"Vivendi might be getting more serious about offloading Activision-Blizzard.
"Reuters reports the French conglomerate has been in talks with a number of video game (and mass media) companies about a potential sale of the industry's top seller.
"That makes for a good headline – and I have no doubt about Reuters' report, but as the industry works itself into a frenzy trying to guess whether Microsoft, Time Warner, or Tencent will be the new home of Call of Duty and Diablo, too many people are failing to scratch the surface," writes Chris Morris of Gamasutra.
Microsoft's future in the video game space is murky right now, so let's break it all down.
Not anytime soon. But they're on that path.
One thing not mentioned in the article is Microsoft's money bags. If Sega had Microsoft's money, they would have still been around as a hardware manufacturer. Xbox as a platform only survives because of the money bags. They can continue making consoles for the core and port to PC.
The multiplatform strategy is only the result of arrogance and misguided leadership that blew up in their face. They thought gamers would jump on Xbox in droves if they knew that many of their favorite games would be only on Xbox. But that's not happening at all. Sales didn't increase. They decreased. Why? Because the dumb asses thought giving away these expensively made games in a cheap service would also turn the tide.
Gamers on other platforms are willing to buy quality. They don't need to be handed nearly free games in a service that aren't even finished and sometimes average in their development. Gamers buy Nintendo games. They buy Sony games. Microsoft groomed their base to not buy games. Even the quality ones. It has always been their plan to go digital. But most gamers still like single player gaming. Still like physical releases.
Microsoft's problem has always been that they don't produce high quality games at the same output as Nintendo and Sony. Actually, they should be producing quite a lot more because they're worth over 2 TRILLION. How they don't have more is ridiculous and no excuse. Buying publishers to take away from competition only backfired. Because it still takes millions of dollars to continue to make those games from the publishers they snatched. Their only choice was to crawl back to their competitors to help sustain those developers because Nintendo and Sony platforms were the ones buying games.
Am I sorry for Microsoft? Hell no! They deserved last place for putting in the least effort. They deserved the fallout for buying up the industry and didn't make a single blip on the radar against their competitors where they now need those same gamers they took away games from to support them. Part of it may have been to cash in on their competition. But the result is the slow death of their platform. They may go 3rd party. They may keep making hardware. I don't give a shit about them to worry about it. I only give a shit about the destructive nature of their industry moves that only negatively affect gamers. They could sell and drop out of the industry and I wouldn't blink. Probably laugh. But not blink. They deserve whatever comes to them. At least Sega put in the effort when it came to games. They just had poor leadership. Microsoft has poor leadership and barely makes memorable games. That's a killer combination. And not in a good way.
That would be an insult to Dreamcast.. it had a crazy line up of legendary critically acclaimed games.
I was thinking the same. Dreamcast had incredible games in such a short amount of time. It was truly exceptional.
...and yet all those great games were not enough to sway people from the looming release of the PS2 at the time. Sony just has that kind of brand loyalty.
Darth
I do not agree.. Sony had even better games thanks to an unprecedented 3rd party support..
DC had amazing lineup but 90% were arcade games..
@darth:
And Sony showed off "The Emotion Engine" and their real time demos that made everyone think they would miss out on REAL next gen 128bit magic if they jumped in before PS2s polygon pushing monster (and early lack of anti-aliasing with a healthy heap of shimmer + DVD playback) stepped up. PS2 was a fantastic system though with amazing games.
That's not true. Just because Microsoft has the money doesn't mean Microsoft can allow xbox to bleed entire Microsoft money. It doesn't work like they. Also SEC will be watching and investor won't allow it. Lot of reasons why Microsoft can not continue even if they wanted to. SEC regulations is expensive.
Exactly this... Microsoft is a publicly traded company, mostly owned by their shareholders (Approximately 59.24% of the company's stock is owned by Institutional Investors, 7.73% is owned by Insiders and 33.03% is owned by Public Companies and Individual Investors.). Their shareholders call the shots on the business decisions, and their shareholders want one thing and one thing only, for their stock price to go up. Losses do not make stock prices go up... so if the division continually posts losses on hardware, but shows profits on software and services (which has been the case with Xbox its entire lifespan, for over 20 years now), the shareholders are going to grow impatient and demand they stop making hardware and focus on the only thing that has ever made them money, software and services.
