140°

Vivendi still looking to sale Activision Blizzard; Sony not interested, Microsoft haggling price

IncGamers: Media powerhouse Vivendi is still looking to get rid of its majority €8 billion stake in Activision Blizzard, a “credible source” claims.

Said source has claims that a Vivendi sales of Activision Blizzard still “absolutely remains under consideration”, despite Vivendi’s finance director saying last week that a break up of the company was out of the question.

News first arose of Vivendi’s plans to sale Activision Blizzard this past July, when a price tag of €10 billion was touted.

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TheMasterShake4247d ago (Edited 4247d ago )

sony if i were you i'd try to buy out the spyro and crash IP's from activision through vivendi. best do it now since vivendi is trying to sell blizzard Activision off.

CalvinKlein4247d ago

they would probably not be able to afford the price as Im sure activision would want tons of money for spyro since skylanders is huge at selling plastic junk to children for 10-15$ a pop. Its like COD DLC but for children who are to young to know they are being ripped off. They buy some characters and its suddenly a 120$ game they are playing. Way more profitable then waiting for the sequels to make the next 60$ from the series, especially when the sequel comes out a year later anyways with its own DLC.

I dont think Activision would sell that for cheap.

xX-StolenSoul-Xx4247d ago (Edited 4247d ago )

Honestly suprised Sony does not want to buy it. Just for Billzard's WOW Itself I thought SOE was a huge player in the mmo industry they could take over wow.

Having all of activisions library would be also good especially taking back some of its old first party titles like crash

TCG_Returns4247d ago

8 billion is a lot of money to spend on something.Would you risk that kind of money, even when the longtime shareholders seem so eager to be rid of them?

I wouldn't.

gaffyh4247d ago

Even if it's 8 Billion I'm sure any company who buys them will more than make their money back on COD and WoW (guaranteed money) and all the other titles. Not much of a risk if you look at it that way.

nukeitall4247d ago

@xX-StolenSoul-Xx:

"Honestly suprised Sony does not want to buy it. Just for Billzard's WOW Itself I thought SOE was a huge player in the mmo industry they could take over wow."

Sony can't afford it. Activision Blizzard is worth 14% more than Sony at the moment. In fact, Activision Blizzard has no debt while Sony has plenty of debt.

So there is almost no way Sony could buy *half* of Activision Blizzard even if they wanted to because of their own business situation. At least not without huge loan and huge risk.

Outside_ofthe_Box4247d ago (Edited 4247d ago )

It seems like a no brainer to go out and buy Activision Blizzard, but 8 billion is a lot so it is no surprise Sony isn't interested.

It would be interesting if Microsoft picks up Activision. Seeing Spyro and Crash exclusive to Xbox would be something you wouldn't think of in a million years, now there is an actual possibility for that to happen.

papashango4247d ago

its actually not a really good investment and this is why Vivendi is looking to sell. Right now is the perfect to sell before we begin to see the beginning of the end. I'll give my opinion

1. I will bet anything they want to sell before November We will see how much marketshare the CoD franchise has lost by the end of the year. Blackops topped 25 mil, MW3 is still in the teens. I'm gonna guess BO2 doesn't break 10 million. still impressive yes but if you're a shareholder you are NOT happy. I can guarantee you CoD becomes Rainbow Six next-gen. Short term it'll make you money but this franchise is done.

2. I guarantee they want to sell at a price that will have you depending on the revenue of WoW for at least 5-10 years. Would you bet everything on a game that's losing subscribers? It's a war of attrition right now. Does anyone really believe WoW will be on top 10 years from now?

Vivendi is simply trying to maximize profits before the inevitable demise.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 4247d ago
sway_z4247d ago (Edited 4247d ago )

I think I could live without those two franchises.... Two fairly good games from a by gone era....Truthfully, I'm not really a platformer.

*PSN titles only? ....maybe.

koehler834247d ago

It's true, but it would makes sense for Sony by reducing complications anytime they want to go back and revisit the IPs, in the way they're currently doing with All-Stars.

Also, Spyro is worth a fortune right now.

