Xbox RUMOR: mS to acquire ea

[XtremelyBaneful]

from resetera

Some of the names being thrown around as possible acquisitions by Microsoft are, frankly, astounding, even unthinkable. But the fact that they are doing the rounds is instructive. The most recent one we heard (from a reliable source close to Microsoft) was, in fact, Electronic Arts. We also heard a whisper about Valve and about Korean outfit PUBG Corp., which Microsoft last year signed to a timed exclusive for its hit survival shooter, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.

https://www.polygon.com/2018/1/29/16930892/xbox-one-exclusive-games-analysis-microsoft

 

[Iceman]

EA or Balve could be huge. And I think PUBG has a very realistic chance of happening regardless of the others. If you look at Microsoft’s cash balance and the market cap of these companies all 3 could be in the cards lol. And actually that kind of extreme move is what is needed after how far behind they have let themselves get on exclusive games.

 

[X Knight]

acquiring exclusive rights to all EA games, including games from all the studios under their umbrella, would indeed be huge.

that would mean a game like Anthem would indeed be Xbox exclusive. as would the next Titanfall. the next Dragon Age or Mass Effect. possibly the next Star Wars game from EA?

and of course sports games like Madden.

I don't care much for sports. But I do like Bioware games and I want a single player SW game. if those go Xbox exclusive, that would be a big deal for me.

 

[Marvolo]

If Microsoft buys EA and EA games become exclusive to Xbox, that might encourage Disney to stop contracting EA to make star wars games. That would be wonderful.

 

[Lily Adler]

I think we all know why they would be going for Valve:

Spoiler

 

[Iceman]

Wonder if these rumours will gradually die off or anything will come of them.

 

[Big Bang]

Wonder if these rumours will gradually die off or anything will come of them.

They pretty much did. If there was any validity to them, there was probably conversations/negotiations that were going on, and maybe they've cooled for the time being.

MS really, really needs to make a big move to better situate themselves in development. The years of the last couple regimes before Phil Spencer really did a number on their development studios. They have so many IP's just rotting that it is a damn shame that they don't resurrect a few of them. I'd love to see StarLancer make a comeback. After the spectacular failure of Mass Effect: Andromeda, that they could fill the sci-fi adventure niche. Which is a shame because I still adore the first Mass Effect.

 

[Iceman]

They pretty much did. If there was any validity to them, there was probably conversations/negotiations that were going on, and maybe they've cooled for the time being.

MS really, really needs to make a big move to better situate themselves in development. The years of the last couple regimes before Phil Spencer really did a number on their development studios. They have so many IP's just rotting that it is a damn shame that they don't resurrect a few of them. I'd love to see StarLancer make a comeback. After the spectacular failure of Mass Effect: Andromeda, that they could fill the sci-fi adventure niche. Which is a shame because I still adore the first Mass Effect.

Unfortunately look that way. Yes they certainly need to do something big after all these years of pre-Spencer neglect. Don Mattrick was such an out of touch fool and who knows how bad things got under the watch of such a clueless exec who obviously has never played a game in his life. The Mass Effect thing really hurts. I have to believe that franchise will get back to its best one day, but I don't know if that will happen with EA in control.

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

They pretty much did. If there was any validity to them, there was probably conversations/negotiations that were going on, and maybe they've cooled for the time being.

MS really, really needs to make a big move to better situate themselves in development. The years of the last couple regimes before Phil Spencer really did a number on their development studios. They have so many IP's just rotting that it is a damn shame that they don't resurrect a few of them. I'd love to see StarLancer make a comeback. After the spectacular failure of Mass Effect: Andromeda, that they could fill the sci-fi adventure niche. Which is a shame because I still adore the first Mass Effect.

ME should go the Yakuza route and remake one game at a time in the trilogy

Unfortunately look that way. Yes they certainly need to do something big after all these years of pre-Spencer neglect. Don Mattrick was such an out of touch fool and who knows how bad things got under the watch of such a clueless exec who obviously has never played a game in his life. The Mass Effect thing really hurts. I have to believe that franchise will get back to its best one day, but I don't know if that will happen with EA in control.

I think next generation will be better for Xbox. They may have started off a little slow but they picked up a lot of steam and the momentum may carry over to next gen.

 

[Iceman]

I think next generation will be better for Xbox. They may have started off a little slow but they picked up a lot of steam and the momentum may carry over to next gen.

I think it will definitely be better than this one but they will likely still have a lot to make up. And the exclusive situation is still going to be there. Good to see the system continually improving though after a truly terrible start.

 

[X Knight]

hopefully E3 will help rectify the exclusives situation.

but the question now is, will that really help the current X1 or are they positioning more for the next Xbox?

stuff shown at E3 this year won't probably be released until next year at the earliest or maybe even in a few years. and by then, we are starting to get into next-gen territory.

 

[Iceman]

hopefully E3 will help rectify the exclusives situation.

but the question now is, will that really help the current X1 or are they positioning more for the next Xbox?

stuff shown at E3 this year won't probably be released until next year at the earliest or maybe even in a few years. and by then, we are starting to get into next-gen territory.

True. I think it’s all about getting ready for next gen now.

 

[X Knight]

True. I think it’s all about getting ready for next gen now.

and that's kind of hard to believe, cuz it feels like this gen just got started......lol.

 

[Iceman]

and that's kind of hard to believe, cuz it feels like this gen just got started......lol.

Well it’ll be 5 years old by the end of this year.

 

[X Knight]

Well it’ll be 5 years old by the end of this year.

yeah. but it feels like just yesterday when I bought my PS4 from Toys R Us.

or when I bought and returned my 1st Xbox One.

