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Comment on Microsoft expected to finally buy Activision Blizzard next week
bob_lemon@feddit.de 8 months ago
Sad times for everyone that still believed in antitrust.
slaacaa@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Bonskreeskreeskree@lemmy.world 8 months ago
You still believed?
Pohl@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Trust = one or more independent organizations making secret agreements to mutual benefit.
Mergers: not a trust.
Monopoly = a single organization that controls an overwhelming amount of the market.
Microsoft buying a publisher that put out 2 games in 2023: not a monopoly.
ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 8 months ago
How many times do they have to buy that 2 game publisher before they reach a monopoly?
Phen@lemmy.eco.br 8 months ago
How many of the last 10 games you bought were from Microsoft?
Pohl@lemmy.world 8 months ago
How many games game out this year? Thousands. There is absolutely zero possibility that MS or anyone else is anywhere near holding monopoly status on the production of entertainment software. Even if they bought EVERYTHING new creators would enter the space the very next day.
probablyaCat@kbin.social 8 months ago
Meh. A competitive monopoly has a better outcome than the near monopoly PS4 got when it came to exclusives. Yeah a lot of existing IP will be for one or the other. But for third party studios, they will be much less likely to make exclusive games if the console market is more balanced between the two. Nintendo is kind of in a world of its own. And with the steam deck helping push PC into a base level standard, I think we might see some opening up of high quality third party stuff.
Dark_Arc@social.packetloss.gg 8 months ago
Honestly I’m okay with this one, but it’s mostly because Activision Blizzard has great IP with some seriously awful management … and Microsoft actually has been doing much better in that department for games.
Twohandedman@lemmynsfw.com 8 months ago
You want to give them to a company that keeps fumbling its own IPs?
Dark_Arc@social.packetloss.gg 8 months ago
I mean, it’s had plenty of success with its own IP… Heard of Starfield? Minecraft … and it’s nth successful Spinoff? Forza Horizon 5? Sea of Thieves? Flight Simulator 40th Anniversary Edition? Age of Empires IV? Age of Empires XYZ DE? Fallout 76?
The only major “flop” I can think of that wasn’t corrected (at least so far) is Halo Infinite and … that largely seems to be a 343 issue.
Twohandedman@lemmynsfw.com 8 months ago
With its own IPs? Half the games you’ve listed are games they bought and were already available or basically completed before they did, putting Microsoft’s contribution at almost zero. So starfield’s success, for example, is no more Microsoft’s than the failure of Redfall. They just happened to buy them. The rest of the games you mentioned have had mixed receptions at best. Fallout 76, are you serious? Starfield is better than that, despite being a significant disappointment (I’m 30 hours in, fuck you Todd), and both of them were acquired through Microsoft’s purchase of Bethesda.
What new things have MS tried?