380°

CMA Says If Microsoft Acquires Activision, Game Pass Gets More Expensive

Along with the extensive examination of Microsoft's current business practices and plans, including its advantage in cloud computing, the CMA also raised concerns about how an increased library of video game content could potentially open the door for Microsoft to make things more costly for consumers.

XiNatsuDragnel368d ago

Ngl yeah fair argument due to recover losses from spending almost 70B dollars on a company they got get that back somehow.

IamTylerDurden1367d ago (Edited 367d ago )

That's happening regardless. GP by the end of 2024 will increase in price. But, if indeed it was because of ABK that would certainly cool some "no negatives" XB enthusiast arguments.

XB fanboys are prepared for an increase though. The rhetoric for years is that "GP is almost too good of a deal". These ppl make it very easy for a company to molest you. Figuratively. I've never seen a fanbase accept so much bs with an enthusiastic smile. Then, further push the companies lies and PR for them while they sh*t in their mouth.

Wait til next year, E3, Phil was right to delay games, it's bc of covid, exclusives don't matter, sales don't matter, play the game not the resolution, true 4k, teraflops, Kinect, dx12, cloud power, Sony is anticomp, Bethesda/ABK good for comp, etc etc shit gets old. Mouth pieces for the richest company in gaming like they need a grassroots movement of zombies spewing contradictory idiocy to support them. Same ppl that supported pay to play online and XB1 secret sauce. Same that cry Stellar Blade and cheer Bethesda n ABK.

Hofstaderman367d ago

It’s called Stockholm’s Syndrome.

367d ago
onisama367d ago

what about accepting:
10$ next gen upgrade
no backward compatibility
70$ remasters
70$ pricetag
50$ increase on 2yo console
and finally 18$ service full with ps1 and ps2 games and some 3yo AAA games that leave in 6 months

Gamepass is far ahead comparing to 18$ service of PS plus with gamepass is only 5$ for pc or xbox gamepass and 10$ for ultimate were i can play on my laptop while traveling in work or on xbox backhome and have monthly day 1 releases and recent games dropping every month

yes im so angry when it come to exlusives but gamepass is such great deal that only limited pocket poeple will understand this gift (that more than half of the world)

in the other hand sony fans seem to cover anything sony does bad

Father__Merrin367d ago

Even if Xbox created a new toilet roll holder range ppl on here would defend it as the best deal in toiletries that's how bad Xbox fans have become. This is the truth. Spencer has lied to them

onisama367d ago

@father_Merrin
its totally the opposite poeple will blindly critisize anything xbox its automatic, even if its something good which gamepass is call me crazy but just since 2023 i got to play:
Persona 4 Golden
Monster Hunter Rise day1
Hi-Fi RUSH day1
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R (im a big JOJO fan)
Darkest Dungeon
Atomic Heart day1
Soul Hackers 2 (big persona world fan here)
Wo Long Fallen Dynasty day1
Guilty Gear Strive
MLB The Show 23 day1
Minecraft Legends day1

call me crazy in 5 months i had all of this for around 30$ (codes) then just call 911 on me

SullysCigar367d ago

What's funny is whether ABK happened or not, the gamers are paying. MS is literally playing with your money, gamers - and they don't care how much it costs you.

The deal goes through and they have $70bn to recoup, plus the Zenimax deal costs (largely without the revenue that WOULD HAVE come from PlayStation, had they not blocked content from the platform).

The deal doesn't go through, they have to pay AT LEAST £3bn to ABK for a failed acquisition, PLUS no doubt astronomical legal fees and appeals process, PLUS alleged back-handers to press and countries 'agreeing' the deal.

Whatever the outcome, they're sticking that on GamePass fees. All this before you factor in the well-trodden debates pointing out how bad this deal would be for the industry and PEOPLE. And yet you have people defending Microsoft's scummy actions. fml

Godmars290367d ago

"XB fanboys are prepared for an increase though."

Not seeing how when many have been paying $1 whenever they could get it.

The Wood366d ago (Edited 366d ago )

'Its called stockholm syndrome' ULTIMATE + +

Some xbox fanboys have become the pro bono lead attorneys for Microsoft and Spencer especially

tay8701366d ago (Edited 366d ago )

@onisama. So I guess you have issues with xbox following in sony's footsteps and making all 1st party games $70. How about the fact that they raised the price in several markets, on an even older at that point xbox? They will raise gampass price here shortly as well. Yes gamepass is great value. Not such a great value when it leads to a bunch of mid tier exclusives though. On top of that it's not sustainable. Said it months ago, they put all their eggs in the gamepass basket and it's going to cost them dearly.

IamTylerDurden1366d ago (Edited 366d ago )

Onisama

I'm not a delusional fanboy who spews other ppl's narratives and must protect my team. Sony is not innocent either, they are a large company attempting to make money as well. They at times are greedy but the sheer bs from a PR perspective is not comparable to MS. The cultist mentality/good soldiers of the XB faithful are above n beyond.

