Microsoft Buys Activision Blizzard: Hello, Antitrust?

[@HouseHexagon]

THE YEAR IS 2052. I wake up within the metaverse. This is my home now. I have lived here ever since The Right Honourable High Overlord Mark Zuckerberg passed a law that made me and all other rebels tape an Oculus Quest 5 to our heads... PERMANENTLY! I have since forgotten what the outside world looks like, for I have been in here now for at least 22 years. I have lost count. My hands are tied, and I am being kept alive by tuna paste through a tube that is injected directly into my stomach. You may be wondering what it is like inside of my VR world? Well truth be told, it's wonderful. Here, I have everything a man could ever want. Money, a beautiful wife, a loving family, and even a stable home. Though, deep down, I know that it is in fact, not real. I don't think about it too much. There's nothing I can do. The real world, being in the state it's in, is indeed, tragic. At least, what I last saw of it. I dare think of what it looks like now. But alas, I tried, did I not? They did not listen. None of them did. Now we are but pixels. A fake life, in a fake world. It feels real. A lot of the time I even forget the real world exists. Sometimes I wonder if it was all just a dream. Was Earth even real? Can't talk about it to the people here. They just look at me as if there's something wrong with me. They aren't programmed to know Earth. Indeed, this world is fake, but it is beautiful- and ultimately, I am happy. Or at least, I think I am happy. I think therefore I am. Is that not the quote? AH! Gotta go, it's tuna time!

[@connordorman117]

I’m commenting for the algorithm as I feel this video is important. Also I love Fables, my second favourite RPG though the best RPG in my humble opinion is Dragon Age Origins.

[@KACHIMOOCHI1191]

Ooo, a reference to "I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream"... a man of culture, I see.

[@Dat_Jonx]

Meanwhile me just chilling on tropical island lost deep in Pacific Ocean...

[@honkyjesuseternal]

Just to be clear - Sony and TenCent still have a higher market share even if this buyout goes through. You have to break up at least Playstation before you say this deal can't go through. Just sum fax.

[@jebidiahkerman4600]

@Suwi Etch yeah and windows is like 70% market share mac eats up almost everything else and tiny linux gets the rest of the like 1.5%. MS and Apple wont run out of money anythime soon

[@sololoquy3783]

Seeing how integrated EA play with Game Pass is, the only question is when.

[@nkw1985]

That's exactly what i've been thinking. Microsoft no doubt wants the annual sports games exclusively on their platform and the SEC won't do shit to prevent it. Alot of the public are cheerleaders for monopolies these days so there's little hope for the people that see where this is all headed.

[@honkyjesuseternal]

I hope they buy EA and Ubisoft. - Game Pass subscriber

[@Mmlujan]

@@nkw1985 but it’s not a monopoly bc it isn’t essential. They wouldn’t allow Nvidia to buy AMD, why? Bc those are essential technologies that having a competition would create better hardware. They should have done this for exclusive licenses with things like sports games, that’s why Madden has fell off bc they have no competition, but it isn’t vital. Same thing with Disney, it is entertainment which means it isn’t essential, you don’t have/forced to have entertainment. Not saying this is good or bad but this is the key difference.

[@robbiesarkioglu5623]

@@nkw1985 cry more

[@toofoo8707]

@@nkw1985 you gonna cry?

[@HeyItsTheWykydtron]

I agree. It's downright moronic that people pledge allegiance and fandom to giant corporations just because they made their favorite toys. Remember, you paid money for the toys, they sold you something, they didn't give it you out of the goodness of their hearts.

[@honkyjesuseternal]

Game Pass is one hell of a cheap toy. If I could have paid ten bucks of 1983 money to play 150 games my mom would have left us to fend for ourselves, with the Atari teaching us. Fuck.

[@davisdaniels89]

You could literally say the same thing about anything e.g Lego

[@SynthLizard8]

I like how your videos play out like a classic MGS cutscene with real-world footage cut in with dramatic music and philosophical thinking.

[@TheDeadfast]

The main reason I see these acquisitions being celebrated amongst my friends is the fact that they're getting a bunch of games "for free" on the Xbox Game Pass, which is making a great deal even better. That's very much true, but only until Microsoft decide to jack the price up and then what? How long until they decide that Game Pass is the only way the games can be played, and that the cost of the subscription is now going to be $99.99 per month instead of $9.99?

[@gnarkillguch]

When Gamepass first got announced, I said that exact same thing, and got called a conspiracy theorist and a Sony Fan boy etc. The whole point of Gamepass is to slowly get consumers used to the idea, and then phase out physical media entirely over time until it's the only option available, and they have complete control over what content you're allowed to play. It'll also be the death of the modding scene if it becomes the norm for places like Steam etc, because when you're just streaming or "renting" a game, you have no access to the actual files. Big publishers hate modders, so it's it's surefire way to stamp them out.

[@hyphed4196]

@@gnarkillguch Yeah but at the same time isn't it goodbye hacking? It's kinda just a trade off.

