Microsoft And Sony Fail To Make Activision Blizzard Agreement At EU Court Hearing

I hope it passes and in the end Sony gets nothing because they are being toddlers in the room throwing tantrums.

Is COD really that a big deal to make Sony act this way, with a 10 year agreement for them to sign.

Surely even now and then after 10 years is up, Sony have enough exclusives and very good developers to be absolutely fine and ok?

This is going to go through regardless of how the crying child in the room is acting. This is one of the many reasons why Microsoft is a trillion dollar company and Sony is not. Sometimes you have to play nice.

With all the companies now supporting the deal, there's no chance its going to fail now. I think end of August it will be completed.

This is Going to change Gaming landscape forever. Will be interesting to see what Sony does next once the deal is done. Do they go on a shopping spree and acquire more studios or do they make more 3rd Party games exclusive to the platform.

Future years for gaming are going to be very intense and interesting between Sony and Microsoft.

I can certainly see Xbox pushing the game pass price up significantly after this deal is completed. There is no way its going to stay at the current price point for much longer and I think the jump will be significant due to the value they'll be adding.

One thing that shows through all this.
How confident Nintendo are with their business model and moving forward, happily smiling away.

And how unconfident Sony are in their own business model.

Microsoft getting Nintendo to sign it is the nail in the coffin to Sony's absurd argument.

@Kaloudz

I love how he held the contract up and pretty much called Sony out

Is there video?

Only a matter of time now before the deal is done and we can move on...off topic but that bug fixing patch is a hefty one at 67.5gb

Imagine being a first time console buyer doing some research before choosing a console to buy and learning that the head of Sony is publicly stating the entire future of the playstation platform relies on one 3rd party franchise.

Most people can see that it is an outright lie but still, bold strategy Jim.

I hope Microsoft now give COD to everyone except Sony just to spite them. As a PS5 owner aswell I don’t really have any preference with either console but Sony have really annoyed me with all this childish behaviour. Hope they end up with nothing. Either way this deal is done now, regulators would be in deep water if they are trying to block it just because of Sony, not that they had much in the first place. Sony knows that if COD comes to Gamepass day one they’re going to lose a lot of players who aren’t willing to pay £70 for a game which can be included in their sub.

@Kaloudz edited my post, my clipboard retained a quote I just made in Push Square.

Anyways, your note about holding up the contract sounded as if there was video of this happening and I was curious.

@Kaloudz @Chaudy About future acquisitions, I doubt they will be able to buy any larger publisher after this even if this goes through, at least not a western one. This was hard enough to push through, acquiring the likes of Ubisoft will be just impossible.

They can, however, buy a large stake in large publishers, giving themselves some control and wiggling room over things like platforms games go to, and if they get to go into Game Pass.

A Ubisoft deal would most likely be a lifeline in exchange of day-one-to-gamepass or an EA Play like scheme were games go into Game Pass Ultimate a year after launch.

@Tharsman @kaloudz I think Ubisoft is High unlikely. However I think Square is going to happen. Both Playstation and Square have a long history and you can see Square back away from xbox almost completely this generation with the mainline Final Fantasy games being exclusive to Playstation. It wouldn't be "that big" of an acquisition and Square is pretty just a final fantasy studio now. With the exception of the odd game here and there like Forspoken.

If or when this deal goes through, the people that are all wishing that Microsoft keep this off of PlayStation are just being spiteful. The whole idea that Microsoft would do that is exactly why everyone is going crazy about this deal and the reason why the authorities are trying to block it in the first place, so if the deal goes through, there will be a 100% guarantee in place that the PlayStation will have COD at least for 10 Years.

@Kaloudz I hope this don't end up with ps cod players losing Thier loved game, but if it does they should thank Jim but they won't it will all be Microsoft's
fault as usual

It's hilarious that the only other company that still agrees with Sony's argument is every regulators favorite company Google.

@Bionic-Spencer this is it though they have been offered 10 yr deal (some sites are saying 15 years in the last few days ) and Jim saying in the beginning that they are fighting to keep cod in the hands of ps players,them saying no to that 10 yr deal is doing the complete opposite, why ? Is it cause then they can say see we knew it's what Microsoft wanted to take cod away blah blah , just cause the won't accept a big 10 year deal

This burning feeling inside you Sony, it is shame.

The never ending story

Sony won't ever sign it for the simple reason that they don't want to let go of their exclusivity. Irony.

When is Sony going to offer Microsoft the papers saying that they will let third-party games that they don't own be released for Xbox?

Sony knows the regulators are on their side and in their pocket, of course they aren't gonna agree to anything.

With the Xbox One the industry was saying that Microsoft was on the verge of being irrelevant. A couple years later Sony is trying to make the case that this would make Microsoft a monopoly... I wasn't born yesterday or just a couple years ago. Sony seems to think everyone in the world was born yesterday.

Sony have come across as surprisingly pathetic in this whole ordeal. So much so it kind of puts me off supporting them in any way from now on.

You have to love the apparently unbiased comments worried about two companies merging and what that could mean to the industry while deliberately ignoring that Sony is paying for keeping games from the largest publishers off Xbox, when Sony is the closest thing to a monopoly in the current video games industry and when Sony is the only of the three that focus its business strategy on damaging the others. Heck, they even tried to keep Call of Duty for themselves but could only pay for early access and exclusive content.

Sony pooping in the sandbox, ultimately ruining everyone's fun.

@Dezzy70 Sony don’t want COD on GP and they don’t want to lose marketing rights. They fear that MS owning this will somehow eat away at the biggest yearly money making game. This is the same company that didn’t want cross play either. They are very against not having things that are in total control and benefit to PS or Sony. This has given them a bit of a black eye to some higher ups in the industry. But they are the big name and sell the most copies of games, so others are forced to work with them and normally play by their rules. I hope this deal goes through and Sony sits and whines on it for a while. Making it more clear to gamers and others that this can be played on GP.

