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[FrankWza]

The premise of this thread, though not the most appropriately written, isn't a response to a question. It's asking what those people think now who boasted so openly about the acquisition. Sometimes, you can take an L and admit to being wrong.

Saying "what about the other direction" shows that the original question posed obviously bothers you.

You should have stopped reading after" the only way to access cod is buying the game."
They have been conditioned

 

[Gorgon]

Sorry for the "aggressive" reaction, I just knew what the rest of the post was all about, and that it wouldn't address the point I was making. I just read it, and lo and behold.

I agree with you conceptually. But making comment about the timeline we are presently in, no, I DO NOT think the acquisition is good for gaming. I've made my case why, but we're going to skip over that.

Your example of more platform agnosticism could make sense. For example, if SEGA didn't die, and instead bought a bunch of publishers like THQ, and kept making a console in addition to releasing games on Nintendo, and eventually Nintendo said "oh screw it, let's expand our audience and put our games on SEGA", then I agree it might conceptually be good for gaming. But, that is because SEGA was actually WORLD CLASS at making video games, unlike Microsoft. So, more studios falling under their management had the potential to be "good". In this case, it's just a clusterfuck with some maybe silver linings.

No worries.

Now I get where your reaction was coming from: the aquisition. That wasn't even on my mind, I was talking more generaly. All good.

 

[Pop]

Imagine having to spend 90 billion to just stay afloat

Lucky for them

 

[MMaRsu]

I don’t know if you’ve ever used Steam before but there are a ton of exclusives on it.

Not because Steam bought their exclusivity. Just because the devs choose to release there and nowhere else.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Imagine having to spend 90 billion to just stay afloat

Lucky for them

That's pretty much what happened. Without ABK, Xbox would have been in the red and on the chopping block for sure.

Something a lot of us did not see coming at the time. We seen the decline, but did not realize how dire it was until the first year financials came out with ABK in them.

 

[bitbydeath]

Not because Steam bought their exclusivity. Just because the devs choose to release there and nowhere else.

That’s beside the point.
They still have exclusives that you can’t find elsewhere so no, they are not in the same boat as Xbox.

 

[LectureMaster]

DeepEnigma Topher

I am obviously super late to the party, but folks how has my guy adamsapple been faring with the thread? Based on your assessment does he need some of my meme remedy?

 

[DeepEnigma]

DeepEnigma Topher

I am obviously super late to the party, but folks how has my guy adamsapple been faring with the thread? Based on your assessment does he need some of my meme remedy?

I rate him a C+ to a B.

F would be just silly.

 

[FrankWza]

I rate him a C+ to a B.

F would be just silly.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

bruh, i asked ChatGPT:

A lot of the hype seems to have died down, and reality has set in. When the deal closed, there was a lot of celebration from some Xbox fans, expecting immediate changes—things like major exclusives, Game Pass drops, or a shift in market dynamics. But after more than a year, the results have been pretty muted.

Some reasons for this shift:

• Game Pass Additions Were Slow – Many expected Activision Blizzard’s catalog to flood into Game Pass, but it’s been a slow trickle. Even Call of Duty didn’t hit Day One.
• No Big Exclusive Shift – Microsoft kept saying they’d keep CoD multiplatform, and they did. No major shakeups.
• Xbox’s Broader Struggles – Even with Activision, Xbox’s hardware sales and first-party lineup didn’t suddenly become dominant. In fact, their recent restructuring shows they’re in a tricky spot.
• Layoffs & Uncertainty – MS laid off a huge number of people post-acquisition (including at Activision), which soured a lot of the initial excitement.

Basically, the reality of a $70B acquisition being more about corporate consolidation than some dramatic gaming revolution has settled in. The cheering has quieted, and now people are just watching to see if Xbox can actually deliver something meaningful with it.

AI cooked.


EDIT (More Cooking):

 

[Unknown?]

I still waiting for Xbox to buy SEGA next Wednesday

At this point MS is more likely to sell the Xbox division to Sega. Xbox's next console will be made by Sega and called the Jupiter

 

[BlackTron]

No worries.

Now I get where your reaction was coming from: the aquisition. That wasn't even on my mind, I was talking more generaly. All good.

Yeah the console war element of my post was tied to its relevance in the acquisition (ie, the thread topic lol).

 

[DeepEnigma]

bruh, i asked ChatGPT:

A lot of the hype seems to have died down, and reality has set in. When the deal closed, there was a lot of celebration from some Xbox fans, expecting immediate changes—things like major exclusives, Game Pass drops, or a shift in market dynamics. But after more than a year, the results have been pretty muted.

Some reasons for this shift:

• Game Pass Additions Were Slow – Many expected Activision Blizzard’s catalog to flood into Game Pass, but it’s been a slow trickle. Even Call of Duty didn’t hit Day One.
• No Big Exclusive Shift – Microsoft kept saying they’d keep CoD multiplatform, and they did. No major shakeups.
• Xbox’s Broader Struggles – Even with Activision, Xbox’s hardware sales and first-party lineup didn’t suddenly become dominant. In fact, their recent restructuring shows they’re in a tricky spot.
• Layoffs & Uncertainty – MS laid off a huge number of people post-acquisition (including at Activision), which soured a lot of the initial excitement.