[@gnarkillguch]

@@hyphed4196 Maybe at first, but there's always ways around it. Console hacks exist, and that's not exactly easy to do.

[@hyphed4196]

@@gnarkillguch I mean we have physical and digital copies of games yet still nobody has been able to Jtag an xbone and cheat online.

[@honkyjesuseternal]

Classic case of making sense, then becoming The Byatch. Congrats. Going from 10 bucks to 100 bucks? You Ponies are hilarious.

[@iPAK87]

Man i glad that i found you, your channel is pure gold, i wish that a lot more people gonna have similar mindset like you

[@slaterock4612]

I said this before on another video. Microsoft is the Disney of gaming, buying out all these companies and no good can come of it. People need to wake up.

[@Lugeks]

I like how some of these people say that Disney needs to stop buying all the movie companies but they are the same people supporting Microsoft doing the same thing but for gaming.

[@Riley_HawkinsOSRS]

Considering how many studios EA has bought and closed (a lot more then Microsoft) I don’t think that’s a fair comparison.

[@gespensttype-r68]

This man gets it. I don't understand why Americans seem to love monopolies so much. The giddiness I saw when Disney ate Fox is the same as I see here, and it's sickening.

[@Lugeks]

You see us Americans love monopolies so much because everyone was forced to play monopoly.

[@caldari_soldier]

Some people think Microsoft is going to make Act-Bliz produce great games again. Outside of Gears, Halo, and Forza, Microsoft barely innovated (if at all) with exclusives on Xbox One. Plus, it seems likely Microsoft will fire the devs who've been protesting and say they're "restructuring" the company. Microsoft is the same company that charges for Office, when it was a default feature pre-Windows 8. They tried doubling yearly Gold subscription prices last year, but only backed down after backlash. If they monopolize the industry, they'll charge whatever they like.

[@toofoo8707]

Salt mine found with a supply that will last for years 😎

[@Korato01]

I love your videos. They are of amazing Quality. I have no idea how you don't have way more subscribers. You deserve it.

[@MyTwoPence]

This video will age well like a fine wine. But I think what some people were happy about is (myself included) is seeing Activision Blizzard getting the shakeup it rightfully needs. Getting rid of all the perverts in the company and getting rid of Cocky Throbick. But as you've pointed out, this is ultimately bad in the long run. I was optimistic and hoping Microsoft would take the "Minecraft" route. As Microsoft owns Minecraft, and yet it is available on all platforms. But spending this amount of money and not making any exclusives for their own platform would be silly from a business perspective So now the console market is now Romance of the Three Kingdom. Love your videos! The true Nerevar of KZbin

[@renderlessgames]

Whats that

[@charmingpeasant9834]

Activision will get rid of pervs, but in their place will come ''progressive'' ideologues, like the ones who already censored World of Warcraft's flirtatious dialogue, replaced a painting of a sexy woman with a bowl of fruits. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

[@flair541]

@@renderlessgames The Romance Of The Three Kingdoms is a novel about the Chinese Three Kingdoms Period. This was a three-faction. Civil War that split China into "The Three Kingdoms," Wei, Shu, and Wu. It rocked the whole nation for about sixty years before it's end when I believe Wei conquered Shu and then the combined forces of both conquered Wu. The book itself is more about a lot of the nitty gritty of people just talking and planning amongst themselves to move their respective war efforts forward.

[@honkyjesuseternal]

Where were you when Sony acquired Insomniac? Or Nintendo went anti consumer a decade ago? I am sure you will have an apt response that ages like a fine malt liquor. Cheers in the meantime!!!

[@MyTwoPence]

@@honkyjesuseternal Oh gosh I remember Nintendos horrible policy when it came to posting content on their games. Nintendo was soo salty about Brawls storyline being posted on KZbin, that it scrapped it storyline in the lastst game.

[@OG_Kratoes]

Hope for the best, expect the worst.

[@Misuune]

The only thing good about the purchase is that it's probably one less company in the hands of Xinnie the Pooh.

[@SpectreStatus]

I'm pretty sure Microsoft works closely with our favorite teddy bear..

[@viveracine]

Nice one, from France ! Will you make a saints row 4 video in the same way you made it for 1,2,3 ?

[@anonymouslee2061]

Finally. Someone with fucking common sense spoke up!

[@schattenlaufer2191]

Gaming is dying. Its sad, because when i was younger, i was exciting for games and now you have to filter true the woke shit to find a good game. you don't even have really 2A Companies anymore only 3A and Indi Studios. I'm 25 and sound like a boomer.

[@NO-FILTER-EXPERT]

It’s not a monopoly when the competitors gave themselves up for a price to be bought 🙄. These companies that Microsoft rightfully bought - gave themselves up for a price. In other words they quit the game and gave themselves up. It’s the same thing how Facebook bought WhatsApp and instagram. There’s competition still out their (old or new people making the next gaming/entertainment stuff) that can easily beat Microsoft one day. There is no such thing as a monopoly….unless you was held hostage at weapon point and was forced to not compete. It’s all about if your product/service is famously used or it’s not yet. Nobody is stopping you from beating Microsoft or becoming the next better Microsoft. Y’all need to stop using the word monopoly because it making yall sound like ignorant puppets who will follow anything without thinking about it. “Big tech evil” and “Big tech monopoly” are buzzwords/marketing terms that people fall for. Stop falling for it.

