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[Heisenberg007]

It would make more sense to fix what's wrong with the other 20 something studios then to add more to the list, when you can't manage the group you have.

 

[JCK75]

ND outside Rings of Power and Way of the Warrior has pretty much always been with Sony. Sony only acquired them after years of supporting them, funding them, and sharing their tech with them. Sony built ND completely into what it is. We know factually that Marvel contacted MS in regards to them acquiring Marvel IPS and looking at the time frame that occurred one can surmise that Spiderman was one of those offered properties. MS being classic MS fucked that up. We also know SE approached MS about FF16 but Sony made a better offer. Another classic MS bumble fuck. As to Bungie, knowing what we know now, I'm willing to bet good money Bungie ran to Sony in order to escape MS'S grasp.

Activision actively came to Microsoft seeking someone to purchase it..

 

[JCK75]

Activision were seeking a buyer because we finally had that cunt Bobby Kotick caught for condoning a culture of sexual assaults and harassment. The selling was a way to get Bobby to remain in place and leave on better grounds or, as it seems, give him enough time for the heat to die down.

As it stands that prick will remain in his role no matter what, rather than told to fuck off.

If Microsoft had passed Sony would have been approached next as with Spider-man, you think Sony would pass? and if so would these same peope be angry?

 

[Dick Jones]

You're proud of having the sparkly vampire?

Have you seen the rest of Hufflepuff's rogues gallery. I wouldn't even ride the majority of them into battle.

 

[Kokoloko85]

Gamepass is a trojan horse.

Unsustainable, keep out Spending Sony, neither Sony or Nintendo could afford to do day one 1st party games on subscription. Pay Media and shill fans to make it seem like Sony is backwards and the bad guys for not putting 1st party games on there day 1….
MS is vermin in this industry

 

[Sony]

Misleading quote. The quote isn't "go spend Sony out of business", but "to be able to go spend Sony out of business".
Isn't that what GAF is screaming as well? That Microsoft has a warchest that is much much larger than Sony's?
So what's the controvercy? If this was the smoking gun, it would have been used. It's a nothingburger.

 

[Methos#1975]

If Microsoft had passed Sony would have been approached next as with Spider-man, you think Sony would pass? and if so would these same peope be angry?

Sony would of passed, they aren't in a position to be able to purchase A major publisher of that size. That's one of the main reasons they only do timed exclusives and single game exclusivity deals with them.

 

[Dick Jones]

If Microsoft had passed Sony would have been approached next as with Spider-man, you think Sony would pass? and if so would these same peope be angry?

Jim Ryan publicly called out Bobby well before the acquisition was public. I'd hate Jim if he facilitated Bobby's escape.

Sony were never approached as they could never buy them in a million years. From what I remember a few companies (Meta and Google, I think) were contacted and Bobby was told to fuck off.

 

[Heisenberg007]

Misleading quote. The quote isn't "go spend Sony out of business", but "to be able to go spend Sony out of business".
Isn't that what GAF is screaming as well? That Microsoft has a warchest that is much much larger than Sony's?
So what's the controvercy? If this was the smoking gun, it would have been used. It's a nothingburger.

So Microsoft did not spend nearly $80 billion after that email? lmao.

 

[AJUMP23]

I guess we are in a Cold war for consoles.

 

[Negotiator101]

Jim Ryan publicly called out Bobby well before the acquisition was public. I'd hate Jim if he facilitated Bobby's escape.

Sony were never approached as they could never buy them in a million years. From what I remember a few companies (Meta and Google, I think) were contacted and Bobby was told to fuck off.

Thanks Dick.

 

[Interfectum]

This revelation isn't particularly startling. However, what's unexpected is the simplistic nature of their strategy, revealed through these emails. Their behavior is akin to children who have just gained access to their father's credit card. They've displayed an excessive focus on mobile and cloud technologies, neglecting to secure and expand their core operations first, which has proven to be their downfall. Their attempt to offset past missteps by acquiring Activision Blizzard appears as an effort to purchase a solution to their problems.

 

[JCK75]

Sony would of passed, they aren't in a position to be able to purchase A major publisher of that size. That's one of the main reasons they only do timed exclusives and single game exclusivity deals with them.

If they had the funds to make it work, they would have made it work.. MS had the funds and it was a move any company in their position would make.
the goal of every business is to mop the floor with their competition..
I stand firm that this is nothing that Sony is not also engaged in even if they scale it to smaller studios within their budget..
Their goal is to wipe out their competition
And there is nothing wrong with that.

Sony will absolutely survive MS owning Activision.
and Microsoft needs the boost.