When Microsoft bought Blizzard and Activision for almost 100 billion, I knew that was the nail in the coffin for Xbox as a console... as the shareholders were going to expect a quick return on that investment, and when it didn't materialize, they were going to be out for blood... out to force Xbox to sell those games on as many consoles as possible, "and while you're at it, sell those first party exclusives that aren't selling well on other consoles as well... hell, just stop making consoles and sell games."
If there is another Xbox console generation, it will definitely be the last, but I doubt there even will be one at this point. I think the Xbox division planning on it just in case, but I don't think the project has been greenlit from Microsoft itself. The rumors that they have not yet even secured the chips needed from the chip fabrication facilities ties into this.
While I usually agree with you . Alot of what was said can just also be asked before any of that.
How long will the shareholders wait? It doesn't appear long at all
I think I get your point. Like just because MS has money does not mean they are content to throw it away on a dying ecosystem. Xbox has to be profitable or “what’s the point?”
Money bags, yes, but are we ignoring that Xbox actually makes a profit on games and GamePass? Hardware is often a loss leader, and they're probably making profit 4 years into the life cycle, but games and services revenue have been very profitable while other parts of Microsoft's business is struggling. Say what you will about the quality of those games, of course, but this is kind of a reverse Dreamcast situation, where the console was dragging down the company and put it at risk of shuttering entirely. Killing that console saved the business and allowed it to continue to make games on multiple platforms. In this case, the service is very profitable, as are the games, and they're also double-dipping into Multiplatform to extend this further, while their hardware is just sort of what they believe to be the best for gamers and their own titles (whether that is the case or not...)
The issue is, they aren't selling enough hardware to make their exclusives profitable, and now that they've bought half the gaming publisher/dev industry, they have no choice but to go third party to make a profit... and that is making their shareholders take a real close look at their hardware division under the microscope... why keep making the hardware if the software is all that is making them money, and they continually, generation after generation come in dead last with hardware sales?
Look at a game like Spiderman 2... if it had been an Xbox exclusive, with the amount it cost to develop, it would have been a huge failure... simply not enough consoles out there to sell it on. They would have been lucky to break even.
@fr0sty agreed completely, which is why they're hedging by releasing other games to multiplatform, plus they have PC to make up for the difference in a lot of ways, which is why their games are not complete money pits. It brings up the question of whether or not those exclusives would drive sales of consoles, though. Let's say Spiderman 2 was an Xbox exclusive, it would certainly have pushed console sales, though who's to say how much is anyone's guess.
That's why you can't rely on just one exclusive, Sony has always delivered on a wide range of solid exclusives, even this generation (even if they haven't been strong on the first party exclusives, they've made up for it with third party). They don't rely on just one "system seller", they have a portfolio of them.
ApocalypseShadow To be honest Sony has more of a chance to go 3rd party because like you said Microsoft has money, Sony does not. Sony does not have games, Only games they have come from 3rd party. Sony has been losing money for years and you. Saying Microsoft has been putting the least effort just proves you have no idea what's been going on. All Sony has done is repeat and recycle, never innovating or doing something new. All Sony has is brand loyalty nothing else and it shows.
Not sure about that. It's been two decades and I still think about Power Stone, Shenmue, Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio, Seaman and others, but I'm not sure I'll remember Xbox Series X/S games in a few years from now... Maybe I'll remember about the franchises that the Xbox brand spawned, but I don't believe that the Xbox Series lives up to the late Dreamcast or even to the Xbox name itself. I do have great memories about the 360 with Blue Dragon, Gears 2 and Lost Odyssey though
No, Dreamcast was ahead of it's time and most still have very fond memories of it that had one. It also had some good games on it even in it's short lifespan. Xbox has none of these qualities.
I remember it coming out at the time in a really bad place they hit the market before the PS2 but it was during this transitional time when Sony was promoting the power of the PS2 and so many of the Dreamcast games were awesome but often third parties simply ported the PS1 version increased resolution and performance but rarely fully utilise the capabilities of the console.
I think in the end bad marketing done it in and like the GameCube so many people are fond of it now but at the time it was looked at in the lense of the day and it didn't stack up.
Personally I miss Sega in hardware they took risks that many companies won't
I never owned it, and got the PS2 right when it launched. But there were certain games it had that I was always jealous of that I didn't have access to - Sonic adventure, crazy taxi, power Stone, code Veronica, shenmue, skies of Arcadia. I always thought it was a really cool machine though. I've never heard a bad thing about it though from those that had it.
