Company News Bethesda acquired by Microsoft

[Shadenuat]

what does it matter? western developers don't make RPGs anymore. although I guess Fallout becoming console exclusive would be ironic and memetical somewhat

 

[The_Mask]

Do you think this will force Sony to develop new and interesting IPs to counterbalance this move?

Spoiler

 

[J_C]

Do you think this will force Sony to develop new and interesting IPs to counterbalance this move?

Spoiler

They are making a couple of new IPs every generation, and they are usually successful. So you can cut the laughing smiley.

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[jackofshadows]

I guess Fallout becoming console exclusive would be ironic and memetical somewhat

Eh, if it goes to Game Pass (and it'll be there, that's the whole point) - it'll be available on any possible platform. Even on a fucking phone via xCloud.

For that kind of meme Sony had to buy out Beths instead, then - oh yeah, most likely. Wanna play some Fallout, boi? Be glad to buy PS and pay the fuck up.

 

[Flying Dutchman]

I wonder how long it takes M$ to recoup 7.5 Billion minus Bethesda's operating expenses, Altman's jet, and settling Vlatko's sexual harassment lawsuits.

 

[OSK]

I guess Fallout becoming console exclusive would be ironic and memetical somewhat

It's more likely that these games become Microsoft Store exclusives. They want to build that Apple-esque walled garden where the only software available is available through them for a cut. They are already practicing with Windows 10 S.

 

[maxdest]

What Sony don't realize yet is that Microsoft has already won and Bethesda just brings in the timelines. Steam is also on notice.

The next console generation is probably the last that matters (same for gaming PCs) as the world moves towards the cloud and streaming.
Microsoft are one of the big 3 (Amazon, MS, Google). Sony are not in the game (unless amazon/google purchase).

Software is king, hardware is nothing. MS realise this, and will probably release thier games on PS5, but with a delay.

PS: I agree would rather keep my own hardware / gaming PC , but the cloud will just make it non starter for most , then it will be a niche , then most developers wont build for it... etc.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Carmack would work with Nazi Germany on software to automate gas chambers if it meant he could advance his own tech and he could make it open source.

John Carmack is the modern-day Wernher von Braun?

"And what is it that put America in the forefront of the nuclear nations? And what is it that will make it possible to spend twenty billion dollars of your money to put some clown on the moon? Well, it was good old American know how, that's what, as provided by good old Americans like Dr. Wernher von Braun!"

Gather 'round while I sing you of Wernher von Braun
A man whose allegiance
Is ruled by expedience
Call him a Nazi, he won't even frown
"Ha, Nazi, Schmazi" says Wernher von Braun

Don't say that he's hypocritical
Say rather that he's apolitical
"Once the rockets are up, who cares where they come down?
That's not my department" say Wernher von Braun

Some have harsh words for this man of renown
But some think our attitude
Should be one of gratitude
Like the widows and cripples in old London town
Who owe their large pensions to Wernher von Braun

You too may be a big hero
Once you've learned to count backwards to zero
"In German, oder Englisch, I know how to count down
Und I'm learning Chinese!" says Wernher von Braun

- "Wernher von Braun", Tom Lehrer, 1965

 

[Mortmal]

Microsoft paid $7.2 Billion...The moment when you realize Skyrim is worth more than Star Wars. Before the sequel trilogy no less.

It's not only Elder Scroll IP, it also include several IP under many studio on Zenimax.

Fallout
Doom
Dishonored

and probably more of lesser known IP

The sum of it is not worth it, i dont understand them. What are they thinking ? With 7.5 billion you can create new ips , hire the best and create real killer aps. Bethesda has not produced anything worth of note since skyrim . Recently my little nephew asked me to buy him elderscrolls 6 , he dont believe me such an old game , way before he was born, does not have a sequel yet.

 

[Kazuki]

The sum of it is not worth it, i dont understand them. What are they thinking ? With 7.5 billion you can create new ips , hire the best and create real killer aps. Bethesda has not produced anything worth of note since skyrim . Recently my little nephew asked me to buy him elderscrolls 6 , he dont believe me such an old game , way before he was born, does not have a sequel yet.

I think the sum atleast in the eye company decision maker is worth of it, dare i say it was cheaper than initial worth?

If Fallout 76 is not a such a huge failure, the sum will be a lot higher than what we seeing right now.

Fallout 76 is commercial failure and damaging the company brand so much not just Bethesda but Zenimax as whole that Microsoft is able to Purchase the company less than it initial worth.

 

[agris]

Darth Roxor well played, rat

 

[baud]

Microsoft paid $7.2 Billion...The moment when you realize Skyrim is worth more than Star Wars. Before the sequel trilogy no less.

It's not only Elder Scroll IP, it also include several IP under many studio on Zenimax.

