350°

Xbox Buying Bethesda Isn't a Monopoly, Legal Expert Says

Xbox is buying ZeniMax Media which includes studios like Bethesda and Arkane, but this won't break antitrust laws a lawyer says.

TheColbertinator1352d ago

Monopoly does not apply to this at all. Sony took the L today and that's all she wrote.

enkiduxiv1352d ago

Yeah, soon Microsoft will be bathing in all those Fallout 76 and Elder Scrolls Blades dollars.

RpgSama1352d ago

Agree, this deal happened because Bethesda it's not the company it was on last generation, taking Doom out which is amazing, they've had blunder after blunder with Fallout 76, Elder Scrolls Blades, Wolfenstein Young Blood, which are some of the worst, most hated games of the generation

On top of that commercial failures like the last Dishonored, Rage, The Evil Within 2 (which I loved).

GzusKreist1352d ago ShowReplies(1)
Mulando1352d ago

Monopoly ... who thought that. The markets are full of big publishers.
There is still, EA, Activision, Ubi, Square, ....

Rude-ro1352d ago

Well... monopoly and Microsoft go together like peanut butter and jelly...
No, this is not a monopoly situation in short... but after 20 years of being in the gaming world... and their track record..
One does wonder.

Ju1352d ago (Edited 1352d ago )

There are, but there is no reason, why those can't be sold as well. I think this deal sets a precedence that might lead to more of such purchasers and we simply don't have any regulations. Heck, the gaming industry is the least regulated industry of all (other than the age rating on games). There was a time, where deals like that would have been regulated. But that probably ended with Bell of all. Over capitalized mega corporations are not the consumers best friend. No matter how they want to sell that.

Ju1352d ago

Still, I would not mind if platform owner would be limited to the amount of studios they can own. That should apply for any one, incl. Sony.

kneon1352d ago

Sorry but that is ridiculous. No sane government would place such a restriction on a company

Every acquisition should just go through the same level of scrutiny that it does in every other industry.

Ju1351d ago

I would think this is not correct. There are anti trust regulations and laws which do exactly that. Making sure that acquisition do not end up in a monopoly and anti competitive behavior where acquisitions at a certain level are reviewed. Imagine if Bell would have one back in the day. No cell phones as we know it. Lately this is often neglected by politics and surrendered to mega corporations, though.

1352d ago
+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 1351d ago
Nanas1352d ago

No shit it's not a monopoly?

"1+1 is not 5, mathematician says"

RememberThe3571352d ago

Who's disagreeing? Who thought this was a monopoly and why? In no shape or form was this approaching anything monopolistic. Bathesda is big but not THAT big. If they would have bought Acti and Square? Than sure we can start to talk, but even then that's not a majority market share. Being a big company doesn't make you a monopoly.

kneon1352d ago

There are still too many publishers out there for this to even get on the radar of the monopoly busters. Perhaps if we were down to the last two independent publishers and Microsoft or Sony tried to buy one then they might have a look. And still I would expect it to get approved.

TheProfessional1352d ago

What a joke article, if those corporate scum at Disney can own ABC, fox, marvel, star wars, etc. without any issues then why would this even be considered?

GzusKreist1352d ago ShowReplies(1)
GzusKreist1352d ago

WOW, i didnt know Bethesda makes every single game on the market and now Xbox owns them? TOTAL MONOPOLY!!!!

Rachel_Alucard1352d ago

This article seems to be responding to a bunch of angry fan comments rather then something the author thinks. I'm not surprised people would jump to the end state in response to this.

Show all comments (46)
160°

Why Microsoft Putting Black Ops 6 On Game Pass Is The Ultimate Test

By putting Black Ops 6 on Game Pass, Microsoft plans to gauge its growth, pricing, and monetization changes, at the cost of less game sales.

rlow15h ago

If they have follow up games that are bangers, then this strategy will work. But if it’s Call of Duty followed another dead period then it won’t last.

crazyCoconuts2h ago

From MS financial perspective I think it may be the opposite.
A year of GamePass on PC is less than the price of two full price games. For all the people that would have bought COD for $70 but instead started subbing for GP, MS will get an extra $50/year which is good.
However, for each banger that MS puts out, that's lost potential revenue because the GP sub won't need to buy it.
So it only makes sense where the new GP customers would have otherwise not spent more money with MS... Which is the case if MS puts out low quality shovelware.

rlow11h ago

If you’re looking at the short term you are correct. But if Xbox can have multiple bangers then subscriptions should increase. Which is what they want, recurring revenue.

Sonic18812h ago

I don't see it working if Call of Duty makes less money and profits over time from gamepass 🤔

blackblades2h ago

I dont understand why have it on it when we all know it sells with the name alone. Seems stupid to lose so much sales and $ just to have it on game pass. They basically shooting themselves in the foot with a already injured foot from all the other times they shoot themselves in the foot.