I only ever saw one Dreamcast, and that was one my friend owned, pity I never got to play it, I wonder what games he had for it?
It would be nice if some of those games got ported to modern systems.
Oh man sonic adventure on the Dreamcast made me so jealous as a huge sonic fan on the mega drive who also moved to PlayStation 2 I never got the chance to play it back in the day either. The Dreamcast in Australia where I am was always relegated to the smallest corner of EB Games it was kind of a strong first indicator that things were not going well at the time.
Ive been thinking about this and yeah it's possible however I think the question is more could Xbox become the next Sega rather than Dreamcast.
I can see Xbox becoming a brand still with a seperate look and feel to the parent company no one wants to see the company that makes excel publishing games so I can't see them using the Microsoft moniker on games they publish.
I see a future where Xbox is a service driven product and who knows they may still continue the hardware and make it heavily subsidised extremely powerful and low cost but require a gamepass subscription to use it so they make back their money over 4 years or so.
But I absolutely see third party publishing and cloud gaming being the sole reason for their existence.
They have far more technical experience than Sega did who we know offloaded a lot of technical expertise to vendors and it's a different time to when Dreamcast died we have cloud gaming coming up (I'm not sold on it but many appear to be).
It would have to be universally loved to be the next Dreamcast.
They forget that Sega didnt do anything wrong, it simply didnt have the coffers of MS to hold on. MS and xbox story is a bit different.
I have 2 dreamcasts, 2 Saturns. Sega did a SHIT TON wrong and they’ll be the first to tell you 😂😂😭
I played Saturn alot more then ps1 at first. My stepdads sister had one.
They had an enclosed front porch. Kept the Saturn and a TV on the front porch so the kids on the 3 house side street block could play whenever. It was all family. Literally.
Depends. They're doing another next gen console. If things don't go there way next time (though many said this gen was their last chance) they're downsizing, selling of Xbox or become 3rd party. Because the industry is just too expensive.
Though tbh I dont know what MS goals are. They said or class console sales aren't the end all be all. Is is high gamepass subscriptions? High engagement in services sales attach rate or what? The funny part is Phil recently said (again) Xbox is profitable just, slow growth.
Sounds like money hungry company wants more money, then they make said money, they want more, more and more. There is no goal just pivot after pivot and gluttony for money from what it sounds like.
Thats the thing though Phil has had to eat his words so many times over the years. Make sure you have some salt when hes talking.
I do believe ms will give the handheld thing a try. It was probably already in r and d and all.
Microsoft going the way that Sega chose I would not be surprised. I honestly would not be surprised if Microsoft rebranded Xbox as a games section and focus their studios under one branch called XBox. And have games that say developed or published by Xbox studios. But unlike Microsoft Sega actually had machines that did well and the game libraries to back these machines up.
It had more games then the XB1 and what's on the Series X and that's me defending the little white space heater.
360 sold well but gotta admit ms dipped out of that Gen about half way through. A little over halfway maybe.
Microsoft's future in the game space isn't murky at all. They've planned for a long time to drop hardware and become a multi platform publisher. For them it's much more profitable than making games purely for their own hardware. It's no coincidence that they've spent so much money on buying up some of the biggest studios with the most profitable IPs in the business. They didn't do that just to restrict the sales of those games to one single platform.
Oh yeah absolutely. Because they make more money now that they have to release on PS instead of their own hardware and give sony a 30% cut on every game sold. I am sure they planned that from the beginning.
Kill xbox and release on pc and ps. Sure all planned.
nah, xbox has Mothergoose MS behind them. Sega didnt have that kind of money.
also, sega makes fantastic games. even the dreamcast had some of my favs
This. To this day I still remember booting up Soul Caliber in 1999. There will never be another console quite like it.
the best game of all time, !!! which says a lot, as its a fighter, which never get voted.
then eventually soul caliber switched to unreal engine and ruined it, felt clunky and just like any other game, lost some of its fluidity and individuality, also too many teleporting moves. Cervantes had one jump/ teleport move, plus yoshimitsu had a few dash/teleoport, that was it.!! fast forward to ps4/xbox era and everybody teleprting around, left right and centre, the 'dance' of the fight we fell in love with, was gone,.