Sony gets called out on their bs by media and many fans but MS seems to slide by more often. Fans PR for them. Ridiculous narratives breath life through morons regurgitating them. It's next level. And btw half the things u mention...XB is guilty as well.

The $18 per month service bs is so misleading. Ofc u refrain from the much cheaper annual cost of Extra and Premium which makes the service much cheaper than Gamepass per year. I enjoy both services, both are great value. Time to let go of the "PS+ is trash" narrative, it's not, at all. Especially considering Essential is still so good. In fact, Plus and GP share MANY games. Extra and essential are unequivocally good. Sorry if the truth bothers u.

+ Show (8) more repliesLast reply 366d ago
S2Killinit366d ago (Edited 366d ago )

Check out the xbox shill using a bot to downvote comments that are negative toward xbox. Its working overtime these days.

italiangamer368d ago

Impossible, armchair analysts said that ms would keep gamepass $1 subscription and give you a Doritos bag for your loyalty.

By the way I'm loving the crying of italian xbox fanboys, if you thought the americans were cringe you have no idea how pathetic they are in my country 🤣.

IamTylerDurden1366d ago

Italian XB fanboys? Europe outside of UK HAS xb fanboys?

crazyCoconuts366d ago

Yeah, there are.... Oh wait... The 2nd one just bought a PlayStation. Make that "fanboy" 😊

italiangamer366d ago

Yeah believe me they exist, and their tears are delicious 😋🤣

blackblades368d ago

So final report is out for the public and now we gonna be seeing a lot from it.

Majin-vegeta368d ago

Yea now we know why Sony said screww off to fhe 10 year plan MS gave them

"The UK CMA report appears to reveal why Sony didn’t like the 10 year CoD deal — Microsoft’s 10 year deals with cloud providers made it so that Microsoft kept 100% of the game’s revenue (from purchase and in-game store purchases), where as currently, platform holders keep 30%

https://twitter.com/charlie...

italiangamer368d ago

They truly are a POS company!

lodossrage368d ago

So basically, they tried to pull what Epic tried and failed to pull on Apple. BTW Epic lost their case and are trying to appeal as well.

I don't see how a company thinks they have the right to use another company's storefront, platform, or system and cut out the platform or storefront holder

-Foxtrot367d ago (Edited 367d ago )

And yet Sony are the whiners in most peoples eyes

Did people really think they would just let this happen

Of course Sony basically told them to p*** off

There’s more than meets the eye with these things

sinspirit367d ago (Edited 367d ago )

That's scary. They tried to say CoD wasn't actually so heavy of a game to lose and that Spny was being childish. Then believe it's such a big deal that they could grace it's presence on other systems and those systems gain no income from it and be happy that it's still on there. Every facet of that kind of deal screams monopoly take over when they strongarm you so hard and make you work for free.

IamTylerDurden1366d ago

What i expected long ago was that MS would take an outlandish cut but i never expected 100%. And ppl trashed Sony for not taking the deal.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 366d ago
Godmars290368d ago

It was always going to increase. Just like they couldn't keep giving it away for $1.

FinalFantasyFanatic366d ago

I'm more surprised that it took so long for them to close that loophole.

Abracadabra368d ago (Edited 368d ago )

Game purchases are more expensive... Netflix, HBO, Disney, etc subscriptions are more expensive... cinema gets more expensive... everything gets more expensive. Do they really expect Gamepass to mantain the same price?

Outside_ofthe_Box367d ago

Isn't the price the main argument for it?

PhillyDonJawn367d ago (Edited 367d ago )

No, the value is the main argument. Value isn't simply price but what you get in exchange for such price. In the last couple years JRPGs, Bethesda, MLB, EA games, and now potentially Activision games being added to the service. You can't expect it to remain the same. Personally I think they should add 2 tier list. Top tier (this tier would be the price increase) would give you day 1 games and EAplay, low tier gives you everything else.

366d ago
FinalFantasyFanatic366d ago

To be fair, in the coming years, I'm expecting alot of those streaming TV/Movie sites to close down and consolidate into just a few because of how unprofitable it is for everyone to have their own service. Licensing all that content is expensive, which is the same issue for Gamepass, no surprise that there will be an increase at some point (Even though Gamepass only has to compete with PS Plus Extra and Deluxe).

Show all comments (71)
120°

Square & Bandai Namco Being Honest About Quality Is A Step In The Right Direction

Saad from eXputer: "After suffering from massive financial hits, Square Enix & Bandai Namco appear to be turning over a new leaf but I'm still unconvinced."

Nerdmaster13h ago(Edited 13h ago)

I was talking about games with some Japanese guys here in Japan, and it seems like around here Bandai Namco has a fame of making low-quality games, with the occasional gem.

