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Bloomberg: Microsoft will keep publishing Activision titles on PlayStation


You really underestimate how popular multiplat/online games like CoD and overestimate how much Sony exclusives matter. Outside of Gaf and other "hardcore" gaming communities, the majority of casuals play fifa, nba, cod etc.

Theres one ps exclusive game, the spider man being fifth place, the rest is multiplat. Cod vanguard, which wasn't among the most popular game in the franchise, is number 2 om both Europe and USA.

I think its more likely people would buy as series s than buying a PC, and Microsoft don't care where you're playing it because they get their money either way.
Also, CoD games sell big at FULL PRICE at launch and significantly after launch. GAF likes to ignore the fact that Sony first party sales are often at deep bargain bin discounts. The notion that Sony can thrive on their first party alone is utterly preposterous.
 

The_Mike

I cry about SonyGaf from my chair in Redmond, WA
Also, CoD games sell big at FULL PRICE at launch and significantly after launch. GAF likes to ignore the fact that Sony first party sales are often at deep bargain bin discounts. The notion that Sony can thrive on their first party alone is utterly preposterous.
Sonys games sells solid at release, but it decreases fast within three months then no one really talks about them.

They are without a doubt quality games, but you can only talk so much about a single player game.

Except for The Last of Us 2 that kept roaming for a while.
 
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Because they will get in trouble with regulators. They wont allow moves that will significantly harm a competitor or consumers.
You're going to be sorely disappointed if this is what you're pinning your hopes on. Not going to happen in a thousand lifetimes. If the deal goes through (which it absolutely will) they can (and will) do precisely whatever they want with their property.

Presumably it's okay to pay to keep Final Fantasy off the Xbox even though you don't own it, but not okay to keep something you do actually own off PlayStation? Right, that makes sense...
 

FrankWza

Member
Also, CoD games sell big at FULL PRICE at launch and significantly after launch. GAF likes to ignore the fact that Sony first party sales are often at deep bargain bin discounts. The notion that Sony can thrive on their first party alone is utterly preposterous.


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NickFire

Member
Its just not that simple.

Until the addressable market from their platforms and services can exceed what was formerly attainable with multi-platform publishing its the definition of leaving money on the table because what it boils down to is abandoning a proven, highly lucrative revenue stream.

Will going exclusive drive more users into the ecosystem? Sure, but you aren't going to get 100% conversion even assuming that you have capacity to support that extra number of customers - something that isn't assured by any means.

There are a whole load of other considerations both pro and con, but the loss of revenue on an annualized multi-plat franchise thst runs as a live service is especially impactful.

The objective is to make money and become dominant, not to win every battle on every front even when doing so inflicts damages on your bottom line. That'd be stupid.

No company ever "moneyhats" everything. Because its just not necessary.

More than that, if the only way you can "win" is by locking down everything, what does that say about confidence in your brand and reputation?
I would have agreed with you 12 months ago. But MS historical and recent history suggests to me that "the objective is to become dominant and then make money" on this one. In my opinion, they are going to leave money on the table, but to them its worth it on the back end if they can charge whatever they want to console gamers.
 
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The Alien

Banned
Ridiculous thinking is this infantile idea that MS will shut the doors of CoD to other places when CoD nets a massive amount of cash in multiple plataforms.
Seriously, they are not stupid like most of console warriors. They didn't spend 70b just to go exclusive and throw the rest of the starting flux in the garbage. They will have their return of cash in long term thanks to CoD popularity over multiple plataforms.
Thats short term thinking.

Long term they get an extra 10-20+ million more subscribers into GamePass that pay $15 per month.
 

NickFire

Member
Thats short term thinking.

Long term they get an extra 10-20+ million more subscribers into GamePass that pay $15 per month.
I agree with you all the way up to $15 per month being long term. But fundamentally you are correct. The goal is to get monthly fees from people who will barely touch anything but one game.
 

N1tr0sOx1d3

Given another chance
Listen to it will you...

MS isn't spending $70 Billion dollars for it to make PS games. Come 2023 it will be Xbox only
So how does MS recoup 70 Billion plus running costs of paying 100s of developers which will run into 100s of millions annually? Gamepass isn’t going to be enough paying for this expense…..
 
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N1tr0sOx1d3

Given another chance
Also, CoD games sell big at FULL PRICE at launch and significantly after launch. GAF likes to ignore the fact that Sony first party sales are often at deep bargain bin discounts. The notion that Sony can thrive on their first party alone is utterly preposterous.
🤣 COD numbers have been in massive decline year on year. Cod sees heavy discounts within a few short months now.
 
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N1tr0sOx1d3

Given another chance
Oh ok. I guess Sony won't mind losing CoD then. They'll just make up the difference in Horizon sales. :pie_neutral:
Oh come on lastmessiah let’s not pretend Cod is gods gift to gaming. Cod has been stagnant for years. It never changes, never moves forwards, never pushes technological boundaries. If you’ve played one cod, you’ve played them all in recent years.
 
