Apples to Oranges much?
Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard King for $69 Billion on 2023-10-13
- Thread starter Rangers
- Start date
in regards to what ?
My issue is that Sony doesn't even try to pretend and wrap their issues into being about the market at all.
I personally have no issue with exclusively or marketing deals. (inc SFV)
But this is coming from the company that made SFV exclusive for a generation.
If COD is the premier FPS that consoles can't live without then SFV is the fighting equivalent. Same for FF7 remake etc.
All games was also multi platform for decades, no different than COD.
Xbox could say (although won't) that Sony doesn't want the deal so they can have the normal discussions when the current deal is running out.
But to expand and not reduce access to COD that Sony said is so important we have had discussion with Nintendo and will be bringing it to their console, which has more gamers.
So expanding who can play it not reducing it.
I personally have no issue with exclusively or marketing deals. (inc SFV)
But this is coming from the company that made SFV exclusive for a generation.
If COD is the premier FPS that consoles can't live without then SFV is the fighting equivalent. Same for FF7 remake etc.
All games was also multi platform for decades, no different than COD.
Xbox could say (although won't) that Sony doesn't want the deal so they can have the normal discussions when the current deal is running out.
But to expand and not reduce access to COD that Sony said is so important we have had discussion with Nintendo and will be bringing it to their console, which has more gamers.
So expanding who can play it not reducing it.
Silent_Buddha
Legend
I doubt MS cares about the money COD brings in. Activision as a whole brought in 8.8B in 2021 net and it was their biggest year ever
Activision 2021 earnings: Best year ever, record revenues and income
Activision just delivered two consecutive years of record-breaking growth with $8.8 billion in net revenues through 2021.www.tweaktown.com
Microsoft on the other hand
- Microsoft annual revenue for 2021 was $168.088B, a 17.53% increase from 2020.
- Microsoft annual revenue for 2022 was $198.27B, a 17.96% increase from 2021.
Wrong way to look at it. If that were the case then MS would just jettison numerous initiatives of theirs. Android and iOS app development, Linux integration, Accessibility products, etc.
But to put it into more concrete terms of why COD is so important as a multiplatform IP (similar to Minecraft).
- In 2021, Microsoft's More Personal Computing brought in ~54 billion USD.
- Activision-Blizzard's 8.8 billion would be roughly 16.3% of their total revenue for that division.
- Xbox Games (PC and console) is just part of that 54 billion. So Activision-Blizzard's revenue would be an even larger percentage of revenue.
- Warzone alone (a F2P product) makes ~5.25 million USD a day or almost 2 billion USD a year.
- Just that alone is roughly 3.7% of More Personal Computing's revenue and a larger percent of Xbox Games
- I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that most players played Warzone on PlayStation consoles, but I can't find it again, so take this with some salt.
- If my memory is correct, that's a huge chunk of money MS would just be throwing away.
- That doesn't even include sales or DLC from it's mainline COD products.
- COD WWII sold at least 12 million copies on PS4. If it released today and sold at PS5 prices (70 USD) that's over 840 million USD.
- Basically, just assume that currently each mainline release will average more than 1 billion USD on PlayStation when including DLC.
MS would like to keep COD on PlayStation due to the revenue that it generates, just like they keep all Minecraft products on PlayStation. You don't spend ~70 billion USD to then throw away ~2 billion a year in revenue from the entity that you just purchased. If anything, they'll try to play coy with it in an attempt to get Sony to agree to allow GamePass on PlayStation but they most likely want COD to remain available on PlayStation.
Keep in mind that Minecraft is currently by far the most popular and valuable gaming IP that Microsoft owns ... and it's on PlayStation.
Regards,
SB
Like comparing a huge company with a load of famous multiplatform franchises with hits like COD with......Nixes as if they are equivalent examples?
Yet at the same time not seeing COD going exclusive in 3 years as a not much of a big deal?
I also compared them to bungie. Aren't they just different sizes of Apple ? If Destiny 3 is released on playstation/pc only would that not be any different than in 3 years cod being on xbox/pc ?
What's more is that Microsoft has apparently put the offer out there to extend the contract. We don't know what is in the contract so we can't say anything about it. But if sony accepts the contract than there wouldn't be exclusivity to xbox/pc if the purchase goes through. Have we heard of such an offer for any sony acquired studio to do the same ?
I don't think I am wrong to look at it that way.
COD is just one part of Activision it is not the sole source of that 8.8B in revenue. Even of COD's contribution to that 8.8B only a % of that is tied into the sony eccosystem.
So the question is how many customers will migrate to cod on mobile or cod on pc or cod on xbox and how many they will loose. Remember Sony takes a % of each sale of the base game and each sale any other content coming in.
That is what MS has to factor in when deciding on what to do. My guess is for MS the contract to the end of the generation is a smart move. The xbox next is announced with the next gen COD as exclusive. People who want COD and activision/blizzard games will know that they have to get them on other platforms. That would likely be the lowest point of deflection for users.
People keep saying that MS wants to keep COD multiplatform , but it sounds like from Jim that MS doesn't really care outside of getting the deal passed. Remember COD WW2 released in 2017. The ps4 released in 2013. The ps5 doesn't have the install base in comparison to the ps4 to drive the game to the same sales
Well you are wrong.
Have you seen that much of a ruckus when MS bought Ninja Theory and made Hell Blade exclusive? No.
Then you should better find equivalent scenarios that shaked the industry.
How big is Bungie and how many popular franchises do they own again compared to the purchase of Blizzard Activision?
Have you seen that much of a ruckus when MS bought Ninja Theory and made Hell Blade exclusive? No.
Then you should better find equivalent scenarios that shaked the industry.
