Rumor: MS is looking into acquiring EA
- Thread starter Rollins
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I have no idea what they can and cant do. I'm not even saying any of this is true. I'm just speculating seeing as the rumor has set expectations and hasn't been debunked yet. It would be one hell of a move though. The Xbox brand would be a titan.
OfficialSono
XBL/PSN/Nintendo - OfficialSono.
Val is right in regards to the sports titles the NFL and Premier League for example make money from sales of their product to limit that to one console so to say wouldn't work and they would want out after the current deal expired. Why would any sports franchise want to give there name to a brand only product? wouldn't make sense.
This is what I stated. PC is HUGE. That's essentially a brand new market for the sports games. Not to mention how many consoles would be sold due to this kind of news. Sports nuts would flock to the Xbox platform or PC. Not to mention Gamepass. Play all the Madden, Fifa and NHL you want for $9.99 a month. Done! Then, you follow up with a price drop on the X. $450 - $400.
Let's face it; this happened before during the days of the PS2. It's how the Dreamcast was pummeled into non existence - EA went exclusive to Sony's platform. Rolled Sega up dry, put them away wet.
It would be a very aggressive move but one that we know Microsoft can afford to do. Long term, it would be worth the investment. Can you imagine the foot hold an announcement like this would make? Very interesting to think about...
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What if they’d get the exclusive to the “Madden” name and but continue to release a football game to other systems?
Would it be more acceptable if it was three month prerelease similar to how cod gets dlc exclusives or yearly like destiny dlc?
Long term is one thing, 10 years or more into the future when you don't even know what the gaming landscape will be at that point seems a bit much.
Secondly their biggest exclusive licenses would be gone, NFL, FIFA etc would be gone and another publisher would be able to snap them up, those things can't be exclusive to one platform. Spending what would likely be close to $50 Billion to get Battlefield, Need for Speed and Bioware with it's damaged reputation hardly seems like a good use of resources.
Not only that but there could be a danger of Madden being gone completely because the NFL were the ones that initiated the exclusive publisher deal and if EA had to give that up it and the NFL wanted to continue with just one NFL game a year that would mean the end of Madden all together.
This seems more like fanboy fan fiction than anything else, you wouldn't see a ton of PlayStation buyers jump ship for Battlefield and Dragon Age, there would be some but it would hardly be enough to make it worth spending that kind of money on. Most would just say "oh well there goes battlefield I'll play one of the other FPS MP games out there"
I would counter your "only playstation gamers don't want this to happen" with anyone who wants a healthy gaming industry doesn't want this to happen. MS spending that kind of money to see no return for what could be more than a decade if ever while swallowing up one of the biggest multiplatform publishers would be very damaging. A failed move like that could end up knocking MS out of the console business all together.
MS would be better served allowing people with more vision to take control when it comes to their studios and start treating games as art and allow them to tell stories vs trying to do everything with what seems like corporate detached mindset.
You also seem to be ignoring that MS already owns exclusives in the FPS, third person shooter, two racing games and a fantasy RPG categories, they need to diversify their exclusive line up not just make more of the same type of game which is what those EA games would do.
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If it made Playstation and Nintendo niche products then shouldn't everybody hope that it doesn't happen?
Funny, you call my post fanboy fiction when your ENTIRE post is full of the same -- speculation. You have no idea how something like this would be marketed, you have no idea how many would jump ship to the Xbox platform, you have no idea how many would be in favor of a move like this (I've read many on various forms who have no problem with it, if it were to occur..), you have no idea what the numbers are involving a hypothetical acquisition like this (you stated that merely a few franchises alone would cast around $50 billion, when in actuality the acquisition in it's entirety would cost that much...you're simply wrong here...) Essentially what you've posted is a hypothetical response that sounds more like YOU, than the pulse of the gaming industry. In other words; fan fiction from the opposing side. I respect that. I don't agree though.
I never said there wouldn't be risks with something like this. Of course there would be. But if the numbers look right and they can come to some kind of agreement I personally don't believe a move like this would be bad for consumers or the industry at all. Quite frankly, it would level the playing field and rid the mantra of "no exclusives" which is exactly what MS needs at this point.