@EVIL-C was hoping after doing the same with cross play, they would come around. Looks unlikely.

Sony is going to fight this deal until the very last moment. And why wouldn't they? Their whining has already called the very future of this acquisition into question. There is zero incentive for them to play ball.

If it comes down to it, they'll sign a 'deal' if the only alternative is having no access to the series at all.

@Kaloudz ive been saying if this goes through without sony signing anything at all with MS, if i was MS id just be like F sony and release everything on everything incuding fridges but not a playstation... id flip sony off and give them NOTHING.....just outta spite....

The way sony are acting I wish a scenario would play out that the deal gets done and because they refused the offer they end up losing cod all together....just to bring the self righteous prats down a notch

@Green-Bandit OMG, the cross play fiasco. 🤦‍♂️ Granted, from what I recall Microsoft was initially against it, but then came around to it. Nintendo came on board, but then Sony shifted against it after the competition was doing it. I was always for the idea since friends often play on different platforms, but many of Sony's users were equally against it, saying how awful and terrible cross play is/will be. Pure partisanship nonsense. 🤦‍♂️

It's almost as if Sony is throwing their Award Winning Studio's all making Award Winning Exclusives as well as investing all that money into VR, its own 'Unique' selling point as well all those exclusive VR games that offers under the bus. That they just cannot 'compete' with a Single game having complete Parity on other Platforms - hence they 'need' to keep paying to keep content from others (Hogwarts is another example)

I hope it goes through and MS are not Legally Obliged to release CoD or 'keep parity' for the next decade - maybe then they can 'keep content' for every other platform - although that wouldn't benefit MS or CoD gamers in the long run but Sony know that MS will release anyway so don't 'need' to sign and so can be 'petty' now... Typical Jim Ryan behaviour and not what we would or should expect from Sony

@Green-Bandit
Wonder what happens if it goes through and Sony don’t sign the 10 year deal.
I guess Microsoft can say, well you didn’t sign so you don’t get COD, if they wished.

Congratulations on this site for not using a childish photo or commenting on the above news in a "fanboyism" manner. You're the best of the bunch when it comes to Push Square, Nintendo Life and genuinely objective news. It has an Xbox slant naturally, but isn't forever about console wars and fanboys. Cheers.

@KaijuKaiser Not remotely stupid. They are being pathetic and hypocritical.

Sony are first in line to snap up exclusives and handicap their competition, but when the shoe is on the other foot they start throwing their toys of the pram.

I say this as someone who absolutely loved the PS1 and PS2 and still do, but current gen Sony are making themselves quite hard to like/support.

Sony needs to grow up and stop trying to claim ownership to something they don't own. Stop dragging this out and get some deal finalized. They're just embarrassing by this point, makes the entire industry look stupid.

What a mess. I’ve been saying for a long time Sony have to be careful, they could end up losing more than they ever expected if they don’t play their cards right. It’ll be interesting to see how far they’re willing to go to get their own way and how much they’re willing to lose to get it, or not.

I do wonder, if Sony are somehow successful and they actually stop the deal, would they still expect COD timed exclusive content and marketing rights going forward? I do not for one second think that will happen but it’s an interesting thought.

For the people asking what will happen if Sony never signs ***** n the deal does fully get passed...
It should be obvious... Their will be "Concessions" saying Xbox will have to put the game on the PlayStation platform for a certain amount of years, most likely not 10 full years though.

As well as all the people saying, So after the ten year deal ends... Will Xbox THEN take CoD off of the PlayStation platform?
No....
At the end of the 10 years Sony will.....
Negotiate a new deal for a more normal amount of time in the industry like 3 years.

Make sense? I hope so.

Lastly, the couple of people mentioning Sony should buy Ubisoft to counter this deal, if/when it goes through (after today I feel like it is like 90% going through, with some obvious concessions but Xbox will accept them).
Buying Ubisoft is not really an option for Sony.
But furthermore, Sony would not want to buy Ubisoft. It has been highly reported Ubisoft has been doing pretty damn bad financially lately. With Skull N MF Bones being their big title for the last year pretty much. Not Good.
The main thing most of you need to also take into consideration when thinking about Sony buying Ubisoft, or anyone for that matter.
Ubisoft employs A LOT of people. Like way too damn many people. They currently have around 20 thousand employees at Ubisoft.
To take that into perspective, Activision has roughly half that at 10 thousand workers. Ubisoft is not putting out CoD type games every year, and have double the employees... That is not a financial investment that you want to take on with the thought of expanding your company as a whole.
So even if Sony could buy Ubisoft, they wouldn't.

Currently Sony is not going to buy Square Enix either I prosume... I mean why would they? They already are getting all of the content and nearly all of the big content as exclusive content to the PlayStation platform.
Bringing Square in is just a risk for something they currently are already getting. It isn't exactly that simple, but that is an easy way to look at it.

Sony being Sony, colour me surprised 🤣

Sony are literally banking on the regulators refusing the deal. Well the EU is happy for it to go through, EVERY other company involved bar Google seems happy for it to go through, the FTC has its own ridiculous agenda to change the US law so it’ll lose anyway when MS take them to court and proves, as has happened many times now, that the FTC has broken the law.

The UK regulators who know what those idiots will do, they seem to not have a clue how cloud gaming works but are using their lack of knowledge as an excuse to question the deal?