CalvinKlein4247d ago

well thats the problem. THey cant spend that much money just to maybe make some game that probably wouldnt even sell very good. If they did buy spyro/crash back they would HAVE to start pumping out skylanders games in order to make their money back and that really isnt what we would want them to do with the ips.

They couldnt spend all that money and then make some platform games that probably wouldnt sell good.

HebrewHammer4247d ago (Edited 4247d ago )

Seems like a waste of money to me. Instead of spend an arm and a leg to buy up Activision just for Crash and Spyro, why not devote resources to already owned franchises of a similar calibur, like R&C, Sly, and J&D?

Also, Sony has made some of the most compelling new IP this gen - why the need to buy old ones when they are more than capable of revolutionizing with new?

And we seem to be forgetting that Sony saw one of their steepest share drops in some time, but we're endorsing they toss 10 Billion at Acti/Blizz?

Please.

It's being sold for good reason. The company is volatile. The CoD bubble won't burst, but it will be surpassed by others nex-gen. MMO's are going FTP, WoW will soon follow suit by the end of 2013. And Diablo III pissed a lot of people off.

I'd stay away from it too.

shutUpAndTakeMyMoney4247d ago (Edited 4247d ago )

Buying activition is to risky for sony right now. If ms buys them then game over. I don't like xbox though.

As for pc gamers they hate MS for good reason. Might see Bizzard kinect game maybe. Diablo 4 will have xbox menu on pc version.

There is no company that is as anti pc gaming as MS. Even origin/EA is better than them.

I wish valve had the cash to buy acti.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4247d ago
iamironman4247d ago

perhaps is someone else took over they'd actually make some interesting games? rather than just releasing sequels to the same few over and over again.

Lvl_up_gamer4247d ago

Like Resistance, Uncharted, GT, God of War, Ratchet & Clank....etc.

Why stop pumping out IP's that actually sell to a consumer base that actually like them....heaven forbid.

MrBeatdown4247d ago (Edited 4247d ago )

He says something about Activision, a company that is notorious for pumping out sequel after sequel, to the point that it completely ruins and kills all interest in once great franchises, and seemingly gives new IPs the lowest priority of any publisher out there, and your first thought is to jump on Sony?

tehpees34247d ago

Well Sony really can't afford it and Microsoft seem sure they have activision's bias for years to come yet.

CraigyScotsman4247d ago

Even though Sony is bleeding money at the moment, they still have over 13 TRILLION Yen in assets ($166 billion). So I'm pretty sure they can afford to buy Activision. They just don't want it.

Swiggins4247d ago

What a magical world you seem to live in...

StayStatic4247d ago

Hopefully blizzard gets back their second half of the companies shares and splits leaving only bobbyvision.

KMCROC544247d ago

Microsoft owning Call of Duty and World of Warcraft & a few other IP's would be interesting.

sway_z4247d ago

Sorry to disappoint...but even if MS took the deal....I seriously doubt WOW would ever make it to 360....maybe it's successor, but even then....

and don't MS already own COD (lol) Jokes aside.....COD would suck even more if it was exclusive to MS...just 'cos.

KMCROC544247d ago

Never said anything about exclusivity on those two games, but exclusivity on the less stellar IPS intergrated w/ kinect features. that's where my thoughts were heading

Lvl_up_gamer4247d ago

He didn't say anything about being on the 360 exclusively. WOW could still stay on the PC only, but Diablo could see it's way to the 360 exclusivly....COD could be an exclusive. This could help push more consoles, either 360's or 720's out the door and into consumers homes.

cloud 2794247d ago

to lvl_up_gamer

Buying Blizzard for MS would be not smart, knowing they take forever with releasing their games. If Blizzard started work on Diablo for the next Xbox, it wouldn't release until Xbox 4 was close to announcement. So ponying up 8 billion for Blizzard isn't worth it, maybe I'm wrong and they work on a new IP which is based around consoles architecture. COD which is a fan favorite currently could also change in the future and be on the way down. Currently the only profitability in owning Acti-Blizz is for short term only. Currently I don't see a future for MS to buyout Acti-Blizz. This could change with the new leadership MS will be bringing if they buy them out.

supraking9514247d ago

that stupid thought would be awesome imo. Id love Microsoft to ruin those franchises just like they did with Rare and all of its games.