[@LIONPRINCE2001]

Funny he didn't report this in the video sounds like this was rushed without getting all the facts first

[@JohnMezzo]

Seeing the overwhelmingly positive, celebratory responses about this was baffling to me as well.

[@honkyjesuseternal]

Mmm. Sony tears, so yummy.

[@Mmlujan]

I think it’s a lot to do with the fact that now Bobby is gonna be out and the employees will have a better work place, also blizzard doesn’t do shit with the IPs so that’s why I’m excited. Maybe Starcraft ghost gets resurrected lol Yeah there is some fanboy shit but I like it bc I don’t give a fuck what these companies do. It might end up terrible or it might be awesome. Time will tell

[@AIIEYESONME]

Phil Spencer talked about bringing back abandoned IPs such as Guitar Hero. And others. Plus all the Acti-Blizz games have been in steep decline. Why wouldn't everyone applaud this as a move that might turn out much better games as well as those dead IPs that Bobby wanted nothing to do with any longer? As for the silly video, KZbinrs are mostly click baiters, this Hexagon is just being dramatic and playing devils advocate for views obviously..

[@D_d_t_d_D]

@@AIIEYESONME "I don't like it therefore it's for clout-chasing!"

[@caldari_soldier]

@@Mmlujan More likely employees will have to find a new place to work after Microsoft fires them during the "restructuring" of Act-Blizz.

[@LifeofBrad1]

I've completely checked out of modern gaming now. Gone back to playing PS2 and Xbox 360 games. You know, that era when games were still good.

[@DirtyDwarfFTW]

There is hundreds if not thousands great indie games. I haven't bought non-Japanese AAA game since Far cry 3 and don't feel like I missed much.

[@renderlessgames]

Hate modern western media so you escape to 2000s stuff and Japanese stuff? Join the club lol

[@headshotmaster138]

@@renderlessgames Damn straight.

[@SpectreStatus]

All the best games are from the late 2000s to early 2010s. When society started getting woke, the games got woke and terrible.

[@TheLastDaysOfSorrow]

@@renderlessgames where do I sign?

[@PlakeFilmmaker]

Microsoft is talking about "metaverse" bs after buying Activision, they should've been ahead of the curve and bought North Korea for half of the price and make Metaverse in real life! I bet NK citizens wouldn't notice any changes.

[@renderlessgames]

Hate modern western media so you escape to 2000s stuff and Japanese stuff? Join the club lol

[@ctrli4857]

You should have mentioned Linux when you talked about the Operating systems, like you dropped tux into one of your videos when you said pc. Very nice video so far though.

[@jayclarke777]

Original Xbox exists because Gates was pissed the PS2 was using Linux and feared it was going to intervene with making money off Windows.

[@ctrli4857]

@@jayclarke777 Interesting.

[@jayclarke777]

@@ctrli4857 Lol... you just replied to my comment as I was explaining that to another person on KZbin. You can look it up on the internet too, the origins of the Xbox (2001).

[@ctrli4857]

@@jayclarke777 cool!

[@ctrli4857]

ALSO THANK YOU HOUSE HEXAGON

[@randomnerd3402]

This is how I like to see it. If Microsoft will count as a monopoly, then so should Disney. So if they approve Disney's ludicrous purchases, they might unfortunately approve this purchase as well. On the direction the world goes... I can't see it getting that bad, because ultimately, great empires fall due to complacency caused by long prosperity, falling to the next big thing. Rinse and repeat. I mean like just look at the Roman Empire. With how incompetently managed the USA is right now, there's no way we'll reach the ridiculous financial heights of a cyberpunk dystopia.

[@Z4Official]

Microsoft is worth over a trillion dollars. Disney is worth around 93 billion. I agree both should be considered for anti-trust targeting, but I think Microsoft is much more egregious, being worth 10x Disney net worth, and I don't think comparing them is useful, with that large of a difference in value. I think the logic should be reversed, i.e "If people think Disney is a monopoly JUST WAIT until they hear about Microsoft" lol.

[@Ma1q444]

The cycle continues I think every company had that cycle

[@PatchesMalone]

They Old Yeller'ed my Fable.......😭🤬😑

[@DEAD4LIVE]

The gaming crash has happened 7 years ago and now we have been in the gaming purge!

[@lastremain7867]

My brother literally told me about this then half an hour later you made a video about this and this is exactly how I felt when he told me the news.

