I came back to life so I could schill for a filthy JRPG mobile game in this thread: https://bbs.clutchfans.net/threads/video-games-what-are-you-playing-omikron-edition.314500/ While I was here, I figured I could schill for Microsoft too.
Read what you said. Casual gamers are where the money is at. The exclusives are why you are buying a Sony console and why I buy a Sony console (because I prefer Xbox's ecosystem for multiplatforms and game pass). The casuals buy the system where their friends plays so they can play FIFA and COD together. Look at the NPD, it's not being led by some niche game that resetera is parading as the next masterpiece. Top sellers are the casual games. Last two generations were won by the console with CoD marketing rights. Xbox 360 and PS4 had rights to CoD advertising and Sony went further with the DLC being timed. Xbox One launched with interesting exclusives and PS4 had nothing until Bloodborne. Sony destroyed them because CoD was marketed as best on Playstation and Don Mattrick was painted as a buffoon who wanted to create a media box (which was actually what most wanted, but just didn't know). The COD gamers think they are the hardcore gamers because they take it very seriously. Microsoft just bought the most popular console franchise, a top mobile franchise, and major league gaming. None of these move the needles for me, but I'm not the masses. This is the biggest move they could have made short of buying Sony outright.
My point would be that PS fanboys would not care about COD, because they are buying a Playstation for exclusive titles, so why would they be pissed off? Yes they would be if they cared about "console warz" and who sells more, but I don't think most people care about that anymore. To be honest, casuals have already had a reason to choose xbox over playstation this gen. Game Pass isn't new and has been part of the Xbox offering since the Series X launched. This does not "change the game", this only merely reinforces the fact that if you care about 3rd party titles, get an Xbox because it's slightly more powerful and there is Game Pass (now with COD). For PlayStation 5, the value proposition has stayed the same, people buy it over Xbox because they care about Sony's exclusives.
The game isn’t about selling consoles for Microsoft. It’s getting inside of everyone’s home via cloud gaming and now they have added a game in Candy Crush that is making over $1B a year for King and in one fell swoop become a Mobile Gaming powerhouse. Like you, I don’t care about console wars, I’ll buy whatever console I need to play the games I want to play. This move isn’t about console wars, it’s more of a move to ensure that Tencent, Amazon, Netflix or Apple didn’t get there first. Sony literally couldn’t afford that purchase price without a loan, which isn’t impossible with interest rates as low as they are but it’s not feasible. Sony still has a console based model that Microsoft is slowly getting away from as a primary move. Sony will eventually have to let Game Pass on their platform or they are going to siphon future users. Fan boys and enthusiasts don’t maintain market share, casuals do. It’s not going to change things overnight but give it 5-10 years and see how much the landscape changes.
Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo will each have their own subscription services, and so will Epic and other big developers. It'll be just like video streaming now, with Netflix, HBO Max, Disney + etc. Who "wins" the console wars will be less about who sells the most consoles but more about who has the most subscribers. Even with the acquisition of COD, Game Pass's offering isn't really that good. It still just includes Halo, Forza, Gears, and COD lol. Any Nintendo or Sony subscription service would have equally compelling games to play right off the bat. Microsoft thinks Game Pass can be like Netflix of gaming but it's a different landscape now. Netflix was able to capitalize and load up on content before there was any competition. That won't happen again. Big third parties and Sony/Nintendo won't let it. Don't forget Steam and GeForce Now.
Surprised by the news but when the markets gift you with a Trillion dollar valuation, don't waste it... Activision drove a lot of great franchises into a ditch and we can all hope Blizzard has nowhere to go but up. MS can afford this play and support sinking videogame producers like Bethesda or CoD until the metaverse and crypto figures itself out. A lot of the games that are minting billion dollar shitcoins look like something you'd make in a high school programming class. This actually puts MS a step further in the sense of gaining IP. Subscriptions might fuel a bottom line, but the potential valuation is much larger. Takes lotta money to make lotta more money.
For perspective, Arm was sold for $40b. You’re telling me the greatest and best use of cash for M$ is to spend $70b to buy the King/Queen of microtransactions???
Sony Fanboys should want Apple to buy Sony...They could. It is the only company that could rival Microsoft in resources.