CrashMania1h ago

@blackblades, that's my exact point, even on xbox where most software sells poorly CoD still sells millions, but the thing is, if you don't put it on GP you kinda shatter the whole idea they've build GP up to be, they've dug this hole themselves.

I think it might tick up subscribers a bit, but warzone is already free and gets millions of players regardless of GP. But where will those extra subs come from? Xbox sales are dropping like a rock, PC gamers are very firmly rooted in Steam and will just buy it there.

Tacoboto40m ago

@black

If they don't include it on Game Pass, they lose the claim of First-Party Day-One on Game Pass, and thus would begin the slippery slope of what's-ok-to-not-include and the devaluing of the service, and further sinking Microsoft/Xbox's already tarnished reputation.

Stuck between a rock and a hard place and this move buys them time to work out more future-math.

crazyCoconuts14m ago

I still expect a price increase in GP to compensate but who knows. With all the factors in play like COD points there are too many variables for someone on the outside to predict what will happen. I assume they have a forecast model where this all looks peachy.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 14m ago
Garethvk4h ago

When the game does not hit 1 Billion in revenue in under two weeks they will wonder why and the next thing you know; Season Updates will no longer be free.

Noskypeno4h ago

Yup, the CEO needs a new yacht and private jet

Abear211h ago

Yeah I expect paid DLC and season pass in your face, now you are buying for a game you are renting

purple1013h ago

subscribers go up, execs celebrate win, get bonus, price goes up, subscribers go down,

execs dont care, got their bonus,

MrDead2h ago

If it works CEOs and shareholders get a payday and if it doesn't even more studios get closed by MS so CEOs and shareholders get a payday.

Elda2h ago

It will sell on PC & PS but as long as COD is for rent on Gamepass it will not sell well on the XB platform. Most folks such as myself that like COD just for the campaign would rather rent it for that month instead of paying $70 plus tax for the game.

IAMRealHooman1h ago

Your smart.
its 70 for base plus 10 to 20 for a season pass plus another 30 for there better season pass,

darthv721h ago

...now you are finally getting how to use GP. No commitments, just play what is offered. if you like it so much and want to keep a copy for yourself... you can buy it when you want to. I used to buy games based on if they looked appealing and have been burned many times on things. With this, I can try before I buy. And I have actually bought several games after having rented them in the service. It literally is like the old days of renting only you get the whole store instead of pay per rental.

Elda1h ago

I've been knowing how to use Gamepass. I sub the service yearly & I play games on the service that I don't have to pay the full price for such as Persona 3:Reload. I mostly play & pay for games on my PS5 but if a game lands on GP that I'm interested in playing & I don't have to buy a copy for the PS5 I'll definitely play it on Gamepass.

Show all comments (19)
60°

Behaviour Interactive Is Laying Off 95 People

Behaviour Interactive is facing redundancies, with almost 100 people affected, mostly affected in Montreal.

Read Full Story >>
consolecreatures.com
just_looken11h ago

Man this studio got hit with another round? it sucks there know for dead by daylight not saying that its a bad game because its not but because its from 2016 and this team has tossed a game out almost every year sense then but each game got worse and worse sales/notice.

meet your maker all done by them has 8 players playing on average via steam
https://en.wikipedia.org/wi...
https://steamdb.info/app/11...

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

Stuff like this looks like alot of work was done but so few sales this is what no doubt is causing all the layoffs.

January this year they laid off 45 people
https://www.gamesindustry.b...

95 is this week so this news is new
https://www.msn.com/en-us/m...

Just back to back waves of layoffs.

160°

Why is Steam Blocked in Vietnam? Government Shares Reason

Finally, the Vietnamese government has officially responded to Steam being blocked in the country.

Read Full Story >>
spieltimes.com
blacktiger1d 23h ago

AMAZING! Thank You Gabe, stand for freedom of speech!!!!

PRIMORDUS1d 22h ago

VPN to buy games, fuck that if it's allowed or not, or just use a VPN and torrent what you can.

seanpitt231d 10h ago

I just cannot believe we haven't had a game from them this generation nearly 4 years in.. crazy!

Knightofelemia1d 15h ago

If the game is crap then yes there will always be negative feedback it comes with the territory. It's called word of mouth or welcome to the internet. Where the truth about a game comes out really fast whether the game is good or crap. If you can't handle the criticism because of a game then why publish the game. Why should people who never criticized or even played the game be punished? Vietnam has some really screwed up laws block Steam because they don't answer us rule. And going on a witch hunt with Steam please. Where's the proof, where's the evidence of this witch hunt. Somebody is butt hurt and has a Vietnamese Karen leading the witch hunt.