300°

Microsoft's Arguments Published for Appeal Against UK's CMA in Activision Blizzard Acquisition Case

The British CAT published the application by Microsoft to appeal against the local CMA following its decision to block the acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The house of Xbox does not mince words in criticizing the regulator's actions and methods.

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techraptor.net
rlow1760d ago

Well it’s heating up again. The UK lawyer representing MS on this issue has won cases against the CMA on behalf of other clients. This is going to get interesting.

Abracadabra759d ago (Edited 759d ago )

"A CMA director, who blocked Microsoft's Xbox-Activision merger, previously worked for a Sony law firm"
https://www.windowscentral....

"Today, Florian Mueller, a prominent patent lawyer following the case, discovered that the UK regulator's senior director used to work for a firm that is actively representing Sony, potentially highlighting a conflict of interest and a degradation of impartiality.
Update: Mueller has since claimed that said the senior director was a central voice in getting the ABK deal blocked..."

Something stinks in the CMA.

Goosejuice759d ago

Would matter if they ruled in favor of Sony but they specifically said the console space dosnt matter to them. It was cloud service where Sony is not even competing in really.

759d ago
Petebloodyonion759d ago (Edited 759d ago )

@Goosejuice
Are they?
What would you call Project Q that was announced at the showcase?
Seems like Sony is deeply trying to test if ppl are willing to play a proprietary closed cloud console where the server for the moment is in the same room.

@Abracadabra
Probably a coincidence unless if he's still have assets in Sony and was a main influence but again I doubt it.

gold_drake759d ago

that was 10 years ago.

do you actually think ppl have nothing better to do then to pay allegiance to firms they worked for a decade ago?

get a grip.

Goosejuice759d ago

@Petebloodyonion all we know about project Q is that it does remote play from PS5. Streaming wasnt mentioned..at least not yet.

Petebloodyonion759d ago

@Goosejuice
"all we know about project Q is that it does remote play from PS5. Streaming wasnt mentioned..at least not yet."

Honestly man?
How do you expect to play the game if you need a PS5?
If you would install them on the device then why would you need a PS5 and not just your PS account?
There's only 1 possible way and it's via remote meaning Streaming AKA Cloud.
The only difference is your cloud server isn't in a remote city it's just next to you meaning less lag.

Christopher759d ago (Edited 759d ago )

People really think a lawyer is beholden to a company that couldn't keep them employed, likely because they make more money at their current job?

@pete: you're way off on the device. Sony specifically said it's streams from the PS5 over WiFi. No cloud mentioned at all.

Exthun759d ago

Why these windowscentral article didn't appear on the approved n4g feeding?

Petebloodyonion759d ago

@Christpher
And what’s the difference between WiFi and cloud?
It need to STREAM data coming from a server.
Having that server on your local network or outside network does not change the principe of streaming.

Or perhaps you can tell us how playing an Xcloud game differ from project Q asside the distance between the screen and the console/game server where the game is installed.

Extermin8or3_759d ago

The director of the cma doesn't make the decision you complete clown. An independent panel of experts does. Tell us you dint have a clue what you are on about without telling us. More interesting is a senior member of the eu regulators panel that actually did make the decision worked for MS until very recently. ...

+ Show (7) more repliesLast reply 759d ago
MrDead760d ago

We want to buy the industry because we couldn't be bothered to make games for a generation and a half, and the other platforms that did invest in making games are outselling us 4:1... and that's not fair!!!

760d ago
Petebloodyonion759d ago (Edited 759d ago )

but according to Sony themselves no matter the number of 1st party games it would not replace the damage of losing COD or if the version was worse on a PlayStation device
"Call of Duty is so popular that it influences users’ choice of console, and its community of loyal users is entrenched enough that even if a competitor had the budget to develop a similar product, it would not be able to rival it."

1) Are you calling Sony liars and Xbox fanboy?
2) Aren't Sony the ones that made sure that COD is better on PlayStation versus other platforms with exclusives modes, XP events, etc?