KMCROC544247d ago

Ruin what games ,they will keep the money maker making profit like they do now.
Rare was crap, top guys had gone elsewhere nothing left but a modest group remained.
The Rare purchase was more of an investment in IP's. as for the non stellar games that A/B has they can be rejuvenated w/ some kinect features .

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40°

Sony Could Increase Your Game's Difficulty If It Sees You Complain About It

Sony has recently published a new patent that wants to dynamically handle the games' difficulty and gameplay based on the player's emotions.

280°

Xbox's Preservation Step Sets A Much-Needed Example, Especially For Nintendo

Hanzla from eXputer inquires: "If Xbox can care about preserving its games and legacy, what exactly is wrong with Nintendo, trying to kill game preservation single-handedly?"

purple10111d ago

Ahh yes the good old game preservation of saving all your games to a removable hhd on the Xbox 360, taking it round your mates house, setting up multiple tvs to
Be met with “save data corrupted, please re download”

Or how about removing 360 games
From the store
, download them now or else, and, better hope to god that save data doesn’t corrupt, or it’s lost for ever

Nice one ☝️

Zeref10d ago

It's better than what Nintendo and Playstation is doing. It might not be perfect but at least they are TRYING. Unlike the others.

DarXyde10d ago

Trying? Take off the blinders for a moment, mate.

1. A failure to preserve games is just that: a failure to preserve games. Don't try to sugarcoat it: NO ONE is doing it properly. Better than awful is nothing to write home about.

2. At the time of this comment, isn't it the case that you need an internet connection to play Xbox games even if you buy physical discs that are hardly in circulation anymore? I don't have a Series X and I can't verify, but I think that is correct. I'm fairly certain you can at least play PS5 games at version 1.0 (not much of a win really when many games require day one patches). I think Microsoft's all digital, licensing approach is by far more aggressive than anyone else's. They really try to push you to game pass where you lose your entire library by umm.... Skipping a month of payments.

I don't think anyone is doing it right whatsoever. Don't get me started on Nintendo, who goes after anyone looking to preserve their games better than they ever would with extreme litigation.

Don't be a simp for any of these companies. Get it together.

PhillyDonJawn10d ago (Edited 10d ago )

@DarX never speak on Xbox again. You lost all credibility with your internet connection comment. Smh you have 0 clue and misinformed yet speaking on something you don't no squat about.

Einhander197210d ago

What has Sony done exactly? You guys keep deflecting to Sony but I am not actually seeing any results, and ai am certain nothing that you can come up with even comes close to what Microsoft has done and what they have tried and failed to do, like tie all your disks to your account on xbone.

Microsoft removed their whole indie section when they moved to the xbone because they were going to only allow games on the service that came from a publisher, id@xbox started after xbone launched and it only exists because Sony embraced indie and Microsoft was forced to cancel their plans and reverse course.

And every single game that was part of games for windows live including disk games (I have gta 4 on disk that won't work) so hundreds of games that use that DRM no longer work unless the company themselves patched it out which of course very few did.

MrBaskerville10d ago

Not trying. Tried. they killed of the backcomp program years ago. They set something up again, but sounds like it's more of an attempt to save the current library on whatever they are planning next. With luck they save everything and more, but let's see. I could see them killing off parts of the OG xbox and 360 libraries. Can't imagine that they would allow us to play Forza 5-7 in the future.

With that said, I do like what they've done and really wish they could have done more.

shinoff21839d ago

Zeref

So killing off physical media is trying what exactly. Ms don't really give a fk if you think they do your kidding yourself.

Profchaos9d ago

They are not trying this team is established for forward compatability the team is. It interested in preserving Xbox or 360 games.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 9d ago
isarai11d ago

Is that why Hellblade 2 is digital only?