Dreamcast was a great system. Better than anything Microsoft or Sony have pumped out in years.
I honestly believe the next gen from Microsoft is going to transition to having 2/3 PC architect box boxes that run an Xbox platform along with Steam, epic or other storefronts of your choice, with one of them being a handheld akin to the steam deck. They are looking to alter the dynamic of the how the console market operates by fundamentally removing the walled gardens. PC gaming and Mobile are the only real growth sectors of gaming so why not have a product line that operates in all of them.
Dreamcast's aren't E-waste and hold a legacy, i have a modded DC hooked up to a CRT with the entire library.
Good luck having that with Xbox in 10yrs time.
I don’t know why, but the focus Xbox had on heavy shooters with an Alien/Space theme such as Gears of War and Halo never appealed to me. Those game had their audiences of course. But I remember that people who liked those type of games were big fans of Quake, Doom, Duke Nuken, etc when they were younger. Some people like gore and monsters. Sony had a more diverse selection of games. They were more adult oriented with games such as The Getaway on PS2 and Heavy Rain on PS3. They also had monster shooters. To this day, everytime I play a game that is an Xbox exclusive it really feels that it has no soul. Story writing has never been the strength of Xbox exclusive games.
The Dreamcast was better. Xbox is just a more advanced version of the Phillips CD i that turned out the be a better version of the Stadia console.
no... dreamcast was what it was due to before its time innovations... microsoft isnt interested in innovating anything but a sub fee to their gaming service.
Don't insult my precious Dreamcast like that by comparing it to modern day Xbox. 🍥
MS/Xbox is not going anywhere; whenever something shifts, people get all doom and gloom, lol. MS is making money on software and services, and hardware eventually becomes profitable. The problem is it's the same market over and over, with the lion's share going to their direct competitor, Sony. Fan loyalty is a real thing; it's almost like politics, where "your" side can't do anything wrong, and if they do, you brush it under the rug and keep cheering.
MS will release a new console; they will just open it up, make it completely like a PC, with other storefronts, and at the same time dip into the Switch/Steam Deck business with a handheld, effectively putting Xbox on every type of device. Collectively, it will create growth, even if one sector falls short. They will also continue to put games on PS and Nintendo when it makes sense...Live service games and, maybe after a year or 2, single-player games like SF and Indiana Jones; I do not see Halo, Gears, or Forza falling into that situation.
Side Note: as a Nintendo fan, I remember the many, many years of doom and gloom predictions from console loyalists lol.
The Saturn burned to many consumers in America. I loved the system, but the majority of the good titles for the system were never brought to the states. It was a shame. The Saturn was an absolute 2d powerhouse that released at a horrible time when everybody wanted blocky polygons. The Dreamcast suffered from the stigma of how Sega handled the Saturn in my opinion. I bought Dreamcast on day one and loved it until they stopped supporting it. I mean NFL 2k, and NBA 2k. Still playing NBA2k until this day, and would play NFL2k if it was possible to exist.
Microsoft is and has always been a software company first. Whatever hardware they make is (almost?) always secondary to their software. They seem to be trying to turn Xbox into a subscription service similar to Office 365 that spans across every platform you can think of. They want to push their presence everywhere basically. The Xbox console is just one place out of many. How well that strategy will turn out to be in the long run still remains to be seen. Wouldn't put too much hope in their hardware plans anymore tho. But never say never I guess. At the end of the day, their wallet is effectively a bottomless pit.
Full disclosure....I own a ps5, and a Series X....I still have a Dreamcast that I breakout to play Skies of Arcadia and Grandia 2 every once in awhile. I don't see a single game that I will be playing from this gen on the Xbox in 20 or so years. So while I know the comparison here is a hardware making solely transitioning to a software company...I can't compare the two
˙◠˙
BTW, many first gen Xbox games and great sagas like Project Gotham Racing were born in Dreamcast. Xbox was born thanks to Dreamcast.
Xbox keeps making new SKU’s! The internet says Xbox is waning but M$ keeps pumping out different console variants, it’s like, pretty sure they didn’t buy up half the industry to put out games on PC.
It’s funny bc M$ is so slow delivering any notable games the masses thinks Xbox is dead but really it’s just on life support while the games are being made—best not take them out to oven too soon this time or it will be a death sentence, not just for the Xbox brand, but all those great IP’s they bought as well.