So Sony is just being utterly disingenuous to everyone involved, it’s ignored Microsoft repeatedly and seemingly point blank refuses to enter negotiations with them, it’s refused subpoenas from the FTC and MS, and it’s lied to the FTC and we don’t know but most likely the EU and UK regulators as well. They are a joke of a company acting like spoilt brats, we all damn well know Sony wants the EXACT same treatment with COD as it currently gets, including all the exclusivity deals it has, and I can bet they want a clause that states COD will never be allowed on Game Pass too, but CAN be placed in their own streaming service.
Sony just making themselves look bigger and bigger and bigger fools. They’ve put me right off them personally and I believe others too. Arrogant monopolistic idiots.

@Fenbops Usually in business money talks above all else, but if the deal fails because of Sonys actions, that won’t help then with Activision as it will cost them billions most likely in lost share price, and the relationship will most certainly be damaged, probably beyond repair.

@pip_muzz Yeah I think Pure Xbox has been the best site as far as this ownership group is concerned. Time Extension is just sort of a retro gaming hub, so it's not really relevant in the same sense. I used to like Nintendo Life a lot more before they Switch era, it slowly worsened to the point where it's full of fanboys. Push Square has always been awful though, easily the most immature and fanboyish crowd as far as these sites are concerned, and the biggest trolls on this site always seem to be regulars there.

@Somebody And that’s purely to try and save face and their share price, everyone knows full well it was entirely Google’s fault Stadia failed, but of course Google are using all this as a perfect excuse for deflection and mis-direction from the fact it was their fault, instead attempting to blame Microsoft for their multi billion dollar incompetent loss.

@Chaudy Yes and the moment the signatures are made on the contracts, before the ink is even dry, Sony will be making every Square game entirely PlayStation exclusive, oh the hypocritical irony.

@EVIL-C yeah man, you nailed it. I find people against this deal are more of the same with PS good, Xbox Bad. They can’t give much info as to why it’s bad, or say things like monopoly, which isn’t even close to the truth. I know why Sony is against it, even tho they are wrong and they are scared of this new MS strategy that is trying to tear down the walls of the console walled garden approach and they don’t know if consumers will bite or not. If they do that put’s Sony in an awful position to compete back as they aren’t going to build a real GP and share their games around the industry. But Sony knows if COD is included in this plan of MS’s than that is a tipping point, without it, MS might not have enough games that matter in scale and size to make this an issue for sony. Long story short, Sony does not want COD on GP.

@Dezzy70 i don’t think they can do, as i am sure when it goes through it will be a requirement of the deal to get the game to PS. So Sony might have to sign the papers kicking and screaming, but they will, i do think it would be funny not to return their calls for a while and make them come after it publicly. But i don’t think MS is petty and wants that type of negative attention. Be funny for internet jokes and what not, but it will just flame the console wars higher and we don’t need that.

@Green-Bandit The irony about the people who cry Microsoft is trying to monopolize, is how they're the same people who later brag and boast about how "dominant" Sony is, saying how they think nobody can compete.

@Green-Bandit
I think we already passed the tipping point of where the gaming industry is going and most people don't even believe it.

First, the business model for gaming is changing rapidly and dramatically. 15 years ago DLC was evil, subscription services were evil, and pay to play was evil. But, they are all widely accepted today.

Second, AAA games cost well beyond what a single platform can gain in revenues. Therefore, truly AAA games have to be available to purchase on many platforms and subscription services. Sony's model of shipping AAA games on only one platform and being hugely popular is slipping out from under them. Now, for AAA games to be viable financially they have to ship on many platforms. Why do your think Sony shipped God of War reboot, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Death Stranding on PC? It is no longer about exclusivity it is more about how many gamers can you sell to to make AAA games viable.

Third, streaming is going to be a thing. As a owner of consoles, PCs, and mobile devices, I want to be able to play anywhere and anytime, on any game I want. More and more cloud gaming is becoming better and better. I will always prefer local device gaming, but when I am at a boring party trying to pass enough time to leave, I want to be able to play a game or two. And my phone is that place for that moment.

People don't even see it but the gaming industry has already changed irreversibly and is moving forward. There will continue to be a place for consoles, PCs, and mobile devices in gaming, but the rules are completely different now then they were even 5 years ago.

Now that you guys are talking about those calls, remember that Sony called Microsoft the day after the announcement crying about Call of Duty and now Sony doesn't answer the phone when Microsoft or Activision calls. Sony is the dirty spoiled brat that everyone is starting to despise. At least, their relationship with ABK won't be the same, whatever happens. Microsoft will learn and stop being so nice with them while being stabbed in the back, I suppose.

@JayJ You nailed it as usually. I like how straightforward and sensible you sound among the bunches of nonsensical fanboyish comments on Nintendo Life. Just as you explained, Push Square is something else, the cave where trolls are raised and fed and whence most trolls come.

@JayJ Great point, doesn’t make sense, other than they act as like sony didn’t buy their way to the top, but in many cases they did. Don’t try and convince them of that tho.

@NeoRatt so well said and you nailed it on all 3 points. This is fact and MS knows where they need to be today and in the next decade and most of their deals and infrastructure investments have shown that.

The only COD I want is in my dinner.

@Banjo- Thank you, appreciate the compliment, I think you're a great user as well. These days I just try to avoid getting baited into arguments with the fanboys and just tell it like I see it. Some people just want to use arguing as an excuse to push their nonsense, it's become really common in gaming site comment sections. Its like even though I have a PS5 and enjoy it, I avoid Push Square and most Sony associated gaming communities as they are just too toxic and immature for me these days. I have grown out of that whole scene.

