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Microsoft buys Activision Blizzard

toughasnails

Guest
What are the chances of Sony following suit with Japanese companies? Their just lost future CoDs after losing future Bethesda games. Acquiring Square Enix would for example give them all their popular JRPG IPs plus few viable Eidos IPs like Tomb Raider.
 

:Flash:

Arcane
Joined
Apr 9, 2013
Messages
6,453
Interesting development. Microsoft seems to be buying all video game developers.

Can someone explain how Arcanum was bought by Acti-Blizz?
They have basically always owned it. Arcanum was published by Sierra, which at that point was already owned by Vivendi. Also, Vivendi had bought the company that owned Blizzard since before it was even called Blizzard at the same time as they bought Sierra, sometime in the mid-90s.
When Activision and Vivendi merged they called themselves Activision-Blizzard, because Blizzard was the big name that was owned by Vivendi. Could also have called themselves Activision-Vivendi, or Activision-Sierra, or whatever.
 

ADL

Prophet
Joined
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Messages
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Nantucket
What are the chances of Sony following suit with Japanese companies? Their just lost future CoDs after losing future Bethesda games. Acquiring Square Enix would for example give them all their popular JRPG IPs plus few viable Eidos IPs like Tomb Raider.
Sony could afford Square Enix but it would wipe them out pretty much. They'll just continue to pay for timed exclusivity deals, essentially the same thing.

Those timed exclusivity deals fucking suck too because Epic is paying for a year on top of Sony's 1-2 years.
 

Riddler

Arcane
Patron
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Messages
2,353
Bubbles In Memoria
The main question for the near future will be "how to pirate a game from "game pass"-like service?".
You won't. In the near future important parts of the code will run on MS servers only. Unless someone hacks those servers, these games will not be available to run independently.

Well, you could probably pretend that you live in a low cost region to get regional pricing.
 

OSK

Arcane
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Codex 2012 Codex 2013 Codex 2014 PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Make the Codex Great Again! Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 BattleTech Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire
Microsoft: We need to take the Apple approach and make Windows a walled garden. We'll get a cut of all the software sales!
Gaben: Like hell you will! I'll make Linux a viable gaming platform!
Microsoft: Good luck.

*Years pass*

Gaben: Hey Microsoft. Checkout out this Linux-powered console!
Microsoft: Oh yeah? Well how will your little gaming storefront fare if it has no games to sell?
Gaben: ...shit.
 

Gaznak

Learned
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The Fortress Unvanquishable
1. Setting a goal to buy out one of our direct competitors.
2. Gently fueling the toxic theme of sexual harassment and "bro culture".
3. Waiting for the collapse of shares and the chaos of management.
4. Buying out a direct competitor for an amount significantly less than the company was worth before the start of a series of scandals.
5. PROFIT!

But if speaking frankly, I don't care a f***ing shit about everything concerning modern 'gaming industry'. They all may buy and sell each other as often as they will, they may 'harass' each other as much as they will, they may fly to Pluto in Musk space-can and never come back - I will sit and play my favourite old games until I die in serenity. Not 'remastered', not 'reduxed', not 'anniversary-edition'ed - just pure ancient shit in WinXP via DOSBox or whatever it runs on.
 

Daemongar

Arcane
Joined
Nov 21, 2010
Messages
4,706
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Wisconsin
Codex Year of the Donut
No. It's not positive. I'm guessing playing any game under the MS umbrella will require a game pass and XBox or Windows 11. Microsoft doesn't strangle acquisitions because they have time on their side. Unlike EA, they don't need to turn a quick profit. They can lose money. Shareholders do not buy shares of "Xbox" they buy shares of MS.

Don't like the purple haired raping your favorite IP? Well, so what. Every game can be shit as you won't be paying for individual games, you'll be paying month-to-month for all games on site or the "RPG Games" pass, which includes golden oldies for Retro Gamerz. There will eventually be a self appointed group at MS to clean up problematic content in older games, which will be done regardless of if you give a shit or not. They won't care: you can't impact their business model.

Like playing Baldur's Gate 2? Well, you posted something not very nice on a message board. We are removing your Windows Gaming rights. Now, since that is bound to the TPM of your computer, don't try creating another account. Also, all installations of software will be completed through the Microsoft Store, you no longer need (or will be able to) install your own software. Good luck getting a warez or unmolested version of VTmB on there.
 

