https://www.axios.com/2023/06/20/exhibit-k-microsoft-activision
Microsoft is resisting efforts to make the contents of the email public
SS: Microsoft wants total control over console and PC gaming.
TLDR: "Microsoft does a capitalism."
I get why it's news, but also, isn't this exactly what publicly traded companies are supposed to do in our current system?
Note that the lawyers are claiming this about the email, and we don't know what the email says.
In my experience, any sentence submitted in an appeal that starts with "The court also failed to consider" is usually a long shot. Especially if it's about stuff like whether certain evidence should be considered or published, because appellate courts almost never modify the decisions of the trial courts.
I see we've already got to the comment without reading the article phase of the fediverse 😞
Its an entirely redacted email...
That's Microsoft's playbook. If you don't offer a better product than your competitor, pull out every dirty trick in the book to undermine them.
God forbid companies actually improve their products? Seriously the greed that has amassed throughout the decades is insane.
From the link:
Yes, but: A Microsoft representative told Axios that the company cannot legally share the email's contents, but that it was sent by Booty in 2019.
That would mean that whatever Booty may have said about Xbox trying to beat PlayStation preceded the company's early 2022 bid to buy Activision Blizzard.
The Netscape playbook, I see.
I look forward to all the nothing that will happen to Microsoft as punishment for this blatantly unlawful behavior.
If game companies would stop consolidating themselves into bigger and bigger corporations, that would be great. The bigger the company, the more profits they need in order to sustain themselves at their size. There is only so much you can profit from games without turning them into microtransaction mess. There must be a sweet spot for game company size so they're able to produce AAA games without needing to add microtransaction to make the game profitable to pay their employees.
Every company wants to be a monopoly and not have to compete. Not sure why this is surprising especially considered Microsoft's historic monopoly on desktop.
Still waiting for the ground breaking next gen game bursting with creativity released from one of these Microsoft acquisitions.
I haven't followed the hype cycle but is it looking like it's going to be anything more than Daggerfall in space? Which is a great core concept, but it's not exactly "bursting with creativity".
Daggerfall itself was a level of creativity we haven't seen in the gaming industry since. Obviously they aren't just reskinning that game cause it's OLD. To say that Starfield is not creative because it is "just" copying Daggerfall sounds a little tonedeaf.
It was a genuine question, because I'm honestly not keyed in to the marketing buzz, and I'm generally disinterested in big publisher marketing. Also, "Daggerfall in space" wasn't a dig; I absolutely love No Man's Sky, but that game to me, in terms of ethos and mechanics, is Space Daggerfall in all the best ways.
I should also stipulate, I'd say "creativity" to me means exceptional aesthetic qualities, writing, or mechanical novelty. There are many very good and fun games that I wouldn't call "bursting with creativity". I love Skyrim, it's an incredibly entertaining, beautiful, and compelling game; but it was a step back for the series in terms of innovating the genre the way Daggerfall and Morrowind did.
But yeah, to be perfectly honest, with small developers who treat their workers well like Motion Twin, Supergiant, or Hello Games, I can't really get invested in any Bethesda games beyond being kind of curious.
That's totally fair, apologies if I came across a bit blunt. And to be fair: the jury is definitely out on whether this game is "bursting with creativity". My point was just that it being heavily influenced by Daggerfall does not imply a lack of creativity, if anything quite the opposite. That said this is Bethesda and their track record for creativity certainly seems to be on a downward spiral..
They did a real good job with Redfall after the last purchase. And Starfield keeps getting delayed... gotta release good exclusives to eliminate anybody lol
And Starfield keeps getting delayed
To be fair to Microsoft, that was because (like most Bethesda games) it was a complete mess and needed a lot more QA work. I'd rather it get delayed rather than released broken.