Xbox Activision Deal Blocked | HI-FI Rush Success | Xbox Future | Xbox Game Pass Billion | - XB2 263

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The Xbox Two Podcast is back and this week Rand & Jez will be talking about all the week's Xbox news including the CMA blocking the Xbox Activision Blizzard Acquisition, HI-FI Rush controversy, Xbox Game Pass nears a Billion, new Xbox Dashboard is rumored, our thoughts on Dead Island 2 and so much more!!
The Xbox Two Patreon: / xb2
Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Getting Ready to Go LIVE
00:06:47 - Intro and Housekeeping
00:19:42 - AAA games too expensive to make? People being down on Xbox.
01:14:46 - What we've been playing this week: Ghostwire Tokyo. Dead Island 2. Prodeus. Age of Wonders 4.
01:39:06 - Hi-Fi Rush success.
02:06:52 - Activision Blizzard deal blocked.
03:02:05 - Patreon Q&As.
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[@RandalThor19]

Thanks for all the support! Get 20% OFF @manscaped + Free Shipping with promo code XB2 at MANSCAPED.com! Timestamps: 00:00:00 - Getting Ready to Go LIVE 00:06:47 - Intro and Housekeeping 00:19:42 - AAA games too expensive to make? People being down on Xbox. 01:14:46 - What we've been playing this week: Ghostwire Tokyo. Dead Island 2. Prodeus. Age of Wonders 4. 01:39:06 - Hi-Fi Rush success. 02:06:52 - Activision Blizzard deal blocked. 03:02:05 - Patreon Q&As.

[@Joshda039]

Did yall talk about the new Xbox dashboard?

[@magicsgram]

03:06:56 I know Jez is tired of this and being a UK citizen himself, he can't always be objective on the issue. But as soon as he said the word "daily mail", I had to pause the video and laugh out loud for like 3 minutes.

[@P4shaPlays]

Sorry for your loss Rand, I've had to put down some pets in my life and it's always so hard no matter how many times it happens. Hope you start feeling better, hang in there.

[@mitchypooK-6]

Hey Rand sending love to you, your best friend 🐶, and your grandpa 💚😔

[@TheScarecrow78]

Long time listener here but seldom make comments. So sad for your losses Rand. You lift our spirits every week and Im sure everyone hopes we can do the same for you. Much love dude.

[@jeremymerchant8486]

Sorry for your loss mate ❤

[@HotGritz910]

Up and down the roller coaster we go with ABK. It's amazing to watch All the content creators change thier stance week to week.

[@jacksonjacob7791]

If the EU approves the deal shortly the pendulum will swing back the other way. And on and on we go.

[@MightyMork]

They need to now get Certain Affinity, Asobo, Avalanche, IOI and maybe a few up and coming studios like That's no Moon and the ex Bioware guys new studio, before going any further with this ABK stuff, otherwise they will be bought by someone else.

[@jubei20111]

Pursuing ABK is their best move IMO. Xbox will only ever likely have one shot ever to attempt an acquisition of this size to where those smaller devs like IOI and stuff are ones they can purchase in bulk at any time and won't move the needle for Xbox. ABK is a massive revenue and profit generator that will bolster the entire division and give them a substantial amount of development money. They should keep on with the acquisition, IMO.......and apparently MS's opinion as well.

[@Turkboyz20]

Facts

[@Fusion39]

Sorry for your loss bro 😢 I just put my dog down a month ago she was full of cancer. Had her for 13 years.

[@Mediumdave1983]

Sorry to hear about your losses Rand, hope you and your family are doing ok 🙏

[@krazyd0nut404]

Thanks for these long podcast, my favorite podcast and look forward to it every week.. thanks.

[@jubei20111]

Keep in mind, the reason RedFall has 60fps on the back of the box is because the cases are made months in advance. I work with a guy who worked at a print shop that MS used and the typically start making these things 6 months in advanced and at that point 60fps mode was not delayed. They can't just stop the print and fix it, they have contracts they need to fill by certain dates and MS can't push these other projects out, and having to rescheduling the print shop que isn't possible that short in advanced.

