Microsoft acquires ZeniMax Media (Bethesda, id Software, Arkane + 5 more) [2020-09-21, 2021-03-09]

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Nesh said:
Also rumors are floating that they are trying to enter the Japanese market by purchasing another Japanese company. It could be Konami or Sega. But it would be a huge megaton if it is one of the other bigger companies. It is shocking to even think about it.
Expect them to make the announcement at TGS.

This is why they are the ones making the TGS introduction even though their efforts have been pretty much dead 3 times in a row in Japan
Click to expand...

If MS are smart, they won't go for a big Japanese publisher with history but currently not performing well.

They'd be much better off making a play for multiple smaller publishers or developers that currently have passionate niche followings. Something like Atlus, for example. Just using that as an example as Atlus are owned by Sega.

Although with some of the problems facing some of the bigger Japanese game publishers, it's entirely possible that they might be willing to part with part of their portfolio even if they aren't interested in being acquired.

For example, Konami might be interested in selling off all their non-pachinko related gaming properties and focusing entirely on only pachinko. I'm not sure there's much there that would interest MS, however.

But smaller publishers and developers are where MS has the best chance of growing its presence in the Japanese market, IMO. Sort of like how they started purchasing smaller studios in their current expansion of their internal gaming studios before the big Zenimax deal.

Regards,
SB
 
Nesh said:
Interesting read

https://www.pcgamer.com/what-microsoft-buying-bethesda-means-for-pc-gamers/#:~:text=Microsoft announced today that it,Dishonored and many, many more.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1308051339763613697

Also rumors are floating that they are trying to enter the Japanese market by purchasing another Japanese company. It could be Konami or Sega. But it would be a huge megaton if it is one of the other bigger companies. It is shocking to even think about it.
Expect them to make the announcement at TGS.

This is why they are the ones making the TGS introduction even though their efforts have been pretty much dead 3 times in a row in Japan
Click to expand...
things have just changed. Epic mentioned that Apple is the 3rd most profitable company in gaming yet they never released a console. Thing is..., is this going to affect either Sony or Nintendo? Is this meant to be in equal terms with them? 'Cos this might not be the case
 
Apple is on their own class versus sony/ms. 1.5years ago numbers were like this:

Apple says there are now 1.4 billion active Apple devices, which basically covers anything running on one of the company’s software platforms; iPhones, Macs, iPads, Apple TVs, iPods, and Apple Watches are included in this category, while accessories like AirPods aren’t. Of those devices, 900 million are active iPhones in use
Click to expand...
https://www.theverge.com/2019/1/29/...there are now,accessories like AirPods aren't.

I believe in phones apple has something like 40% market share in usa.

Imagine if apple wins the epic lawsuit. Microsoft could close down windows and put 30% tax on steam, gog,... and completely prevent you as a user installing anything that is not approved by ms. It's scary future if apple way becomes the new normal. I really hope apple looses and consumer wins. This has nothing to do what I think about epic, it's all about consumer and freedom to use our devices as we like including installing non platform vendor approved apps.
 
Nesh said:
Interesting read

https://www.pcgamer.com/what-microsoft-buying-bethesda-means-for-pc-gamers/#:~:text=Microsoft announced today that it,Dishonored and many, many more.
Click to expand...
I too agree that the first point in Microsoft's agenda should be to accelerate the coming of the next Elder Scrolls ASAP.
If there's a good way to make money, is to give people what people want. And people want a next-gen Elder Scrolls.
Bethesda planning to launch a follow-up to Skyrim no less than 15 years after the previous game's original release is just idiotic, considering how much money this game made for them. Of course they don't need to go full on Assassin's Creed on the franchise, but giving it the Half Life 3 treatment is probably even worse.

EDIT: Just to put things into perspective:
- Skyrim was released 9 years ago. During the last 9 years, all we got from the numbered Elder Scrolls saga was Skyrim
- Within a period of 9 years, Bethesda launched Morrowind (2001), Oblivion (2006) and Skyrim (2011).

