Anarchy Reigns finished, delayed by Sega anyway
Jet Set Radio making its way to Vita
Diablo 3 patch coming next week
Elder Scrolls Online plans to sort out bugs with long beta
Super Monday Night Combat launches Turbocross mode
Microsoft & Vivendi Universal
by Steve Gibson, Jan 24, 2003 10:18am PSTWell it looks like the rumors have now been pretty close to confirmed, Microsoft is indeed in talks with Vivendi Universal about a possible buyout of their gaming division for $2 Billion. Chump change really. This is according to investment bank Investec which isnt really a place for spreading rumors.
Sources told Reuters in mid-December that Vivendi had had at least preliminary conversations about the potential for a deal with Microsoft, Sony Corp. and Electronic Arts Inc. Van Rhee, in his note, reiterated past speculation that Vivendi has been seeking a price of anywhere from $1 billion to $2 billion for the games unit. Most financial analysts have characterized the lower end of that range as more likely.The number of developers and publishers who would be affected by this is... a lot.
Comments
When a candidate in some foreign country rigs an election and wins, the people don't laugh and say "haha smart business move haha"... I'm not totally against this whole buyout thing, it could turn out either way, but christ, some people have to develop actual arguments instead of just giving someone the nod for being "smart" for a move that could potentially hurt more gamers than it helps.
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But many a former rebel will be taught anew how to do game journalism. Heh. Let me boil down the essentials for you:
"Criticism of Microsoft = BANNED"
I have to say this but i really hate those ppl who totally backed up halo for being xbox only and how cool the controls were, and how it was meant for the xbox. I mean come on does slower responsive aiming really improve the game. Its like a devoloution. Its like converting from mouse to keyboard movement back in the days of doom.
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(hello! :D)
at least we still have 3drealms.
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1.) Mouse and Keyboard. This makes a HUGE difference to any hardcore FPS player. Arguing this point honestly only shows that you don't know what you're talking about.
2.) Mod support, and player developed single player campaigns. The only aspect of Q3 I played regularly were modifications of the original game. Namely, Rocket Arena. Let's not forget, the ever popular Counterstrike started as a game mod as well.
3.) Halo shows many signs of being rushed to release so that X-Box would have a strong title for launch. Many of the later levels are repetitive and the game is fairly short anyway. This is a poor development philosophy. The publishers have said (in their comments about Halo 2, for instance) that they simply didn't have time to include many of the features that they wanted to. This is because of the late switch to the X-box as well as a result of Microsoft's buyout.
This is a comment on one game, in particular. I'm not going to play swami and say how horrible this kind of buyout will be for PC games IF (let's not forget, it's still IF) this happens.
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One thing that I find sad in this forum is the large amount of people that seem to measure success in money. And the same people seem to take pride in that "their" company makes more money than "the other company"(you know, the one that you´re constantly bashing). To me that´s nothing but pure stupidity. How can consumers be glad about companies growing to enormous sizes resulting in lack of competition. And before you try to write me off as a Nintendo fanboy I wan´t you to know that I´m not. Actually, Sega is my favourite game-developer. And the answear to your question is no, I´m not an idiot. I know that Sega wouldn´t be in the business if it wasn´t for the money. And I don´t think that making money is bad.
But unlike you(mentioned earlier) I also value in what way they make the money. For example: when I buy food I try to buy food that has been produced in a way that doesn´t damage the environment. And in the same way I value game-companies that tries to offer something more than the "next bigseller".
I don´t deny that money talks. It does, when you choose to buy a game you also choose which qualities you value...
ps. For the same reasons I don´t think that The Sims is the best PC-game, Britney Spears the best female singer and Super Mario Bros. the best console game.
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but the fact remains, look at what happened to HALO when MS bought bungie..dont you think thats what MS's objective is here? buy up some games that will get people on the xbox? halflife 2..tf2..ect. meaning, MS shifting people to console/xbox
IF MS cared about PC gaming, like i keep hearing you saying, they would have made the PC version of halo & xbox version at least a couple months near eachother. ms wants gaming on the xbox, and heres the reasons why:
-tighter control over EVERY aspect (dev/multiplayer/servers/xboxlive!/subscription ect)
-'easier' development
-taking a thorn out of ms's side, they dont want to have to mess with gaming and their OS's, just throw gaming onto a whole seperate thing to itself. new versions of their OS's will be eating more cpu/memory..more problems with gaming ect.
-more money for MS (you control basically ALL aspects of gaming if everything is shifted to xbox platform.
if sony is into this shit too, then fuck them also. but at least they dont have the control over PC gaming as MS does.
listen, i love consoles. i love the freedom to be able to just come home from /school/work whatever and hit up a game of halo or some shit...but i love the freedom for me to also do that, but on my PC. i dont want MS controlling and making me pay outragous amounts of cash for every fucking thing.
gaming is getting EXTREMELY POPULAR. it is a goldmine for anyone who controls the majority of it..and MS is out to seek that. as with the OS market.
http://www.quartertothree.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2010
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My point is that the anti Microsoft dogma has nothing to do with the game industry, publishers or what games you play. All companies look at there bottom line, vervindi in many ways is a worse parent then Microsoft. At least they're not a fonder of the DMCA, the MPAA and the evil that issues the media companies.
-Jon
You know what? I own a PC and all three consoles. Do I care that MS bought out the second largest publisher in the world? Nope. And if I didn't HAVE an Xbox, I would sure as hell buy one after this news.