[@arbiter1272]

Sorry to hear about Shakespeare, hope you're doing okay.

[@Garbear0119]

Sorry about your buddy, I hope you’re doing as ok as you can.

[@malekaius]

The whole discourse on this ABK deal has been done a disservice with the one-sided dialogue. It would have helped to get a genuinely good faith attempt to understand the CMA concerns but instead it’s - CMA is corrupt. FTC is corrupt. FTC is manipulating CMA. They don’t know what they are talking about. Etc etc. The discourse has been disappointing and I’m hoping we can move on quickly

[@TaqSoto]

Couldn't agree more. The CMA is using a bit of foresight here. Whether it's on purpose or by pure ignorance, either way, it's good. Cloud gaming is an emerging market, and Microsoft shouldn't be able to be the mafia boss that everyone will have to go through in the future if they want to get into that industry.

[@jameswhitfield4481]

Have you found anyone explaining the Cma side that is not affiliated with the Cma or British govt. I would be interested to listen.

[@StraightcheD]

Ultimately, the regulators seem to be going for a future where the infrastructure and retailer are separated. So you either provide the cloud network to other businesses or provide content to consumers, but not both. That's many years down the line though. We've seen this elsewhere in the world, like electric grid companies are separate from energy retailers. It seems their ultimate goal is to separate smartphone OS providers and App store providers. In the mean time, I think the regulators will just attempt to encourage companies to focus on one or the other.

[@patientfourtwozero2714]

Thank god somebody said it. I feel like I lose a few more brain cells every time another gaming journalist or content creator lines up to give their bad faith opinion on legal matters they clearly don't understand and aren't qualified to speak on.

[@matthewrussell8590]

I was genuinely disappointed with what Jez was saying. Alot of what he claims as objective was little more than a very bitter subjective opinion. He sounds like a very sad remoaner. His parroting of Obamas "Britain at the back of the que" as proof for the UK being a terrible country to do business in was ludicrous. What Obama actually did was come to Britain on the eve of the brexit vote and threaten the British people with the "back of the que" rhetoric if we dared vote to leave the EU (therefore disappointing our American overlords) - the threat was disgusting from America and fell on deaf ears. The states only wanted to keep the status quo because they knew they could influence Brussells through the UK. Imagine a British PM flying over the the States behaving in the same way or even insisting that the US needs to remain in a political and economic block, because it suits our world order better, Outrageous behaviour . Jez can paint the UK as the bad guy here but just wait to the EU has its say. The deal is dead in the water and alot of it is because they look further than "I want D4 for free"'...... Great show but probably best he sticks to games and not politics. Also I will say Microsoft has an awful record for squashing competition at the expense of the consumer. I love my xbox but I am more than happy for Microsoft to be scrutinised and regulated

[@cherryboi7734]

Sorry about your loss Rand had to put my dog down this week I definitely feel your pain brotha. My deepest sympathies and condolences

[@OriginalBoondocksXVIII]

The show starts at 6:07

[@Joshda039]

When do they talk about the dashboard?

[@thedoncjg6263]

@@Joshda039I just heard it and I’m not going to tell you. It’s a podcast, listen to it smh

[@Joshda039]

@@thedoncjg6263 what's the point of replying to me then if you aint gonna say it? Waste of both of our time.

[@urmie]

I usually buy all games when there is a good sale, GamePass or not. Heck, I “upgrade” my physical copies to digital when the price is good enough.

[@jubei20111]

Where are all the people at who said they were going to avoid Redfall because of its performance and will just play Jedi Fallen Order instead?

[@Tedakin]

I didn't buy Hi Fi Rush. I finished it and loved it. I won't buy Redfall. I won't buy Starfield. I didn't buy Halo Infinite, Gears 5, Deathloop, Psychonauts 2. I won't buy Hellblade 2. I have Gamepass. That's the entire point of the service. What does MS expect? Without Gamepass these would all be purchases.

