Re: Microsoft buying Activision/Blizzard
Originally Posted by fujishig
(Post 14043284)
That Gamepass subscription price is going to go way up when this acquisition goes through. Didn't they already try to raise prices and then had to walk it back? Oh wait, that was just Live...
Microsoft is increasing the prices of its Xbox Live Gold subscription soon. The software giant has started notifying existing Xbox Live Gold members of the changes in certain markets, and it will see the price rise by a dollar to $10.99 per month in the US and $5 for a three-month membership. Twelve-month and six-month pricing is also going up, but the increase won’t affect existing subscribers here. Three months will now be priced at $29.99, with six months at $59.99. Microsoft is also allowing Xbox Live Gold members to convert their remaining Gold time into Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (up to 36 months). The conversion means if you have 11 months of Xbox Live Gold left on your account, you can upgrade to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and convert it into 11 months of Ultimate with no extra costs. Unless you subscribe to Xbox Live Gold, this does mean the price of the service is moving from $60 a year to $120. Microsoft quietly removed its 12-month option last year, which used to be priced at $60. Sony still offers 12 months of PlayStation Plus for $60, and it’s not clear what Microsoft will offer to justify the sudden price jump. Either way, it looks like the move is designed to push Xbox Live subscribers towards Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which offers Xbox Live Gold access, xCloud streaming, and access to more than 100 games. I ask because I pay $20 for Netflix (4K + HDR, baby!) but feel like I personally get next to nothing out of it anymore. If my family didn't watch it so damn much, I'd drop it. Everyone has their limit for what the monthly fee should be, and I do think GP will go up every couple years, but I don't think it's going to jump drastically. The internal turmoil with Kotick and leadership really did some damage to their stock and made them a prime target for a buyout, which makes me wonder how hard it is to find a whistleblower and do something to a company for this purpose (not that I suspect anything nefarious here), especially with how some of these game companies are run. Also, MS has shown that they can play nice with multiplatform games, the prime example being Minecraft, so I guess we'll see what happens. Having the Activision/Blizzard games be "free" on Gamepass may be all that they want for the bigger franchises that are already multiplatform. And I don't see them going with "Minecraft 2!" just to 'fix' that, when it is practically a platform within itself that benefits from being everywhere. And I honestly don't think MS is going to play that nice with Call of Duty. To be blunt... they didn't just spend $69 billion dollars in cash on what is effectively The Call of Duty Company to give other platforms Call of Duty games indefinitely. New mainline COD games will definitely be exclusive by the time existing contracts are played out, is what I think, but no existing games will be pulled. Some can say that's "unfair" to gamers who have played COD on Playstation consoles since they've been available, and yeah, it sucks in that sense... but again, MS just bought The Call of Duty Company. Their plan, at least as it seems today, is to use that leverage to get people playing on Xbox, and more specifically, subbing to Game Pass. |
Re: Microsoft buying Activision/Blizzard
Originally Posted by Decker
(Post 14043317)
Oh absolutely. They clearly want to be the Titans of the PC gaming business. I'm fairly certain they will stop bringing new PC games from Activision and Bethesda to the Steam store though.
I could see Microsoft adding the Bethesda games on Steam as an advertisement for Game Pass: Pay $60 or get in included for $10-ish a month. |
Re: Microsoft buying Activision/Blizzard
MS won't shut out other consoles entirely... and especially not for a while. It would be dumb to do that - there's too much money to be made from PS and Nintendo gamers.
They'll start going exclusives for smaller titles to start, and then eventually move the bigger titles to timed exclusives. I think MS's big play here is to try to get GP on the PS and Nintendo. MS already provides cloud services to Sony - so they're halfway there already. |
Re: Microsoft buying Activision/Blizzard
Originally Posted by Decker
(Post 14043317)
Oh absolutely. They clearly want to be the Titans of the PC gaming business. I'm fairly certain they will stop bringing new PC games from Activision and Bethesda to the Steam store though.
