On Wed, 21 Feb 2024 08:11:40 -0800, Dimensional Traveler
<
dtr...@sonic.net> wrote:
>On 2/21/2024 7:42 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>>
>> It's good to see that, despite its acquisition by Microsoft a few
>> years ago, Bethesda hasn't changed. It's still milking its old IPs for
>> every penny it can get.
>You say that like it wasn't the point of the acquisition.... (Why would
>MS need to buy another company to produce new and original games?)
Well, one reason might be so they could deny Sony those new games by
making them exclusive to Microsoft's own console. If Doom 6,
Wolfenstein 7, Prey 2, Dishonored 3, Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5
were all going to be only on the XBox, it makes the Playstation look a
lot less attractive.
Alternately, it could have been a pre-emptive purchase to ensure that
Sony was going to use the same tactics on Microsoft.
Microsoft is also betting heavily on its online subscription service
(GamePass) so they'll want a lot of exclusive games there to make
their product more attractive than its competitors.
Honestly, the Zenimax acquisition was a very good deal for Microsoft;
they got Bethesda, Id and Arkane for a relatively cheap $7.5 billion
(the Activision deal cost them ten times that, in comparison). This
was companies with experience making big, successful games for both PC
and XBox. While I'm not crazy that they DID buy Bethesda (we need more
medium-sized publishers, not less), it seems a better fit for
Microsoft than the ActiBlizzard acquisition (although the latter was
mostly made to capture its mobile division than for its PC/console
games).
Not that Microsoft has been doing so well out of the deal. "Redfall"
was something of a flop, "Starfield" is underperforming, and
Bethesda's reputation is tanking. Its "Fallout SPECIAL edition" isn't
helping. Whether these shenanigans are due to Microsoft's meddling or
problems with Bethesda, I've no idea.
But, like I said, Bethesda had a reputation for milking its franchises
long before they got bought out by Microsoft, so I have my suspicions
where the blame really lies...