[@harryharrington8686]

Only found you recently, honestly speechless you're not bigger, love your stuff and your the first dude I clicked the bell for in my time on this sight lol

[@nur-X]

and the sadest part is... That just a "Hand full" (compared to the ´big "funny" KZbinr) of people Watch you very qualitative and easy to understand Videos. especially because these Topics concern everybody.. :/

[@TheLastDaysOfSorrow]

I know that this isn't even a blip on the radar of the bullshittery of late stage capitalism, but for an industry I've followed for nearly two decades now, people overwhelmingly applauding and celebrating this acquisition feels so incredibly fucking dystopian that I'm at a loss for words.

[@ProxyDoug]

Corporatism is an enemy of capitalism, I don't think this is healthy for a truly free market.

[@Riley_HawkinsOSRS]

activision/blizzard is just the worst

[@zm1786]

DARPA is directly involved in the game industry , nothing about it is a "free market" at this point

[@yirawls]

When you talked about feeling like a mad prophet and sometimes wonder if you're wrong describes the last several years of my life

[@ProxyDoug]

I've been saying this a lot to the point I'm starting to sound like Alex Jones, but the endgame of this is to have everything on the game pass, and other services will pop up to compete on that front, and just like that, everything will be on subscriptions and no one will own games anymore.

[@galahad2451]

"You will own nothing and be happy" - including games.

[@Roberto1492one]

Great job,I really appreciate the quality, hard work and most of all clever thinking that you put on the video about the subject.

[@chriscormac231]

it's only a monopoly if the govt doesn't like you

[@MrEssedis]

This

[@Lugeks]

It's only a monopoly when you have board walk and park place

[@chriscormac231]

@@Lugeks *lifts finger to argue, contemplates, lowers finger*

[@fernan2342]

"Video games didn't just die, it was murdered". JUST A REMINDER, "VOTE" or rather, SAY NO WITH YOUR WALLET.

[@WW-fn7rt]

Nice, was hoping for a video by you

[@chrisieneef3848]

“ You pretty much sum it up for me “ cause I couldn’t think of 1 reason why most people were ( hoooraying ) , once I saw the news first thing I thought was ain’t these the same doochbags in the middle of some harassment crap lawsuit ( workplace conditions ) now getting bailed out with a big deal from a company ( Microsoft ) that ban together with its top competitor to both agree it wasn’t right , Gaming is fcked , and You don’t sit alone -Hex.

[@charmingpeasant9834]

Seeing the strongly left-leaning, anti-capitalist gaming Twitter and Reddit celebrating this corporate consolidation was simply mind boggling. I guess Xbox corpos including their pronouns was enough to please them.

[@kingturk339]

i already have an bad feeling with this news :(

[@iaobtc]

The sheer myopia of gamers embracing this merger is astounding. It's as if EA hasn't already furnished us enough examples of what happens when faceless monoliths buy up game studios. That said, Blizzard isn't who I'm worried about. Companies like Blizzard and Bethesda are shameless mobile cashgrabbers. It's companies like Obsidian, also purchased by MS, who are liable to get the axe, seeing as they focus on things gamers want rather than what shareholders want.

[@Trackman71]

I’m optimistic. Hopefully Microsoft can turn them around. But this won’t be the last company to be bought. EA is Next. You did make a valid point. We will just have to wait and see.

[@derhergeher]

And after EA maybe ubisoft

[@DeadYorick]

Praising the Ouya because they "tried" is very misleading. The Ouya wasn't even a console it was essentially a phone in a square form factor that played mobile games you could already get elsewhere. Then a consumer looks at a console like the Ouya they ask "why would I play shovelware on a television? Anything that's decent on here is on one of the other systems". This is one of the issues when discussing competition and praising failed attempts at providing competition. Which is that consumers ultimately vote with their wallets. Why did people buy the Nintendo Switch in droves? Because it provided something the other two consoles weren't. That's why people buy systems and that's what should be praised.

[@COOKIE-gk9oc]

Sure.

[@nikeonnk]

Finnaly someone with common sense. Playstation players crying, xbox players laughing. Both failed to see whats real wrong with this. 3rd party games should stay 3rd party game. If you buyed the studio then make a 1rst party game with it.

[@renderlessgames]

All yall cryin

[@diffsnicker6570]

That's dumb on Microsoft's end I think they're still gonna sell the titles on PS and collect royalties, it's been clear for years now that selling systems is not the strategy these guys are going for. All ES and fallout games are still coming out on PS, stalker 2 is still coming out on ps albeit a few months later even though microsoft bought GSC game world

[@hykl8705]

@@diffsnicker6570 dude, they literally confirmed that all future zenimax games likes starfield, redfall and elder scrolls 6 will not be released on playstation ever. please prove me wrong, i'd be very glad as for future activision blizzard games i expect the same thing

[@diffsnicker6570]

@@hykl8705 :o oh wow I did not know this because Bethesda always teamed up with Microsoft but never as far as to make an es or fallout game an exclusive. I believe oblivion was a timed exclusive and morrowind only came out on xbox and pc if I remember right

[@MishReacts]

The projects you create on your channel have stimulating content to say the least. You have a well rounded understanding on how corporate monopolies have been slowly stealing the spirit of the gaming industry from the start. Luckily, some gaming companies still get to pour their energy into certain games, creating and absolutely immaculate game design driven by imagination and calculative efforts. Interestingly, everything is in a state of change including the many gaming worlds created, and I wonder if a new era of gaming can immerge from such a corporate darkness.