[@Keepitcivil_]

I think they’ll prefer you subbed to gamepass for 10 years vs buying one of those games every so often. I buy more games since gamepass.

[@bmfkurple]

Without gamepass i wouldnt play most of these games unfortunately

[@captaincrunch1707]

Hey Rand, my condolences for losing your Shakespeare and your grandpa. When it rains it pours but brighter days are always ahead. Some of us are just wired to need dogs as companions. When my little trooper passes on I’ll be immediately looking for another I think. Maybe look for a bit simpler kind of dog. German shepherd sounds fun 🤷‍♀️. Take care bro !

[@zybch]

I had an uncle's funeral last week, but thats nothing compared to when I lost my 2 cats within 3 weeks of each other, one after 21 years. Its a real gut punch and you have my sympathy and thoughts.

[@brandon_leeroy135]

That Brexit segment was brilliant.

[@FernandoAR760]

Dude the loss of Portillo and Shakespeare this sucks 😢

[@Ciki92]

Top gun 2 was the best movie of 2022

[@valdal7679]

Hi Rand only here to say, sorry to hear you lost your best friend 🐶 I listen to your show on Google podcast mostly been listening since 2019

[@MrRiceGuy95]

So sorry to hear about the doggo and grandad Rand, that is awful! Chin up dude, we are all here for you buddy!

[@snakepond2716]

My condolences 🙏

[@jamiesharp8758]

Now rand no it bit late sorry to hear about your best mate I know how you feel it does get better takes a long time still think of mine and miss them a year on keep your spirits up mate by remembering all the good times you had together😢😢

[@ac1dflare937]

One thing literally no body has noticed is that the CMA's reasoning for blocking the deal are far wose for Microsoft. CMA said buying activision: Would encourage price increase, would give them a bigger advantage in cloud streaming "potentially harming market" All of their fantasy arguments apply to ANY acquisition big or small, by their logic Xbox must be prevented from buying anybody. Read their exact wordings it's insane

[@captaincrunch1707]

That’s true but it needs to be pointed out that ABK is the 3RD LARGEST PUBLISHER ON PLANET EARTH. I think that made a yuuge difference but the decision does seem political so who knows what cma would decide on if msft tried to acquire a smaller publisher instead.

[@barcster2003]

People forget we are talking about Microsoft a company that already ignores things and pays fines because it's in its best interest.

[@jimmythegamer2231]

That isn't exactly true, considering the fact that CMA explicitly recommended that MS acquire smaller companies (like smaller mobile publishers) instead to achieve their goal. The CMA wouldn't have said that if it means they are going to block literally every single acquisition that MS could make in the future. On top of that, I think you're forgetting that the CMA approved the Zenimax/Bethesda acquisition without any mention of cloud gaming. Why? Because Bethesda doesn't have anything on par with CoD and they aren't even remotely as big. The reason why the blocked the deal is because of how big ABK is, not because they literally want to block every future acquisition from MS.

[@anaruenoha9920]

@@jimmythegamer2231 Where was this argument when Disney acquired Fox? Fox deal was even bigger than ABK

[@ScubaSnacks]

@@jimmythegamer2231 The CMA didn't approve the Zenimax acquisition actually, they didn't actually attain real regulatory power until Brexit went into effect, so the deal was only examined by the European Union

[@mauriceburdock7168]

Sorry about all your loss!

[@chosenreaper6224]

Why does Xbox need to acquire? They have a ton of studios that I wish they would invest in. Imagine 69 billion going to towards devs so you don’t have to do contract work for 343. Reinvest in the studios you have and help them release games. Stop talking about acquiring companies when they have great studios!