Zeref10d ago

Just because it's digital only doesn't mean you can't preserve it. Just put it on an external and you have the exact same functionality of what a disc does.

MrNinosan10d ago

Guess you're trolling, but if you actually think that's how it works, I'd recommend buying some braincells.

mkis0079d ago (Edited 9d ago )

Volitile vs nonvolitile data. A disc will not corrupt either. A drive can be corrupted.

Einhander197210d ago

This is just a scammy PR move to distract from the fact they are going digital only and trying to push streaming and subscriptions only.

No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft.

Without discs there is no preservation, preservation can't be done by the rights holders it can only be done by the consumers, anything else is a lie.

10d ago Replies(3)
Einhander197210d ago

Anyone remember xblig which Microsoft removed their whole 360 indie section removing hundreds of games from people?

10d ago
10d ago
Zeref10d ago

Do you know you can put your games on an external and preserve them that way? There are no benefits to discs. ZERO. Idk why some of you are still obsessed with them.

DarXyde10d ago

Because games like Persona 5 exist. It's STILL V1.00. On Playstation, that's a win because 1.00 is installed on the disc—no need to download anything.

If a game does not require any updates, it's all on the disc.

Extremely low bar in the modern era, of course. It's not much of a win by any stretch.

But for now, physical media does have a purpose, at least on Playstation.

Einhander197210d ago

That is factually not how game licensing works, try plugging your hard drive into someone else xbox, It's not going to work, and it won't work if the licensing servers ever go down.

Einhander197210d ago

Anyone remember games for windows live.

I have around a dozen games, some on Steam itself that will not work because Microsoft shut off the licensing servers.

BehindTheRows10d ago (Edited 10d ago )

I do. I STILL have games (Gears of War being the big one) I cannot access because Games for Windows LIVE is total garbage and no one has held Microsoft accountable.

Zeref10d ago (Edited 10d ago )

You don't have an Xbox apparently. Because you can 100 percent plug in your external and play games from it on any Xbox console lol. You just have to be logged in to prove ownership.

Chevalier10d ago

"You don't have an Xbox apparently. Because you can 100 percent plug in your external and play games from it on any Xbox console lol. You just have to be logged in to prove ownership."

Damn how many times do people got to explain your idiocy to you? You can take a copy of Persona 5 like someone used as an example and play that game on ANY console WITHOUT logging in which means I can lend the game to a friend without internet and they can play my game. Can you lend your hard drive to anyone without logging in for them to play? NOPE. That is a huge difference and if you think otherwise then sorry you're an idiot.

Tacoboto10d ago

"No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft."

Ubisoft is literally erasing games people bought from their libraries... My PS1-3 discs are useless on modern hardware. Nintendo's re-published and resold almost their entire Wii U library, and the eShop is completely dead with no BC mechanism in the Switch software. Microsoft publishes everything they make today day one on Steam and Xbox/Windows. Sony only brings to PC the titles they think you might want some years later and Nintendo won't even design a functional long-lasting joystick.

You're absolutely trolling and not serious if you think Microsoft today is the worst offender.

shinoff21839d ago

Yay steam

Not everyone fks with computers though. The disc is still the best way as a console player. Period.

Tacoboto9d ago

How do Sony and Nintendo feel about these discs from 2001-2013?

Don't be stupid, you know Xbox is the best at this today.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 9d ago
Hofstaderman10d ago

Nobody wants this. Sales or the lack of it in the case of XBOX is very telling. I wonder how the adorably all digital series X will fare. Adorably dismal perhaps?

crazyCoconuts10d ago

Only time will tell, but for from someone like me suspecting that Xbox is trying to gracefully exit the console market, that "forward compatibility" team is trying to get Xbox games playing on Windows PCs. I mean, it's nice that they're not planning on exiting with a "enjoy your games while the hardware still works" message, so that's nice. They still have a brand to protect via Microsoft so probably feel obligated to have a better exit strategy.

Xeofate10d ago (Edited 10d ago )

That is not their plan, their plan is to transfer users accounts to the cloud.