So is it 1st party games that sell or COD exclusives?

tay8701759d ago

Lol you do realize MS was the first to pay for COD exclusives over a decade ago right?

Petebloodyonion759d ago

@Tay8701
Your point?
Does MS being the 1st in having COD exclusive on 360 suddenly explain Sony's remarks about COD influencing ppl into selecting a console and that no 1st party title could replace that?
Also, did MS complain about COD's lack of parity for the last decade?

Christopher759d ago

It's both, but CoD is more valuable than 5 exclusive IPs, which is what makes up a normal annual release.

People are ignorant to ignore how much CoD makes for PS5 and Xbox. It breaks its own records and no one is coming close to it yet.

Extermin8or3_759d ago

That's because COD costs Sony nothing but makes them alot of money. 1st party games have a high development cost which limits the money they can make sony....

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 759d ago
Tedakin760d ago

At the end of the day, Microsoft will own Activision.

Sonic1881759d ago (Edited 759d ago )

I wish it was that easy. This will be going on for the next few years

gold_drake759d ago

"Ground 2: The Respondent erred in failing to take proper account of three long-term commercial agreements which the Applicant had entered into with cloud gaming providers for licencing games"

so they literally made those deals JUST so the deal goes through? as a sort of backup?

damn, thats shady business.

rlow1759d ago

No, that’s how it works. The CMA and like agencies in the world aren’t just there to block but to make deals. So a lot of companies in the past have changed or added remedy’s to appease governing bodies. If they find those changes acceptable then they’ve done their jobs. If not, they can add more conditions or block. So it not underhanded, but business as usual.

porkChop759d ago

How is that shady though? Xbox had to make concessions and offer remedies for the deal to be approved. Putting the games on competing platforms is literally part of that. You have to appease the regulators. How do you think it was supposed to work?

Huey_My_D_Long759d ago

When said Deals give you %100 of microtransactions...thats not a real concession....How is that a concession? You guys do realize the money made from Microtransactions absolutely shits on sales of the actual title.

Extermin8or3_759d ago

The cma literally had multiple pages addressing this in their report it was very clear why the deals weren't acceptable. Ms is so full of shit

GhostScholar759d ago

The sell is gonna go through. It’s just a formality.

mkis007759d ago

Hope so, it's making sony drag its feet trying to look weak.

GhostScholar759d ago

You’re out of your mind if you think Sonys conference was bad on purpose because of the ABK deal. I mean there are ridiculous fan boys on both sides of fhe aisle but you’ve really put yourself at the top of that list. Congrats

gold_drake759d ago

you mean like MS trying to look like the underdog? the "unappreciated" third place?

get over yourself.

mkis007759d ago

Had less to do with the conference and more to do with what they have announced so far in general. Congrats on making up a narrative though.

GhostScholar759d ago

It was you who made up a narrative genius. I just refuted it because it was either spoken out of complete fanboy trolling or ignorance or a smidge of both.

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570°

Microsoft planning “major” Xbox layoffs next week

The cuts are expected to be announced next week.

Microsoft is also planning thousands of job cuts that will impact other parts of it businesses

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theverge.com
8h agoReplies(1)
7h agoReplies(1)
Obscure_Observer7h ago

MFs has been beating their chests over great quarterly results and big profits to shareholders while firing people by the thousands just like Sony.

I wonder if at the top of those rumored layoffs they´ll also cancel upcoming or unannounced games while shutting down more studios as well.

7h ago
pwnmaster30007h ago

Always got to throw shade at Sony smh.
Yes we get it,
MS good Sony bad
MS bad Sony is also bad lmao

7h ago
Obscure_Observer7h ago

F* them both!

Just for the record, I don´t care about your victim complex crap either. Find someone else who cares.

blacktiger6h ago

He was talking about both. Why you getting offended when he's using both names

pwnmaster30005h ago(Edited 5h ago)

@Blacktiger

Im not offended , that’s just his formula lol
He can’t help help himself, he needs to bring Sony down when the topic involves MS.
Whether is good news for MS or bad, it some how leads to Sony doing bad lmao.
It’s actually hilarious.