 

[foamdino]

Sony pays large sums of cash to secure exclusives, they paid up for Spider-man.

The actual facts have already been explained. The historical record is clear: Disney asked Microsoft to make an exclusive Spidey game, MS passed up, Disney went to Sony and Sony contracted Insomniac to develop the game.

That's what happened, as reported multiple times. Sony didn't go to Disney with a dump truck of cash.

 

[JCK75]

Jim Ryan publicly called out Bobby well before the acquisition was public. I'd hate Jim if he facilitated Bobby's escape.

Sony were never approached as they could never buy them in a million years. From what I remember a few companies (Meta and Google, I think) were contacted and Bobby was told to fuck off.

Bobby will be gone in 5 years tops

 

[Sony]

So Microsoft did not spend nearly $80 billion after that email? lmao.

What's your point?

 

[Calverz]

It’s quite funny to see the reaction to this email. Do you honestly not think Sony have these conversations all the time about Xbox?

 

[Unknown?]

Yes I'd be happy to.. they were trying to make Starfield exclusive to PS5, this would have destroyed Xbox almost entirely...
you think they were not going to attempt the same move with ES6? Would the same people making a petition against it being Xbox exclusive now do the same if it were PS5 exclusive?

Sony has been buying up all kinds of popular properties over the years and Microsoft just went bigger, that is the only difference is the size and scope of what they are doing.

If one *timed* exclusive would have killed them, that shows you more internal rot than external factors at play.

 

[Dick Jones]

Bobby will be gone in 5 years tops

He would already be gone if not for the lifeline.

 

[JCK75]

If one *timed* exclusive would have killed them, that shows you more internal rot than external facots at play.

I want to remind you that the entire fight here is that it being exclusive to Xbox is going to horribly damage Sony.. or the quote "Put them out of business"

 

[Three]

What's your point?

The point is that you're trying to frame it as a "thought experiment" that didn’t happen by emphasising the 'able to'. What's the difference otherwise?

 

[Bond007]

This has been well known since they entered the gaming industry. Sort of why I've never fully supported them in the first place.
Without this sort of backing they would never have made it this far and its not organic- as in, organically create first party games or even feel like they give a crap outside of just gaining market share. This has been apparent throughout the history of Xbox.

Ive owned everyone of their consoles- its just never been my go to. Just for the handful of exclusives that continue to dwindle or the hopes of games 5-6yrs out. lol

 

[jm89]

It’s quite funny to see the reaction to this email. Do you honestly not think Sony have these conversations all the time about Xbox?

SonyToo™

 

[Interfectum]

It’s quite funny to see the reaction to this email. Do you honestly not think Sony have these conversations all the time about Xbox?

I'm more surprised how sloppy they are running this business. Choosing cloud at the expense of Series X stock, considering going on all in mobile gaming, haphazardly choosing devs to buy as if they are kids at a candy store... Without being backed by daddy's credit card there would be no Xbox right now and they wouldn't have jobs.

 

[Jemm]

MS Gaming / Xbox could use some fresh management & executives who can think outside the (X)box to shake things up a bit.

 

[Unknown?]

I want to remind you that the entire fight here is that it being exclusive to Xbox is going to horribly damage Sony.. or the quote "Put them out of business"

No you're talking two different things. Starfield was always going to be on Xbox eventually. Activision isn't a game, it's a publisher and if purchased would never be on PlayStation just like Zenimax.

 

[vkbest]

Well yeah MS have "fuck you" money but it's what you do with it. The only company that could outspend Microsoft is Apple (if they take gaming more seriously).

This is obvious and doesn't really need to be said. MS went ahead to purchase Activision/Blizzard for $70 billion or whatever it was. Could you imagine Sony or Nintendo being able to spend that kind of money?

If Microsoft get their shit together then nobody will stand a chance against them.

I bet if Apple try buy companies such as Activision, they would be stopped by EU and other governments

 

[JCK75]

No you're talking two different things. Starfield was always going to be on Xbox eventually. Activision isn't a game, it's a publisher and if purchased would never be on PlayStation just like Zenimax.

It was a publisher looking for a buyer and it found one.
Again like I said before, Sony does more than just 6 month exclusivies..
they own 20% of square enix.. and they are using that small investment to hold major games to their platform.

 

[FrankWza]

If they had the funds to make it work, they would have made it work.. MS had the funds and it was a move any company in their position would make.
the goal of every business is to mop the floor with their competition..
I stand firm that this is nothing that Sony is not also engaged in even if they scale it to smaller studios within their budget..
Their goal is to wipe out their competition
And there is nothing wrong with that.