Phil Spencer himself said as much a few months back, plans could have changed but I think people are reading way too much into one statement where Phil said he would allow Epic on xbox because he wants to be able to sell xbox games directly on other platforms. Aka, instead of selling Sea of Thives through PSN he wants to have an xbox store to sell his games on PlayStation without giving PlayStation any money.

Again, it's extremely unlikely that Phil plans to put PC on xbox and licensing would prevent them from just giving out other publishers games purchased on xbox copies of thier games on PC, Microsoft does not own their games.

crazyCoconuts9d ago

The thing that doesn't align with the cloud strategy is the giving up on exclusives. You'd still need strong exclusives for cloud streaming - it's still a "platform" , just with a lower upfront hardware investment. I feel like they've learned what PS learned with PSNow long ago. We're not ready to stream games and it's only gonna lose them money to try at this point

FinalFantasyFanatic9d ago

I would love that, I'd buy up some of the Xbox games if they could run on PC, like the Rare Replay, Lost Odyssey and Dead or Alive Ultimate, probably a pipe dream though.

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280°

Sony Taps Bungie's Head of Revenue to Lead Live-Service Games

Sony has recruited Bungie's head of revenue Jaremy Rich to head up its live-service gaming division, Rich has announced on social media.

Read Full Story >>
techraptor.net
ChasterMies20d ago

Please do not put Destiny’s monetization into Sony’s first party games. The monetization is what’s driving players away from Destiny.

just_looken20d ago

The new temp boss is the sony cfo bean counter so i can see this being a thing get every penny.

Cacabunga20d ago

PlayStation officially losing it.. fans will never support gaas games

just_looken20d ago

@car

The new boss did a interview in japan he wants to tap into the mobile market like nintendio so he give 0 fucks about gamers/fans

https://www.pushsquare.com/...

Redemption-6419d ago

@Cacabunga
You only speak for you and those who think like you, but most fans will support what they want. Playstation and PC fans are literally supporting Helldivers 2 and that is a gaas. Maybe you wouldn't, but many more would if they like it.

Huey_My_D_Long19d ago

@Redemption-64
Look, Im not making any judgement calls about this guy, but I will say that Helldivers 2 GaaS model is unique to Helldivers, and legit the only other game I can think of thats similiar was the Avengers game except HD2 pass is still better.
The fact that you can earn in game currency in a way that doesnt make you feel like you have to grind forever, as well you being able work on that pass that you bought...on your own time without a time limit...that right there is fucking huge to me, and I can't name any game other than avengers that avoided trapping players with FOMO logic...I think GaaS on HD2 shouldn't be compared to the rest of the industry...it should be copied.

Einhander197219d ago

Cacabunga

Helldivers 2...

Redemption-64

In Europe it's a 60 40 split favoring PC.
In the US its a 60 40 split favoring PS5.

So PlayStation owners supported the game just fine, it's not getting carried by PC or anything like that.

FinalFantasyFanatic19d ago

@just_looken,
I'm perfectly fine with the way Nintendo entered the mobile market, I never touched their mobile games, meanwhile, the console/handheld stayed the way it is. As for being a bean counter, he's probably going to reel in these massive budgets that Sony's studios have had lately, I haven't played Spiderman 2, but I cannot see how they almost tripled the budget for that game.

@Redemption-64,
That's an exception to the rule, I'm expecting a lot of these GAAS games from Sony to fail, to be fair, they only need a few to succeed, but I would have preferred that they put more of their resources into other types of games.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 19d ago
DivineHand12520d ago

True their monetization is driving players away and at the same time, their decision to chop out content and convoluted systems is keeping new players away from the game.

Joe91320d ago

I don't think that will happen based on how things worked out at Naughty Dog now that we know what we do, seems they had the option to fully commit to live service games or stay making single player experences so they gave up on their live service game. We are not sure how things came about with Bend making a live service game but I hope that was not a forced situation. Sony doesnt seem like they are forcing studios to switch up but we will see, Sony's bread and butter is single player games it is how they dominated the console market.