Basically, the reality of a $70B acquisition being more about corporate consolidation than some dramatic gaming revolution has settled in. The cheering has quieted, and now people are just watching to see if Xbox can actually deliver something meaningful with it.

AI cooked.

 

[BlackTron]

At this point MS is more likely to sell the Xbox division to Sega. Xbox's next console will be made by Sega and called the Jupiter

Sega can't become a collection of Sailor Moon names. The planet thing was one and done

 

[Giallo Corsa]

Post #302 above. A guy just wants to play games and doesn’t care about corporate bullshit.

My boy in his room playing COD without a care in the world.

There are a LOT more of those casuals than there are of people who care about the Xbox future.

I’ll ignore the rest of your post as it’s all projection nonsense again, and you clearly think you’re cleverer than you are (I’m gonna accuse you of something, I’m a mega-invested-fan, gaslighting…)

I do take offence at being aged 51 however. Hugely insulting to a 50 year old.

(But I am called Lee, I’ll give you that, Sherlock).

Lee, I'm being serious about the age thing, not trying to be condescending about that (I'm 46 myself ).

As for the rest, let's agree to disagree, I'm not here neither to make enemies nor to "stick it" up to anyone, it's just that I find these discussions oh-so-very tiring - and you know why ? 'Cause sure as fuck , neither MS nor Sony, nor Nintendo knows or gives a shit about you or i, they're - literally - faceless mega corps.

Take care old man !

 

[adamsapple]

I rate him a C+ to a B.

F would be just silly.

Higher than the state of play but less than the developer direct.

 

[aerts1js]

So no enlightenment then? Just quips and name calling? Guessed as much from the trash OP.

Your quote literally has a valid rebuttal to the individual I replied to? Feel free to refute rather than cry about it.

 

[Sony]

The premise of this thread, though not the most appropriately written, isn't a response to a question. It's asking what those people think now who boasted so openly about the acquisition. Sometimes, you can take an L and admit to being wrong.

Saying "what about the other direction" shows that the original question posed obviously bothers you.

I answered the original question though. And afterward I displaying the stupidity of the premise of the question by highlighting the other side.

 

[HeWhoWalks]

I answered the original question though. And afterward I displaying the stupidity of the premise of the question by highlighting the other side.

It's not a stupid question. You just don't agree with it, which is fine. But that's your problem, not the OP's.

 

[Sony]

It's not a stupid question. You just don't agree with it, which is fine. But that's your problem, not the OP's.

"... but I genuinely wonder where the people that were pro acquisition are now AND at what point they realized they were a clown?"

That is indeed a thought out question and a setup for a substantive debate, not a stupid question at all.

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

Your quote literally has a valid rebuttal to the individual I replied to? Feel free to refute rather than cry about it.

How easily you dish out insults and yet don't recall the context or reply.

This is probably the stupidest take yet, so congratulations.

I see you back in the thread but no reply to your jab at me, so I called you on it mate.

 

[FIREKNIGHT2029]

They have all gone into witness protection now. Like this clown here …

 

[R6Rider]

- The only way to access call of Duty is by buying the game, there are more options now

You could always rent the games in the past.

 

[HeWhoWalks]

"... but I genuinely wonder where the people that were pro acquisition are now AND at what point they realized they were a clown?"

That is indeed a thought out question and a setup for a substantive debate, not a stupid question at all.

I mean, you can look at those parts or actually discuss the point. It's clear that you're bothered by the subject matter and the words used are secondary to that.

Otherwise, why are you still in here?

 

[John Wick]

So many people were awfully smug during that entire acquisition of Activision trying to paint it as somehow being good for gaming. It made zero sense.

Sure if I knew it would have resulted in Forza and Halo being on PS5 i’d have agreed, but pretty sure that was not on anyone’s bingo card.

What has the acquisition actually resulted in? Layoffs, studio shut downs, and a complete implosion of the xbox brand.

The threads now are mostly people just (rightfully) dunking on phil or whatever but I genuinely wonder where the people that were pro acquisition are now AND at what point they realized they were a clown?

Yeah reminds of those people who used to brag about MS financials every quarter and how MS could afford a AB every quarter etc. I wonder what happened???

 

[bender]

DeepEnigma Topher

I am obviously super late to the party, but folks how has my guy adamsapple been faring with the thread? Based on your assessment does he need some of my meme remedy?

Two B's in his throat as usual.

 

[VeganElduderino]

there's still hope for you xbox lovers?

 

[Giallo Corsa]

there's still hope for you xbox lovers?

Never forget :


Battle of the greatest minds

 

[Braag]

We're still getting annual CoDs, so not much has changed for the players.

 

[VeganElduderino]

Never forget :


Battle of the greatest minds

exactly how I imagine people arguing on here !

 

[aerts1js]

We're still getting annual CoDs, so not much has changed for the players.

I’ll soon be playing Halo and Forza on my ps5 so i’d argue kind of a lot has changed?

 

[solidus12]

 

[DeepEnigma]

Higher than the state of play but less than the developer direct.

