Microsoft is buying Zenimax and Bethesda Studios

[Frostbiter]

https://news.microsoft.com/2020/09/21/microsoft-to-acquire-zenimax-media-and-its-game-publisher-bethesda-softworks/

 

Saw this news this morning. I'm honestly not very happy about this. As a player of both Elders Scrolls and Fallout I know that Bethesda and Zenimax haven't exactly had things together in the last few years but M$ only gets worse and worse every freakin year. Been very unhappy with them since the latest Windows 10 update changed something and now my USB wireless devices won't wake from sleep anymore. Even my XBox One Wireless Controller PC adapter stops responding in the middle of my play sessions now. What are everyone else's thoughts?

[MunkiLord]

I like it. When it comes to video games Microsoft is easily the most consumer friendly of the three console manufacturers.

 

Game Pass was already the best deal in gaming, now it's only going to get better. The value is amazing. Microsoft pushes cross platform play, their backwards compatibility is second to none, and they've done well with Minecraft since they bought that. 

 

Nintendo creates artificial scarcity in their hardware and with the new Mario bundle is doing it in software now too. It's a manipulative tactic.

 

Sony has some of the best first party games no doubt, but their habit of paying off third parties for exclusive content is annoying as hell. They make it incredibly difficult to impossible to unlink my defunct EA account from my PSN profile. And they had to be dragged kicking and screaming into crossplatform play. 

[Frostbiter]

The Xbox One is a decent system but I game mostly on Windows 10 and have had nothing but problems with the cross platform games. The Microsoft Store frequently can't keep them updated unless you open the Store app and keep it open and it reserves that HDD space until the stalled install finishes or you go in and fix it with HDD partition tools. Not a big fan anymore.

[MunkiLord]

9 minutes ago, Frostbiter said:

The Xbox One is a decent system but I game mostly on Windows 10 and have had nothing but problems with the cross platform games. The Microsoft Store frequently can't keep them updated unless you open the Store app and keep it open and it reserves that HDD space until the stalled install finishes or you go in and fix it with HDD partition tools. Not a big fan anymore.

I get that, I've been overall pretty lucky in this regard and haven't faced most of the issues I hear about. The majority of my gaming is on PC as well, I'm most excited about all the new games coming to Game Pass.

 

I should clarify my original statement though, when I say I like it I mean it in the context of acquisitions. In general I'm not a fan of industry consolidation(any industry) because in the long run it almost always leads to a worse experience for consumers.

 

If Microsoft can use this to negotiate with Sony to get their first party games on PC faster(or at all for some) then this would be a huge win. God of War for PC? Yes please.

[Frostbiter]

No worries, man. I get why they're doing it and I too see it as a good thing for Microsoft, Xbox and Gamepass. I was just planning on skipping the next Xbox in favor of the PS5 since I can get all the Xbox exclusives on Windows now, if I buy a next gen system at all.

Edited October 5, 2020 by Frostbiter

[MunkiLord]

I'm hoping to skip out on a console next gen myself, I have a PS4 Pro but I've only use it for a very small number of games and it's been untouched in like five months or so. I'm considering the next Xbox only because of the 0% financing option they are offering. I don't really need it, but the payment thing includes Game Pass and the One X has a 4K Blu-ray player and I've wanted one of those for a while.

 

If Sony starts releasing all their big games on PC, even if we have to wait a year or so, then Nvidia is likely to get all my money.

[Techwright]

Has M$ got a sequel or reboot/makeover/explansion of Freelancer in the works?  No?  Then no, I'm not in favor of M$ doing anything in the PC gaming world, until they do. 

[WanderingAries]

I'm on the "OMG more/better Fallout content" (cause of the $$$ behind them now), but at the same time, I Really hate the clicky nature of my XB controllers. It's super distracting and I enjoy the PS layout much better. Hell, now that the Switch allows it, I've finally swapped my buttons on the controllers there to match the "standard" layout (N always has been that way), so now I don't have to get mad when I accidentally use a consumable accidentally in a PS game after having played on the Switch. :p

 

IDK, beyond that, my XB is really just there because of exclusives (Halo console even). Same for the N consoles I suppose, even if the Zombi game plays better on the U than anything else because of the based tablet BoB and such.