About Square Enix, I believe they lack the capacity to improve. They should learn with Capcom (although even Capcom still makes some bad mistakes), but I don't think they ever will. They keep chasing whatever is new at the time (blockchain, AI...) to say "we innovate", without considering the public perception and if these things actually improve the games or not. Them releasing too many small games with no advertising also shows a lack of trust in its own products. Even with their biggest games, like turning FF into an action game with XVI and the very divisive plot changes regarding whispers and timelines in VII Remake, shows them trying to attract a new generation of gamers without understanding what made the series so big in the first place.

shinoff218313h ago

I want a true ff7 remake. With thatcsaid I'm way happier with 7 remake then I was with ff16. I'd still prefer turn based but square keep chasing these Lil kids

Snookies129h ago

Man, it is perfectly fine to prefer turn based. Turn based is amazing. But there's zero reason to call anyone who likes action games "lil kids". Liking one gameplay system over another does not make you more mature in any way.

VersusDMC12h ago

People love the new FF's overall...the problem is the abundance of 7's they release that lose money or make very little like diofield, star ocean divine force, Valkyrie asylum, harvestella, foam stars, etc. Advertising wouldn't have saved those games. Apparently Forespoken had a big Advertising budget but we saw how that went.

shinoff218312h ago(Edited 12h ago)

Star ocean divine force actually sold well from what I've read not ff type numbers but well enough. Was a dope game to.

FinalFantasyFanatic11h ago

Bandai Namco is going to Bandai Namco, I do believe that Square Enix can't change without changing the entire management, they've had these issues for more than a decade and haven't learnt, I have very little faith they can course correct. I'll still buy their better remasters/remakes like Star Ocean 2 though (not FF7R).

Asterphoenix9h ago

Namco is just milking the same Sword Art Online with lack of budget as well as anime IPs that don't go to decent developers like Jujutsu Kaisen and My Hero Academia. Namco deserves their losses and no future Dot Hack or Xenosaga remaster :(.

Square allocated lot of their budget on Forspoken was a mistake. Square always had management issues. Star Ocean 2 was a great remake and I found their recent entries of FF(16 and Rebirth) better than 13 and 15.
I think they were better than 360/PS3 generation where Square went really downhill.

CrimsonWing6912h ago

I don’t know why NOW they decide on this, but I guess later is better than never.

290°

Steam’s Refund Policy Change Won’t Affect You Unless You’re A Lowlife

Steam is changing its refund policy, but you probably won’t be affected

Read Full Story >>
thegamer.com
thorstein3d ago

Should have happened a long time ago. People wanting refunds after 50 hours in game.

fsfsxii2d ago

Pc gamers will take this as an excuse to pirate things

KyRo2d ago

I'm not sure why you're getting disgrees. Whilst not all PC gamers are petty, an awful lot of them are lol

Crows902d ago

Entirely untrue. Not any more petty than console gamers. The only large difference is console gamers don't have much of a choice.

Michiel19892d ago

Not sure why you're getting agrees. an awful lot of console gamers are overemotional twinks ready to go to war over a plastic box, I'll take being a pc gamer then.

Speaking about overgeneralizing much.

Nooderus2d ago

"X" type of gamer conversations are cringe

qalpha2d ago

Daily reminder that 'TheGamer' is a corporate-generated, anti-gamer, anti-consumer, clickbait web site. They are mostly A.I. generated articles that villainize gamers. They provide nothing positive and actively try to provoke and divide the community through extreme view points and politics. Do not give them any clicks.

Inverno2d ago

Only scumbags? As if people don't play their games on console put in the most amount of hours and return it to GameStop and trade it in for another game. But also how many people are actually do this? And what games have been allowed to be refunded?

DustMan2d ago

You can refund any game you've purchased as long as it hasn't been longer than two weeks, and you've played less than 2 hours. I wish they would change it to 3 hours because some RPG's have so much exposition that you may only get an hour total of complete gameplay. That's my only knock on it. I've refunded plenty of stuff I was just curious to try. I typically stay away from Early Access titles which are the only ones affected by this policy change.

Inverno2d ago

Apparently early access doesn't count, only complete games with a play early preorder bonus.

Gaming4Life19812d ago

I definitely know if I want a refund in 2 hours.

SegaSaturn6692d ago

I never liked refunding anything. Even if a film is bad, i dont want my money back. Sometimes things just aren't for me, and it's not the creator's fault necessarily.

Gaming4Life19812d ago

I feel you and i have never walked out on a bad movie cause I payed my money. I also don't refund games cause I'm a gamer and I know what to buy lol. I think having a digital refund is great.

Show all comments (15)
110°

Outriders Dev's Next Game Has Been Canceled After Publishing Agreement With Take-Two Fell Through

Outriders developer People Can Fly's next game has been canceled after its publishing agreement with Take-Two Interactive fell through.

Read Full Story >>
twistedvoxel.com
Tacoboto4d ago

"the capital group of PCF Group S.A."

If you're getting funding from a group that needs two different ways of Acronyming itself, things will not go the way you want them to.

banger884d ago

If it was more online-only crap then good riddance.

jjb19814d ago

Outriders was crap. They slapped that game together and threw in a loot system to get players' attention. This game was absolutely jank and the always online nonsense made it stutter like crazy. People Can't Optimize.

thorstein3d ago

I liked Outriders but I could see where the artistic vision was compromised. The way the industry is now, it wouldn't surprise me that upper management would scrap something that didn't pull in money via gaas, mts, or other means.