[@VWorldWide]

The 3rd party deals with Microsoft just don't hit the same . The console isn't performing at all inknkw where i would want my game

[@KevinMalone-sw2wy]

Man I've been putting off playing Minecraft Legends, but this gameplay looks fun. Gotta give it a go. RIP Shakespeare ❤

[@kevinlist3330]

Ah it's like Minecraft Dungeons in that it's a basic version of the genre it portrays , it's a basic RTS little to no variation on enemies the game revolves around rinse and repeat mechanics and camps/ stronghold I played for 10 hours and ended up giving it up .

[@thomasanderson1280]

Sorry for your loss!

[@Orionstar1111]

I’m from the future and frame rate isn’t going to matter whatsoever with redfall you shall see 🤣🤣🤣

[@xforeverxcorruptedx]

Jez and his announcer voice sounded super American. Lol

[@chrislamontagne8607]

I will be honest i cant tell difference between 30 fps and 60 fps

[@jeremyriddle1884]

Everytime jes said "Obama" I thought for like 45 mins he was saying "a bomber", and I'm sitting here confused like when the hell did this happen lmao

[@gregorymansour1763]

Physical sales still account for 30% of software sales on Xbox. That's still millions of users buying physical games. I don't know why Rand acts like that's basically nothing.

[@jimmythegamer2231]

That's not true, actually. According to data published by research firm Statista in 2018, 83% of all video game sales in the US were digital downloads, while only 17% were physical. Same goes for the UK. As reported by the BBC, the entertainment and retail association (ERA) announced that 89.5% of UK game sales in 2022 were digital downloads, while a mere 10.5% were physical copies. Physical game sales have ultimately become irrelevant in recent years in the big scheme of things, so stuff like those monthly UK physical sales charts basically mean nothing tbh. In case you are wondering where I got this info from, it is from an article from Techradar titled "Physical Xbox Series X and PS5 games are overrated - digital downloads are better." I know, not a great title, but just wanted to spread the word.

[@anaruenoha9920]

@@jimmythegamer2231 Physical sales are irrelevant but they are only used for console war like showing how playstation exclusives outsold Xbox exclusives

[@jubei20111]

Microsoft uses A100 and H100 GPUs. The H-100 retails for $40k each and they put thousands of these into each data center and MS wants to make a chip tailored specifically to what they need in combining Azure with AI. Thats the only thing that those newly MS developed chips will be used for.

[@masoud4126]

We love you rand

[@Michael_Jeromy_Kaiser]

Jesus Christ thats horrible news losing a dog is like losing family

[@YokazeLTD]

Killing Floor 2 has rhe best gore system I've seen in any game, period. You should check that out.

[@Libera4]

UGH, not a four hour podcast, I guess i can not down vote this time.... post... My deepest condolences Rand!

[@dageekynerd2898]

After 2022 was a fail, ppl said 2023 would make it worth it. Doesn't seem like it so far tbh.

[@alize1874]

You miss the 10 year deal with PlayStation, everything PlayStation sells for COD Microsoft has said they get 100% of the revenue

[@boris3973]

I'm with Rand, don't really care about ABK, the last COD i played was years ago and Blizzard makes one game in like 10 years. I'm still mad at CMA only because this thing will now be dragged out to infinity and it might stop MS' aquisition momentum coz they might want to wait how this turns out before doing anything else. Not to mention that CMA's reasoning for blocking it doesn't make much sense.

[@kevinlist3330]

Doesn't make sense? It makes perfect sense of you aren't a fanboy, they are the market leader in cloud and this type of merger would make them even stronger something that every Xbox fan has been saying about Sony in the console market? So why is is bad for Sony in the console market but not bad for Microsoft in a cloud market that they seem to have little to no competition? Again I like Rand but this was never about Cod or blizzard titles and anyone that thinks that was really being naive to what MS was really after.

[@boris3973]

@@kevinlist3330 cloud gaming (as in people streaming games over the internet) is not much of a market right now, it's in its infancy. blocking such a big deal just based on what might happen in the future is pretty ridiculous.

