While the UK was in opposition, the EU has taken a more lenient stance, in regards to the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard merger. Less than a month after the UK's market regulators blocked Microsoft's buyout of Activision, the European Commission has decided to allow the merger to go through. Europe's regulators found that even if Microsoft were to stop putting Activision's games on Sony's platforms, it would, "not significantly harm competition in the consoles market."

• Even if Microsoft did decide to withdraw Activision's games from the PlayStation, this would not significantly harm competition in the consoles market. Even if Call of Duty is largely played on console, it is less popular in the EEA than in other regions of the world, and is less popular in the EEA within its genre compared to other markets. Therefore, even without being able to offer this specific game, Sony could leverage its size, extensive games catalogue and market position to fend off any attempt to weaken its competitive position.

There is a caveat, though. In order for the deal to go through, Microsoft must license Activision Blizzard's game library to other cloud streaming service competitors, and will be in effect for all regions, not just European markets. The license would be in effect for a minimum of ten years, and would allow owners of Activision Blizzard games to use cloud gaming to stream the games to their platform of choosing.

To address the competition concerns identified by the Commission in the market for the distribution of PC and console games via cloud game streaming services, Microsoft offered the following comprehensive licensing commitments, with a 10-year duration:

• A free license to consumers in the EEA that would allow them to stream, via any cloud game streaming services of their choice, all current and future Activision Blizzard PC and console games for which they have a license.
• A corresponding free license to cloud game streaming service providers to allow EEA-based gamers to stream any Activision Blizzard's PC and console games.

Source

 

[64bitmodels]

Eurocucks being eurocucks.

would rather live in the netherlands or France than spend another second in America's car infested, hypercapitalist hell...

 

[pedro702]

Honestly, I'm torn either way. Don't like the precedent of this big of a buyout and I don't want too see other games "Red Falled". That said, I don't want Sony getting even more complacent.


Actually, Microsoft tends to still give Nintendo games.

they gave only 2 wisp games because the devs really asked them to do so, spyro and crash are more important games that will be used for gamepass/console sales call.

 

[x65943]

would rather live in the netherlands or France than spend another second in America's car infested, hypercapitalist hell...

I used to think that too, but when you go to Europe you realize. Everything is more expensive, taxes are higher, wages are much lower and there is red tape everywhere.

You can't beat the US for social mobility and cost of living - we have our problems, but living in the US is still superior to almost anywhere else (especially most of Europe)

 

[ZeroFX]

would rather live in the netherlands or France than spend another second in America's car infested, hypercapitalist hell...

/thread

 

[Xzi]

I used to think that too, but when you go to Europe you realize. Everything is more expensive, taxes are higher, wages are much lower and there is red tape everywhere.

Wages are definitely not lower, they're regulated to be higher because European governments actually pay to cover citizens' basic needs when corporations inevitably don't.

You can't beat the US for social mobility and cost of living - we have our problems, but living in the US is still superior to almost anywhere else (especially most of Europe)

Social mobility he says, as if we don't have any number of states whose populations are almost entirely below the poverty line, and the top 1% aren't vacuuming up 90% of all new wealth created. There are parts of the US that are very nice, I'd say the Pacific Northwest mostly, but Ohio and much of the Midwest might as well be Caelid compared to any EU member nation. The cost of living at a trailer park is pretty low, sure, but the Wal-Mart food will kill you slowly if the cheap beer and cigarettes don't get ya first. I haven't even mentioned all the power-tripping murderous police or the crazed alt-right mass shooters, but I doubt anybody has forgotten about those. 'Murica, fuck yeah!

 

[eyeliner]

I used to think that too, but when you go to Europe you realize. Everything is more expensive, taxes are higher, wages are much lower and there is red tape everywhere.

You can't beat the US for social mobility and cost of living - we have our problems, but living in the US is still superior to almost anywhere else (especially most of Europe)

This is one funny compadre.

Non existem student debt, free universal healthcare, representative government and not a dual rigged system, and actual competent law enforcement that asks before shooting.
I'll keep in "most Europe", thanks.

America is only good in the movies, guapo. Real life is a whole different story.