Many stated that the new Ip's on Gamepass would hurt first party releases under the MS umbrella, but it hasn't. They've acquired even more subscriptions based on this news, and they haven't even begun. Once the initial roll-out of this begins, subscriptions services will see a major increase. I think that's a pretty logical assumption.
Again, when speaking on hypotheticals in a discussion like this, neither side is free of "fan-fiction." We're both speculating. Thanks for the response though.
You are the one that said people not wanting this to happen are fanboys that's why I responded with that. The amount I posted is speculation as is this whole stupid thing lol, I'm basing that on what Andy says it's likely to cost which would be around $45 billion which is far more than MS would make by going through with it.
As far as new IP's on GP you have no idea how much it would hurt because it hasn't happened yet, no new AAA game has launched since they announced that the new games would come out on GP day one and it's going to be a hard year to tell how successful it is with the games they have announced so far. The older titles on GP were already out and frankly tanked before the service was even introduced and when new first party games release they are likely to see people sign up for one month and then cancel after finishing the game so that is a risk and it also makes me think MS will invest even less on non multiplayer centric games because of that and really push for games as a service type of titles which they've basically said they'll be doing.
I had GP and while the volume is there to say it's a good value I had no desire to keep my subscription once my trial ended because most of those games are older and I had already played what I wanted to. I'll admit it would be harder to retain me as a subscriber anyway because the vast majority of the multiplat titles on there are for the base X1 with no X1X enhancements which means I can probably get the superior version on my PS4 Pro if I'm interested in them. I gave Halo 5 a shot and didn't like it, the story telling has taken a huge nosedive compared to the older titles and I already had purchased Gears 4 and Halo Wars 2 when they were on sale so the service really didn't offer me anything.
It seems you are getting yourself worked up into thinking this thing might happen and that just seems silly to me, I wouldn't want Sony to purchase EA either, EA is toxic in many ways and while they aren't the evil villain many make them out to be they surely aren't a company that would do much to take care of MS's current problems, they would simply add redundancy to their lineup vs filling in any void that potential customers feel they have. Let's put it this way, you can already buy all of EA's games if you own an Xbox so how does MS buying them really benefit you as a consumer or MS other than MAYBE taking the games away from playstation owners? And again doing that would basically erase almost any value EA has because the majority of their worth comes from non xbox sales.
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Microsoft would make their money back if they monetized everything like they did with Minecraft and added another tier to Game Pass for licensed sports games. If they think they’ll be on phones in 3 to 5 years, now’s the time to buy them. I could see most sports games translating well to portable in a few years.
That said, despite the fact they could make their money back with an EA purchase, it’s not where I think Xbox gamers should want Microsoft to invest their time and money. Microsoft already has IPs they don’t leverage. They need studios. EA has them but they’re mostly dedicated to making certain franchises that all gamers will continue to get. Getting EA on Microsoft’s streaming, play anywhere and having a Game Pass/EA Access combo plan makes sense in terms of a partnership.
Meantime, we all know Microsoft is going to be aggressive. Would be nice to see them use that aggression to create games we weren’t already going to get.
I'd also like to see that aggression talk actually produce something soon, that whole line about doing the hardware first was BS they could have and should have done both hardware and software, it's not like software wasn't something they knew they needed and the people making hardware aren't working on games..
The thing about the sports games is they can't have an exclusive license for any of the leagues so that just can't happen and that also kills a huge amount of the value that EA would bring.
My cousin Frank says this is a done deal.
Eh...I dont think it matters. Microsoft would have exclusive marketing for all. The only online version (because they now mandate crossplay) 11 months exclusivity (release madden 2018 for PS4 a month before Madden 2019 on Xbox) and Ultimate Team and higher resolutions.
Theres ways to manage those titles to sell better on Xbox.
Eh...I dont think it matters. Microsoft would have exclusive marketing for all. The only online version (because they now mandate crossplay) 11 months exclusivity (release madden 2018 for PS4 a month before Madden 2019 on Xbox) and Ultimate Team and higher resolutions.
Theres ways to manage those titles to sell better on Xbox.
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Depends really. In that situation, Microsoft would get 100% of the profits of the game sold for Xbox and Windows Store...but only 70% of the profit of the same game sold on Playstation, Nintendo (lol) and Steam.