[@kevinlist3330]

@@boris3973 wow dude yeah it's in it infancy and MS have the infrastructure on Mobiles, PC and TVs if the cloud is where gaming is going wouldn't it be wise to stop big mergers like this now before MS too powerful? I mean we have a console war right now but there is no company even competing for even a cloud war? Seriously people like you need to think about the future and not the next 5 minutes of Xbox and game's.

[@boris3973]

@@kevinlist3330 there are other companies offering cloud game streaming like nvidia or amazon. there's nothing that would prevent sony to successfuly compete coz they have the content. i guess other regulatory bodies that approved the deal are xbox fanboys. should the EU approve i guess they are xbox fanboys, too....

[@kevinlist3330]

@@boris3973 when did I say those that approved it were Xbox fans? They aren't looking at the future of cloud obviously and saying Google is in the cloud gaming is like saying Sega is in the console market, Nvidia is the only one close but they offer no incentive , exclusives? and aren't in TVs that I know of? You think cloud you think Xbox the same as Sony fans have been saying about Console for two generations now. I don't see the EU and The FTC passing it after this so we shal see and if it passes then I will be there in ten years when people are complaining about MS as run away with the Cloud gaming market and they need to be stopped.

[@MrRiceGuy95]

Controversy is how I have always said it and I am British, Scotland

[@acehall4351]

Sorry for loss

[@NinjaSquirrel30]

Great show 💯 👏

[@Turkboyz20]

If the deal gets blocked blocked, then Microsoft better buy bunch of other studios forget publishers. Also money hag all kinds of 3rd party deals and get exclusive cod content once that deal between activision and PlayStation is over with

[@aganosxvii5079]

They should have interest in buying focus entertainment instead

[@fluffycakes527]

I didn't expect it to go through lmaooo... it was only the Xbox fanboys

[@anaruenoha9920]

Microsoft will now acquire Certain Affinity and Sega to retaliate and destroy playstation

[@Lg151]

If MS moved on from ABK and tried to buy Square, Capcom or any other reasonably sized company, and that was denied by the CMA, the repercussions of that could be really bad for the UK. MS would see the UK as a place that they could not do business in (and probably so would a lot of other companies). MS would be motivated to isolate the UK business arm of its operations and restrict availability of services, focusing on Europe. Now that the UK is out of Europe, there would not be any legal blow back from this as it is regulatory separate now. This would then severely restrict competition in the UK and increase costs to consumers in the end rather than benefit them. The CMA's decision based on a area of the gaming market of cloud that totals about 2% of the current market is a very limited view of a total business, and is based on what 'might' happen and 'potential' business rather than current realities.

[@anaruenoha9920]

I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft leaves UK. Other tech companies must be also taking a note and they will try to separate themselves from UK and to be fair UK is not that huge market.

[@alize1874]

So FTC dont know there people Jez?

[@ItzLuckful]

On your point about Xbox not being able to afford another year in the sand, completely agree - especially as the last 2 years Playstation has also been playing chicken with regulators as they tried to play themselves off as weaker to get it blocked, and they don’t have to anymore as the reason it’s getting blocked doesn’t involve them. So they will absolutely be coming out swinging soon. Xbox NEEDS to get on with things and like you say start thinking about what they need in case ABK fails, cause by all means keep fighting for it if you want - but you can’t afford to *just* focus on that for any longer.

[@dogbog99]

You know

[@Fawrahyz]

Sega would be better because they just bought angry birds publisher.

[@jonnywildbuns]

Owning a PS5 is better now...get an xbox later when games start gaming out for it.

[@Gunny672]

The problem is MS needs someone like Jim Ryan to run MS gaming.

[@guitarspud1723]

Jim Ryan sucks. Shutting down japan studio was terrible. Never again we're going to get games like ico, trash panick, tokyo jungle. All the experimental types of sony games. Look at the lgbtq characters plaguing sonys lineup. No more uncharted types, only super hero, boring, play it safe crap.