I think it would have been STUPID if MS would NOT have bought them.
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The companies affected by the buyout lose self-determination. Microsoft will leave them alone only in so far that they meet deadlines and budgets acceptable to Microsoft.
Questionable and "edgy" content will never be released under a Microsoft banner. You will _never_ see a "Grand Theft Auto" style title out of a Microsoft owned shop.
Computer game companies are no different than computer consulting companies. They are only as good as the people that work there. Which is why stakeholders are well paid, coddled and given employment contracts to sign. The artists, mappers, skinners, foley, and others have turnover. A large number of people leaving can psychologically impact the rest of a development team. It's no longer a bunch of friends making a really cool game. Suddenly it's more like showing up for a twelve hour shift at Target.
Yes, many of your favorite titles will change. Blizzard is undeniably the crown jewel of the acquisition. Starcraft Ghost WILL become an XBox exclusive.
World of Warcraft will nicely supplement the ass-kicking that Asheron's Call 2 is going to receive by EverQuest 2, PlanetSide, and Star Wars Galaxies.
Diablo 3? Starcraft 2? You can't argue that the future of these games will be changed. Development efforts, release dates, content flavor, and ultimately, platform.
Feh. As one comment read, at least id, VALVe, Raven, Epic and 3D Realms are still independant studios. Raven has fat LucasArts contracts to sustain them (And the SOF franchise + Quake 4), id is... well, id. VALVe is flush with cash from arguably the biggest game success on the planet, Cheater-Strike, and Epic is raking in the Unreal dough. Hopefully more new, small independent developers can emerge and thrive in the face of Microsoft's monopolist acquisition zeitgeist. Those nutty Swedes at Dice as well as CroTeam have a nice start.
I like games with big guns and blood. Big guns and blood are not PC. Microsoft is PC.
Shooters that require the use of a gamepad are useless. They just suck. A PC gamer of any skill will find the gamepad interface to be clumbsier than using a screwdriver with shoes on your hands.
</frustrated>
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Hell, it's STILL BETTER than AOL/Time Warner..... now that's a juggernaut.
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GG, U just Got Billed
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RIGHT TO HELL!
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Too many people pirating... too much of a loss for those who develop the games.
R.I.P. Sierra and Blizzard. I won't be playing RTS's on my consoles or be paying for Battle.net when I already pay 50 dollars a month for broadband access.
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If it was sony buying, people would be on here yelling about how sweet halflife 2 on the ps3 would be, and how great stacraft ghost would be. And how Sony makes such great business deals.
But its microsoft, the console maker they hate. So instead they are on here saying the gaming industry is going to fall. Microsoft is taking over the world. Monopolizing everything. Killing small children. please...
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Provided they don't get in and monkey with the successful processes these companies have for making their games...Blizzard doesn't need suits telling them how to make the next Diablo game, and that is the only thing that worries me about this potential deal.
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Someone elaborate a bit, k thankx.
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http://www.shackspace.com/~fred_garvin@shackmail.com/evil_666.jpg
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So let me get this straight:
There was some unbelievably kick-ass version of Halo, that was unlike the world had ever seen. Only a few people ever saw it. Then Microsoft came in, and said "Hey! You guys better stop working on that RIGHT NOW. From here on out, we're making a new game called Halo! No! Don't give me any of that crap you've already made! We're started from the ground up and our goal is to try and create a Starship Troopers clone in 3D!"
Give me a goddamn break. Games change over time, developers eventually realize their original idea doesn't practically fit within the timeline, budget, or confines of their project.
Remember, Quake 1 was supposed to be a story about a Thor-like guy who threw hammers, and you could do things like duck and roll in 3D. That changed into a weird Satanic 3D shooter with a plot as thin as Saran Wrap holding the whole thing together. Yet the game is still recognized as revolutionizing PC gaming and being THE title to launch online FPS gaming.
So sometimes, you don't get what you originally imagined, but what you get is pretty damn good, too.
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Ignorance. Thats all I can say. For those who don't know (simply because Sony is a Japanese company not covered by the US Press), Sony is just as evil as Microsoft - if not more. Every damn thing you buy probably gives money to Sony in the way of royalties - every CD you buy, every DVD you buy, every CD or DVD player you buy, every VHS tape you buy, the list goes on and on. Plus, on top of that, they dominate the Media market with Sony Pictures, and their Sony Music divisions.
Get a clue.
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but vivendi is who?
blizzard and sierra?
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Yep xbox3 specs were leaked and it will come with lasers to destroy foreign consoles and install MS explorer on any american consoles that come out.
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2'nd biggest Publisher of PC Games goes to the X-Box.
They didn't really have anything big on the PS2 so Sony won't really loose titles with this.
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This news just irritates me, and I don't know why. Well, the upside is the competition and subsequent lowering of prices, though. ;)
I can't imagine why MS ever bothered to enter the console wars. What the hell is their grand goal? To invade every home? Since they control the PC market, they thought they'd attack the other end by masquerading as a gaming machine for a while, then increase functionality until IT becomes a computer, too?
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http://www.gamemarketwatch.com/news/item.asp?nid=2631
and
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?section_name=pub&aid=1143
apparently an announcement may happen soon. While this may be rumor, a lot of financial companies are getting pulled into this 'rumor.'