I think the Ubisoft rumors are complete bulls***. Ubisoft has 2...maybe 3 times the number of employees of Microsoft's entire gaming division including the addition of Bethesda. Don't see a Ubisoft, EA, or 2K happening nor do I want to. Those publishers are able to make whatever games they want to and are all financially healthy. In contrast, most Bethesda single player games outside of their Elder Scrolls and Fallout IPs didn't have a market which is why they were trying weird stuff like Youngblood and 76 while taking moneyhats on their new single player IPs to off-set the risk.
The point is we shouldn't want it to happen even if its inevitable and there is nothing we can do.
And it also doesn't mean Microsoft is evil and needs defending.
I don't prefer they buy Sega over Ubisoft. I prefer they both stay independent and so should everyone.
Nah. Entire market is restructuring and due to that, a lot of companies are finding themselves out of position. These companies either need to restructure and re-strategize or sell. We saw that with Bethesda figuring that they were either going to have to turn single player studios into GAAS studios or sell. It's ironic hearing people complain about "consolidation" and how this is making gaming worse when in actuality, over the past decade the middle class of gaming died along with a lot of AAA diversity. Market has been consolidated when less than 10 companies made all the money and 2 of them (Valve and Apple) weren't even making games or helping developers. 1 of them (Epic) makes most of their money off of 1 game. Activision makes the majority of their profit off of 1 IP. In contrast, Bethesda will be better under Microsoft and making games for a subscription. Where they were at, studios like Arkane and Tango were at risk of being consolidated.
Microsoft investing in a subscription model has created a platform where AA games and non GAAS single player games can survive. There are more developers and investors entering the industry than are getting bought up because there is more opportunity. When Sony has had complete market dominance in the AAA space 2 out of 3 generations, has 0 competition in more than half the world and was able to have 100s of exclusives they never funded, nobody thought it was a problem. Now that there's competition, a new model and more opportunity for games that were struggling to find a market to exist, everyone's suddenly worried about "consolidation". Vertical consolidation can lead to better products. Horizontal consolidation (like Microsoft trying to buy Sony) would be anti-competitive and we shouldn't want that.
On that note, both Capcom and Sega have struggled to find markets for most of their IPs. Capcom actually put themselves up for sale this generation and didn't get takers. They were saved by the success of Monster Hunter World. Even RE has under-performed except for the RE2 remake. Monster Hunter World is more of a GAAS single player game. These companies will have to either re-structure, find success with GAAS or partner with a subscription. Many will align with subscriptions (either through partnerships or vertical consolidation) and that will actually create a landscape that allows for more diversity of AAA games.