[@mastertadakatsu]

Microsoft is becoming the Video Game version of Unicron. All consuming, all the time.

[@Thethinker6141]

I think that's wishful thinking from PlayStation fans this does not even come close to antitrust or Monopoly territory. But if it makes you feel better to believe that then go right ahead

[@jumpingmoose5554]

I've became concerned about this ever since phill Spencer came out in support of cross platform censorship & bans.

[@caseylascallette7269]

A friend of mine that works at Bethesda told me that literally nothing changed when Microsoft took over...

[@feywinterfox9630]

This, this x10! I know two people myself and they said about the same, but let the internet tell it and Microsoft just rolled into Bethesda HQ after taking over, pulled out a check and went, "Okay how many zeros do you want?....matter of fact take all the zeros and put whatever number you want in front of it!" And then everything has been great from that day after and to show for it we have......we have....well there is that one game....ummmm....Well I heard Fallout 76 has a big update, you know that Gem of a game......hmmmm....

[@feywinterfox9630]

@Adrian Scott sure, the game that was doing well before being bought out by the and but that time after the companies they had they treated like crap, I have to agree it was smart to NOT treat one of the top games like pure crap. So you totally have me in a box with that one game.

[@comicsans1689]

I'm still hoping for Microsoft to not be as bad as Zenimax, since Microsoft has been generous in publishing games in the past.

[@iaobtc]

Blizzard employees said the same thing when Activision bought them too you myopic muppet

[@caseylascallette7269]

Well Activision and Microsoft are practically the same company!!! Herrrr derrrrttt!

[@JokerSaintsRow]

Damn you're fast...

[@ipodle]

This channel is criminally underrated.

[@killer1one1]

Please never stop making videos around this topic

[@at0m1cdust85]

So, did any of previously zenimax-owned companies launch a single game after being bought by microsoft? Only one I can remember is skyrim anniversary edition. A re-sell with creation club stuff added as main reason to upgrade. I just fail to see how being bought by someone increases quality of games created by that company. So far it just going to let actiblizz exist longer, not necessarily make them create better games and care about ones that they already have.

[@christophbeck1305]

Arkane who is owned by zenimax did Release a game after they had been bought by Microsoft it Was deathloop the game that came out on PC with Spyware aka denuvo that makes it only run good on a Super computer from 2050 and on ps5 (ps4?) But other than that nothing so far.

[@at0m1cdust85]

@@chaoticevilmonk2223 Yes, it`s just actiblizz can waste a lot of time on internal problems and after-buyout teething issues, instead of creating better new games and supporting existing ones. Activision may be relatively okay, since they can throw out CoD every year, but Blizzard takes a lot of time to re-release games (that, I heard, are worse than originals). Their games probably will decay in quality until some time after buyout completes. ​ @Drunk Potato Oh. I heard about it, but wasn`t interested enough to remember it. That means two games that are pretty standard for companies that created them. Bethesda re-sells skyrim and creators of dishonored make new dishonored, but with more emphasis on shooter element (I think). No notable change after buyout by microsoft. Though I don`t remember hearing that either had internal struggles. Fallout 76 was a flop, but bethesda recovered, and arkane`s only bad game (known to me and that I forgot about until wiki reminded me) is wolfenstein: youngblood. As far as I know, it`s forgotten by now. So yeah, some personnel-shuffling may occur, but that doesn`t mean better games, or better updates to existing ones.

[@DeadYorick]

Lamenting the lack of a "universal system" on capitalism is absurd. Allowing competition is what causes innovation in the gaming space. You can easily say that PC represents a "universal system" but even then plenty of companies do not ship on there because they don't want to. The gaming space is a really good example of competition breeding innovation. When companies lack competition they usually get extremely prideful and push for things nobody wants. This is why certain things like emulators are protected under court precedent in the USA. It was because emulators represented fair competition in a capitalist space.

[@COOKIE-gk9oc]

Sure.

[@chesterstevens8870]

While I can understand the trepidation and anti-trust sentiment, it's worth pointing out that A) Sony and Tencent both own more studios than Microsoft, so anyone bringing it up now is kind of in a glass-house situation, and B) Spencer has mostly let his acquired studios maintain their autonomy and continue producing cross-platform games. I dunno; I'm just as wary of Big Tech as anyone, but I would much rather Microsoft have keys to the ship than some of the other publishers I can think of.

[@hfjtrytry9216]

a) its nothing to do with the amount of studios and more to do with the quality of said studios, activision and bethesda are two of the 6 biggest independent studios, the others being ea, ubisoft, square enix and take two, and b)spencer wont be in charge forever and at anypoint they can decide to make all games exclusive to xbox or pc gamepass. Considering how close Ea are with microsoft at the moment, I wouldnt be surprised if they werent bought next.