I think the strongest driver to keeping some aspects of COD as multiplatform is it prevents other titles from filling the void. Gamers with only a PlayStation and without a PC or Switch or Tablet, Phone, or TV without xCloud, will find some other title to move to.
It's an established cross platform multi player title. Where community size counts for a lot. As its already established and huge, no point reducing it.
They would just keep it multiplatform, although be stupid for them to say forever even if that was the plan. Not that, that would appease Sony anyway.
They would have so much exclusives coming out of AKB regardless and that's what they are looking at. Side affect is taking marketing rights away from Sony. They probably won't even do content exclusives even timed for it.
Also Jim's putting the record straight. What did he put straight precisely?
3 years? Doesn't several cover that.
They would just keep it multiplatform, although be stupid for them to say forever even if that was the plan. Not that, that would appease Sony anyway.
They would have so much exclusives coming out of AKB regardless and that's what they are looking at. Side affect is taking marketing rights away from Sony. They probably won't even do content exclusives even timed for it.
Also Jim's putting the record straight. What did he put straight precisely?
3 years? Doesn't several cover that.
Well that sounds really productive for conversation.
I have seen huge ruckus's whenever MS does something. Remember the big shit storm stirred up with Rise of the Tomb raider and the exclusivity ? Remember the Bethesda purchase ? People complain about MS all the time not having games or exclusives but as soon as they take a step to remedy that everyone starts complaining. They are doing the same thing sony is doing which is buying up companies that make games so they can have a more competitive offering.
That could be the case. Some might see the price of continuing to play cod with their friends as a simple game pass ultimate subscription and using their new smart tv or using steam on their pc or using their windows device or ios or andriod device. Some might even seeing picking up an xbox series s or x as option to continue. For MS trying to figure this out is important. I like how you say gamers with only a playstation and without a pc , switch , tablet , phone or tv without xcloud. I think to myself is such a thing really even possible let alone possible in 3 years? What is the over lap of a person who owns a ps5 and doesn't own a pc, switch , tablet , phone or tv with xcloud ?
Silent_Buddha
Legend
Phil Spencer was willing to guarantee that it would remain on PS for at least 3 years after Sony's current deal with Activision ended. There was nothing about Phil saying that he would then pull COD from PS. It's far more likely that at the end of that 3 year extension, MS would then evaluate player population and engagement on PS and determine if it was still economically viable to continue development on PS.
Hell, that 3 year extension even included MS not making any content exclusive to MS. IE - they wouldn't make content exclusive to Xbox in the same way that content is currently exclusive to PlayStation. Reading between the lines, it's far more likely that once that 3 year extension was over, then COD would continue to sell on PlayStation, but MS would then be free to make exclusive content for Xbox, similar to what existed in the X360 generation for Xbox or the PS4 and PS5 generation for PlayStation.
Basically, exactly like they are doing with Minecraft.
Regards,
SB
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There is nothing to say that Phil wouldn't pull it from PS either. Again it was rumored that Sony had the marketing rights to another 2 call of duties. With a release every year that brings us to 2024 . IF MS extended out another 3 years that is 2027. 2027 would be the 7th year of this generation. At that point when the ps6 and xbox next are releasing they are both reset to 0. If there was ever a good time to make something exclusive it would be then before a customer locks in a platform. Announce Next gen COD being Xbox/Xcloud/ Steam exclusive and before anyone can even purchase a ps6 they know that they wouldn't have access to that content there.
Minecraft is a singular IP , you can just as easily point towards Bethesda with Starfield. MS will handle each IP differently and as they see fit. If Sony doesn't want another 3 years of COD on their platform I doubt MS really cares at the end of the day.
You want to see so much what you want to see, that you often bring examples that support the argument against you. ZeniMax is another case where Sony has no equivalent.
Tell me again how much people made a fuss about Ninja Theory? Barely much. I mean....these guys had a history of supporting Playstation after they left the OG XBOX. How about Playground games? Mojang? Nope.
Clearly it is not whenever MS does something. It is what they did in specific cases that shook the industry.
You bring these examples as if they support your case but you do the opposite.
Still waiting for those like to like examples.
You're all missing the point, focusing only on the initial game cost. Giving Sony access to the MTX on warzone is giving up 30% of the billions that it makes.
Again you said apples and oranges. But they aren't different things they are the same thing. Sony is buying up companies just like MS is. If you are upset about companies removing content from other companies with money then we can go back to the playstation and tomb raider 2 if you want. Its hilarious to me that people try and act like Sony didn't purchase its way into this industry and doesn't continue to purchase up 3rd party developers to strengthen their postion in the industry.
Now if you are upset that MS is able to out sony... sony then that is on you. But to me if a company purchases another company and locks that content up it doesn't matter what company does the purchasing or what company is purchased. It's all the same. Perhaps Sony should have fostered its own first person shooters like they were doing in the PS3 years and they would have had strong franchises. Or perhaps Sony's purchase of Bungie will bear fruit for them. But perhaps you should complain to sony for buying companies that don't diversify their offerings.
I think even that view is short sighted. Taking all of those COD/Battlenet user accounts and integrating them into the Xbox ecosystem is a huge get for Microsoft. It's the same thing they got with Minecraft. And it fits into that model where you get people into an ecosystem when they are young and continue to provide them services for the rest of their lives while monetizing that entire process. Works for McDonalds where Happy Meals are the entry point. Works for Google where they have successfully integrated with schools making nearly every kid get a google account. Disney now has a full stack of content starting at early childhood all the way through shows with adult content (rated R or TVMA) on Disney Plus.
Anecdotal but I have a coworker who literally cried. She's a hardcore Playstation fan and Hellblade was an exclusive at one point. She was very upset when they got purchased.
Oh leave the console wars and personal preferences out of this and find me equivalent examples. Still waiting.
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