Sony will absolutely survive MS owning Activision.
and Microsoft needs the boost.

That's an "If" that is the equivalent of you saying "if I hit the lotto I'd..."
The end of the line is every significant IP that isn't owned by PlayStation and Nintendo will be in the hands of a company that would have gone out of business a decade ago if not for their being backed by microsoft.

 

[Rheon]

Fire in the (Booty) hole.

 

[The Fuzz damn you!]

It was a publisher looking for a buyer and it found one.
Again like I said before, Sony does more than just 6 month exclusivies..
they own 20% of square enix.. and they are using that small investment to hold major games to their platform.

…and if MS merely invested in SquEnix, literally no-one would give a shit. Or hell, if they just invested in Activision.

You have not made a single valid point in this entire thread (well… except maybe Kotick getting hoisted out). It’s embarrassing. Try doing more reading and less writing for a bit, learn a little.

 

[Dick Jones]

It was a publisher looking for a buyer and it found one.
Again like I said before, Sony does more than just 6 month exclusivies..
they own 20% of square enix.. and they are using that small investment to hold major games to their platform.

Sony owns 20% of SE?
Or do you mean the below?

Why Sony Sold All its Square Enix Shares Revealed - IGN

It appears Sony's decision to sell all its Square Enix shares isn't down to any bad blood, but rather returning a favour.

www.ign.com

 

[Calverz]

I'm more surprised how sloppy they are running this business. Choosing cloud at the expense of Series X stock, considering going on all in mobile gaming, haphazardly choosing devs to buy as if they are kids at a candy store... Without being backed by daddy's credit card there would be no Xbox right now and they wouldn't have jobs.

Cool story bro. You didn’t address my point lol

 

[Calverz]

SonyToo™

Exactly anime dude. Both as bad as each other when it comes to this stuff. Fuels console warz and fanboys. Oh wait…..

 

[Interfectum]

Cool story bro. You didn’t addres my point lol

Your point? Oh... Sony Too. omglol gg.

When we get those emails, we can have a thread about that too.

 

[Unknown?]

It was a publisher looking for a buyer and it found one.
Again like I said before, Sony does more than just 6 month exclusivies..
they own 20% of square enix.. and they are using that small investment to hold major games to their platform.

The only time they do full exclusives is if they directly fund it like Street Fighter 5 or Bloodborne. Those games never would have been made without them.

Everything else, the vast majority, is timed and sometimes it is more than 6 months but always ends up on Xbox eventually and since they've spent 80 billion they could have easily outbid those exclusivity deals. They were after all just publishers looking for timed exclusive buyers.

Your Square example is bad, it's nowhere near the size of Activision.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Link? I should take a look for the lulz.

https://www.neogaf.com/threads/axios-stephen-totilo-lawyers-email-proves-microsoft%E2%80%99s-abk-bid-is-designed-to-elimination-update-ms-claims-it-was-a-thought-experiment.1658021/

Enjoy.

 

[user friendly]

It’s quite funny to see the reaction to this email. Do you honestly not think Sony have these conversations all the time about Xbox?

I doubt Sony has ever said we can outspend MS. It's a scummy, low effort take on their position in the industry and how much weight they have to throw around. Make great games, nah, let's just buy them all so no one else has them on their platform. Sony at least seems to be focused on what matters the most in gaming. I just wish MS had more interest in bringing new big IP's to the industry. It seems they are doing the bare minimum as far as creating games.

 

[Kilau]

The only time they do full exclusives is if they directly fund it like Street Fighter 5 or Bloodborne. Those games never would have been made without them.

Everything else, the vast majority, is timed and sometimes it is more than 6 months but always ends up on Xbox eventually and since they've spent 80 billion they could have easily outbid those exclusivity deals. They were after all just publishers looking for timed exclusive buyers.

Your Square example is bad, it's nowhere near the size of Activision.

Outbidding Sony on timed exclusivity is not a good investment in their eyes. They won't make a return on it, and it only temporarily boosts their exclusive catalog. Buying the company to permanently deny PlayStation makes much more sense to them.

 

[JCK75]

The only time they do full exclusives is if they directly fund it like Street Fighter 5 or Bloodborne. Those games never would have been made without them.

Everything else, the vast majority, is timed and sometimes it is more than 6 months but always ends up on Xbox eventually and since they've spent 80 billion they could have easily outbid those exclusivity deals. They were after all just publishers looking for timed exclusive buyers.

Your Square example is bad, it's nowhere near the size of Activision.