We have issues here, but it's mostly resolved through eurovision song contests and champions league matches.

 

[Marc_LFD]

Because both Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have offices in the EU and UK and are thus subject to EU and UK laws in addition to US laws. This is very, very basic information, really, and trivial to Google.

Fair enough. Makes sense, too.

 

[nWo]

I'm honestly confused. I saw some time ago that they aquired blizzard, after that, that it was cancelled, and now this again. I don't know what the hell is going on anymore.

 

[Viri]

I like to imagine one guy in the UK CMA is a huge Rare fan, and is still butt hurt about what happened to Rare. Also, I recently learned that there was actually a 3 way bidding war for Rare, between Nintendo, Microsoft and Activision.

 

[swabbo]

I've hated Microsoft since the 1990's, lol. Then in the 2010's they started gobbling up companies I love and use. Skype, Minecraft, Zenimax, almost got Yahoo!, etc etc.

Time to fire up them anti-trust lawsuits again...

who the fuck "loves" Yahoo?

 

[17hitcombooo]

who the fuck "loves" Yahoo?

microsoft apprently, until they realized they can do bing

 

[x65943]

Wages are definitely not lower, they're regulated to be higher because European governments actually pay to cover citizens' basic needs when corporations inevitably don't.


Social mobility he says, as if we don't have any number of states whose populations are almost entirely below the poverty line, and the top 1% aren't vacuuming up 90% of all new wealth created. There are parts of the US that are very nice, I'd say the Pacific Northwest mostly, but Ohio and much of the Midwest might as well be Caelid compared to any EU member nation. The cost of living at a trailer park is pretty low, sure, but the Wal-Mart food will kill you slowly if the cheap beer and cigarettes don't get ya first. I haven't even mentioned all the power-tripping murderous police or the crazed alt-right mass shooters, but I doubt anybody has forgotten about those. 'Murica, fuck yeah!

This is one funny compadre.

Non existem student debt, free universal healthcare, representative government and not a dual rigged system, and actual competent law enforcement that asks before shooting.
I'll keep in "most Europe", thanks.

America is only good in the movies, guapo. Real life is a whole different story.

We have issues here, but it's mostly resolved through eurovision song contests and champions league matches.

As someone with a US and EU passport, and who has visited the EU a number of times (and has family there). I can tell you this. Wages are lower across the board in most of europe, and that's even accounting for improved social services. I would ask you to look up your job in Europe and see the difference. I seriously considered moving to Europe in the past - but the math just doesn't make sense for me. In my field I was looking at 75% pay cut. My girlfriend would be looking at 50% paycut.

I really challenge you to show any objective data that wages are higher in europe after accounting for gov services, because it's clearly not true.

And it's silly to say the midwest is a bad place to live. I live in the midwest, and the cost of living is super cheap with lots of opportunity for good well paying jobs. And if you think the midwest is somehow worse than any EU member state, I challenge you to visit eastern europe. Have you been to Greece? The whole place felt like the worst of inner city USA - spray paint everywhere and broken down buildings. I had never been robbed in my life before I visited Greece.

I just think if you're gonna talk about US and europe you should educate yourself. Again being an EU citizen and visiting multiple european countries over the past 12 years - the wealth in the US is very obvious. My family in fairly well off western european countries lives much less well than I do but spends more to do so.

I really wish it wasn't this way - and what I'll say is you are gonna have a rude awakening if you visit the balkan EU states and expect a peachy wonderland - because that's only in tourist areas unfortunately.

 

[Xzi]

I really challenge you to show any objective data that wages are higher in europe after accounting for gov services, because it's clearly not true.

Before or after taxes, it doesn't matter because they're still living happier and fuller lives without the threat of going bankrupt or becoming homeless as a result of a single unexpected medical bill. The hard data supports this, as do any number of opinion polls. That's not even the only benefit EU citizens get in return for their taxes, either, which ultimately means more money in their pockets to spend on luxuries and not necessities.

I live in the midwest, and the cost of living is super cheap with lots of opportunity for good well paying jobs.