@Green-Bandit Thanks, and I totally agree, the amount of revisionist history I have been seeing from some of the Sony fanboys these days is just laughable. It's like they have no clue how Sony got their lead with the PS1 despite being such fans of the brand. Heck I was there for those years, and somewhat aware of what was going on, so they are never going to convince me otherwise. The double standards are just ridiculous.

By the way Xbox have contract with Nintendo and i didn't realize earlier... there were writen that MS poot Xbox -games- on Nintendo, not COD only... umm, so it's like Starfield port i guess sometimes later)))

@JayJ i know, Nintendo handed Sony all the 3rd party companies and sony bought the ones they wanted or could. Making sure this was an industry they wouldn’t fall back from.

@Kaloudz Then MS is not contractually obligated to put CoD on Playstation. Maybe the regulators will put in a stipulation. If think it is kind of absurd to obligate a company to develop a game for 10 years.

sony makes me "dislike them'' because of their dirty deals and practices but i totally understand that its business and business know no honor....you know what pissed me off that i m not a neutral gamer anymore and start being a xbox fan?? its sony fans themselves!!! just go to N4G and you will h*ate Playstation those fans are so double standards...and they act like sony is some kind of holy entity thats pure and do no mistake...they are as or more annoying than the BTS army that made me hate a musical group that i actually never listen to or heard off but just they worshiping of their fan made me h*ate them

Whats really gonna be funny is when this deal goes through and Sony never signed the 10 year contract....

Anyone who doesnt want to live in an echo chamber may wish to read another take on events:
I suspect that applies to very few of you, but there are some here not blinded by loyalties who may wish to understand opposing views..
https://kotaku.com/microsoft-xbox-cod-call-of-duty-sony-game-pass-contract-1850142802

I dont agree entirely, but I definitely dont support the trivialisation of the issue and the wholesale capitulation to the obvious stunts MS are pulling to try and court opinion. I suspect many here will paint me as some kind of 'traitor' because I have concerns about the deal. Such labeling says more about them than me.

The people at Activision Blizzard Inc must getting a bit fed up with all this and worried about losing millions of dollars from the take over. Imagine if it does not get approved and they pull it from Playstation out of spite! Money makes you do crazy things, the amount they would lose if the deal is blocked.

@Gamingforlife They are very "exclusive" people, in a high social class that feel a hierarchy because all of their games (that are not always the best) are not available to everyone.

the whole procedure against the deal is a big Sony Fail

@Kaloudz To be fair, thats not the only questionable assertion in that article! But there are several others out there saying something similar, which act as a balance to those who frame this as an issue with COD only.
If COD were the only concern, then imo the offer MS has made should be enough to balance the concern. But there's a lot more at stake and being considered, and I'm not so sure those concerns are as easy to address.
Thank you for reading and replying, Ive always found your manners and attitude excellent despite us having some pretty divergent views. Have good one 😊

@JayJ I bought a PS4 at launch. I didn't have an Xbox One at that time, so I visited both Nintendo Life and Push Square and while you can see some Nintendo fans defending Nintendo as if it was their god, it was (and is) a friendlier place. I was disgusted by many of the comments and articles on PS and it only got worse as PlayStation became the best selling system of the last generation. I knew that I wasn't going to learn anything reading such a small picture and isolated bubble.

People only need to read their comments and reviews to see that. The level of pedantry of some fans and websites is embarrassing.

Yeah, the article is as biased as I expected. By the way, Xbox games will be available on PC (Windows) locally, so the accessibility of Microsoft's games is even better. And it's not a shadowy marketing strategy like Sony porting some of their games to PC years later but Microsoft's games are available there day one, with cross-buy, cross-play and cross-save. If that's not the most accessible way to play games in this industry I don't know what is.

@Kaloudz shoudve been ...unless you want to play your neighborhood friendly spiderman on xbox.....oh can go the same with Final fantasy and silent hill remake

@Gamingforlife Sony is the least consumer-friendly company and also the least gamer-friendly in general. They have been destroying parity for years: no cross-play, no parity in third-party games like Call of Duty, Marvel's, Hogwarts Legacy, etc., four versions of The Last of Us (PS3, PS4, PS5 and Windows) and all of them are separated purchases, not to mention paying big publishers to keep games and content off Xbox for as long as they can pay and that includes ZeniMax before the acquisition, Activision, Square Enix and Konami. Just imagine for one second what Sony would do if they were richer. Scary.

If it was Steam the company worried about losing Call of Duty I would understand them but the most cynical company in the industry is the only one not accepting any agreement because what they really want is Xbox to lag behind in support and games.

@Kaloudz Im not a spring chicken myself! Its been 15 years since I was a games dev, and I did that for two decades starting in my mid 20s. My reflexes simply cant handle what they once did, but I try!
COD is certainly nothing I care about myself, but I had heard that in a survey 82% of gamers said they bought their console primarily for one game, and in 77% that game was COD. It makes me wander at the sanity of people, but I guess it illustrates why this issue is being fought so hard....
Im taking a hogwarts day today, hope you and yours have a good one!

The article is funny as if Sony has to care about any xbox contract.

@Kaloudz i play it on PC as its the best place to play RPGs of FF VI has lot of mods support (looot of costumes and improvements all around) im willing to wait another year to play 2nd part on PC with mods

@Kaloudz I think that Xbox will get Octopath Traveller II and Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster Collection in one year or so.

I don't understand why people are expecting anything less from Sony. They are in dominant position and virtually unassailable when compared to Xbox.
This dominance allows them to make any timed or indefinite third party game exclusive at a fraction of the cost Microsoft would have to pay. Sony will never let that go

I just hope the Regulators will do what is in the interest of consumers rather than just protecting Sony’s dominant position or, fall for Microsoft's charming offensive 🤞.