What we got instead was attempts at quick franchise cash grabs that seemed good on an excel sheet but no one in the gaming world asked for, like Elder Scrolls Online, Elder Scrolls Blades and some Elder Scrolls card collecting game. All of which given to different rookie studios other than Bethesda Games Studio. I bet these were all bean-counter initiatives.



manux said:
That's same bullshit we saw in streaming movie/tv-series business year ago. Then the mantra was netflix is going to die as the big boys are coming(apple, disney,...). Business is still as normal, market is big enough to have multiple players. The market shares might change but I seriously doubt any one company could monopolize gaming and serve everyone. If anything gaming market is still very small and ever growing as young people used to gaming become older(more money to consume, make new people who like gaming) and older people who don't like gaming die away. Similarly developing countries become richer and eventually will have resources to spend on gaming.
Click to expand...


This.
Over 6 years ago when they bought Oculus, Facebook probably thought they'd completely own the VR market at this point, yet the reality is they're just another player and they're in fact way behind Sony in VR software and hardware revenue, who only launched one VR headset tied to one platform.
There's no such thing as making a move today that will surely get you first place in one market. Microsoft (or any other) can only make good investments and good decisions and hope for the best, but that alone isn't enough to guarantee anything, much less a friggin' monopoly.



Cyan said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1308788993727709186
Click to expand...
He's talking about one of Sega's stores closing down in Akihabara...
 
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iroboto said:
hmm... what? This guy is just leaving Sega, as a former employee
Click to expand...

I read through the tweets a bit. It may have nothing to do with MS. This guy left Sega in 2008. He is probably referring to an iconic building that Sega has been in the process of closing for quite some time. Today, the "Sega" sign came off the building. Assuming the answering tweets are accurate of course.


edit: and.......ninja'd! By a guy with 4 capital letters in his name. How did I not see that coming!
 
BRiT said:
In an effort to cash in on everyone and their brother being bought up, Blizzard cofounder launches new gaming attempt, Dreamhaven - https://venturebeat.com/2020/09/23/...aime-launches-new-gaming-endeavor-dreamhaven/
Click to expand...
hopefully they are going to make a new Diablo like game or whatever, with the same quality. Some years ago, Hellgate: London looked like one heck of a project, I was about to purchase it on the PC but the reviews weren't good, although the idea was pretty cool.
 
manux said:
Apple is on their own class versus sony/ms. 1.5years ago numbers were like this:


https://www.theverge.com/2019/1/29/18202736/apple-devices-ios-earnings-q1-2019#:~:text=Apple says there are now,accessories like AirPods aren't.

I believe in phones apple has something like 40% market share in usa.

Imagine if apple wins the epic lawsuit. Microsoft could close down windows and put 30% tax on steam, gog,... and completely prevent you as a user installing anything that is not approved by ms. It's scary future if apple way becomes the new normal. I really hope apple looses and consumer wins. This has nothing to do what I think about epic, it's all about consumer and freedom to use our devices as we like including installing non platform vendor approved apps.
Click to expand...


Microsoft seems to have to play by different rules, for example they always must offer browser choice, but Chrome OS does not have to offer any choice in browsers, you can only use Chrome. So no, I doubt that would be allowed either legally (particularly EU) or by public pressure. Apple is allowed to do things others are not.

Also, I'm a bit torn on the whole matter myself. I'm not sure whats right or wrong in the whole debate. The reason Windows is so vulnerable vs Chrome and Mac Os(?) is that you can install anything from anywhere, it's the wild west. Microsoft has no control over what you choose to install, and it could be chock full of security holes. That's why schools which are a huge market love Chrome OS. The kids cannot install just anything. This is why MS made Windows S specifically to target schools where Chrome Os was killing them. By restricting choice to a store, you can vett every program on that store (make sure they are not malware, at least to a degree) and provide a much safer and less buggy environment. So there are advantages as well as disadvantages. To me it's more as gray area than black and white. Of course, we understand the 30% cut is a big reason the platform holders like stores. It's hardly all altruistic as they might claim.
 