[@jimmythegamer2231]

LMAO you can't possibly be serious. Yeah, MS definitely needs Don Matrick 2.0 to run Xbox and force all of their studios to make 12 live service games over a span of 3 years. Jim Ryan is a joke.

[@mikeshadez]

If the EU and FTC don't approve the acquisition which i don't see them doing because they suck, xbox should just drop it because am personally done, they need to put more money in the studios they have and buy 7 or 8 more studios and go after a Japanese publisher hopefully sega or square which alot of people wanted them to do, I really don't see the ABK deal as the end all be all, studios are the better option they won't have to share, getting a publisher like activision at this point will take alot more time and xbox needs to focus on other things like games.

[@methos19751]

Why would any Japanese studio want to be bought by MS? People keep saying that MS should buy one without realizing that any Japanese studio bought is at that point pretty much dead. There isn't one Jaoanese studio that doesn't see the majority of their fanbase on the Switch and PS. The Xbox brand is virtually nonexistent in Japan and buying a Japanese studio isn't going to change that and it's likely the Japanese completely boycott any studio bought by MS. I mean there isn't a reality out there where taking games from the Switch and PS where the majority of Japanese gamers play is going to endear MS to them. How does this truly benefit anyone? Jaoanese developed games are a sales desert on the Xbox.

[@anaruenoha9920]

Nobody cares about Japanese publisher outside of Japan. I would prefer EA and Ubisoft because these publishers will strengthen your brand not some niche low budget JRPG

[@methos19751]

@@anaruenoha9920 That's a stupid fucking take looking at the sales for series like FF, Resident Evil, Elden Ring, etc. Hell the Nintendo is decimating the Xbox in high hardware and Software sales on primarily Japanese developed software.

[@jacoblesperance2115]

Americans thought this would go through. Experts in the UK where saying a very different thing... Also, why are you guys listening to Micheal Pachter?

[@CMASAYSNO]

Let us compete 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@methos19751]

Why would any Japanese studio want to be bought by MS? People keep saying that MS should buy one without realizing that any Japanese studio bought is at that point pretty much dead. There isn't one Jaoanese studio that doesn't see the majority of their fanbase on the Switch and PS. The Xbox brand is virtually nonexistent in Japan and buying a Japanese studio isn't going to change that and it's likely the Japanese completely boycott any studio bought by MS. I mean there isn't a reality out there where taking games from the Switch and PS where the majority of Japanese gamers play is going to endear MS to them. How does this truly benefit anyone? Jaoanese developed games are a sales desert on the Xbox.

[@davidforsyth6462]

I have had no stuter in ghostwire

[@kevinlist3330]

Just because you didn't doesn't mean other didn't 🤷. You know there were people saying Cyberpunk ran amazingly well on launch they weren't wrong but it didn't stop the fact the game ran poorly for a mass amount of people.

[@roshe7887]

I think this generation is a wash for Xbox, they should focus on next gen and hold their cards close to the chest till then and then come out swinging!

[@kevinlist3330]

Wow that would be detrimental to their eco system and who the Fk would buy their next console if they just forget about this generation? You would have to be a fanboy to trust anything they said

[@roshe7887]

@@kevinlist3330 at this point the only people they can retain this gen are the same fanboys who stuck with Xbox for the last decade and they aren’t going anywhere anyway. I think letting devs cook up some masterpieces for next gen and then having an onslaught of them right out the gate is the way to go.

[@kevinlist3330]

@@roshe7887 again who would buy the next console? If you look like a fool now and just pull back and ignore this generation Xbox will be called a joke and with no one subscribing to gamepass and console sales dwindling it would be sensible for MS to just pull the plug on Xbox all together

[@roshe7887]

@@kevinlist3330 it’s already a joke and PS5 is already too far ahead. They could flip the script next gen by coming a year before PlayStation with a to. Of great games.