The question I keep asking myself today is "What will M$ do when this goes through and Sony never signed the contract, will they be the nice guy and still give them the 10 years", or say, "We go year to year with you guys, if we feel like giving it to you this year we will, but you gotta pay"

As someone who plays both ps and xbox, it's pretty amusing to go back and forth between here and push square to see how almost no one can remove their bias when talking about this acquisition.

@Sol4ris It's interesting how many "impartial" people that apparently support all three systems reply to absolutely everything we throw at them while dodging anything regarding Sony paying major publishers to keep content or games away from Xbox: Zenimax, Activision, Square Enix, Warner... Like if it wasn't bad for gamers and the industry as a whole to exclude Xbox from fair competition.

@Kaloudz I'm not sure but considering that both are on PC and Switch I'm smelling one of those stinky temporary exclusion agreements between Sony and Square Enix but not as indefinite as the Final Fantasy VIi Remake and Intergrade ones.

@Kaloudz Exactly, the Pixel Remaster Collection is on mobile, too. I'm expecting that and Octopath Traveller II on Xbox in a year or so. I loved the first Octopath Traveller on Series X in spite of not beating Bravely Default on 3DS. To me they are completely different and Octopath Traveller is infinitely superior but some people compare them. Some people like @NEStalgia... 🤣🤣🤣

@Banjo- @Kaloudz Square does weird things. Remember when pixel remaster skipped Switch and was mobile only? Like....that's like making a MOBA that skips PC.....

But this is the company that sold half their company to dump the money into NFT. What they do will never make sense outside their doors. Or in them.

But yeah, Octo, disappointed me. An BD disappointed me more... I hear good things about Octo 2 though. Someday, maybe.

@Titntin That survey was bogus. It was a CMA survey where they interviewed 40,000 CoD players on PS and among those, 77% bought their console for CoD. Pretty sure if you interview 1000 Disgaia players on Switch, at least half of them will say they bought their console for Disgaia.

@Banjo-

It's interesting how many "impartial" people that apparently support all three systems reply to absolutely everything we throw at them while dodging anything regarding Sony paying major publishers to keep content or games away from Xbox

I'm sorry, was that an observation aimed at me?
Because I don't much mind how this whole thing goes, however, as a Gamepass subscriber (said this before) this deal will give me even more value than the undeniably great one we get now. I just think this should be done on basis of all parties involved (affected) being reasonably satisfied, including us the consumers.

@Kaloudz Man, they had a lot of IP in there, I can't think of it all on a whim. Tomb Raider, Soul Reaver, Legacy of Kain, Deus Ex, Thief, Snowblind, Blood Omen, GEX. I don't know if either party has actually commented still on who owns Sleeping Dogs, which is weird.

@Sol4ris It seems that every time someone says something to someone for the first time is taken as an attack, it was not intended as such at all. I just thought it was related to your argument and I was agreeing. Never mind 😅.

@Total_Weirdo Microsoft needs to state that Spider-Man must be on Xbox as part of the deal.

If Sony refuses, it shows how hypocritical they truly are and proves a point even further.

@Kaloudz Oh, that failed Theif reboot was just another Squeenix self inflicted wound. The REAL Thief series goes way back to the 90's with Looking Glass Studios and Warren Spector. Thief is kind of the granddaddy of the entire stealth modern action genre (along side MGS) with Hitman, Splinter Cell etc all borrowing heavily from it. (Looking Glass eventually had a lot of it's staff split into what is now Arkane and Irrational (BioShock)) That failed Thief game is what happens when Square tried to do Western games Theif 3.....I have very mixed feelings about it. The series always had supernatural elements, but what started as stealth-action with some supernatural elements, Thief 3, the second half of the game, became one of the most celebrated horror games of all time, up there with Silent Hills and the PT demo in the stuff of legends......but why did my Thief series suddenly become a horror game and never told me? I wasn't happy but it still has massive respect out there.

I think a better re-re-revival of classic Thief would be huge today, though.

But yeah, in reality I think they sold the western studios because they didn't know what to do with it or how to run it (obviously) and B) they racked up untold mountains of debt with FFXV dev and with the disaster that was Avengers, and had to offload debt before collections were calling so they sold a massive chunk of an entire industry for less money than a single IP was worth because, it's safe to assume, the bill for all that debt of undisclosed value was included.

Oh and Eludyan Chronicles.... I tried it a little bit a while back. It seemed decent but I never thought to prioritize it over other things in my backlog.

@NEStalgia I agree, Square Enix do weird things. Investing so much in something as volatile as NFT and other things not related to video games at all, not to mention accepting cheques from one or the other when that means alienating part of your fanbase tells me that the marketing department, CEO or whoever makes these decisions, is a greedy idiot.

@Kaloudz Do you mean Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising?

https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/eiyuden-chronicle-rising/9nmd6vv08wgf

I didn't know about this third-party title, so thanks. I'll check it. There are some first-party games I'd gladly play soon on Game Pass but I want to play Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (third-party) before it leaves so that's one of my priorities now.

It's not the same as playing it on a big screen with your Xbox controller (and unlocking achievements😜). Please be patient and play something from your backlog in the meantime, I'll do the same 😁. I hope that next year we both will be playing the Pixel Remaster Collection on Series S|X 🤞.

Enough of all of this nonsense. I'm just going to buy all the companies and put all the games on all platforms for eternity. Problem solved, see how easy that was. Haha. Humans are way too complicated.

If you bring someone who knows nothing about gaming to look at the situation they will clearly say that this merger is a good move for consumers and the industry. Most companies that dominant an industry get lazy and do the minimum work/risk for biggest buck. It's why ABK basically got all their studios to stop making anything but CoD, why Sony does remakes of remasters and chargers full price plus $10 for fun. They need competition to innovate. Folks want that PS1/PS2 variety back....won't happen without this deal.

