Is this happening or not
Gaming Microsoft buying Activision | CMA blocks deal over concerns for the cloud gaming market, decision to be appealed, Blizzard EVP threatens UK
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) was joined by comedian Ali Woods to look back at the best and worst moments of a rollercoaster season with the annual United Hour Awards.
Has Ten Hag been sacked yet? We're not sure and we hope not, but it's looking more likely as the days pass.
Who should replace him and why is it taking so long to make a decision?
Great thread
Has to clear regulatory approval in the US, EU and UK, all of which are separate processes. Today the UK regulator put out their provisional views, and while Microsoft/Activision can still offer remedies to try and convince them, it seems to me that they intend to poopoo the deal.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/microsoft-activision-deal-could-harm-uk-gamers
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/microsoft-activision-deal-could-harm-uk-gamers
yes
Which brave soul is creating the "Qatar buying Man Utd" - "Is this happening or not" thread?
Damn Brits don't want me buying an Xbox!
Why is the hyphen not in quotes
I mean it has to follow the same template as your thread. You don't have a hyphen.Why is the hyphen not in quotes
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I’ve been a Playstation gamer for the longest time but I don’t understand this drama over this purchase. Microsoft buying Activision isn’t going to create some monopoly given Sony are the dominant player in the market. Creates a bad precedent and calls in question the other studio takeovers proceeding this.
Green lights any developer purchase and will definite snowball.
I am not arsed about this deal but I think it's the start of a slippery slope that ends in way more exclusives than we currently see between PlayStation and xbox.
@Alock1 in tears
Don’t think many UK citizens give a feck about this takeover.
The Financial Times in ruins.
Delaying the inevitable at this point. It will happen.
Didn't see this coming, the CMA seemed fairly positive towards the deal earlier. As for what it means, feck knows. Feels like the dramatic reporting and hysterical community reactions surrounding the deal will only escalate now though.
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Xbox can keep CoD.
It’s shit anyway.
It’s shit anyway.
Activision Blizzard issued its own response, criticising the decision as a "disservice to UK citizens, who face increasingly dire economic prospects."
Fair fecks to them for responding like this though.
Fair fecks to them for responding like this though.
Cheers, kids crying now.
Using the shit circumstances of the country as a soundbite for the shareholders to make more money?
Yeah, fair fecks.
Obviously flawed but I'll take anything I can to get have it put in the public eye. If it takes a heartless company like Activision then so be it.
This takeover needs to happen to sort the cost of living crisis.
No depths these scum game devs won’t stoop to.
No depths these scum game devs won’t stoop to.
I actually think this is bad new for ALL gamer's. Even though fanboys of a certain side might be celebrating
This is a hammer blow to Xbox's future. Sony is so dominant in the high end market (PS & Xbox) that I do worry how long MS are going to keep making consoles. That dominance is only going to lead to, in all likely hood, anti customer bs. But time will tell.
Also, the rational for this being blocked (cloud gaming) makes it seem like any decent sized publisher is off the table for MS to buy.
This is a hammer blow to Xbox's future. Sony is so dominant in the high end market (PS & Xbox) that I do worry how long MS are going to keep making consoles. That dominance is only going to lead to, in all likely hood, anti customer bs. But time will tell.
Also, the rational for this being blocked (cloud gaming) makes it seem like any decent sized publisher is off the table for MS to buy.
People don't want to look further into things.
Yup. Somebody just wants in on the deal. This will happen.
It's already in the public eye, they just don't care. Just like the responses to this, nobody gives a shit. It's just rich dickheads doing rich dickhead things.
What bothers me most is the people backing this who also complain about the lack of games and variety on their systems.
This whole post is hyperbole. MS were trying to sell off the Xbox division for years, now they have a new path this won't even dent it.
Away from gaming, it always amazes me just how much people want huge soulless companies to buy up everything. Even more so that it's against the evil Sony corp...who happen to be much smaller than MS. But let's not worry about that little nugget of truth eh?
Xbox should focus on getting some good games out instead of focusing only on sales (that’s all this is about gives CoD is rubbish). Their run since the half way point of the last generation has been laughably bad.
Having said that I don’t see the logic of this decision.
It won't singlehandedly create a monopoly, but buying the biggest gaming franchise in the world (along with 2-3 of the other biggest ones) and no longer making it available on platforms it was widely available on for years is completely anti-consumer and will actively damage the industry.
Also, Sony as a company are peanuts compared to MS, and this is only the tip of the iceberg in what MS could do if allowed.
Reasoning sounds dodgy to me. A 69 billion acquisition is blocked because of cloud gaming 
. They probably didn't pay the right people. (Or someone else did).
. They probably didn't pay the right people. (Or someone else did).Would it though? Playstation has the legacy of dominating console generation and has consistently delivered highly rated exclusives. COD wouldn’t wipe that away but just level the playing field a bit (not in terms of quality obviously because it’s dross).
The fairest thing to do is just to euthanise the cod franchise and force everyone to play less shit games
A huge corporation known historically for buying up rivals and destroying them having a huge impact on the industry they are in, would suddenly not have an impact?
Don't get me wrong, this was only blocked because of corrupt money and the people involved wanted more of it, but let's not pretend this isn't about anything other than about trying to strangle the western markets.
Very much agree!
Not really sure I'd miss any Activision games as it stands anyway.
What sucks is that Activision themselves bought out loads of really talented teams and ruined them in no time, just to try to claw market share.
It runs true that the kings of that would then come and absorb them.
More competition is better for consumer. Decision seems reasonable for me. Don't think MS will pull out of gaming anytime soon.
Of course it would. Also you're assuming Microsoft would just stop there. Activision are the second biggest publisher in the world, AHEAD of Microsoft. If they can buy them, they can basically go and buy anyone.
Anything that involves buying a big publisher and removing their games from other gaming platforms in order to sell more of yours and less of theirs is basically the definition of anti-consumer.
You've said this a few times so allow me to bring out my special move.
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Yeah, because that's going to hold up down the line
Thinking about it further, I suspect the argument about cloud gaming might hold some water. MS are fairly dominant in this market already as GP is very much it's own beast so having a massive IP like CoD would only help to consolidate the market further, perhaps disallowing competitors to even get a grip in the cloud gaming market if they so chose to.
A side question then becomes about how Sony / Nintendo / Anyone else would intend to counter not just future dominance but the current state of things where MS offer a service that feels unparalleled to what they do / can.
A side question then becomes about how Sony / Nintendo / Anyone else would intend to counter not just future dominance but the current state of things where MS offer a service that feels unparalleled to what they do / can.
See above but I don't see why MS wouldn't. They look increasingly disinterested in the console market knowing Sony will continue to take their trousers down, so would only benefit hugely from the player-base they can get from PS5 owners.Yeah, because that's going to hold up down the line
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About that bit, I always had this feeling that, should the deal get approved and go through, any further acquisitions were going to get even more heavily scrutinized and almost certainly get blocked.