Cross

Arcane
Joined
Oct 14, 2017
Messages
2,983
On one hand, Activision/Blizzard haven't developed a game I remotely cared about in like what, almost 2 decades? (They're credited as publisher for Sekiro, but they didn't even fund its development, just helped with marketing and distribution in the west.)

On the other hand, it's Microsoft, which is the company responsible for arguably the most amount of decline in gaming.

If this leads to Call of Duty becoming exclusive to Xbox and Sony in turn deciding to develop their own exclusive Call of Duty clone, it will lead to popamole the likes of which we have never seen.

:dead:
 

vota DC

Augur
Joined
Aug 23, 2016
Messages
2,258
We can get Bethesda to finally make Warcraft Adventures
They could do a Dark Reign remake. The only RTS with realistic artillery,also underground and camo units were cool, It only lacked navy (but had difference between foot, wheel, truck, hover and Flying).

Is Sierra under Activision? That means a new birthright? While the paper rpg Is obscure the PC game was great. It was an improved Total War (except Battle physics) and It came BEFORE Shogun Total War!
 

Catacombs

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Aug 10, 2017
Messages
5,928
Who is going to buy Steam? M$ or Dizney?
Amazon. Seriously.

1. Setting a goal to buy out one of our direct competitors.
2. Gently fueling the toxic theme of sexual harassment and "bro culture".
3. Waiting for the collapse of shares and the chaos of management.
4. Buying out a direct competitor for an amount significantly less than the company was worth before the start of a series of scandals.
5. PROFIT!
This is precisely what happened. The only winners with this deal are the shareholders, many of whom are glad to walk away from the bad press and public outrage with a multi-million-dollar pay day.
 
Joined
Dec 5, 2010
Messages
1,611
Arcanum and VTMBloodlines certainly deserve another chance to shine with a new coat of paint and a larger audience.

The warcraft IP was also going to waste.

The loss of something like COD seems huge for playstation (on top of having already lost the bethesda stuff). They'll become the other nintendo, exclusives-only.

MS wants to make sure there's nothing left for amazon to buy.
 
Last edited:

Infinitron

I post news
Staff Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2011
Messages
97,228
Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
I don't think Activision ever had the rights to do anything other than resell the original VTMB. They would not be allowed to remake it without Paradox approval.
 

J_C

One Bit Studio
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Developer
Joined
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Messages
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Project: Eternity Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. Pathfinder: Wrath
Like playing Baldur's Gate 2? Well, you posted something not very nice on a message board. We are removing your Windows Gaming rights. Now, since that is bound to the TPM of your computer, don't try creating another account. Also, all installations of software will be completed through the Microsoft Store, you no longer need (or will be able to) install your own software. Good luck getting a warez or unmolested version of VTmB on there.
There are no big budget games in 202X, which worth the hassle. So what if you lose the right to play Halo 12 or World of Warcraft 3? These games are like junk food, you eat them then forget about them. The fine meals are the indie games or AA games, which are not under the Microsoft umbrella. And you can still own those.
 

Ryzer

Prophet
Vatnik
Joined
May 1, 2020
Messages
5,215
Microsoft is now the Sauron of the video games industry. One company to rule them all.
eye-of-sauron-windows1-640x353.jpg
 
Joined
Dec 5, 2010
Messages
1,611
I don't think Activision ever had the rights to do anything other than resell the original VTMB. They would not be allowed to remake it without Paradox approval.
There are always licensing deal technicalities but I don't see why Paradox wouldn't be interested, it should increase the value of their IP. Particularly given that they are interested in making & selling a sequel.
 

Gahbreeil

Learned
Joined
Feb 9, 2021
Messages
783
Location
Asarlaíocht
They have basically always owned it. Arcanum was published by Sierra, which at that point was already owned by Vivendi. Also, Vivendi had bought the company that owned Blizzard since before it was even called Blizzard at the same time as they bought Sierra, sometime in the mid-90s.
When Activision and Vivendi merged they called themselves Activision-Blizzard, because Blizzard was the big name that was owned by Vivendi. Could also have called themselves Activision-Vivendi, or Activision-Sierra, or whatever.
I completely forgot it was published by Sierra. I guess Troika sold their game entire to the publisher upon it being a flop or it was the contract from start.
 

Maxie

Wholesome Chungus
Patron
Glory to Ukraine
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Messages
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Grantham, UK
Daily reminder that Gates tried buying based Nintendo but Japs said he doesn't understand gaming so they don't want to have anything to do with him
 

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