@Banjo- Yeah I mean I was a big fan of Playstation from the PS1 - PS3 years, and it felt like a completely different brand back in those days. The PS4 changed everything about them, that's when they had the corporate move to California, and it's like the entire company culture and the type of games they started to focus on really changed for the worse.

I might as well also bring up how Xbox briefly had a terrible community back in the 360 era when that was by far the most popular thing, and it seems like all of the awful and immature fanboy types jumped ship to the PS4 when that released.

I think that type of fanboy success can really breed a bad complacency and laziness that brings brands down. I mean look at how bad the Xbox One's first initial plans were after the 360 was a wild success, it definitely cost them their popularity and market lead. Personally I didn't let that effect me when they were quick to change their plans, and I still think the Xbox One has gotta be one of the most underrated and underappreciated consoles of all time. The irony is how the Series consoles are literally just a direct carry-over of everything they built up on the Xbox One, I mean the entire UI is literally the same these days between both platforms, and all the games that you could play on Xbox One work on Series consoles, and half the time they're enhanced.

It's just kind of a crazy time in the world of gaming fandoms and the industry in general.

I think something that bothers Sony is Microsoft did it with Bethesda and they will remove all further Activison games off PlayStation. This might not effect COD but it will with other titles. Bethesda hasn't shown anything and they were acquired over a year ago. Microsoft will basically own all these licenses and won't do anything with them Other than continue churning out the same games.

i can't believe what i'm hearing and how no others regulators don't see through sony behavior and how immature and ridiculous the situation is, everything would be so much simpler if the cards was in the sony's hands no one would make a scene or cry if they buy studios but when it's microsoft doing so it's bad for bussiness and bad for the industry, i swear to you for me sony is dead for at least 10 year, saying i started my youth on ps1 and ps2 and had great souvenirs i can't believe what i'm noticing everyone seems to agree with sony behavior as if it was normal and competitif,if that deal don't go through i will laugh my ass off.

Very disappointing to see how the vast majority of commentators here are making Sony out to be the bad guys here. Yet the same people probably argued that Sony are prohibitive by keeping their games exclusive, yet Microsoft are here doing that exact same thing. Arguing that they are offering a ten year deal is also not a point at all. You have to be very shortsighted to not look beyond the next decade as such a big business. Look how easily Sega disappeared from the limelight.

It's really simple. Obviously, Sony are going to to try to stop the deal. What kind of company doesn't try to protect its shareholders and its own interests at heart. If you think Sony should just have rolled over and allowed this to happen you're simply living in fantasy land. That's not how the real world works.

@Kalele It's either cynicism or ignorance. It's like PS fans were born in 2013 along with The Last of Us and that Sony started business as a video games company. Sony has bought and shut down studios. They are paying third parties to keep games off Game Pass or off Xbox entirely. They have been paying Bethesda, Activision, Square Enix and Warner for excluding Xbox from characters, content and games. The same people that are fine with those uncompetitive practices is the people that think that Microsoft is evil for acquiring studios and the same people that say that Sony doesn't need anybody because Sony's games are the best games in the world and everybody will pay whatever to have the privilege of playing The Last of Us Remaster Remastered.

@Kaloudz Another reason to play Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (name copied and pasted) before it leaves Game Pass 😊.

@JayJ Yes, that change is something NEStalgia told me about and I also remember it because although PS4 was my first and only PS, my cousins had the PS and PS2 when I was a kid and I remember there was a lot of variety and good games on them. I realise that PS1-PS2 was the golden age of PS. I was disappointed with most Sony games on PS4 because they are massively overrated, games like The Last of Us Remastered and even Uncharted. One that clicked and that I still play is Wipeout Omega Collection. I realise that PS became a Hollywood interactive films factory during PS4 and PS5 is more of the same but with fewer games. I was Nintendo-only at that time so my experience as a PS player has nothing to do with Xbox.

Last generation is the only generation that I had all the consoles except Vita because I was an adult that could afford them. 3DS, Wii U, PS4, Xbox One and Switch, in this order. I wasn't an Xbox fan but backwards compatibility plans made me buy one.

The original Xbox One is bigger but sturdier and quieter than PS4 and the controller is infinitely better. It became my favourite console of the last generation. It was just easy and cheap to play old and new games on it. The generally bashed UI didn't bother me but I thought it gave me access to every option and feature I could wish for after playing on bare-bones consoles for many years. Xbox One was underrated and Xbox One X did justice to it with a more compact, powerful and efficient design that I upgraded to. Now, Series X is simply the best console in terms of hardware and has everything that Xbox One offers on top of that.

PS5 was "a new generation". That was just marketing to sell more remasters and the same games and new fees once people upgraded to PS5 and it would have been much worse if it wasn't for Microsoft's Smart Delivery. There was always going to be a cross-generation period but Sony just wanted to duplicate the success that they achieved with PS4 when the competition was weaker. However, this generation is less like the eighth and more like the seventh generation.