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Re: Microsoft buying Activision/Blizzard
Originally Posted by Coral
(Post 14043328)
MS won't shut out other consoles entirely... and especially not for a while. It would be dumb to do that - there's too much money to be made from PS and Nintendo gamers.
They'll start going exclusives for smaller titles to start, and then eventually move the bigger titles to timed exclusives. I think MS's big play here is to try to get GP on the PS and Nintendo. MS already provides cloud services to Sony - so they're halfway there already. |
Re: Microsoft buying Activision/Blizzard
This news happening 10 years ago might have caused me to jump on and swoop up another console. The past few years has seen my desire to play everything go further and further down. You just start disregarding games that are not readily accessible. One can hope that MS acquiring the COD franchise will have them push the developers to make a better product than they have the past few years. This is a good thing for Xbox users, as long as the developers continue to improve their content and not simply add more.
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Re: Microsoft buying Activision/Blizzard
Originally Posted by Dan
(Post 14043074)
To be fair, it's not like Sony is shy about buying up studios, too. The difference is they've bought relatively smaller ones, one at a time, instead of going full 'warchest' and buying up a big publisher like MS announced today. But Sony's been playing this acquisition game a lot longer, and I wouldn't be surprised if they were in the bidding for Activision Blizzard, too. And they probably have some kind of roadmap for more companies they're interested in procuring, too. They just might have to accelerate that a bit now.
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Re: Microsoft buying Activision/Blizzard
Originally Posted by Michael Corvin
(Post 14043656)
Exactly. Sony buying up studios that only make Sony games is different than MS buying up companies with libraries of multiplatform games, and even traditionally Sony only franchises. That's a whole new ballpark.
MS isn't doing anything Sony hasn't done - it's just done a different way. Too bad, so sad Sony. |
Re: Microsoft buying Activision/Blizzard
Originally Posted by Coral
(Post 14043714)
So Sony buys them because they don't want the games on the XBOX. The only difference is when it was done - before or after the game is available for the competitors console.
MS isn't doing anything Sony hasn't done - it's just done a different way. Too bad, so sad Sony. Not saying that MS did anything wrong in their approach necessarily, but it's not the same thing and you keep insisting it is (without providing a single example) . |
Re: Microsoft buying Activision/Blizzard
Originally Posted by Decker
(Post 14043763)
Give me a single example of Sony buying a large studio that primarily makes series of multiplatform games - - that Sony has then gone out and purchased. Just one example. I see them buy the studio that makes Ratchet and Clank, the studio that makes Resogun, the one thst makes The Show. They acquired studios that primarily make Playstation exclusives. They bring them under their wing because they have been making outstanding Playstation exclusives and they want them in-house. Nobody would have had any issue with MS buying Bungie when they were still making Halo games - - it's a damn shame they didn't.
Not saying that MS did anything wrong in their approach necessarily, but it's not the same thing and you keep insisting it is (without providing a single example) . They've also paid studios to keep their games exclusive to Playstation. And If there's nothing wrong with what MS is doing (which I agree), then why is any of this being brought up in the first place? Sony does it this way... MS does it this way. Who cares? |
Re: Microsoft buying Activision/Blizzard
Originally Posted by Decker
(Post 14043763)
Nobody would have had any issue with MS buying Bungie when they were still making Halo games - - it's a damn shame they didn't.
Originally Posted by Decker
(Post 14043763)
the one thst makes The Show
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Re: Microsoft buying Activision/Blizzard
What kind of games does Blizzard/Activision put out? Or what have they that I would know?
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Re: Microsoft buying Activision/Blizzard
Originally Posted by OldBoy
(Post 14043800)
What kind of games does Blizzard/Activision put out? Or what have they that I would know?
I mean, they're a pretty boutique company. Blizzard: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...tainment_games Lost Vikings or Justice League Task Force are probably their most notable hits. Activision: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...on_video_games Shrek Forever After: The Final Chapter, iCarly 2: iJoin the Click! and Build-A-Bear Workshop: Friendship Valley |
Re: Microsoft buying Activision/Blizzard
Justice League Task Force was great!