[@kevinlist3330]

@@roshe7887 I can't believe you are admitting that PS5 is too far ahead now all of a sudden without ABK ? But think after admitting defeat to this entire generation they would be able to win over people in next generation? How would they bring people back? oh please.come back this time we have games? Oh we won't delay them we promiss? They will be coming in the next 12 months we promiss? That's some wild speculation there that's like crazy talk I mean no games that Xbox makes could make millions of people trust them again.

[@boris3973]

It's baffling to me how MS, a - maybe "the" - software company, makers of Windows, cannot make a good xbox app for their own operating system. And they are on it for years. Baffling!

[@xRJx720]

Rands 100% right nobody wants to hear about wow

[@patfuryy]

*I'm mr. positive* Also weeks before *Imma buy the steamdeck, nuke gonna drop anyway*

[@j3001m]

All Amazon Prime UK customers have access to Amazon gaming in the cloud, this means Amazon now has the UK monopoly on cloud gaming, as most UK residents will have a Amazon Prime subscription. It’s very popular in the UK.

[@Vert77]

Yes but how many of them are even aware of Amazons cloud gaming or even Prime gaming.

[@Vert77]

Seriously deluded take from a very Xbox slanted point of view. Most people wanting this deal to happen seem to only real care about getting a bunch of "free" games and winning a pointless console war. To hell with the possible collateral damage. Microsoft already have everything they need to make great games. I wish they would just put the work in and stop trying to take short cuts and earn a bunch of respect and self worth in the process.

[@UnknownDude007]

The discussion you two had on the Activision Blizzard deal blocked, was an hour-long discussion of two true idiots having a conversation that was out of their depth.

[@TheOneBigRed]

You know when the relevant topic is saved until the second hour that there's some serious cope happening.

[@robsonrbs3159]

Sony wins

[@billclay2701]

Xbox should do something crazy like release great exclusive games.

[@Echo__plex]

MS is gonna spend 3 billion even if this deal doesn't go through. Sony bought Bungie for 3 billion. Ouch.

[@Herringboner]

Yeah Hellblade was one of the cheaper digital only games that surprised everyone. Just because the game is cheap doesnt mean it sucks. Looking forward to what Ninja theory can do with that extra money and time. Everyone is talking about Starfield. IMO i think if Hellblade 2 hits this year and is good. It can be a game of the year contender. Personally it wont beat out Spiderman 2 but ill take it being nominated. Last year was the worse ever for Xbox. So it cant go anywhere but up. Sad to say. Either way like i have said before games are a lot of just personal taste. I love looter games. People hate them for the grind. Its easy as that.

[@jaglemans6778]

The UK is the biggest European gaming market. It's also, by far, Microsoft's biggest market outside the US. Sony are getting a real stranglehold on UK gamers and the wider public. PlayStation is literally everywhere, from TV adverts, to street & bus billboards, to Champions League advertising. The dominance is starting to resemble other European countries in terms of market share. With this sort of mindshare it's incredibly difficult for Microsoft to turn things around. The UK tech industry is the #1 in Europe, and #3 worldwide behind the US & China. So I'm not sure why Jez is trying to underplay the importance of the market. Likewise, the CMA are truly independent and incredibly tech savvy. Unlike many other regulators who are under the influence of lobbyists and pass through deals with little scrutiny. Simplistic arguments that all gamers would benefit from the Activision deal and there are no downsides don't really cut it. Big Tech's influence on markets, nations and politics is incredibly dangerous and needs to be kept in check.

[@MN-sb4pr]

Well spoken

[@odedra01]

Jez is a microsoft shill, he gonna completely ignore the list of horrible monopolistic bullshit pulled by ms, ignore the incredible power & resources ms already has in gaming (simplygon, havoc, etc) & try frame xbox like some underdog poor company, when they're owned by a 2 trillion dollar company LOL No major tech company, should be able to buy a publisher like activison, the CMA saw cloud gaming is still in its infancy & they would have to create new laws & framework for cloud gaming due to the sheer scale of what microsoft was attempting, they would kill off all new competitors & innovation in the cloud gaming space. Microsoft absolutely do not care about gaming either & it shows with Xbox.