@Banjo- Yup, well said, I too think this generation is going to go down much more like the 7'th gen, last gen was just kind of a mess, but I still look back fondly upon the Xbox One as the console that kept me satisfied, which is ironic because I bought a PS4 at the same time, when both consoles launched, and for the longest time I had barely anything that could keep my interest in Playstation. That and I honestly think of the PS4 and even the PS5's UI as a complete piece of... junk. I mean they're the only consoles I have ever used that throw a fit if the power goes out, needing to repair themselves, and despite that Sony has never offered any ability to make the console shut it's self down, your only option is to have it automatically go to sleep after a set time period. To top it off the PS4 always sounded like a jet engine under load, while the Xbox was nearly silent. Then there's home screen layout that was awful until they offered folders, which for some odd reason they took away with the PS5, which basically feels the way the PS4 did when it first launched. I mean that's where they're at, the PS5 UI feels as bare basic as the PS4's did when it launched, despite all the progress they made on the PS4, while the Series X picked up right where the Xbox One left off, and both consoles now share the exact same UI. That and Xbox always gave you the option to have your console automatically shut down if you want it to, and everything always seemed to work much more smoothly. Can't count how many times I had "database" problems on the PS4 and needed to do some repair functions, and the store always seemed to slow down to a crawl and crash on me after I browsed enough games on it. Even the Switch's e-shop has always functioned better than that.

Sorry if that's a bit of a rant, but as you can tell, I have not exactly been happy with Playstation in recent years. It's always been my last place platform, where I pretty much only bother with it for some games I can't get elsewhere. I actually just recently got a PS5 about a couple weeks ago, because they finally became readily available in stores, essentially just to play GT7 with better graphics and performance, and to check out their fancy dual-sense haptic controller deal. The haptic controller stuff is pretty overblown to be honest, the vibration being nothing special really, just the triggers having some interesting effects, but I only found it worthwhile in racing games and FPS, with mixed results depending upon the game. So far I think GT7 and Resident Evil Village did the best job with their dual sense controller effects, but the latter doesn't really appeal to me, I only played the demo just to check it out. Some other shooters give it sort of an interesting gun trigger-like feel, and some racing games will add weight to the triggers or feedback, but after spending some time with it and going back to my Xbox, I could easily live without it, it's more of a gimmick most of the time than something that really enhances the experience.

So that's the thing with Playstation these days, last gen it was all about their touch pad, speaker, and light bar gimmicks, which did nothing for me most of the time, and this gen it's some feedback gimmicks. Ironically Xbox has offered trigger feedback since the Xbox One launched, and I honestly prefer the way that works half the time since it doesn't add weight or resistance to the triggers.

...So that's pretty much my summary on the two platforms and how I think they have compared over these two generations. Going back to the 7'th gen or before that, none of this applies really, both consoles felt a lot more simple and the controllers were a lot more straight forward. To me it always seemed kinda crazy how much they doubled down on gimmicks and complexity last gen, and how much favoritism the PS4 got despite all the problems I had with it. You are right about the games as well, Sony seems to be basically concentrated on nothing besides games that feel like Hollywood movies, and that's all carried over. It's like if you had a PS4, you know exactly what the PS5 is all about, while on Xbox, Microsoft has been doing some interesting and unexpected things.

@Kaloudz It's safe to assume if the Activision acquisition goes through, both Xbox and Nintendo will no longer be getting Square Enix games outside of what's already announced for those platforms because Sony will be allowed to acquire Square Enix with no concessions.

Like Square Enix usually has a big presence in Nintendo Directs yet the February 2023 Direct only had 2 games (demo announcement for Octopath Traveler 2 of which the full game releases tomorrow and 1 game that was only in the Japanese version of the Direct).

Gaining CoD and losing out on Square Enix games would definitely be a net loss for Nintendo fans.

@Kaloudz They would object, doesn't mean the attempt to get concessions would be successful. Microsoft used Sony's exclusives library to justify owning Activision (CoD is the only concession, everything else can be exclusive) so Sony would use Nintendo's exclusives library to justify owning Square Enix (Mario, Zelda, Pokemon, etc. is much bigger than Horizon, TLoU, GoW, etc.). Also I doubt Microsoft would have a valid argument against Sony acquiring Square Enix after having acquired Activision and Bethesda.

@Grumblevolcano Yeah, nobody could successfully block Sony-Square after MS-ABK goes through. Though I'm also unconvinced doing so makes any business sense at all for Sony. Though reactionary-Jim would still be capable of doing it even if it makes little sense. That ties up a ton of money for a company that has a hard time turning a profit, has tons of debt overhead, all to get....basically what they already have. Sony buying Square would be little more than a panicky reactionary action for no purpose other than to guarantee ownership of a few IP at the cost of a giant, poorly run publisher, most of which they don't really want. They'd do better just buying the FF IP from Square and calling it a day. And Square's so nuts they'd say yes.

@Banjo- Let's not forget they were going to close IOI until the CEO agreed to let IOI buy their shares back simply because he personally likes the Hitman IP. We're talking a brand so successful Warner took them on, then they just went full out independent publisher on their own working with the 007 license, all from selling a single IP but square couldn't figure out how to make money with them. And the bizarre DQXI/NX saga. They do things over at Square that just make no sense

Well IMHO Sony should be stripped of COD altogether. They had their chance, they snubbed it.

@NEStalgia Well you can't play Octopath 1 or the FFXIII trilogy on PS4/PS5, not even a situation where the FFXIII trilogy ends up on PS+ Premium via streaming. They all are playable on XB1/Series X|S and were on Game Pass for a year.

If you see Square Enix putting the FFXIII trilogy on PS+ Premium or announcing a remaster for PS/Switch after February 28th, you know that Microsoft's being blocking it from happening earlier via the Game Pass deal. Same regarding a PS4 Octopath 1 port.

That kind of situation is why Sony would want to acquire Square Enix. Pretty much the exact same reason Microsoft acquired Bethesda.

@Grumblevolcano xiii is an odd situation, but for Sonys part I don't think they really care much about old bc games to begin with, they want new games and new remasters of old games which they have locked up with square. Octopath,I really still can't figure that one out though. Still not a game sony cares about tough. Fans may. Sony cares about the big blockbusters only in terms of business. They'd buy square if they thought they couldn't get 17, or dq12. Not because they can't get a pixel game that started as switch exclusive, went a PS3 era ff. I see what you mean overall, but I just don't think those situations set sonys radar blinking at all, it's not where they're interest lies.

