Microsoft buys Activision

Seventy billion dollars.

Erm.

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-01-18-microsoft-near-deal-to-buy-call-of-duty-maker-activision-blizzard-report

I mean.

Erm.

…uh…

WoW on Game Pass. :^)

What's even left? I thought Bethesda was gobsmacking (and from a quality-of-games perspective, it was arguably better). But I never even considered they had the money to buy Activision Blizzard. Unless they somehow manage to buy Nintendo, I think they've peaked.

We're veering into slightly scary territory, too. Mopping up everyone and (presumably) making them exclusive will be bad for gamers in the long run.

Although I'm enjoying the drama of it all.

Seventy billion dollars? Fuck me.

Didn't Disney pay less than ten billion combined for Marvel AND Star Wars?

cradles PS5

Don’t worry lil’ buddy, we’re going to get through this.

cradles PS5

Don’t worry lil’ buddy, we’re going to get through this.

Narrator: They weren't.

My Living room has two Gamepass devices in it, a monster PC for mouse keys and a dedicated gaming PC connected to the TV for pad gaming. I will always out Microsoft you MPH. I just don’t hurl my PS5 out into the street and let it fend for itself with random mums when times get tough.

For reference, if Bobby Kotick gets removed as CEO following a 'change in control', his contract states he gets nearly $300million.

Yeah.

My Living room has two Gamepass devices in it, a monster PC for mouse keys and a dedicated gaming PC connected to the TV for pad gaming. I will always out Microsoft you MPH. I just don’t hurl my PS5 out into the street and let it fend for itself with random mums when times get tough.

The random mum fobbed me off. I'm now trying to shift it for 300 quid before the rest of Facebook marketplace get wind of no Call of Duty…

The random mum fobbed me off.

Naughty Prole.

Well there's the context for this bit of verbal gymnastics from Phil Spencer last week.

Back in November, the head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, told staff he was “evaluating all aspects” of the Microsoft gaming division’s relationship with Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard following a bombshell report by The Wall Street Journal of workplace misconduct and coverups at the massive publisher. Pressed to elaborate on what exactly that meant in a new interview today with The New York Times, Spencer said he wasn’t interested in “virtue shaming” another company.

Sony are going to have to go all-in on VR this gen now, aren't they? It's getting hard to see what they're left with, a handful of Sad Dad games spread out over the entire gen isn't going to act as a system-seller.

It is genuinely hilarious that Microsoft now own Crash Bandicoot, though.

My Living room has two Gamepass devices in it, a monster PC for mouse keys and a dedicated gaming PC connected to the TV for pad gaming. I will always out Microsoft you MPH. I just don’t hurl my PS5 out into the street and let it fend for itself with random mums when times get tough.

The random mum fobbed me off. I'm now trying to shift it for 300 quid before the rest of Facebook marketplace get wind of no Call of Duty…

300 quid for a disk PS5? I'll be the mum you need Prole.

Are you in London? I know a family in Wimbledon who have been searching for one for ages.

I just want to say that I really appreciate just how on-brand for the Soc it is, to have a thread about Microsoft and Activision turn into a car boot sale for a PS5 within fifteen posts.

Also, the fact we only have about eight active members yet we still can’t tell the difference between Mr Party Hat and Prole.

Insert the *it's the same picture gif

The only person I have a face for is Brian. The rest of you are just generic flesh units.

My picture is literally Googleable.

I have Safe Search on.

My Living room has two Gamepass devices in it, a monster PC for mouse keys and a dedicated gaming PC connected to the TV for pad gaming. I will always out Microsoft you MPH. I just don’t hurl my PS5 out into the street and let it fend for itself with random mums when times get tough.

The random mum fobbed me off. I'm now trying to shift it for 300 quid before the rest of Facebook marketplace get wind of no Call of Duty…

300 quid for a disk PS5? I'll be the mum you need Prole.

Are you in London? I know a family in Wimbledon who have been searching for one for ages.

I am in London yes, south west too! By all means put me in touch with them?

(The 300 quid thing was a joke by the way, CEX are buying unboxed ones, which mine is, for 420 quid. I’d be willing to let it go for a little less to avoid it going to those scalping gits, but not MUCH less.)

Back on-topic (briefly, I imagine), Vice have this take on the acquisition:
Microsoft Is Now Accountable for Activision-Blizzard's Mess

My Living room has two Gamepass devices in it, a monster PC for mouse keys and a dedicated gaming PC connected to the TV for pad gaming. I will always out Microsoft you MPH. I just don’t hurl my PS5 out into the street and let it fend for itself with random mums when times get tough.