[@tictcha612]

Great video !

[@Z4Official]

Even people like angry joe are talking about how they think this will be "positive" and "exciting" for the gaming industry, and its makes me very upset. When has this shit ever been positive for any industry its happened in? Forced obsolescence? Artificial price increases? Price gauging? Company towns? All products of trust and monopolies. Have we not learned anything from history? Theodore Roosevelt is rolling in his grave. I wish gaming commentators would shut the fuck up and do some research on history before acting like shit like this is positive for our community. Get bent. (not you, but the commentators and people supporting this acquisition)

[@LIONPRINCE2001]

Even heard of jumping the shark because that's what this idiot doing and your falling for it

[@Z4Official]

@@LIONPRINCE2001 uh, 100+ years of historical evidence that trusts are bad, is not jumping the shark.

[@Lugeks]

Not only are people not seeing the bigger picture of what's gonna happen but these same people are the people complaining that Disney has to many companies (which they do) but think it's positive when Microsoft pulls a Disney

[@LIONPRINCE2001]

@@Z4Official I think you need to reread the definition of what a Monopoly is because if you believe this is one I got a bridge in Iraq to sale you

[@Z4Official]

@@LIONPRINCE2001 you must lack reading comprehension because I said Trusts AND monopolies, I included monopolies because it is relevant to this history of anti-trust.

[@myyoshistory]

Oh boy a fresh salt mine I’ll call Fritanga.

[@LIONPRINCE2001]

Good idea this so called mad Pophect need to be hit in the face with reality and laughed at

[@leadingauctions8440]

How would a Universal Platform be good?

[@lloydlandrum3040]

Odd your last two vids hadn't popped in my notification's glad I checked your channel to see what was up.. So glad I was mistaken in thinking you left or the like

[@leadingauctions8440]

I can not believe I missed this upload.

[@anwarallums7457]

hello, antitrust??

[@LIONPRINCE2001]

Ah no it isn't

[@danieladamczyk4024]

Well, they are still evil but green now.

[@Kiezly]

I really think you should add the word Activision to the title

[@Kiezly]

thanks for hearting my comment Hex! i wish you the best in your youtube journey my friend !!

[@Arendvdvenk]

Wow, that was quick

[@perceivedvelocity9914]

I have a different take on the situation. I think that Microsoft wants to become the Netflix of gaming. Microsoft and Sony always loose money when they sell a console. I think that Microsoft is looking 10 years down the line when consoles are like VHS tapes and nobody owns them. I don't think that this is a good thing. I seriously doubt that Microsoft will keep 800 different studio's open. At some point they will figure out how many developers that they need and fire everyone else.

[@eldontyrell4361]

I just expect people to cheer for stuff that’s ultimately not in their interest at this point, or to battle in service of corporate or social avatars instead of IDK themselves and their own lives lol.

[@Ma1q444]

Gaming has been dying for a while now at this point it’s dead I remember on the 360 there was constantly great games released nowadays I can’t name you one released

[@dalegribble7125]

This is some saddening shit.

[@eldontyrell4361]

Game at 2:40?

[@Gruntvc]

I do not see this purchase as a good thing. But honestly, both companies have abandoned making the kind of games I really liked these days. So, guess I'll look elsewhere for "good" new games.

[@Lugeks]

You might wanna check out nintendo they still have crappy internet games so it feels like your playing a game made in the 2010s

[@lomax1919]

Great summary of what is going on with games and a nicely made vid. HOWEVER... the number of uses of the word "however" in this production is crazy high taking away the attention from the topic :-)

[@HTHAMMACK1]

There's no antitrust here. Even with this acquisition, Xbox is still behind Sony and Nintendo in revenue.

[@natetheskate9948]

11:30 that's not the fault of neo-liberalism. The reason I know this is because we hardly live in a capitalistic society. We live much closer to corporatism, were competition is very heavily regulated by the government.

[@Fallen_Ninja]

Seeing how big the game industry is… I don’t see this being an anti trust issue.

[@solidsnake6405]

I have a great idea for a video!! I'd personally like to know just what happened to Microsoft's game pipeline during the end of and after the 360!! The og Xbox and especially the Xbox 360 seemed to have oodles and oodles of games.one could say that the vast majority of the best games all appeared on those platforms. Apart from Sony and Nintendo exclusives of course. But during the end of the 360 and the start of the xbox one generation it seemed like a switch was flipped and Microsoft suddenly couldn't produce anything other then Halo,Gears,and Forza over and over,while 3rd party support seemed to dry up. I do not believe this was simply because of TV 2013,as we are 9 years from that yet Microsoft are still digging Xbox out of the hole they dug and to do so they needed to create gamepass,buy bethesda and now Activision to even begin the process,yet such drastic measures weren't needed for the first two Xboxs. The og Xbox and 360 were able to be successful platforms,yet the xbox one seemed to be a complete wasteland until Phil took over,and I believe it all runs much deeper then just a simple focus on tv and the casual market, cause if that was the total story we should have already seen a huge boom of titles coming from them over the past few years and Xbox return to its 360 level of interest.