 

[Iceman]

yeah. but it feels like just yesterday when I bought my PS4 from Toys R Us.

or when I bought and returned my 1st Xbox One.

Maybe it was yesterday.

 

[X Knight]

Maybe it was yesterday.

it feels like it.

I got my original PS4 in December of 2013.

I bought the 1st Xbox One when Destiny came out, so I think that was September 2014??

 

[Iceman]

it feels like it.

I got my original PS4 in December of 2013.

I bought the 1st Xbox One when Destiny came out, so I think that was September 2014??

Yeah, I think it was September 2014.

Time flying and next gen not all that far away any more.

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

I think it will definitely be better than this one but they will likely still have a lot to make up. And the exclusive situation is still going to be there. Good to see the system continually improving though after a truly terrible start.

the whole exclusive thing is an exaggeration in my opinion. is it simply because most xbone exclusives are also on PC? that doesn't mean much to me because the PC platform is its own market in conjunction with consoles even if it is still competition. a console's direct competition is the other consoles.

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

it feels like it.

I got my original PS4 in December of 2013.

I bought the 1st Xbox One when Destiny came out, so I think that was September 2014??

ohhh man, I remember those days, back when I was way more active on these forums. to think, I was still in college back then. holy mackerel

 

[Iceman]

the whole exclusive thing is an exaggeration in my opinion. is it simply because most xbone exclusives are also on PC? that doesn't mean much to me because the PC platform is its own market in conjunction with consoles even if it is still competition. a console's direct competition is the other consoles.

No, even disregarding the pc thing. Sony has done a lot more work on building their exclusive library whike Microsoft’s has floundered since early/mid 360.

 

[X Knight]

Saying Xbox has "no games to play" is an exaggeration.

Saying Xbox has an exclusives problem is not an exaggeration, imo. because it does.

It's not just that 1st party Xbox titles are also on PC, because some PS exclusives are also on PC ( like SF V ).

it's also the "quality" and variety of those exclusives.

This year alone, PS will get games like GOW, Detroit, and Spider-Man. Days Gone will be next year. And last year, PS got games like Persona 5 and Nier Automata.

What big name, triple AAA exclusives did Xbox get last year? Other than Forza, I can't think of any.

This year, Xbox is getting Sea of Thieves and maybe Crackdown 3. But compared to heavyhitters like GOW and Spider-Man?

This also doesn't include what I call "hidden" exclusives. Games that are releasing on all other platforms, except Xbox.

Games like Blazblue Cross Tag, which is releasing on PS, Switch, and even PC/Steam. But not Xbox.

And of course, the Switch is getting tons of exclusives this year, including Mario Tennis, Hyrule Warriors Remaster, Kirby, Octopath, and Smash Bros.

Now, the X1 does have BC with some 360 and og Xbox games. so that kind of helps in the "exclusives" department. but it's not the same when it comes to current gen exclusives.

 

[Big Bang]

True. I think it’s all about getting ready for next gen now.

Thing is though, is that now that both Sony and MS are using the x86/x64 platform, "console generations" in a matter of speaking is now a thing of the past. Whereas previously, the generational aspect was dependent on newer processors that tended to not be cross compatible. Even previous PlayStations required the previous generations chips be included in the new console (along with a BIOS image) in order to achieve backwards compatibility. MS achieving this via virtualization essentially made that model obsolete.

Now with the platforms being the way they are (minus Nintendo), new iterations of those the chipsets essentially bring the platform forward. Xbox One X and PS4 Pro are examples of that. We will probably reach a point where the first run of the Xbox One and PS4 get dropped, and the X and 4 Pro become the baseline. From there newer iterations with more powerful hardware can come out.

Our historical view of what constitutes "next gen" is evolving. IMO, the change over from the 360/PS3 to One/PS4 is probably the last major platform change over we will ever see. Sony isn't in the business of making its own custom chips anymore like they did with previous generations of PlayStation.

Literally, at the end of the day, both Xbox and PlayStation are essentially standardized micro PC's optimized for gaming. If MS decided to ever buy AMD that might cause Sony to change its strategy, but for the moment the current trend probably won't change.

 

[Iceman]

Thing is though, is that now that both Sony and MS are using the x86/x64 platform, "console generations" in a matter of speaking is now a thing of the past. Whereas previously, the generational aspect was dependent on newer processors that tended to not be cross compatible. Even previous PlayStations required the previous generations chips be included in the new console (along with a BIOS image) in order to achieve backwards compatibility. MS achieving this via virtualization essentially made that model obsolete.

Now with the platforms being the way they are (minus Nintendo), new iterations of those the chipsets essentially bring the platform forward. Xbox One X and PS4 Pro are examples of that. We will probably reach a point where the first run of the Xbox One and PS4 get dropped, and the X and 4 Pro become the baseline. From there newer iterations with more powerful hardware can come out.

Our historical view of what constitutes "next gen" is evolving. IMO, the change over from the 360/PS3 to One/PS4 is probably the last major platform change over we will ever see. Sony isn't in the business of making its own custom chips anymore like they did with previous generations of PlayStation.

Literally, at the end of the day, both Xbox and PlayStation are essentially standardized micro PC's optimized for gaming. If MS decided to ever buy AMD that might cause Sony to change its strategy, but for the moment the current trend probably won't change.

That would be fine with me. I think the refresh models or whatever the best name for them is will be referred to as next gen or something like that just because gamers who have grown up across 8 or so generations will be so used to that term.

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

True. I think it’s all about getting ready for next gen now.

The Xbone X just came out last year. I think they can give at least one more year’s focus on current gen.