Oh come on lastmessiah let’s not pretend Cod is gods gift to gaming. Cod has been stagnant for years. It never changes, never moves forwards, never pushes technological boundaries. If you’ve played one cod, you’ve played them all in recent years.
I've never argued it does any of these things. What it does do, however, is pay Sony's bills and keep the lights on.
 

Edgelord79

Gold Member
Los Angeles Clippers GIF
 

N1tr0sOx1d3

Given another chance
I've never argued it does any of these things. What it does do, however, is pay Sony's bills and keep the lights on.
Fair point 👍
I just hope that Microsoft can do something with the IPs. To be fair, this is a gaming wide issue. Companies churning out the same crap year after year. Very few companies taking risks.

Technology has advanced so much, yet games aren’t really pushing boundaries. Hopefully MS can get more out of these games.
 

Three

Member
Also, CoD games sell big at FULL PRICE at launch and significantly after launch. GAF likes to ignore the fact that Sony first party sales are often at deep bargain bin discounts. The notion that Sony can thrive on their first party alone is utterly preposterous.
Somebody was just complaining about $70 games and this acquisition being good because it means $60 games now Sony games sell for a half eaten banana in the bargin bin. WelcomeToNeogaf.gif
 

Majmun

Member
I'm sure MS is going to negotiate a Gamepass for Playstation platforms. It will be the only way to play the games on Playstation.

It's a win-win for MS.
 
Fair point 👍
I just hope that Microsoft can do something with the IPs. To be fair, this is a gaming wide issue. Companies churning out the same crap year after year. Very few companies taking risks.

Technology has advanced so much, yet games aren’t really pushing boundaries. Hopefully MS can get more out of these games.
This is why I don't fear companies like MS, Amazon or Google buying publishers. These companies hire the best talent in the world and the developers actually want to work there for the money and prestige. With a tech-reliant industry like gaming, you want the big dogs with all the money throwing their resources into it. That's the only way it will evolve. Just imagine how AI could be in games if Google threw their hat in the ring. But instead, people here are clinging to the old ways as if they are so great. But they aren't, not for innovation and evolution.
 

M16

Member
same comments basically when they bought bethesda :messenger_grinning_sweat:

activision acquisition

"I’ll just say to players out there who are playing Activision Blizzard games on Sony’s platform: It’s not our intent to pull communities away from that platform and we remained committed to that,"

bethesda acquisition

"We have games that exist on other platforms, and we're going to go and support those games on the platforms they're on. There are communities of players, and we love those communities and we're going to continue investing in them."
 

Calverz

Member
Oh come on lastmessiah let’s not pretend Cod is gods gift to gaming. Cod has been stagnant for years. It never changes, never moves forwards, never pushes technological boundaries. If you’ve played one cod, you’ve played them all in recent years.
Vanguard was the 2nd best selling game on PlayStation for 2021. Regardless on your personal feelings on the series, it’s a sales behemoth.
 

reinking

Gold Member
So fun to watch some of you basically calling Phil a liar because you want MS to exclude playstation so badly. You're more transparent then Casper.
 
Oh come on lastmessiah let’s not pretend Cod is gods gift to gaming. Cod has been stagnant for years. It never changes, never moves forwards, never pushes technological boundaries. If you’ve played one cod, you’ve played them all in recent years.

Yet they continue to sell like hot cakes. You're nuts if you can't see the huge value in the franchise because of how you personally feel about it.
 
I don't think they will. Best case MS honors all existing deals and supports products already released, but after it doesn't make sense for MS to spend this kind of money and then release their games on their competitors platform. Locking up CoD and Overwatch future iterations to Xbox and PC will drive support for their platform.
 

N1tr0sOx1d3

Given another chance
Vanguard was the 2nd best selling game on PlayStation for 2021. Regardless on your personal feelings on the series, it’s a sales behemoth.

Yet they continue to sell like hot cakes. You're nuts if you can't see the huge value in the franchise because of how you personally feel about it.
That’s fair. My personal feelings are blindsiding me. I’m just frustrated with the lack of innovation. So much potential is wasted and I’m getting older to the point I won’t be able to play these types of games within 10 years. Battlefield is a huge disappointment too.

COD is indeed a sales juggernaut, just wish it wasn’t to force developers hands to become more creative, but if it sells they are doing something right.
 
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This story will run in the exact same way the bathesda acquisition did. ActiBlizz has to run as before... Until the final deal goes through. That means no one can say "these games won't be on PS". It would be illegal to do that until the deal is finalised.

Games like warzone will continue to stay on the platform and get updates.... But all the other games will be on xbox only... Or gamepass. The only way PS users will get to play mainline Cod game again, is if gamepass is allowed on Ps
 
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Existing games they won’t pull. But there’s bound to be non Sony releases going forward. Or at the very least they will be “free” on gamepass and full whack on PS.
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
Why would you take out old games? You know what we mean, don’t play dumb.
And why ignore old games? To play hardball MS could had scrapped all sales of old software. They didnt. Minecraft Dungeons even came out for PS in 2020 even though MS has owned Mojang for 10 years.

What proof do you have right now all the upcoming new Bethesda and Activision games wont come out for PS?
 