[@matthewrussell8590]

Yes don't worry about it. Plenty of commentators have said it. Jez has dropped a bollock here. All this bad faith talk is ridiculous

[@anaruenoha9920]

CMA is corrupt and incompetent

[@anaruenoha9920]

@@MN-sb4pr CMA needs to be scrutinized

[@Mediumdave1983]

Jez is so right about the UK - We've been absolutely shafted by our hard right government for over a decade, and facts have been thrown in the bin!

[@artisthines9853]

Look forward to bethesda being a proxy for microsoft and buying more studios

[@cchhen21]

The deal being blocked is great for gamers, but bad for Microsoft fanboys.

[@77_ACE.]

Explain?

[@cchhen21]

@@77_ACE. Activision stays third party and gamers have access to their future games, no matter the platform. Only reason MS fanboys want this deal is to take games away from Playstation gamers.

[@SardaukarX]

@@cchhen21 Sure and I guess that’s why Xbox fans haven’t complained when MS said CoD would stay multiplat, then didn’t cry when MS offered 3 additional years of CoD to Sony, then 10. Heck they weren’t even mad when MS announced they’d put CoD on Nintendo consoles again… You Sony fanboys are so FOS.

[@cchhen21]

@@SardaukarX They only offered those contracts because they had too, to look better to the regulators. Now it turns out they would keep 100% of the revenue from MTX on those platforms. Very greedy of MS. That’s why PlayStation turned it down. And also what happens after those 10 years? Why don’t you stop being a corporate lapdog for Microsoft and be a gamer instead.

[@SardaukarX]

@@cchhen21 I didn’t ask for your garbage analysis, I just replied to your stupid ass statement about Xbox fanboys wanting games to be taken away from PS and I did so with facts with, facts you obviously disregarded to disparage Xbox fans. So spare me your « don’t be a corporate lapdog » routine and practice what you preach.

[@Mark-nl1up]

Dude I can’t listen to the show today. To much bad news. Raid’s dog passing and the Activision deal blocked. I’m pissed. The US should have let the Germany have its way in Europe. Sorry Jen. I consider you an American anyway. So just move to the States. You’re always welcomed in the US Bro

[@kevinlist3330]

Who's Raid and Jen?

[@captaincrunch1707]

Lol, glad you’re able to see the sunny side of that comment. Mark desperately needs to touch grass

[@PMP_]

The hurt in their voices....lol 🤡

[@Herringboner]

Your actually the real clown🤡.

[@Herringboner]

Did you even listen to the beginning? Rand puts down his dog and his grandfather passed. He didnt GAF about ABK. If you did know. Your one POS I would not piss on you if your were on fire. Nobody cares more about fanboy shit than jealous ponies. Who overhype thier games and review bomb xbox games.

[@Herringboner]

Karma is a bitch.

[@Herringboner]

Also I hope the deal doesnt go through. There is enough pissed off executives that got there money f'ed with. LMAO. Gloves are going to be off now. Looking forward to some changes either way and im here for it. 😂 Never ever get between people and their money. Its about to get petty real quick.

[@PMP_]

@Herringboner Nothing is going to change. Xbox will still be in last place and Sony living rent free in Xbots head😂

[@__The-Official-Real-Obama__]

After what Microsoft said about re thinking it’s investment in the UK, there is no way the EU block it, the EU will see this as a opportunity for investment and the EU hate the brexit

[@anaruenoha9920]

I think EU is going to force both CMA and FTC to bend the knee. Also EU is bigger market than UK

[@aceplatini859]

Jez talking shit. Problem with the UK is Jez is in it.

[@anaruenoha9920]

UK is corrupt and incompetent and soon going to be bankrupt