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Re: Microsoft buying Activision/Blizzard
Looks like A/B may have went to MS looking to make a sale... Not necessarily the other way around, which makes me ask... If Activision was set on selling, who do y'all think should have bought them?
But again, I'll reiterate that while I think this move potentially hurts Playstation, I don't think it's anything they can't just brush off. They'll develop an in-house FPS that PS fans will flock to in order to compete with COD. Or they'll just make Bungie an offer for their Next Big Game. I think this has a far bigger long term effect on Amazon, Google, and those other companies trying to make some inroads into gaming (via cloud streaming or otherwise). Those companies aren't going under, obviously, but this dampens their efforts in this specific area. Anyway, my stance is that all of the employees should resign, start indie studios, and build up new exciting 100% multiplatform games for decades to come, until they're inevitably bought up by Taco Bell. |
Re: Microsoft buying Activision/Blizzard
Originally Posted by Dan
(Post 14043927)
Looks like A/B may have went to MS looking to make a sale... Not necessarily the other way around, which makes me ask... If Activision was set on selling, who do y'all think should have bought them?
I actually think an EA/Activision combo would make a lot of sense, especially if EA management were the ones taking the reins. They'd still be able to support every platform under the sun. Having both Battlefield and Call of Duty in rotation could lessen the pressure on those teams. Bioware plus Blizzard! EA has a far more eclectic slate that would seem supportive of titles that Activision seems to have had its fill of (Tony Hawk, Spyro, Crash). |
Re: Microsoft buying Activision/Blizzard
Originally Posted by Adam Tyner
(Post 14044016)
I'm paywall'ed out of Bloomberg right now, but I seem to remember that once discussions were underway with Microsoft, A/B sought out other offers (to see if they could get an even bigger price), including Facebook, and a merger with EA was also considered.
I actually think an EA/Activision combo would make a lot of sense, especially if EA management were the ones taking the reins. They'd still be able to support every platform under the sun. Having both Battlefield and Call of Duty in rotation could lessen the pressure on those teams. Bioware plus Blizzard! EA has a far more eclectic slate that would seem supportive of titles that Activision seems to have had its fill of (Tony Hawk, Spyro, Crash). I think Microsoft makes the most sense. If someone like Apple or Disney bought it, I don't think it would help them out that much. |
Re: Microsoft buying Activision/Blizzard
Originally Posted by JayTL
(Post 14044024)
Would EA have been able to afford that though?
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Re: Microsoft buying Activision/Blizzard
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Re: Microsoft buying Activision/Blizzard
The long play is clearly putting Gamepass on everything. Don't want to burn that bridge.
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Re: Microsoft buying Activision/Blizzard
anyone who's been forced into using MS Office tools over the past decade can tell they want to shift everything to a monthly subscription plan, and then next step will be digital-only, and then cloud-only; all peppered with price increases once they have their monopoly. Surprised EA hasn't tried to sell to them yet, they're a perfect fit.
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Re: Microsoft buying Activision/Blizzard
That's good to hear. Of course the wording is "honor all existing agreements" which OF COURSE they have to do. We shall see how long those agreements are for and what happens when they are up. But sure, that's good to hear for those who don't have both systems.
I fully expect a lot of new Xbox-exclusive games, which is great. But things like CoD really belong on both systems (even if I'm long-since burned out on those games). I hope Overwatch 2 and Diablo 5 also come to both systems. |
Re: Microsoft buying Activision/Blizzard
I’ll be okay with timed exclusives as MS needs to get value for their big purchase.
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Re: Microsoft buying Activision/Blizzard
Originally Posted by redbill
(Post 14044278)
anyone who's been forced into using MS Office tools over the past decade can tell they want to shift everything to a monthly subscription plan, and then next step will be digital-only, and then cloud-only; all peppered with price increases once they have their monopoly. Surprised EA hasn't tried to sell to them yet, they're a perfect fit.
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Re: Microsoft buying Activision/Blizzard
Originally Posted by LorenzoL
(Post 14044303)
I’ll be okay with timed exclusives as MS needs to get value for their big purchase.
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