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poppabk

Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
It's pretty clear that MS want to be in the game service business more than they want to be in the game console business. So I can see them using this as a wedge to get a gamepass like service on Playstation.
 

01011001

Banned
And why ignore old games? To play hardball MS could had scrapped all sales of old software. They didnt. Minecraft Dungeons even came out for PS in 2020 even though MS has owned Mojang for 10 years.

What proof do you have right now all the upcoming new Bethesda and Activision games wont come out for PS?

Minecraft is an exception, which has been made very clear. Minecraft will forever be multiplatform in all forms.
the way the handle Bethesda shows how they will handle Activision. they will release all games that were already planned or promised for PS5 on PS5, and after that everything will be exclusive.
why should day handle Activision any differently from Bethesda? this whole conversation is a repeat of the Bethesda one
 

SLB1904

Banned
I really hope Diablo 4 comes out on PS, but if it doesn't I am going to have to skip it sadly. I don't want to go buy a series X for one game....and I doubt my MacBook Pro (intel) will run it how I like. So we shall see.
i wouldn't count on that one to come out anytime soon
3yUTpFf.png
 

SLB1904

Banned
I can't believe we are still having these conversations, this will no different than Bethesda, everyone said same augments about starfield and it's exclusive.
people always find excuses. its blowing my mind. once Microsoft buys Activision. whatever Phil decides goes. just let it go
 

DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
microsoft was seriously wounded by that “this is how you share games on a PS4” video weren’t they? like They really must have pissed them off and now MS are just going brutal.
 

clarky

Gold Member
Just catching up, where are people getting that MS need to "recoup" the $70 billion? that money has just shifted from loosing prob 3-5% per year just sat in the bank to stock that will probably earn them 5% - 10% depending on which way they go with it. The money just hasn't evaporated.

Also at this point its already "cost" Sony $25 billion in share price, deals looking like a winner for MS and they haven't spent a dime yet.
 
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Clear

CliffyB's Cock Holster
I would have agreed with you 12 months ago. But MS historical and recent history suggests to me that "the objective is to become dominant and then make money" on this one. In my opinion, they are going to leave money on the table, but to them its worth it on the back end if they can charge whatever they want to console gamers.

That approach is just dangerous because (1) the optics aren't great, people will feel coerced not converted, and (2) it actually creates an exploitable niche in the market for Sony to exploit, and if successful compete against them with.

Just think about it in the sense that if they maintain the status quo they are making money from the competition and growing a brand that they can use to leverage other self-owned properties and services. Most importantly while the situation remains unchanged Sony are not under pressure to mount a direct response, either by making their own competing property or paying a third party for exclusivity rights. An offer that might seem very appealing to that third party as it sidesteps direct competition with MS roster of big-name FPS.

Its easy to forget that every big title gets to occupy its own slot, a period of time where its spotlighted and promoted. And there's only a certain number of them in any given year. There's very little benefit to overstuffing the channel with similar titles, doubly so if they end up within the same subscriber offering. As all that achieves is to actually weaken the brand appeal of the less "hot" product.

This was what I was trying to get at it when I wrote about the foolishness of trying to win every battle on every front; simply put, beyond a certain point you end up competing against yourself and devaluing your own IP's/partnerships in the process.
 
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Lognor

Banned
Oh come on lastmessiah let’s not pretend Cod is gods gift to gaming. Cod has been stagnant for years. It never changes, never moves forwards, never pushes technological boundaries. If you’ve played one cod, you’ve played them all in recent years.
Who cares about that? It is consistently the top selling game every year. It can be crap and still be very successful. The loss of COD will be felt by Sony.
 

Pallas

Member
I feel like CoD will be a Minecraft situation. As for the other IP’s, who knows but CoD is still massively popular, maybe too popular to make it Xbox/PC only, but if it does go exclusive, it would move Xbox consoles/hardware and probably more importantly Gamepass subs in the future, in which case it may not matter if it’s exclusive if you can play it on Gamepass compare to $60-$70 on a PlayStation.

There’s really no denying that, it’s equivalent to say … hypothetically FIFA going exclusive. It’s pretty huge, ground shattering.

Just imagine every CoD available on Gamepass.

It’s a huge IP though like Minecraft, and just like Minecraft it literally has unlimited potential to be improved and milked. Which is why I personally feel like it’ll stay multi platform. I could be wrong of course.

Also I think stuff like Warcraft and Starcraft could really beef up PC Gamepass, especially if they develop new games in those series.
 
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And why ignore old games? To play hardball MS could had scrapped all sales of old software. They didnt. Minecraft Dungeons even came out for PS in 2020 even though MS has owned Mojang for 10 years.

What proof do you have right now all the upcoming new Bethesda and Activision games wont come out for PS?
They already said Bethesda games are going to be exclusive, they said it the same day after the acquisition went through. Most people expect they will do the same once this acquisition finishes.
 

Sanepar

Member
Thats short term thinking.

Long term they get an extra 10-20+ million more subscribers into GamePass that pay $15 per month.
There is no guarantee on that, plus keep dreaming gamepass will stay $15 with a bill of more than 80 billions to pay.
 
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