Street Fighter would not happen without Sony? really?
And it's not about the size it's about the practice.. it's either bad to spend money making games exclusive to your platform or it isn't.

I personally don't like it

But I refuse to treat what MS is doing any differently than how Sony has operated.

 

[JCK75]

Sony owns 20% of SE?
Or do you mean the below?

Why Sony Sold All its Square Enix Shares Revealed - IGN

It appears Sony's decision to sell all its Square Enix shares isn't down to any bad blood, but rather returning a favour.

www.ign.com

Listing sites were not updated to reflect this.

 

[Dick Jones]

Street Fighter would not happen without Sony? really?
And it's not about the size it's about the practice.. it's either bad to spend money making games exclusive to your platform or it isn't.

I personally don't like it

But I refuse to treat what MS is doing any differently than how Sony has operated.

Capcom were in a dire place when they had a partnership with Sony over Street Fighter V. Had Sony not funded it, we wouldn't have seen Street Fighter for years later. Capcom used the money from that to concentrate on their main IPs that sold very fucking well. Capcom have now returned to their rightful place and we all now have SF6.

It was a marriage of convenience for Capcom to return to the top table. Thankfully it paid off in spades.

Edit: you clarified Sony and SE in another post.

 

[darrylgorn]

"We can destroy you all by spending money."

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

Technically... here. Or what's the point in saying this?


on another note... do people realize that MS are the ones that championed the very practices they are here saying they are fighting Sony for or Sony is doing to try and stifle their growth? Sony is literally playing off MS Playbook.

When PlayStation started, they threw a lot of money around, but how? They did so not by buying content off Nintendo or Sega, but by making sure whatever they didn't own, would also be made available on a Playstation. They basically paid devs/publishers to make a PS version of their game `too`.

MS came and decided its not enough to just have games be on their platform too (yes, they tried to do the same thing sony did), so, they instead started things like securing marketing rights or exclusive Dlc (GTA4)... yes, that was something MS started. Then they took that further by starting the whole timed exclusive thing (tomb raider anyone?), yes, that was also something MS started.

Now, they have decided that all those things don't really work for them, so they have shifted focus to not even buying studios, but buying publishers (this was never done by a platform holder until the last two years). Another new trend they are starting.

And everything I just said... has been going on for the last 17 years. People are here taking shit like whatever MS is ding they just started doing in 2019.

MS doesn’t have to acquire the entire industry to “spend Sony out of business”. That should be obvious to everyone. It should also be obvious to everyone that it isn’t going to happen because, again, look at how difficult it is for them to make just a second big purchase.

Regarding the rest of that post where you type a lot of nonsense about how Sony doesn’t blah blah it’s all evil MS, you’re just plain old fashioned wrong.

Sony entered the industry spending a fortune they amassed elsewhere (kind of like what people complain about MS doing) to draw third parties to their platform and only their platform with things like massive licensing/royalty discounts and also the exclusive moneyhatting tactics you’re blaming MS for starting (see: Tomb Raider during the PSone generation, etc).

Some of you are too emotionally attached to this stuff to either remember history or think clearly.

 

[AGRacing]

Can you share some of those emails, or are you just speculating in a feeble attempt to normalize this? #SonyToo.

Yeah...

To compete you need guys on the team that want to win. They may not get everything they want but they're there to push your company performance in the right direction. Aim for no.1. Aim for dominance. Put people hungry for it in charge. You may not land where they want but maybe youre gaining ground as a result. Maybe the "buy everything!" guy on the team gets Activision. Maybe he doesn't. This could not be a more basic concept.

You put people who use the word "normalize" in reference to behavior on the social media team where they belong. Doing nothing of any real importance and occasionally fucking the whole thing up for everybody with a stupid tweet.

 

[Three]

D Darsxx82 suggesting exhibit k was some "old thing" about GFN to damage controlling this in a blink of an eye. Didn't expect any less.

 

[ResilientBanana]

Meanwhile, if Jim said this about Xbox, the users in here would be hooting and hollering.

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

It’s quite funny to see the reaction to this email. Do you honestly not think Sony have these conversations all the time about Xbox?

No way bro. Sony signs all these deals to starve Xbox of content out of the goodness of their hearts. They probably don’t even offer money, I bet Jimbo baked Square two dozen cookies for FFXVI.

 

[Three]

Meanwhile, if Jim said this about Xbox, the users in here would be hooting and hollering.

TheoreticalSonyToo™

 

[yet_another_alt]

Meanwhile, if Jim said this about Xbox, the users in here would be hooting and hollering.

I'll laugh at him for being delusional in thinking he can outspend Microsoft.