payments, MS is missing out on a lot of money, and MS stores pale in comparison. Not that I support this model of distributing software, I prefer the old desktop model of downloading from internet, but don't think MS is making much money just because of patents.

Re: Microsoft to Acquire Activision Blizzard

#672

Post by shadowgovt »

brobdingnagians wrote: post #667

Activision Blizzard has been seriously mismanaged. They have very nice IP and a fanbase that is still somewhat loyal because of the glories of the past, but Microsoft would need to revitalize the management and the creativity. - Overwatch hit the ground running to massive success, but hasn't materialized Overwatch 2 and has stagnated. - Warcraft III Reforged is a total disaster and abandoned. - WoW has a wide followi…

The conspiracy theorist in me suspects this acquisition is a way for a disgraced ownership and upper-level management to golden-parachute out of the company without having to just quit.

Simply quitting would be seen as a sign of failure and would leave a lot of their performance-based compensation behind... But getting bought, that's a different story.

Re: Microsoft to Acquire Activision Blizzard

#673

Post by bduerst »

agd wrote: post #53

With these kind of acquisitions, other companies are going to find it very hard to compete with Game Pass. I think we'll look back in 10 years and wonder why antitrust regulators did nothing, but it may be too late by then.

You could say the same thing about Disney, Netflix, HBO, Apple TV, Amazon prime, etc.

The thing about subscriptions is that consumers tend to buy multiple.

Re: Microsoft to Acquire Activision Blizzard

#674

Post by Nbox9 »

xhrpost wrote: post #655

I have to wonder how much investing in some of today's tech behemoths comes down to viewing them more as a holding company / investment firm and less about their original core products. Microsoft has lost tons of desktop share over the last decade, this should have been a death signal for them but instead amazing acquisitions like Mojang, GitHub, ActBliz have pushed them to an amazing market cap. Similar with FB loos…

I hold Microsoft shares because I think they have a special talent for doubling down on a good investment. Microsoft has no problems investing $$$ into risky but plausible product lines. They bombed Windows Phone, but their sass offerings were in a perfect place to take advantage of 2020.

Re: Microsoft to Acquire Activision Blizzard

#675

Post by birdyrooster »

brobdingnagians wrote: post #667

Activision Blizzard has been seriously mismanaged. They have very nice IP and a fanbase that is still somewhat loyal because of the glories of the past, but Microsoft would need to revitalize the management and the creativity. - Overwatch hit the ground running to massive success, but hasn't materialized Overwatch 2 and has stagnated. - Warcraft III Reforged is a total disaster and abandoned. - WoW has a wide followi…

lol how was the Diablo 2 re-release. Seriously has been upsetting to watch their fall.

Re: Microsoft to Acquire Activision Blizzard

#676

Post by umeshunni »

palijer wrote: post #84
agd wrote: post #53

With these kind of acquisitions, other companies are going to find it very hard to compete with Game Pass. I think we'll look back in 10 years and wonder why antitrust regulators did nothing, but it may be too late by then.

I looked around for a while, a d I can't actually find a list of any mergers that antitrust regulations actually prevented. I'm assuming some survivor bias is involved here and we don't hear about the ones that stopped early, but it seems that what I and most folks assume antitrust regulations do is different than what actually happens. I remember the Sirius/XM merge and how those were the only two players in the mar…

Visa/Plaid very recently

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/visa-and-plaid-abandon-merger...

Re: Microsoft to Acquire Activision Blizzard

#677

Post by screye »

awill wrote: post #572

Microsoft is not building the future of gaming, they're buying it. Seeing a bunch of excellent third-party cross-platform games become xbox-exclusive is really sad for gamers. Microsoft has not been making money on xbox. They're not investing money made with xbox. They're using Office/Windows/Azure funds to boost Xbox, and it's not a fair fight. Sony and Nintendo don't have that kind of money. I get Sony has acquired…

Microsoft just purchased a bunch of has-been IPs that still have great amount of nostalgia.

When Zenimax was acquired, it was coming off a couple of failed fallout games, a meh ESO and delayed Elder scrolls 6. Similarly, Activision-Blizzard has been in the midst of COD and Overwatch losing their gaming monopoly to Fortnite, Blizzard failing to create a good game for about 5 years and the big workplace lawsuit.

It feels like Microsoft is taking on the challenge of reviving these companies back to being the powerhouses of old. In that sense it is a big challenge and not as simple as just buying the future of gaming.

If they wanted to do that, they'd probably try to buy Naughty Dog or Fortnite.

It's like acquiring Fiat Chrysler or General motors. Still big names, but clearly not the 'brands of the decade'. You wouldn't buy them to form a monopoly. You'd buy them to revive the brand.

Re: Microsoft to Acquire Activision Blizzard

#678

Post by shadowgovt »

awill wrote: post #572

Microsoft is not building the future of gaming, they're buying it. Seeing a bunch of excellent third-party cross-platform games become xbox-exclusive is really sad for gamers. Microsoft has not been making money on xbox. They're not investing money made with xbox. They're using Office/Windows/Azure funds to boost Xbox, and it's not a fair fight. Sony and Nintendo don't have that kind of money. I get Sony has acquired…

Honestly, there are so many games these days, I no longer notice when something goes exclusive.

I hear Horizon: Zero Dawn was great. Didn't play it. Didn't pick it up when it stopped being an exclusive because it was no longer new by the time it hit PC.

My dance card is so full of Steam Early Access that I don't even have time for exclusives these days.

Re: Microsoft to Acquire Activision Blizzard

#679

Post by pram »

brobdingnagians wrote: post #667

Activision Blizzard has been seriously mismanaged. They have very nice IP and a fanbase that is still somewhat loyal because of the glories of the past, but Microsoft would need to revitalize the management and the creativity. - Overwatch hit the ground running to massive success, but hasn't materialized Overwatch 2 and has stagnated. - Warcraft III Reforged is a total disaster and abandoned. - WoW has a wide followi…

Theres no speculation on WoW, it has been dying since Cataclysm which was released a decade ago.

Re: Microsoft to Acquire Activision Blizzard

#680

Post by arrosenberg »

panick21_ wrote: post #261
atlasunshrugged wrote: post #34

I wonder if this will trigger any antitrust lawsuits. I know Microsoft isn't that of the 90's but it seems like the political situation is ripe for politicians to go after "big tech" and this is a pretty major acquisition that will help Xbox be the dominant player in terms of content.

Anti-Trust is not magic, its no longer a tool politicans can wield like a club against things they don't like. The courts have a definition and you actually have to prove abuse for those law-suits to do anything. Doing so if you can do it at all takes decades. Unless politicians make major changes to the anti-trust law its unlikely to be effective. And doing so would require major action in congress. The president co…

You don't need Congressional action - the laws never changed, the definition of the courts did. Biden is appointing federal judges faster than even Trump did, so the opinion of the courts may be shifting very quickly.
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