The random mum fobbed me off. I'm now trying to shift it for 300 quid before the rest of Facebook marketplace get wind of no Call of Duty…

300 quid for a disk PS5? I'll be the mum you need Prole.

Are you in London? I know a family in Wimbledon who have been searching for one for ages.

I am in London yes, south west too! By all means put me in touch with them?

(The 300 quid thing was a joke by the way, CEX are buying unboxed ones, which mine is, for 420 quid. I’d be willing to let it go for a little less to avoid it going to those scalping gits, but not MUCH less.)

Typical MPH

Back on-topic (briefly, I imagine), Vice have this take on the acquisition:
Microsoft Is Now Accountable for Activision-Blizzard's Mess

Kotick (and his cronies on the board) will presumably go when the deal goes through, taking their billions off to wherever those people go post-Epstein. The MS/Xbox culture seems relatively benign under Nadella and Spencer, and they know what they're doing, so I'd expect a big brush to sweep out some of the dirt and things to settle down under new management.

Commercially, it makes good sense for both parties I think. Double down on western markets, start to build games as service/sport into metaverse development, exploit and monetise behaviour across business and leisure spheres through data and analytics… The end point is a terrible corporate dystopia obviously, but it'll make shed loads of cash. And I guess it might be marginally less appalling under living under MS than Facebook or the CCP…

We're already moving towards the next (or next next) generation of Xbox simply being software you download or boot up on your TV that then streams games, without the need for a box to use. This just brings it even closer, because most of the games you'd want will be on the service.

I don't have a problem with that really, but I'll always like having a box nonetheless.

If they find a way to fix the latency and artifacting, I'd happily swap over to a streaming service.

But as far as I'm aware (and I'm a numpty, just to clarify) you can't ever eliminate latency entirely, because it's limited by the speed of light?

But as far as I'm aware (and I'm a numpty, just to clarify) you can't ever eliminate latency entirely, because it's limited by the speed of light?

Pfft, science. It's all bullshit anyway.

Yeah, miss me with that streaming stuff tbh.

… What just happened? Why am I here? Was my name said three times?

[reads thread]

Me and random mums do what now?

But as far as I'm aware (and I'm a numpty, just to clarify) you can't ever eliminate latency entirely, because it's limited by the speed of light?

Only until they figure out how to get a quantum-entangled photon in your HDMI streaming stick.

But as far as I'm aware (and I'm a numpty, just to clarify) you can't ever eliminate latency entirely, because it's limited by the speed of light?

Only until they figure out how to get a quantum-entangled photon in your HDMI streaming stick.

…I think I need an adult.

I don't have a problem with that really, but I'll always like having a box nonetheless.

Mart is a cat, confirmed.

Kotick's getting 400 million, and they lied to the SEC about the ongoing strike.

This seems pretty…. anti-trustish? I'm guessing the SEC doesn't really 'get' videogames and don't see it as a problem though.

I had some stuff to say about Call of Duty, but now Prole is getting fobbed off in the street by random mums, Mart is a cat, and MPH has a quantum-entangled photon jammed up his streaming stick, and all of that sound much more interesting.

Sony just bought Bungie for $3.6bn.

Presumably most of that cost is overpriced Destiny expansions.

What on Earth do Bungie have that's worth three and a half billion dollars?

president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment Jim Ryan has said that Bungie will "remain an independent and multi-platform studio and publisher."

"We believe it makes sense for [Bungie] to sit alongside the PlayStation Studios organization, and we are incredibly excited about the opportunities for synergies and collaboration between these two world-class groups,"

Now I'm even more confused.

Maybe they have some non-Destiny project in the works..? Or is Destiny really that big and I just don't see it because I'm on the outside?

The New York Times has bought Wordle. Gutted about that.

I thought you were joking.

Cue the floodgates of competitors opening…

In keeping with this shrinking scale of X buys Y, I would like to announce I bought some Pringles from the Shop earlier for 2.99

Goddamn it Al, now that means there are no Pringles for anyone else.

#brexit #emptyshelves

What on Earth do Bungie have that's worth three and a half billion dollars?

If they can tell Sony's first party studios how to nail gunplay then the raft of "Halo-beater" style franchises they have could be rebooted on PS5. Killzone's/Resistance's universe with Destiny class shooty shooty would be interesting.

Isn't Destiny quietly enormous? I'm sure I read it had more players than CoD.

That's why my nickname is Destiny.

That's why my nickname is Destiny.

Ah, I must have misread, I thought the graffiti on the toilet wall said it was Des Tiny.

Give the joke writing an hour before posting.