In the last 6 years have they made more skus or more exclusive games
Honestly I’m confused.
Have they had Xbox one slim Xbox one x, Xbox series s & x, the black s 1tb edition now this new adorably digital edition, is that 6
They had starfirld redfail forza & halo infinite sea of thieves, As their big blockbusters
You could say hifi rush but that’s fishy, they would have had it anyway, even without the buyout,
I mean, I’m not good at maths but it’s not really adding up to a great scorecard in my eyes
These mfs not even tryna release games at all, they rather boast about releases that's like 3+ years away lmao then wonder why sales are low seems like there's politicians and con artist working there nowadays with all the lies and not owning up to it like a real adult
Basiic tenet of business is that you don’t keep pouring money into a loss making venture. MS has a history of cutting and running if the business venture is failing.
Blizzard only lets you license its products digitally now, not own copies.
and so it begins. one company starts, other will unfortunately follow suit.
god i hate this
Well do not read the sony tos so many forgot PT era then you got nintendio many they like shutting down stores.
Every company even your phones has this in some form already
Getting downvotes because it doesn't fit the narrative that boo! Microsoft bad! 😂
True, they're all at it!
Ubisoft recently wanting consumers to be comfortable with not owning their games.
Not for nothing but Sony just opened a production line in Brazil. They plan to make physical media for Latin America. Doesn't look like Sony is going the all digital route like MS. I'll continue to purchase my games physically to avoid this 😁. Tried to tell y'all.
@raven
Yes the made that but there is alot of games that need server check that become coaster after that server is gone like the avengers game.
Isn't store shutdowns really a different issue though? As I understand it, shutting down the store isn't removing your ability to play the games. The Xbox 360 storefront is shutting down in July, but they've confirmed you can not only still play your games, but download stuff you already purchased. Same with the Wii. Store shut down years ago but you can still download your purchases.
^ For the most part, you can download games you've purchased before.
However, there have been exceptions in the past and there certainly won't be any guarantees in future. Games that have licensed music or characters seem to have the biggest issues here.
I’ll never buy any software from them ever again.. i don’t remember last ABZ game i got i can easily keep the trend..
I hope most will boycott, so others think before deciding something this dumb
The best way to combat this is simply buy more physical media and send a message that this is a demand that will not disappear
Definitely true
PSN Store: 8.4: "No Resale or Commercial Use. You must be an end user to purchase from PlayStation Store. Resellers, as determined by us in our sole discretion, are prohibited. When you order Content from PlayStation Store, you buy a personal license to use that Content for private, non-commercial use. That license is not transferable unless your local applicable laws say it must be. This means you can use a Product in the ways described in the license, but do not own the Product."
This verbiage is not applicable to physical media on PS directly, but there are software terms for physical media as well. The thing is PS (and all companies) have no clue what you do with physical media and they can't do much about it not even PS as they admit even banning your console doesn't prevent access to disc-based games.
This isn't new. Most big videogame companies already do this. Including Sony.
It doesn't matter who is enforcing it. Some do not have the brain capacity to navigate this without making it a fanboy issue, and you aren't parting water by specifically naming Sony.
This is a universal bad, plain and simple. We are losing rights to our hobby across the entirety of it, and still people can only go "lol sony bad / ms bad". These same brainlets will ultimately be responsible for ushering in this era instead of pushing back because brand loyalty is more important than gaming as a whole.
I mean I thought this has been the case. You’re only buying a license to play the games… am I wrong about that?
It's called legal theft
When someone pays for a product but have no rights to it. Said company can take away what you paid for on a whim.
There's no real legitimate moral reason for companies to act upon it but they do and it shouldn't be taken lightly.
At least we can still borrow games from others...that's still legal.
You're buying a key to unlock the digital files, which typically are stored and validated on the storefront from which the game was purchased. This says you don't even own that key, meaning it can be removed for any reason and you can't contest it and neither can the storefront stop it, even if it's a mistake or they just decide to remove access entirely based on their whim. It's the opposite of game preservation, essentially, even for SP games w/o any online requirements.
On top of this, they, where applicable because of severability with regard to regions that don't allow it, you aren't allowed to take them to court over their decision to remove access, but you must enter arbitration with them, which means you get nothing because they just tell you no and that's it.