Fallout
Doom
Dishonored

and probably more of lesser known IP

The sum of it is not worth it, i dont understand them. What are they thinking ? With 7.5 billion you can create new ips , hire the best and create real killer aps. Bethesda has not produced anything worth of note since skyrim . Recently my little nephew asked me to buy him elderscrolls 6 , he dont believe me such an old game , way before he was born, does not have a sequel yet.

They buy the studios which have made a few killers app, with teams that already in place, so that you don't have to find, hire the best and build the teams.
And (as pointed by others in the thread), M$ buying Bethesda prevents Sony from doing so (and considering the exclusives Sony was buying recently from Bethesda, it wasn't impossible Sony was also interested in the acquisition).

It's a lot, but at least it makes more sense than Activision buying King.com for 6 B$ in 2016

 

[DemonKing]

MS has a current Market Cap of c$1,000 billion

Sony's current Market Cap is <$100 Billion

That right there tells you how they'll struggle to compete. Dropping $7.5 billion is chump change for MS. EA is already coming to gamepass, Bethesda is coming - how long will Activision/Ubisoft hold out?

 

[The_Mask]

EA is already coming to gamepass, Bethesda is coming - how long will Activision/Ubisoft hold out?

Technically Activision still has most of the Blizzard stuff, which even if, say, WoW stops being played tomorrow, there are still things there they could work with, including: WarCraft, StarCraft, Defense of the Ancients, Diablo and so on.
And then Ubisoft is being piddled by Tencent. Even though they're French, they're not going to surrender that easily.

 

[Cleveland Mark Blakemore]

no I was saying that Microsofts shares being lower because of the Zenimax buyout. Its funny as he's talking and the share price is going further and further down as he talks. Its like that scene in Fun with Dick and Jane where Jim Carrey is talking and the companies stocks go to 0 with every word he says.

I love that movie and I was thinking the exact same thing. The stock was flaming out as he described how great the merger was going to be.

(If you've never seen it, it is one of Jim Carrey's funniest films ... and also the most realistic)

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Only the ones with their large frontal floatation devices. Very bouncy.

 

[jac8awol]

What's the big deal? Soulless studios that lost the magic a long time ago and are currently only focused on making graphically-impressive but 100% safe and inoffensive dumbed-down shovelware, amalgamate into one bigger corporate entity. If anything it makes my life easier as all the generic 50hp slimes are joining up into a 1000hp generic slime that I can more easily avoid.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

So, another resurrection?

So... Elderscrolls 6 could come with a Genie companion, named Courtesanna.

And fallout comes with a talking paperclip....

Hmmmmm

It does have a bad drinking problem.

 

[Ninjerk]

From a Russkii subreddit:

Employees of Bethesda, when Microsoft makes them fix 1000 bugs before release.

 

[Wunderbar]

It's counterproductive for them to fix bugs right away. Better prolong bugfixing for the suckers to keep paying gamepass rent.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

I partly feel bad for Bethesda because their games are complex and naturally lend themselves to having lots of bugs. At the same time, there are unofficial patches for their games. Not everything these patches do may be in alignment with their vision for the game, but they still fix thousands of things that are definitely bugs. They re-release games with the same bugs that were fixed by the community years ago. There is no excuse for that.
Compare it to Warhorse Studios -- KCD was rather buggy at release but they have fixed a lot of bugs. Sure, not all of them, but that's more than Bethesda has ever done.

Anyways, reminds me of Smejki's post about a major bug that was caused by fixing another bug

Again, if you provide me with the cam location, Time of day, and weather conditions, we can check properties of the site, and setting of the NPCs if you happen to identify them.

This sounds like playtesting hell.

It is. After a year of nothing wrong reported we found in October that half the monastery is fucked up in this regard. And only after somebody fixed some global parameters which finally changed the state of the monastery from "behaves within expected margins by accident" to "wtf why is everybody blind"?

 

[J_C]

Steam is also on notice.

If it comes to that, Steam will make their own game streaming service, I'm pretty sure of that.

 

[Shitty Kitty]

Steam is also on notice.

If it comes to that, Steam will make their own game streaming service, I'm pretty sure of that.

Kind of weird that they waited so l-

*looks at TF2 update history*
*remembers that we're still waiting for fucking Half-Life 3*

never mind

 

[Van-d-all]

Steam is also on notice.

If it comes to that, Steam will make their own game streaming service, I'm pretty sure of that.

Was thinking the same thing, however there's legal stuff behind this and I bet a large part of bigger publishers won't allow their games to be a part of such service, to for example launch their own (pointlessly trying to copy successful ideas is a major industry practice). Still, given the volume of Steam library any form of subscription would pose a serious competition to all existing ones.