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manux said:
Imagine if apple wins the epic lawsuit. Microsoft could close down windows and put 30% tax on steam, gog,... and completely prevent you as a user installing anything that is not approved by ms. It's scary future if apple way becomes the new normal. I really hope apple looses and consumer wins. This has nothing to do what I think about epic, it's all about consumer and freedom to use our devices as we like including installing non platform vendor approved apps.
Click to expand...

Considering that not even macOS is like this, I won't be too worrying about Windows. Actually, there's already an edition of Windows 10 called Windows S doing exactly that (which you can only install software from Microsoft Store), "for education market." It's apparently unpopular to the extent that it's been phased out in 2018. It now exists in the fashion of a "S mode" where a Windows Home/Pro installation can be configured to install software only from Microsoft Store, but the customers can disable it if they choose to.
 
Silent_Buddha said:
If MS are smart, they won't go for a big Japanese publisher with history but currently not performing well.

They'd be much better off making a play for multiple smaller publishers or developers that currently have passionate niche followings. Something like Atlus, for example. Just using that as an example as Atlus are owned by Sega.

Although with some of the problems facing some of the bigger Japanese game publishers, it's entirely possible that they might be willing to part with part of their portfolio even if they aren't interested in being acquired.

For example, Konami might be interested in selling off all their non-pachinko related gaming properties and focusing entirely on only pachinko. I'm not sure there's much there that would interest MS, however.

But smaller publishers and developers are where MS has the best chance of growing its presence in the Japanese market, IMO. Sort of like how they started purchasing smaller studios in their current expansion of their internal gaming studios before the big Zenimax deal.

Regards,
SB
Click to expand...
The problem with a Konami is who makes the games ? All of the talent has left and I'n not really aware of a large high quality dev group inside of konami at this time. So Yes they have iconic IP but at the same time MS would either have to buy other studios or spin up studios to take advantage of that. That could be half a decade of work before the IPs get used.

MS can buy up smaller studios but it depends on the cost and how popular the games are. I think Sega would be a good choice. They can buy just sega and its ips from Sammy and let sammy do its thing and even have a cross licensing deal for Sammy to continue using properties in the arcades and other ventures and MS takes advantage of the IP history and competent dev teams.

That way instead of waiting 5 years for IP to come out of the purchase MS will have games already in the pipeline from sega to make back some of the investment and they will have a foundation to grow.


It remains to be seen as to what they buy but rest assured they are going to be buying more stuff in the future. You might also see some vr dev houses get bought up soon
 
pcchen said:
ChromeOS is basically a Linux based OS which is configured to run only the Chrome browser (and other support services in the background).
Click to expand...

Yes, I like it very much. You can even install Android apps from the Google Play store or install Linux if you want. You can install other browsers via either of those 2 options.

BTW, i'm running the Game Pass Android app on it at the moment. Not a perfect experience, but it's not officially supported anyway.

Tommy McClain
 
pcchen said:
Considering that not even macOS is like this, I won't be too worrying about Windows. Actually, there's already an edition of Windows 10 called Windows S doing exactly that (which you can only install software from Microsoft Store), "for education market." It's apparently unpopular to the extent that it's been phased out in 2018. It now exists in the fashion of a "S mode" where a Windows Home/Pro installation can be configured to install software only from Microsoft Store, but the customers can disable it if they choose to.
Click to expand...
its actually very popular for business still. A lot of companies want employees to only use certain software and its an easy way to configure it for them . You can swap out of S mode if you have a device that isn't managed by a company for free.
 
Jay said:
Interview: Phil Spencer, Todd Howard & Pete Hines about Bethesda joining Xbox
Click to expand...

Lol Tod Howard " We would reboot the xbox in such a way that no one would know we were doing it and just have it display a loading screen"
 
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