This is why the FTC is supposed to exist, to prevent these obviously corporate control methods. But, hey, no, let's call them incompetent, defund them, and let companies dictate what is right. It's always in the best interest of the consumer.
Not going to feel any compunction about pirating their games, then. Why pay money to own nothing when I can get the same from downloading it elsewhere? If you want my money, give me ownership and not just a subscription to a digital key you can revoke at any time.
@Lomugi
Which PS studio has this policy in their agreement that you no longer own the games you buy from them?
Im actually asking.
Dont defend MS to world’s end.
Torrent all you can now, and if more show up and can be torrented take them to. I already posted some torrent links of their games on their Twitter account and told them to fuck off. Probably will not matter, but other people will see that and maybe I helped influence them to torrent to LOL.
so it begins? you been living under a rock? It's been like that since forever now. You never owned any of the games you bought digitally, just a license to use the software.
Congratulations you've proven my and many other digital doubters right. Physical >>> Digital for life. Also Blizzard Congratulations shooting yourself in the foot too.
at this point there is no foot they are bones at best im not surprised by this but physical has drm/server check ins aswell as all the live service crap so alot of $70 coaster's out there.
Thats the thing. Yes you have a physical copy but if systems are in place for you to verify online then whats the point.
@Kaozz1979 @just_lookin
The one thing we still get with physical, is that the market controls the price you buy it at. So, If its old, you buy it for what the market says its worth, not what the digital store says its worth.
Most physical disc don't have check ins though. I personally don't play online so that's nothing to me.
@s2
So true there are digital games still full price years later but get a disc fraction of the cost.
Physical live service and multiplayer games*. All of the single player games I have are playable out of the box, thanks.
Let's not conflate one issue (Live Service games eventually being retired) with another (we decide how and what you own, not you). They're both issues, but this one is more severe as it applies to all games they produce, not just ones reliant on servers.
Well they belong to MS now so shooting themselves in the foot is essentially company policy....
Well its been around on pc for 10+years
Oh right that is a dream we never talk about
Lets us be shocked when all the pc issues show up on consoles years later as pc players be dealing with this aswell as new store front's like the horrific ea app removing digital purchases.
...c'mon...don't pretend PC gamers are actually concerned about the digital only situation....how else do you think people share games on PC?
Digitally...
Sad reality is the physicals are going to start requiring online check in too if we don't push back.
They tried it before and they'll try it again!
We see evidence everywhere from games with single player modes forcing an online collection: Helldivers being a recent example.
Helldivers is a Live Service game. It requires you to be online. All if not most online games require you to "check in".
Back when digital was not an option, I still didn’t keep games. I usually sold games on Craigslist. I would also trade games with friends and family. For the entire OG Xbox and Xbox 360 generation, I only bought 5 games new, all Halo games, and none at full price. You might recall that publishers started including content via download code to penalized players for buying used. If digital wasn’t taking over, we’d be back there. So if I’m renting versus buying, I don’t care so long as the price is attractive.
Your talking about the ea online pass to "curve cheating" bs
I too sold some stuff in the past i wish i did not but now i go more digital unless the game is truly offline like bulders gate 3 that physical copy is yours always.
But the future is gamepass/ps subs for sure renting is far cheaper like the blockbuster days were you rent a game before buying it.
I buy some games day 1 but I do buy less games day 1 than I ever have before. Still need to get Infinite Wealth, DD2, P3 remake and a few others but I’m still playing other games so I wait until I have time.
Imagine dropping this change when you have zero bangers since OW 2016
Ah Overwatch 1 . . . something that doesn't exist today, well it does . . . It was "taken" and re-released with revolutionary monetization.
Blizzard isn't the only one dropping these types of terms, mostly all companies do this 💩 welcome to the modern age, it truly sucks.
Nah. The modern age is great. There are so many choices out there, I can skip every Blizzard title and still have plenty of quality options out there. More than I can play in my lifetime.
You mean new Microsoft agreement, Stop pretending Activision Blizzard are operating independently.
Rent* “see if I ever rent* a blizzard game again”
lol Sorry I couldn't help it.
MS buys them and now you don’t own your games. Sounds like Xbox One reveal. I already avoid ABK EA Ubisoft who’s wants to be next ?
This is why I switched backed to buying physical. These companies are getting out of hand with their decision making.
This is an irredeemably stupid decision on Blizzard’s part & I hope they pay for it severely.