InUrFoxHole47m ago

He's not wrong but im tracking what youre saying. In this case is should just be MS bad. Thats a lot of people fired

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 47m ago
Tacoboto7h ago

"just like Sony"

Gosh you're insufferable, not everything needs to be both-sides'd. Sony's had layoffs, but nothing like what Microsoft has been doing and is continuing to do.

CrimsonWing696h ago(Edited 6h ago)

I mean, no offense, but this is why you’re not some corporate business person running a major corporation. Big profits don’t mean jobs are safe. Do you understand why things like this happen:

Cutting jobs to maintain or increase profitability, especially in underperforming divisions like parts of Xbox like other gaming divisions.

Corporate restructuring and relocating resources for strategic stability in ever changing markets and consumer behaviors.

Investor expectations and optimizing operations to maintain investor confidence. Whatever boosts stock prices and improves future margins.

And there’s many other factors at play. It’s never as simple as business doing well, everyone’s safe. That’s just you not understanding at all how corporations work and have been working since the beginning. This isn’t something that’s specific to Xbox, you can bet your ass Sony and Nintendo do this and if it’s not clear by now, game development is not a stable job nor has it ever been for many. A lot of developers are contractors and guess what happens when a project is done?

Ganif5h ago

Nintendo said they have no plans for layoffs, and you can't seriously claim that the scale of Sony's layoffs most of which involved Bungie which is self managed as even close to the same scale as what Microsoft has done since they purchased Zenimax. And that significantly less layoffs would have happened if those publishers had stayed independent. Keep in mind that much of these layoffs have been due to redundancies specifically related to these buyouts.

CrimsonWing695h ago(Edited 5h ago)

@Ganif

Nintendo:

https://gamerant.com/ninten...

Sony:

https://gamerant.com/playst...

https://techxplore.com/news...

I don’t think it’s realistic to treat Sony’s layoffs as somehow outside the norm for the industry right now. Even if Bungie is self-managed, Sony’s cuts went far beyond that like Naughty Dog, Insomniac, London Studio being shut down completely, and multiple teams across the globe took hits. These weren’t just minor adjustments.

Nintendo, I had to look up and you’re right. They seem to be an outlier, but rest assured at some point it happens. And even then there’s been layoffs, albeit a smaller amount and contractors.

Would fewer layoffs have happened if studios from acquisitions stayed independent? Maybe. But even independents have been hit hard and look at what’s happened with Embracer’s fallout, or smaller devs like Digic, Roll7, or Volition. This isn’t just a “Microsoft problem” or strictly tied to acquisitions; it’s a broader correction happening across the whole industry, and unfortunately, layoffs are a big part of that process right now.

Ganif4h ago

From your article:

"According to reports, Nintendo of America restructured its testing operations, leading to layoffs of about 120 contractors, part of a strategy for global integration.

Nintendo of America, publisher of iconic franchises like Mario and Zelda, is shifting some contractors to full-time roles for better development integration."

Contractors are not employees, and even if you want to count them as that, it's 120 people vs around 7500 since Microsoft purchased Zenimax.

In an era of game industry layoffs, Nintendo is hiring more people
https://automaton-media.com...

Nintendo Announces 10 Percent Pay Raise For Devs Despite Lower Profits
https://kotaku.com/nintendo...

Nintendo CEO’s refusal to layoff staff goes viral following industry-wide cuts
"Satoru Iwata took pay cuts to ensure staff didn’t have to be let go"
https://www.nme.com/news/ga...

And as for Sony you're comparing less than 1000 total jobs to an estimated7500

Has the industry faced layoffs, yes, but that still doesn't account for the mass layoffs due to redundancies that was easily predictable, or that fact that at least 1/3 of Microsoft's layoffs and studio closures happened before the industry downturn.

thorstein4h ago(Edited 4h ago)

Take the L, Crimson.