My condolences, I'd be driven insane within a year due solely to how flat those states are and how little foliage survives aside from suburban lawns. I'm sure wages for professional-level jobs have skyrocketed, it's the only way they can attract people there. At the same time, the per-state minimum wage remains as low as it legally can be, which is well below the poverty line.

I challenge you to visit eastern europe.

No thanks, if I want to see that kind of squalor and chaos I'll visit New Jersey.

I had never been robbed in my life before I visited Greece.

Give me a break, I don't even have to list US cities in which you'd be mugged within an hour, because I know you can come up with five of them in your head instantly. If you were a local of Greece you'd know the areas to avoid there too. Which isn't to say I don't believe it was bad, but Greece is kind of an outlier with their relatively recent economic implosion.

Walkable cities and large towns are just plain better than concrete jungles designed around never-ending traffic jams. Not to mention they feature much more varied and interesting architecture.

 

[RAHelllord]

In my field I was looking at 75% pay cut. My girlfriend would be looking at 50% paycut.

I'm curious, what field are you working in?

 

[Moon164]

Honestly, I'm totally against this acquisition, I don't trust Phill Spencer, much less Microsoft, and I hate the idea of buying companies just to make their games, which have always been cross-platform, become exclusive to a single ecosystem.

Just look at how Redfall had the PS5 version in development canceled following Microsoft's purchase of the company. (and possibly the same with Starfield and other games like Hi-Fi Rush)

Not to mention Skyrim which is available on Switch, PS3, PS4, PS5 and PSVR but Elder Scrolls 6 will not set foot on any Playstation or Nintendo platforms (and Skyrim will not gain PSVR 2 support), the same goes for Hellblade which had a Switch and PS4 version, but Hellblade 2 will be an Xbox exclusive.

I don't like the idea of Activision IPs (which is a company that has always released games for all consoles) suddenly becoming exclusive to the Xbox platform, I don't see how this can be beneficial to the consumer.

 

[Xzi]

Honestly, I'm totally against this acquisition, I don't trust Phill Spencer, much less Microsoft, and I hate the idea of buying companies just to make their games, which have always been cross-platform, become exclusive to a single ecosystem.

I don't like the idea of Activision IPs (which is a company that has always released games for all consoles) suddenly becoming exclusive to the Xbox platform, I don't see how this can be beneficial to the consumer.

ActiBlizzard really has nowhere to go but up from where they're at now. Whatever you might think of Phil Spencer, he's no Bobby Kotick, and Microsoft will make exponentially more money keeping CoD multiplat.

Plenty of JRPGs are never released on Xbox, so in some sense the console wars rage on, but there's always PC if you're truly worried about being able to play everything.

 

[K3Nv2]

"we promise everything will be alright."

 

[Jayro]

who the fuck "loves" Yahoo?

Back when I made my very first e-mail account in 1998, I had the choice of Yahoo, or Hotmail. And I definitely didn't want Microsoft all up in my shit. That's why I chose Yahoo over Microsoft. My stance still remains the same.

Post automatically merged: May 16, 2023

The first offense was destroying rare

I forgot about that. Now i'm slightly more miffed than I was when I made this post.

 

[DeadSkullzJr]

I don't like Activision Blizzard or Microsoft. I swear though Microsoft is getting too big for their own britches, mentally primitive politicians can say whatever and look away, the reality is Microsoft is becoming a monopoly with all the acquisitions. They don't need Activision Blizzard in the arsenal.

Side note, I don't understand why these corporate leaders just don't say no when bribed with money, are people really that damn weak and dumb in these places? It's not that hard to say "no" and call it a day, sheesh. These buyouts, acquisitions, etc. are really dumb so far, some cases I can see the healthy benefits for a company, others, what the hell?!

 

[tpax]

I used to think that too, but when you go to Europe you realize. Everything is more expensive, taxes are higher, wages are much lower and there is red tape everywhere.

You can't beat the US for social mobility and cost of living - we have our problems, but living in the US is still superior to almost anywhere else (especially most of Europe)

US is a huge shithole. And central Europe is slowly becoming one as well.
If you objectively think otherwise, you probably haven't left your sewer for a long time.

But yeah, Microsoft must have paid really gud.