And then MS and some people wonder why most gamers around the planet don't care for the brand and its games.
The most scum, cancerous and shady corp by a mile. I'm not even upset about this because the more dirt they throw on themselves (MS) the better;)
From article:
“in a forced new update of their user agreement, it is announced in plain language that you no longer own your digital games at Blizzard. The exact new text reads:
Your use of the Platform is licensed, not sold, to you, and you hereby acknowledge that no title or ownership with respect to the Platform or the Games is being transferred or assigned and this Agreement should not be construed as a sale of any rights..”
F* that. And through an UPDATE!
And this is why we need to have strong legislation in place to make sure that consumers are protected when they purchase a 70$ game.
If not situations like Funanimation will become the norm in the industry.
https://www.howtogeek.com/f...
I must say, Blizzard has been on quite the clown streak. I wonder what stunt they'll pull next.
"Brah, game consoles, games, and movies should all be digital. Why you all so hung up on physical media? Get over yourselves, boomers, and get with the future!"
(same guy)
"how DARE you take away games and movies that I purchased digitally!"
That could be ok if they priced it after that. Say they cut the price to 20$ and you get the game for a year. But if they keep the prices and Rob you of your ownership by hiding it behind "user agreements" they can fuck off!
"Say they cut the price to 20$ and you get the game for a year" sorry but that sounds like a really shit idea
This isn't a big deal. You don't own your physical games either, you own a license to play said game.
But in 15 years you can still put your PS5 disc in and install and play it.....even without an internet connection. If they for some reason decide to pull a game from the system, they aren't going to everyone's houses to confiscate the discs are they? With digital they can just remove the ability to play it. So I don't agree with you.....having a physical version with game on disc is ALWAYS better.
I torrented all I can from Blizzard. The only game I ever bought from them was the original Overwatch. Thanks for the heads up Blizzard I know I will never buy from you ever again.
Physical>Digital now and forever. They can't take away something sitting on your shelf.
So you sell me a license to use your game. This is why I prefer physical and won't go digital unless I have to. I think this might be the newest trend companies will pull from now on.
I called this BS over 15-years ago...And now it's about to become an reality...
Companies never think these things through. Now you own a license, which means if you obtain a copy of the game through other means you have the right to play the game.
Well we haven't fully owned our consoles for a while now so can't say I'm surprised. Still, how the mighty have fallen.. remember when Blizzard were owned and run by gamers? It's sad that this can legally stand, whatever happened to consumer laws that protected consumers? I guess I'm being naive.
Wake the f*** up and come back to reality…. You NEVER DID.
if ANYONE READS THEIR END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT (eula) it will tell you that you have purchased a right to play a copy of their game on your hardware. The only thing you own is the serial number or the disc it came on. This just makes language even more plain than it already was. You can disagree and agree with me, but that’s reality whether you like it or not. Sorry.
Misleading. This actually says you don't even own the serial number or the disc (because it requires the serial number).
So at some point, gamers might be like “screw this! I want physical copies of games!” Again?
Hasn't this been the case with games for a long time now though, especially when bought digitally?
Not saying it's right, but most games are this way now. It's why I don't buy digital games.
Ok if this is the case Then we should be able to play our licenced product on ANY system we own and not have to buy them multiple times...
the end of used video games for cheaper prices and the end of being able to collect games and own them.
Please check out stopkillinggames . com as you may be able to help take action in the latest campaign designed to fight this.
Microsoft has announced the Microsoft Rewards app on Xbox will be discontinued in April and has confirmed that weekly streaks will also be coming to an end.
very good read. i am wondering who will spent the money. i will be shocked if no one spends the money...
yea if ms buys this they will have a good start next gen
I can't think of any company in a great position to buy these guys.
The ONLY worthwhile IP that activision has is call of duty, but it's on the way down--hence the sell off. prototype, blur, singularity, guitar hero, tony hawk are all underperforming and worthless. Spiderman, Transformers, James Bond, Nascar, and Disney titles are licensed from other owners and would never be exclusive to microsoft if they bought activision. WoW is going downhill too in terms of subscribers but that is in another division.
I don't think any of the big 3 should purchase Activision basically because of this
"Activision's profitability would plummet as a Microsoft division, since there's no real chance the company would make games for the PlayStation or Nintendo platforms. "
it's just too much to control