this post was submitted on 15 Jul 2023
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I still have mixed feelings about this, but I never doubted it would go through.
Why do you have mixed feelings? Has massive industry consolidation ever benefitted the customers in the long run?
The US hasn't shown much interest in breaking up big companies in the past two decades. Once this is done, it practically can't be undone.
Microsoft is more powerful than most world governments. And it keeps expanding and growing.
Sony’s, not Microsoft’s, AAA dominance is bad for the video game industry. Video games are a somewhat unique medium in that smaller development houses can and do compete with the megacorps. I’d rather Sony have healthy direct competition over them eating up even more market share.
Competition between Sony and Microsoft with Nintendo also having their own parallel strategy is good and better than the alternative, imo.
How is Microsoft buying out large publisher good competition?
Because Sony is so far ahead in the console battle that it’s important they have competition (Nintendo is not competition).
There’s a push and pull here in terms of exclusives being bad but also having Sony becoming a monopoly / having no completion would also be bad.
And Microsoft becoming a monopoly/ having no competition is good? How is anyone supposed to complete with a billion dollar company who can just out buy the competition?
I take it that if Sony responded with buying out 2K and making all those games exclusive you'd be fine with it because that's healthy competition for Microsoft?
Just waiting for Amazon to buy EA or Ubisoft and have them say its exclusice for Amazon Luna subscribers and gamers to go "wow, this is great I can finally play Assassins Creed on my phone and it increases competition!"
Microsoft aren't going to have a monopoly in video games at any time in the foreseeable future.
What are you basing this claim on?
The fact that they’re a distant third behind Sony and nintendo despite being in the industry for over twenty years.
What makes you think Microsoft will have a monopoly any time soon? You do understand what a monopoly is don’t you?
I very much agree competition is good but this should be brought about by Microsoft producing competitive games/services rather than purchasing more of the industry. For the record, I don't like the idea of Sony or another large corporation buying other studios or publishers either
Even Microsoft agrees they’d prefer to do it by producing competitive games, which isn’t in question here though. The dispute is whether this gives Microsoft an anti-competitive monopoly.
Even though mergers of this size aren’t good for gamers, it doesn’t even put Microsoft anywhere near equal footing with Sony, never mind giving Microsoft a monopoly.
Why, because you say so?
You just seem like an Xbox fanboy upset at Sony's actions, trying to hurt them at the expense of the consumer. It seems immature.
I assure you that that’s not it. I’ve owned every company’s consoles over the years and want to see competition. Microsoft seems to be currently flailing and I think that that’s bad for the industry as a whole.
Vastly more consumers benefit from this purchase than are hurt, so no, I don't think it's that. The only people it "hurts" are Sony fanboys.
Also nothing that person said indicates that they are "hurt" in any way. Maybe take a look in the mirror to see who is hurt by this deal.
Haven't bought a console outside of a Switch in 15 years. I fail to see how anyone can see the 22nd largest company in the world buying one of the largest games publishers in the world is not going to bring a benefit, and I don't think Microsoft needs to worry about expanding its cashflow.