[@comicsans1689]

Gaming died in 2010.

[@solidsnake6405]

@@comicsans1689 what happend in 2010?

[@comicsans1689]

@@solidsnake6405 Greed really started to dominate gaming. AA games were pretty much dead, and is was uncommon if a game didn't have DLC, along with launch day DLC popping up. It was also at this point that publishers like EA and Activision were showing their true colors. Good games were still being released, but they were being reduced to a trickle. CRPGs and RTS were practically dead at this point. The Wii was starting to decline because the motion control gimmick was getting old. Microsoft and Sony were trying to jump on the motion control gimmick hype train with PS Move and Kinect, both of which were massive failures. The last major proper Star Wars game was released in 2010, and it was definitely rushed. Bioware was fully under EA at this point, and the release of Mass Effect 2 showed a stark departure from Bioware's classic game formula. That's just some of my observations. I was 10 during this time, so it was only with hindsight that I could eventually realize that things were going downhill.

[@Mmlujan]

They had shit people running the Xbox division. It’s pretty simple.

[@modernmobster]

The only slight positive about this move is the potential for Microsoft to resurrect dead franchises Activision owned but did nothing with. What I think will really end up happening is that they'll double down on creating fewer games that pander to their pay pigs to recoup for such an ungodly investment. There is no reason Activision should've been worth that much. They only have 2 real franchises they even use (cod and wow). How long will it take to recoup that from those 2 games when they're already on a decline? Plus, Microsoft is going to have to find a way to market those old, abandoned properties.

[@BoozeAholic]

LOL that's not happening. Look at what they did with Rareware. The only reason they bought Rareware is because Microsoft tried to buy out Nintendo decades ago. They only managed to secure Rareware only to later realize that they were bamboozled because Nintendo still owns the fully rights to Donkey Kong.

[@BigSleepyOx]

If this deal is ultimately approved by regulators, it would make Microsoft the third largest games publisher, behind Sony and and another company (whose name I forget). How is being third a "monopoly"? And, unlike Sony, Microsoft publishes all their games on multiple platforms.

[@Lugeks]

MiCrOsOfT mAkEs All ThErE gAmEs MuLtI pLaTfOrM he says while after buying a 3rd party platform and then making there game microsoft exclusives.

[@BigSleepyOx]

@@Lugeks What's really funny is that Sony, who wins every generation, and outsells XBox like 3 to 1, suddenly needs protection. I've never seen government go out of its way to protect the dominant player in a given market. Yet that's what's being demanded now. lol Where was this guy when Sony was going on its money hat tour, seeking to secure timed exclusives to starve the competition at the beginning of this generation? Where was this guy when Sony made 4-year recurring deals to cripple CoD on PC and Xbox? Where was this guy when Sony made Spider-Man exclusive, and is now seeking to make FF exclusive? This guy has zero problems when most Sony, the most dominant entity in gaming, makes deals to starve the competition. But when the competition fights back, then this guy whines about it and demands protection for that poor, little, start-up company Sony. Give me a break. lol BTW, your keyboard is broken.

[@Soromeister]

Such an underrated channel

[@LC-yv9ey]

Wow, great video!

[@kidnf8586]

dont overlook a '3rd' party that dont even play by the 'market' rule - called 10cent

[@Heffy_Boi]

Ya see, this is what I've been saying for years now, as soon as a company scratches its way to the top of the console food chain, they become immediately full of it. Perfect example: I very much miss the humbler days of Sony back in 7th gen. Back then, they had to prove themselves and as soon as they started charging for multiplayer, I lost all faith in their ecosystem. You can't possibly sit there and tell me that one of the largest pillars of the gaming industry can't cover the cost of their online play, ya know, something that, to this day, we do not pay for on Steam. Sorta makes me hate that Xbox Live was a paid service, it clearly made ripples to every other console platform of the current generation.

[@BossOfAllTrades]

If it was free Xbox would of went out like dreamcast

[@Heffy_Boi]

@@BossOfAllTrades Maybe, maybe not. Speculation is all we have at this point but if I were a bettin' man; given how Microsoft has always been swimming in seemingly endless resources, even back when they launched the original Xbox, they could support numerous failed consoles without breaking a sweat. Whereas, in the case of SEGA and the Dreamcast tragedy, simply put, they just didn't have that comfy cushion to lean back on if they failed, that's the simple truth of it.

[@brendanpelkey120]

@@BossOfAllTrades i don't think that's true. Online play was free on ps3, when Sony wasn't doing the beast.

[@LIONPRINCE2001]

@@brendanpelkey120 then the hack of 2011 happened and changed everything

[@markup6394]

It was so strange that so many people were over the moon about this news... Barely a single critical voice... Yes, it makes you wonder about people.

