Dan

Sounds like Sony wants/needs that Xbox userbase...

Decker

I think you misspelled the word "leverage".

slop101

Slowly turning gaming into monopolies - and anti-trust enforcement is sleeping at the wheel, just like they're doing with internet companies.

fujishig

While I don't think it's necessarily a good thing, how is gaming a monopoly with this or the Activision acquisition?

Dan

It's pretty far-fetched to categorize these types of acquisitions as anti-trust, or to suggest there's 'monopolies' here. I ain't no lawyer type, but I can't imagine there's any scenario in which these deals wouldn't go through because there's still plenty of competition across all platforms with studios big and small.

That doesn't mean I like it; I don't disagree that these consolidations aren't great despite being inevitable, if the movie and music industries were any indication, but even in those industries, indies have carved out a decent space, just as they have done in gaming as well.

PS buying Bungie is a... weird one... given the way they've described the terms. Maybe Bungie will create some more interesting stuff outside of Destiny this way.

I totally* called this in the Activision thread though folks are saying this deal (or bidding war?) for Bungie has been in the works for awhile.

*by totally, I mean I said PS would buy perpetual Destiny exclusivity, which isn't the actual case here apparently. They seemingly paid a few billion to just let them keep on keeping on. So, not 'totally' at all.

Decker

I haven't played Destiny in years. It's weird how they don't exactly make a new game but want you to pay $100 for the newest version.
Maybe if you pay a lot closer attention than I do, that might be appealing, but I have no idea what's going on with the game or franchise or whatever and why I would want to buy that if I'm not currently playing the Destiny 2 game I already own.

LorenzoL

LorenzoL

What are the possible target for acquisitions for Sony and Microsoft? EA? Ubisoft?

Decker

I don't really understand that business strategy TBH.

fujishig

It sounds like (if they are being truthful) Sony mainly wanted Bungie so they get some experience in the live service model of games so they can expand their other properties beyond single player experiences. Which you'd think the creator of Everquest would have divisions to do that already but I can't remember the last mmorpg-like game Sony came out with.

Also, they can always use the caveat that things will stay the same "for now" but if Microsoft pulls CoD or something they could easily do the same. They talk specifically only about Destiny 2.

Decker

I imagine they would at least make a call about Rockstar. That's got to be a very valuable company in the video game industry.

slop101

It's not, right now - but, unless someone curbs it, they're definitely on the road to it. If not a pure monopoly, then on the way to something like 2 companies controlling 90% of the market.

Adam Tyner

In terms of publicly traded publishers, yeah, EA, Ubi, Take Two, and CD Projekt Red would be up there. Epic is privately held, would probably cost more than any of the above, but not out of the realm of possibility. I could imagine Sony gobbling up Capcom or Square Enix.

I can't really see a path towards anything resembling 90%, especially when Nintendo has to be a part of the conversation (not to mention Steam and mobile).

fujishig

This would imply one of the big three console makers being bought out, which yeah I think would draw a ton of scrutiny, but otherwise it's still not a monopoly, right? I mean you still have non console gaming even beyond that.

T-bone22

Destiny 2 is f2p. You can choose what add-ons may interest you after playing the game for free. You would only pay $100 if you were buying some sort of large Deluxe edition bundle. The newest expansion The Witch Queen being released in February is $40, and that is a substantial expansion.

Decker

Yeah, I see now that the base expansion is $39.99 but not sure what it includes. Here's the $99.99 version

Destiny 2: The Witch Queen Deluxe + Bungie 30th Anniversary Bundle

Bungie
2/22/2022 09:00 AM PST
PS4PS5
$99.99
It's all so weird. They sell Beyond Light for $29.99 and Shadowkeep and Forsaken Pack are both free. But they also sell something called Destiny 2 : Legacy Collection, which is a bundle of Beyond Light, Shadowkeep and Forsaken Pack for $59.99. None of it makes any sense to me.

slop101

After playing for years, I gave up on Destiny late last year.
Part of it was them deleting content ("Remember that mission/planet you liked and payed money for? It's gone, and you won't be able to play it again. Maybe."), but mostly, it just got so far up it's own ass with how progression worked, so obtuse and convoluted, with rules changing almost weekly, I just gave up and deleted it.

asianxcore

Probably somewhere in the middle as I paid $700 for it new/sealed.

If time is indeed money, I've already felt the positive effects of my purchase.

Michael Corvin

I hate this industry is coming to this. Horrible for gamers. Also Sony picking up Bungie (produces 1 game) seems like peanuts compared to MS nabbing Bethesda, Blizzard and Activision (has a library of games).

I also find it funny that the company that didn't want to be owned suddenly wants to be owned.

Well, MS can't buy them. That's pretty big.

EA would be crazy. All sports games only on one system? That would be fucked up. Also, I'd imagine they'd start losing pro licenses if they were no longer multi-platform.

Adam Tyner

I definitely wouldn’t cheer on any of the platform holders buying a publisher.

Maxflier

Shit’s gonna be sick.

Deftones

Well that didn't seem to matter to MLB up until last year.....

Why So Blu?

I tuned out of Destiny years ago,. In fact, it was Destiny that made me get a PS$ to begin with. The white Destiny bundle way back in 2014. Then the game turned into one giant grinding fest and I tuned out.

Goldberg74

I pulled out my unopened copy of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (PS4) that I got for $10 on Black Friday and did the PS5 upgrade for $10.

Now to find the time to finish 1 and play 2 and 3, and then this one.

fujishig

There is no way the sports leagues would sit still and allow the license to be single console. They'd force their hand or move to another publisher (or at least have a non exclusive agreement).