Perfect for Game Pass.

 

[Braag]

I’ll soon be playing Halo and Forza on my ps5 so i’d argue kind of a lot has changed?

I feel like that was bound to happen sooner or later. Xbox hardware sales were already not that great before the acquisition.
6 years ago of you said I'd be playing Sony 1st party games on PC I wouldn't have believed you.
Game development costs are increasing all the time and the industry keeps changing. Who knows where we are 15 years from now.

 

[CLW]

This, ladies and gentlemen, is what severe mental illness looks like.

We joke about “suicide watch” on these forums, but in this case it’s no joke. What happened to him?

Looks like his last YT upload was nearly a year ago Phil’s checks must have started bouncing

 

[Kumomeme]

what happening :

 

[Guilty_AI]

I thought it was fine because they couldn't get worse anyway, and in fact they didn't. They didn't get better either.

 

[Bernardougf]

So many people were awfully smug during that entire acquisition of Activision trying to paint it as somehow being good for gaming. It made zero sense.

Sure if I knew it would have resulted in Forza and Halo being on PS5 i’d have agreed, but pretty sure that was not on anyone’s bingo card.

What has the acquisition actually resulted in? Layoffs, studio shut downs, and a complete implosion of the xbox brand.

The threads now are mostly people just (rightfully) dunking on phil or whatever but I genuinely wonder where the people that were pro acquisition are now AND at what point they realized they were a clown?

They wanted to cheer for COD exclusivity as a big win gotcha moment .. simple as that.. what they got was the Xbox demise and full blown third party... anything else is bullshit

 

[Topher]

They wanted to cheer for COD exclusivity as a big win gotcha moment .. simple as that.. what they got was the Xbox demise and full blown third party... anything else is bullshit

A lot of folks had grand visions of what this deal would mean for them. One guy claimed they would have Activision's library of games on Game Pass "not long after" the deal closed. Reality was that Microsoft published games on PlayStation before the first ABK game hit Game Pass. The day that deal was done, Microsoft's priorities shifted.

 

[Klayzer]

They wanted to cheer for COD exclusivity as a big win gotcha moment .. simple as that.. what they got was the Xbox demise and full blown third party... anything else is bullshit

 

[bitbydeath]

Xbox hardware sales were already not that great before the acquisition.

Sales were almost cut in half last year. They sold 7.5M in 2023, which dropped to just 4M for 2024.

 

[DntMesArnd]

What has it impacted exactly? I see nothing wrong with the acquisition.

Implosion of the Xbox brand.. give me a break. Everyday there's another Xbox doom and gloomy thread and its getting boring.

According to another user the Xbox brand imploded because they are releasing their games on PC day one

Everybody has a different view on it.

By the way, I dont own an Xbox but I do own a PS5, competition is good and Xbox leaving the console business would be horrible for consumers.

But im glad we are all cheering on the Death of Xbox© over here

Well said

 

[EverydayBeast]

At this point the activision Microsoft deal is a failure, a big fat failure.

 

[XXL]

A lot of folks had grand visions of what this deal would mean for them. One guy claimed they would have Activision's library of games on Game Pass "not long after" the deal closed. Reality was that Microsoft published games on PlayStation before the first ABK game hit Game Pass. The day that deal was done, Microsoft's priorities shifted.

I told everyone it was weird that the ABK games didn't come to GamePass soon after.

Immediately after the Bethesda acquisition, all the games were there after a few days.

 

[intheinbetween]

So the acquisition happened, it didn’t have any negative impact on the competition platforms, and still here we are console warring led by fanboys.

Man grow the f up

 

[Unknown?]

Ah... I love the memories of, "this is good for gaming" as a way of bragging about their platform.

 

[Rhazer Fusion]

Imho, the Activision/Blizzard acquisition was the WORST video game decision in history and that’s saying a lot. I was against it from the start because I knew it was too risky and exorbitant even for Microsoft’s deep pockets. Microsoft closing studios and having to make games for other platforms to get sales which inevitably lead to selling only 2 million consoles in 2024 is proof it was a huge mistake. Honestly I don’t think they will ever make that 68 billion back anytime soon if ever even as a successful game publisher.

 

[Team Andromeda]

At this point MS is more likely to sell the Xbox division to Sega. Xbox's next console will be made by Sega and called the Jupiter

Next Wednesday Im buying a sarcasm badge *rollseyes*

 

[Astray]

there's still hope for you xbox lovers?

CrapGamer has this weird thing where he constantly shits on Xbox and Phil Spencer on Twitter, yet his channel is topped up daily with "Xbox destroys PS" rants.

Some of the most open grifting known to man lmao.

Ironically this is the game that tipped MS's hand in the public and ultimately forced them to do the "it's only 4 games" podcast.

 

[VeganElduderino]

CrapGamer has this weird thing where he constantly shits on Xbox and Phil Spencer on Twitter, yet his channel is topped up daily with "Xbox destroys PS" rants.

Some of the most open grifting known to man lmao.

Ironically this is the game that tipped MS's hand in the public and ultimately forced them to do the "it's only 4 games" podcast.

it attracts both sides, he's a smart little buddy