@JayJ Sorry for being late but I took a break from the internet.
Yes, I've seen my PS4 rebuild the database many times as well, not to mention all the hardware failures mine has suffered, it's the least reliable console I've ever owned: video blackout, random disc ejection with current progress loss (imagine losing over an hour in Kingdom Hearts several times), noise, heat... Sometimes my PS4 was so loud that I worried and muted the volume to check what was going on. The PS4 store is a nightmare, I used to check the deals section until I realised it was not worth my time and patience.

You expressed very well what PS5 controller is for most people, a gimmick, kind of the HD rumble of Nintendo's joy-cons. I also prefer rumble in Xbox, that was nice since Xbox One and I think that some games such as the Forza titles make a perfect use of the triggers.

The PS4 UI is bad, PS5 is worse, they combine the worst of Switch but all the options are more confusing and hidden than on Xbox. The PS5 and its library is some kind of PS4.5 which is ironic since Sony marketed PS5 as the real new generation...

I really identify myself with you and I love how calmly and honestly you say what you think.

@Kaloudz It's high in my to-play list because it's a promising third-party game on Game Pass!

@Banjo- Thank you very much Banjo! I wasn't expecting to hear a reply this late, but I also think it's a good idea to sorta disconnect or detox from the internet in a sense at times. It can start to have a bad effect on you getting too wrapped up in any community or site after a while, at least in my opinion. Heck I do that myself sometimes as well, where I will need to take a good break some some site I go to often, just to get away from all the noise and drama they can sometimes attract.

You are spot on when it comes to your take on Playstation hardware these days as well, it's just very sensitive and kinda gimmicky at times, and their UI is simply awful, and they have definitely gone backwards with their latest PS5 UI as well. It also feels very PS4.5 to me, but then again the Series X has felt like a more powerful Xbox One X to me in many ways. That's sorta the thing about this latest generation, it's had a big reliance upon just sorta updating and remastering games, but one area I can really give Xbox credit there is how smoothly everything transitions. For example, all of my Xbox One games that got updated to X/S just automatically download as X/S enhanced titles on my Series X, while on PS5 I have to go to the store, try to track down whatever purchased content I have that has been updated, and download it from there before it will show up in my library, that and they have been trying to charge me a fee to upgrade to the PS5 version of some games as well. So it's a real night and day difference there, not to mention how the Xbox backwards compatibility catalog is by far the best around with the most downloadable titles and features like FPS enhancement to improve the experience of playing older games.

If you ever want to chat or game sometime let me know, I'd be happy to add you on Discord, Steam, Xbox Live, and even PSN/NSO if you're on there, but Steam and Discord is pretty much the only place I would actually chat with people.

@JayJ No problem but can you add me on Xbox? I can check texts on the console, mobile and PC so it's handy. I don't use Discord although I have asked a few questions there sometimes.

Yes, Series X has made things very easy, it's similar to when I upgraded from Xbox One to Xbox One X. It's all so simple. Backwards compatibility, free automatic cloud saves and one-time purchase is what makes Xbox better than Sony and Nintendo. I love many Nintendo games but Nintendo is so user-unfriendly. Upgrading from Wii U to Switch was all bad news for loyal fans as me that have been playing on Nintendo since childhood.

@Banjo- Hey, added you to Xbox Live (sent you a message). I'm the same with Discord, I hardly use it, only used on occasions but it seems popular these days for some reason.

Yeah, I also had a One X and I loved that ease of transition. Nintendo definitely seems to be the worst at it, like they never transfer anything over from generation to generation, makes me wonder how they will approach a Switch successor which hopefully isn't far off. The Wii U in general has just always felt like such an oddball console, sort of lost in time, like it doesn't really standout to me as an era much, but that said I managed to get a lot of good games on it, and I like having the last hurrah of virtual console available.

@JayJ Agreed.

About Nintendo, for some reason, Switch is my least favourite Nintendo console. I'm wondering when they will launch a successor or upgraded version. I'd prefer that they'd start releasing their games on the other more powerful platforms (I would love to play Tears of the Kingdom on Series X), not a crazy idea after Wii U's numbers but unlikely after Switch's massive success worldwide 😂.

@Banjo- Yeah the Switch has always been a mixed bag for me. I was never a fan of the DS and 3DS era of Nintendo handhelds, so I felt like it was always a step up over those, but then again in many ways it's not. Like the 3DS had a stronger first party presence IMO, and the DS had the best 3'rd party support. By comparison it has always felt like the Switch has had too much of a focus on the same few big Nintendo franchises right now with far too much lazy 3'rd party shovelware. Indie games has always been it's main thing, and there's only so many of those that are really high quality. That and it's been REALLY showing it's age lately, with even some Nintendo exclusives clearly struggling to play smoothly on the console (such as the latest Pokemon games for example), and AAA 3'rd party support has always been very iffy at best, only a few major publishers releasing the occasional Switch port for the most part, and most of those ports feel like they've been struggling to run on the console for a while now.

Yes, the 3DS has a much stronger games library. Most of Nintendo's important franchises don't have any original game for Switch but Nintendo focused on a few games like the Switch port of Breath of the Wild, the Mario Kart 8 port and Animal Crossing. The Switch shop is like a mobile phone store regarding third-party games and the few third-party ports that it gets are seriously downgraded. On top of that, the awful hardware and joy-cons and even Nintendo's games struggling to run on it like Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and 3 and even the exclusive Pokemon games.