Microsoft buys Activision/Blizzard

[CP5670]

They like subscriptions because once they get you hooked on their service, they can slowly increase the price over time. Similar to the telecom industry.

 

[quikah]

I don't like the complete trend to everything being subscription based. Especially for things like office and Photoshop, professional programs. But I do like it for streaming shows and movies better than what we had before.

For games I like having both options. To buy it as a one off or have it as a part of a subscription.

For the price of 3 AAA games I can subscribe to ultimate game pass for a year right now.

It's kinda starting to make more sense. Let's see how long the price stays 15 a month when they start delivering more AAA content with it and how that balances out.

Office or Photoshop is something you use all the time, year after year. A game or TV show is something you will potentially watch/play once and be done with it. Rental model works for things you are not going to be using all the time.

 

[MrSquished]

Office or Photoshop is something you use all the time, year after year. A game or TV show is something you will potentially watch/play once and be done with it. Rental model works for things you are not going to be using all the time.

Exactly. It's great to consume content you will not use all the time or just try and don't go back or rarely go back. Explore new shows, new games. It can work for games.

It's annoying for things you need all the time because now you are stuck with it month after month year after year with no variety. Just the same product you used to get for one price

 

[GodisanAtheist]

I haven't touched anything from Activision/Blizzard in a decade or more, so that whole element of this deal going through means basically nothing to me.

The hard drive toward Gamepass does worry me. MS isn't stupid, they'll make sure everything on GP is available for purchase through Steam for the time being, but as subscription numbers grow, its really just a matter of time before we get our first GP exclusive releases, then suddenly stuff only releases on GP and nowhere else.

MS will make sure GP is available anywhere (PC/Xbox/Mobile Phones for streaming/Hell even PS) but we'll be knee deep in the "everything for rent" space by then.

I know its somewhat hypocritical. People did and still do complain about Steam and Digital Storefronts and "not really owning games" even today, and this is really just the next evolution of that. But as someone who waits for sales and plays a handful of older games every year Gamepass definitely is not the value proposition to me that it is for others that are closer to the bleeding edge.

To quote Grandpa Simpson "I was with 'it' once! But then 'it' changed! 'It' happened to me and it will happen to you!"

 

[BudAshes]

Activision already ruined Blizzard so I don't see how this matters much.

 

[BFG10K]

This is terrible news. The last thing the gaming industry needs is more consolidation. We’re already seeing the effect in streaming and tech companies. The tech world is basically run by Microsoft, Google, Facebook and Apple.

It’s only a matter of time before they lock out Call of Duty from other platforms. “Oh but Sony already had exclusives” is missing the point. I don’t even care about consoles. Exclusives are anti-consumer and bad for gamers in general.

And make no mistake, they’re going to push the games to a subscription model on the metrosexual app store, a store which is such a failure its been shown to be worse than the already cancerous Denuvo. In some cases you have to reinstall Windows to fix non-working UWP games.

Also once again it appears sexual misconduct gets a free pass with no punishment for anyone, only golden parachutes. Multiple complaints have already been logged to police, so where’s the criminal investigation into Kotick? Why isn’t he on trial in front of a judge? Oh that’s right, because once companies get big enough, they’re immune from the law.

 

[BFG10K]

So it turns out these acquisitions can be quite fast after all. It took only 2 months from start to finish:

Microsoft started acquisition talks with Activision Blizzard 3 days after harassment allegations surfaced

On that same day, Xbox lead Phil Spencer penned an email to his staff in which he said that he was "disturbed and deeply troubled by the...

www.techspot.com

 

[DaaQ]

It's official.

https://www.axios.com/2023/10/13/microsoft-activision-deal-closes

 

[BFG10K]

Millions of gamer voices suddenly went silent.

MS have already shown their colors given Starfield isn't on PS5 and never will be. But the clown regulators still approved this. And in 15 years all those "guarantees" from Microsoft will gone. Good luck regulating that.

History has proven time and time again with mega conglomerate corporations, it's cheaper to keep breaking the law and just pay the fines. No chance the protected class like Satya Nadella will ever be sent to jail.

 

[Dannar26]

The hard drive toward Gamepass does worry me. MS isn't stupid, they'll make sure everything on GP is available for purchase through Steam for the time being, but as subscription numbers grow, its really just a matter of time before we get our first GP exclusive releases, then suddenly stuff only releases on GP and nowhere else.

This is what scares me the most. I'm so tired of everything in my life turning into a subscription.

I miss having a shelf of actual games with cool box art.