People hate Nintendo, but Ganif proved why they deserve support.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4h ago
-Foxtrot6h ago

It's like banging your head off a wall, he just can't help himself.

Microsoft can do no wrong, Sony sucks at everything and Nintendo is bigged up because it's less hassle than trying to defend Microsoft all the time

What's going to happen when Microsoft finally turn completely third party, then what?

anast6h ago

I enjoy Obscure. Obscure does good work.

crazyCoconuts6h ago

Did you know that the first n4g was designed to be a perfect human world? Where none suffered, where everyone would be happy. It was a disaster. No one would accept the program.

Tacoboto5h ago

I wouldn't be surprised at this point if anast and osbcure were both alts for the Admin.

We know how Obscure especially drums up additional comments and clicks with his spam-worthy remarks that somehow never get moderated

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 5h ago
Profchaos2h ago

Thats business present a strong front to your shareholders while your company burns around you.

Keep shareholders happy at all costs andnif not happy keep them numb to the reality of you organisation

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 47m ago
7h ago
Show all comments (70)
120°

Sony Faces Class Action in the Netherlands Over Allegedly Inflated PlayStation Store Prices

Mass Damage & Consumer Foundation in the Netherlands has filed a class action against Sony for inflating PlayStation Store prices.

dveio6h ago(Edited 6h ago)

My personal opinion:

Manufacturers and publishers have indeed inflated the industry.

From $700 million development costs for games like Call of Duty, to digital (store) prices for games and DLCs, online multiplayer fees on consoles (why can you play Helldivers 2 online for free on PC but not consoles?) or still preventing sell/lend digitally purchased games.

Sometime in the future, this bubble will collapse.

They should know better, but they just can't help themselves and suck even the last penny out of our wallets.

BeHunted3h ago

Because Sony knows people will be forced to pay those prices for single player and multiplayer games, not everyone prefers PC gaming. Sony also has a monopoly on PlayStation digital games. In 2019, they stopped allowing retailers and game key sellers to sell PlayStation digital games, making them available only through the official PlayStation Store

anast5h ago

The Dutch gov. wants a piece of the pie.

Eonjay5h ago

They should be suing the individual publishers increasing the prices to $80 instead of suing the store. There are plenty of publishers still selling game for like $50 with much success (like E33). But this proves that the publishers are the ones setting the prices.... so again nothing changes because they aren't even going after the main offender. How is suing Sony going to make Microsoft not charge $80 for the next COD? Sony being the number one store in the market doesn't mean that publisher have to charge us an arm and a leg. Again the industry is laughing at us because consumers never get real representation. Just these fake platitudes that are meaningless.

BeHunted3h ago

"How is suing Sony going to make Microsoft not charge $80 for the next COD"

Because Microsoft doesn't have a monopoly, I can purchase Call of Duty at a huge discount from CDKeys or other gaming retailers. The only way to purchase digital PlayStation games is through the PlayStation Store.

djl34852h ago

Weird, I swore GoW, Stellar Blade, Horizon Zero Dawn, TLoU, etc. were on the steam store....uh.....

Killer2020UK3h ago

About time. There is zero fair reason why digitally distributed products that you cannot recoup any value when you want to dispose of them, should be priced higher than that of physical copies that entail all of the costs and the benefits of owning.

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70°

Nintendo Switch 2 review. Is it enough of an upgrade?

Two weeks in, Nintendo Switch 2 feels faster, smoother, and sturdier. But is it enough of an upgrade?

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clouddosage.com
anast6h ago

It doesn't matter. Nintendo plays by different rules. They are still reskinning games from the 80s.

Goodguy013h ago(Edited 3h ago)

Not at the moment for most. Good investment for huge Nintendo fans though. You can also expect much more greed from nintendo this gen as well as their confidence really grew from switch 1.
I mean dear God, botw at $70 and totk at $80 fow switch 2 editions. Old games lmao.