So assuming the really good situation where 3 million copies of Madden 2019 sold on Xbox, 1.5 million on Playstation, 1 million on PC outside the Windows store and a really generous 500,000 on Switch..3 million copies on COMPETITORS platforms...that's the equivilant profit valueof 2.1 million Xbox copies.
I'd surmise merely by making Madden PC/Xbox exclusive, Microsoft would over a 2-3 year period, gain back 1.5+ million more sales on Xbox...which means more Xboxs sold, which means even more of their other first party games sell, even more users subscribe to Gold. Ditto again for the Windows store....that's worth more than the remaining 600,000 you will never get.
A rising tide raises all (Xbox) ships. It also diminishes the competition significantly.
What would Sony do? They'll either have no Madden or FIFA or they'll be forced to spend their budget on a first party knock off with no licenses to placate the userbase. So budget is reduced elsewhere....less games, less competitive.
You can say the same thing about Disney films....they can make more money by making their movies available everywhere. Instead they're going to open their own streaming service because they want a bigger share than what Netflix and Amazon appropriate. And Disney has the content to do that ...content like Star Wars, Marvel and now a significant number of Fox's former properties (Avatar, The Simpsons etc)....content they got from expensive acquisitions.
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Disney and Xbox is an apples and oranges situation. Seems like Disney wants to have their own $100 billion streaming service. Doubt it’s going to be restricted to a singular piece of hardware.
If Microsoft really wants to go big time in gaming, they’re going to have to get off of a singular console (successfully which their Windows PC store isn’t). They’re at a crossroads. They don’t want to lose their XBL subscriptions so they don’t want to devalue their console too much but they would gladly take 70% of sales they aren’t making right now.
I think Microsoft should release their PC games day and date on Steam with crossplay, crossbuy and Game Pass in return that Steam takes less than the 30% split. Microsoft doesn’t need to buy Steam out but they have to improve the relationship.
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Disney isnt restricting anyones hardware....but they probably will have a Disney box/dongle for your TV.
The point i was making is that Disney feels they can start to retract support from existing streaming services to bolster exclusive content of their own service.
Imagine Netflix with no Star Wars, Marvel or Pixar. Not at all unlike a console with no EA games. And yet crazy as it is, Disney is passing up over 100 million subs to start at zero.
I guess they feel that netflix taking a percentage of simply providing a storefront for products they make would best be lining their pockets.
Yes, MS would take 70% right now...as I said there would be a transition period. Maybe the remainder of this generation even. The gloves will come off though when it suits them.
Either that or Sony would have to get those devkits out real soon of they want some sports games at launch.
As for Steam, well evidently EA and Ubisoft and Activision have their own storefronts now outside of steam for the very reason that they felt it was cheaper to do that then give Valve 30% for basically being a store.
The only way Microsoft and Steams intentions will ever align is if Microsoft buys them. Until that day comes they arent going to do Steam any favours.
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It's surprising that nobody has really mentioned the biggest reason why Microsoft buying EA isn't going to happen. Because EA knows they can make almost the same amount of money and keep their self worth by just doing what they're doing now. You potentially let Microsoft make all your games exclusive and you're killing the cash cow.
Keep doing what you're doing EA, releasing games on the PS4 and you're set for life. The attach rate of the PS4 is astronomical. It's the reason why Sony doesn't need EA Access. They're gonna sell the games anyway because PS gamers buy their games at a greater rate than anyone in history. 75 million consoles sold and counting. The numbers will continue to grow. PS4 is on it's way to smashing the PS2's sales record. Why would EA mess a good thing up?
Keep doing what you're doing EA, releasing games on the PS4 and you're set for life. The attach rate of the PS4 is astronomical. It's the reason why Sony doesn't need EA Access. They're gonna sell the games anyway because PS gamers buy their games at a greater rate than anyone in history. 75 million consoles sold and counting. The numbers will continue to grow. PS4 is on it's way to smashing the PS2's sales record. Why would EA mess a good thing up?
They very likely could aquire EA but making the sports exclusive aint happening and making games like battlefield exclusive is suicide.