Obscure_Observer19d ago

Yeah, I though Sony learned something from all their failures in the LS segment under Bungie´s disastrous leadership and supervision which led to games been cancelled, studios closed and all the people laid off.

Looks like Bungie still plays a major role in Sony´s LS initiative and Sony is not backtracking on their GaaS plans.

S2Killinit19d ago (Edited 19d ago )

Are we forgetting that Destiny is also a highly successful franchise? I feel like that definitely deserves mention here.

Besides, there is no reason why a person cant learn from past experiences.

Joe91319d ago

I agree, people act as if Destiny flopped when it came out lol it took 9 to 10 years for the numbers to fall yet people are still playing it add the success of Helldivers 2 no wonder Sony is going forward down this path.

S2Killinit19d ago

Personally, I see no problem with Sony also having service games as long as they make good ones, and more importantly they deliver the AAA story driven games that they are known for. So yeah, I agree 100% with you.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 19d ago
Christopher20d ago

I mean, this person made some pretty bad decisions at Bungie. I hope they've learned from them because I definitely don't see those type of ideas as good for PlaySation in general.

CrimsonWing6919d ago (Edited 19d ago )

Honestly, what’s to learn from? How to make people happily continuously dump money into a single game over its life-time? Buy season passes continuously for several years with a smile on our faces?

GaaS is a design decision that is everything wrong with this industry. The fact that Helldivers 2 did so well and people defend the monetization because it was $40 and is a fun game, scares the sh*t out of me to see that the door is open and all shift will probably be to replicate that in future games. We already know the ROI for traditional game dev cost isn’t doing it for them.

I thought with Jimbo leaving we’d see a change for the better… I’m not so sure now.

S2Killinit19d ago

Service games are being offered by everyone. Sony cannot afford to only create single player AAA games. No one can. They already said they will be doing both.

Abnor_Mal20d ago (Edited 20d ago )

Ps5 gamers in 2023 seemed to play more live service types of games, so regardless to how people feel about them, numbers don’t lie and Sony is going where the money is. I mean look at the excitement around Helldivers2, people are showing that they want live service games.

Christopher20d ago

They play long-time existing live service games like CoD, Fortnite, Apex Legends, Destiny 2, and the like. Mass majority of new live service games are considered failures and aren't moving gamers away from older games.

just_looken20d ago

Yep the huge issue with live service is they need paid players along with a reason to play them.

You forgot mobile market that also taps into that player base as well as the eve online style games there is only a certain amount of krakens/whales blind supporters compared to the amount of live service games we have its not sustainable math wise.

700 restaurants making food for every seat for 1000-3000 eaters just does not work out

Einhander197219d ago (Edited 19d ago )

Christopher

I am not a big live service fan and literally own zero of the games you listed, but that is not true, unless you call games that aren't the top games to be failures.

There are tons of live service games that are profitable.

Games don't have to be the biggest game ever they just need to make more than they cost.

I challenge you to show professionally prepared data that shows that more live service games fail than make enough to keep going.

Because all the data that I have seen shows that live service is less of a gamble than making a big AAA budget game which needs to survive off retail sales.

FinalFantasyFanatic19d ago

I sometimes wonder if we're at saturation point, where it's hard for a new game to join those ranks unless it's particularly exceptional, people only have so much time and money to devote to these types of games.

romulus2320d ago

Correction, they have no issue playing good live service games

shinoff218319d ago

Lol it's not even a quarter of the ps5s sold. Helldivers may have been a hit but let's not say most are enjoying it because truth is most(the real most ) don't care about it.

S2Killinit19d ago (Edited 19d ago )

I play what is fun. If a live service game is good I’ll play it as long as its not a money scheme which Helldivers is not.

And Im a single player gamer.

mastershredder20d ago

How do you kill a franchise that already been killed?
Destiny’s grind, cash-in-on-playbass-cha-Ching, and pop-culture-insertion mainstream-me-too bs totally killed any rep Bungie had. Sony/Bungie, if you are doing this to ward-off players, it’s already working.

crazyCoconuts20d ago

Headline truncated:
"... off a cliff"

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