[@justinholland7766]

No antitrust issues here only salty ponies

[@9ALiTY]

Love this Channel, People think game pass is great now, but they will eventually have every game not owned by People but owned and rented out to people, the Prices will rise & rise people will eventually pay $80 a month or more to own nothing. Sad

[@stormer9952]

Yeah that's never gonna happen.

[@christophbeck1305]

@@stormer9952 i mean Look at steam it already is like you dont actually own any of the games you rent them (as in what the tos state) with so mutch more being Digital is Not a good Thing they just need to ban youre Account and boom you have nothing. With the phisical Discs at least you can use those to make use of a emulator. But hey you will own nothing and will be happy

[@stormer9952]

@@christophbeck1305 As long as Gamestop is around and other physical stores that's not going to happen. Also you dont have to buy them on Steam.

[@christophbeck1305]

@@stormer9952 i know you dont have to buy them on steam it Was just a Exemple and how everything being Digital is Not a good Thing. But hey a Lot of games are on gog so just buy them there. But it sucks that in most cases you dont own anything playstation? Servers shut down and all you are left with are broken pices of shit because everything needs a Day one Patch. As far as i am concernd pirating games is the only real way of owning a game now and it sucks.

[@9ALiTY]

@@stormer9952 Gamestop is struggling & has been for years, they get rid of classic games when that could really be their Bread & Butter but they're too incompetent to see that think new new new only

[@austinclark5278]

Once again you hit the nail with common sense.

[@LIONPRINCE2001]

No he didn't

[@wilfredwayne7139]

As an Xbox player I'm just happy that there's the possibility of obsidian getting they're hands on the fallout IP.

[@AsymmetricalCrimes]

What if Tencent bought Activision? That would of been worse.

[@noirlavender6409]

Hopefully this will give us a better Blizzard, the lastest halo was sucky but it didn't suck as much as the last piece of media we got for warcraft

[@SaintMecha]

Monopoly is bad. End of story.

[@bliczb8772]

Whilst you managed to change my mind on the matter, and now I can see issues with Microsoft buying Activision, I do want to bring up one issue that probably would be worth correcting - Sony doesn't have as great contact with their first-party studios as one might think. The first thing that would come to my mind would be Developers of Days Gone. famously, it had rought development time, because Sony kept throwing logs under their knees. When the game performed well (it made profit), devs pitched the idea of a sequel to Sony, but they got denied. Another one is Sony Visual Arts Service Group, or in short... SVAGS. It's not the name that comes to mind when thinking about Sony studios, but it's one you can see in pretty much all of the credits of Sony games. They're sort of like a cleanup crew - they're responsible for finishing touches on the games made by Sony. After long time on finishing on others peoples work, they decided to try and make something of themselves. But they couldn't just up and make their own game, or so did Sony say - they settled on making a Remake. Initially, they wanted to make Uncharted Remake, but Sony decided it'd be too costly. So they got something simplier, The Last of Us Remake... And it all went downhill from there. Firstly, project was absolute secret. Not only that, only 30 people were allowed to work on it, and whenever they asked for additional help, they turned them down. To add to it, Sony wasn't giving them any funding. Then, the people were redirected to work on TLoU2, which further decreased morale. And at the end, Sony finally caved in, and sent them help... From Naughty Dog. Soon, it was obvious who was calling shots on the meetings. Veterans of the first game had more saying in the matter, and guys who actually wanted to work on it were constantly turned down when they suggested something. And cherry on the cake? The project was taken away from the group and added to Naughty Dog price list. And once again, SVASG was support studio... On a game they were meant to work. Alot of employees weren't happy with that, so they left, including Michael Mumbauer, the director of the studio, as well as director of the remake, David Hall. Then, to top it off, we have Naughty Dog. Their working conditions are legendarily bad. Crunch culture is strong with them. During production of Uncharted 4, one of developers had to be hospitalized. Another was threatened to have his pay withdrawed unless he signed an NDA about their work culture. They're churning up developers at an alarming rate. Of course, whilst not directly a sony influence like with other two, it has nontheless happened under their watch. The likely reason would probably be the same as with Microsoft - they got power, and once that hit, well... You see where it went.

[@nickmuller4640]

the thing that differs from the past is that blizz is already the worst shit

[@shizno1872]

Monopoly has been a detriment to every single form of digital media especially in the west. The only new video game in last few years that I’ve been excited for is elden ring. And that’s being developed by a Japanese studio...

[@nolongeranobody869]

Even if your a mad prophet I shall follow

[@TheFatBastid]

This is why I only play Factorio.

[@whenisdinner2137]

I'm sure that a company becoming third place in terms of Revenue in an industry is definitely of Monopoly

[@MentokTheMindTaker]

This is the best video on the Microsoft acquisition, it's amazing how brainwashed people are by Game Pass, they will refuse to criticise Microsoft. They wouldn't care if gaming turned into Netflix

[@siiixb3128]

This is a massive power play

[@rebidiom2578]

Divide and conquer.

[@Niko26-t1y]

Happy new year 🎉🎊🥳

[@PandyTimBR]

Microsoft might get SEGA and EA next… This is looking like a monopoly