Microsoft bought Zenimax/Bethesda

[Wolfstorm321]

I'm neutral about this purchase. Personally, I think that Bethesda should focus in DOOM, and release a new title each 2-3 years.

I think that Bethesda should forget about TES VI. Instead, ZOS should focus in a ESO II title, which could fix the horrible rotation-based combat.

If ESO have true melee, and graphics are on par with at least BDO, I would be satisfied.

 

The single player Elder Scrolls series should be abandoned. Just look at Skyrim. What is the use of having a powerful SDK, if most mods are retextures or armors?

Yesterday I came across a term which literally synthesizes the Skyrim modding experience: "skybaby". The skybaby believes there is only Skyrim, and Tamriel does not exist. So you have Sonic island, but dont have the other provinces available.

Seeing from a content-oriented perspective, its much more business to have ESO II and to dump the single player series.

 

Now, about this fear of mods being turned "illegal", I think you should not worry about it. Many mods in this site features rape, which would be illegal in many countries.

[Mr. Otaku]

I couldn't really care at this point. I'm too burned out mentally and physically for any of that corporate shit. If this Microsoft thing turns out okay, then good. If it crashes into a ditch which is more likely the way i see it then, good riddance. Bethesda hasn't been putting up an acceptable performance for a while now, so they either kick themselves into shape again or kick themselves out of business. Or maybe the Microsoft money will help them stay afloat despite creating radioactive garbage for the casual masses who couldn't give two shits in the first place.

[Canaris]

Fallout is dead, i dont care about Elder Scrolls or DOOM so... I dont give a fuck tbh. 

 

[RitualClarity]

51 minutes ago, Canaris said:

Fallout is dead, i don't care about Elder Scrolls or DOOM so... I don't give a fuck tbh. 

 

Fallout isn't dead... it was MURDERED.  It didn't die a slow and natural death (looking at you Duke Nukem) It had plenty of life. A vibrant following of dedicated loyal gamer that loved the game. Even with all the stupid bugs and crazy issues they kept on coming and buying the game regardless.  It was MURDERED by complete incompetence.  Lying about bags and Rum. Lying about bug fixes and features. Fucking up again and again simple bug fixes by REINTRODUCING THE OLD ONES BACK AGAIN!  Instead of fixing them slowly.

 

Bethesda has been such a shit storm that someone was bound to buy it., and I say have at it. I seriously doubt any other current developer would be able to fuck the game up any further. Sure there might not be mods, and have added micro-transactions but haven't seen any other developer stoop so low as to lie about a fucking bag or Rum that they charge a premium price. I know of no other developer that reintroduces bugs back into a game after fixing them months later while fixing others. I would have never thought that I would wish that a fucking game would come up that actually functioned and worked as my criteria for a decent game. The dam fucking bar has dropped so low and Bethesda has led the way IMO.

 

 

Mainstream game companies have been real shitty and have been even brought up law suits and such for their micro transaction and such but nobody I can think of has the level of bullshit that Bethesda had.

[LesboIsBesto]

So many people scared of Xbox fuckin shit up, if anything this means Xbox could make Bethesda release their games in less buggy states for starters. Also unless yall been living under a rock, you should know Xbox don't even do exclusives anymore lmao. All their shit on Windows 10 and they put all their 1st party games on Steam and they are moddable there (I replaced the MCC background UI with a lewd Cortana pinup mod found on Nexus). Plus Xbox has already stated they intend to honor all current platform deals like Deathloop as a PS exclusive and ES/Fallout still multiplatform. Also don't forget how more mod friendly Xbox is than PlayStation with Skyrim SE & Fo4 lmao. Its nowhere near PC level ofc but still, PlayStation more likely to be scummy if they bought Bethesda than Xbox.

 

Xbox has been forgoing the whole exclusives, "my console better" route for a while now, that's why they release stuff on PC and made "Play Anywhere", they pushing crossplay & the Game Pass, & made xCloud for mobile as well as those rumors they want Game Pass on the Switch. They don't care where you play, they just want you to play their games because the money is moving from hardware to software & the more platforms their software is available, the more money & fans they get. They not gonna trash all the goodwill they been gettin by keepin longtime Bethesda franchises away from PlayStation or other PC stores.

 

If i'm wrong in the future, then hell yeah i'll eat my words & shit all over Xbox like I do with Bethesda over Creation Club, the dead engine & Fallout 76 but until then, I see no reason to be upset by this deal. Also the Game Pass worth even hella more now with Beth games comin to it & the other perks like Discord Nitro & Funimation memberships.

[landess]

On 9/21/2020 at 4:35 PM, RitualClarity said:

They can't block those games from Steam users. Not in any real way. Those that own the game currently. Only games that get removed are those that Steam is legally required to remove and I can't see any legal reason for that to happen. (Legal reasons being something was done against the law)  I can see Steam really fighting tooth and nail against that.  Future purchases however, might be something to be concerned with. Remember when Origin pulled their games from Steam?

I have a couple of games myself on Steam that cannot be bought on Steam anymore, yet I can download and play them without issue. I think it's funny EA has reintroduced games to Steam, while still needing to go through the Origin client. They should just be honest and stop selling games because it's our data they really want - the payment for games is just a cover   

 

Buy outs from companies like Disney can also have an impact on IP rights used by game publishers/developers. So they basically get the ability to profit from their hard work ripped from them. This is why licensing an IP may sound good, but it can always bite you in the ass. Steam somehow has contracts that allow them to continue servicing games they lose the rights to sell and this helps give them 'moxy' as a service to use. I was so worried they would go under when I first started using them, but now, I feel pretty comfortable. Of course Physical Media is the way to go, but things have changed and many disks are just 'receipts' allowing one to download from an online site anyways.

 

The thought of having to pay a monthly 'service' fee is the one thing that concerns me about MS, everything else is just either I'll like something or I won't - so that hasn't changed.

[Zor2k13]

Yet another career youtuber video showing another starfield leak and a release date for 2021.

 

 

[Sillius_Maximus]

58 minutes ago, Zor2k13 said:

Yet another career youtuber video showing another starfield leak and a release date for 2021.

 

 

Of those career youtubers showing purported leaks of upcoming games, how many times have they been right or wrong?  Granted i definitely like the pictures im seeing, and the general # of mentions of starfield does seem to be increasing..

[RitualClarity]

3 hours ago, landess said:

I have a couple of games myself on Steam that cannot be bought on Steam anymore, yet I can download and play them without issue. I think it's funny EA has reintroduced games to Steam, while still needing to go through the Origin client. They should just be honest and stop selling games because it's our data they really want - the payment for games is just a cover   

 

Buy outs from companies like Disney can also have an impact on IP rights used by game publishers/developers. So they basically get the ability to profit from their hard work ripped from them. This is why licensing an IP may sound good, but it can always bite you in the ass. Steam somehow has contracts that allow them to continue servicing games they lose the rights to sell and this helps give them 'moxy' as a service to use. I was so worried they would go under when I first started using them, but now, I feel pretty comfortable. Of course Physical Media is the way to go, but things have changed and many disks are just 'receipts' allowing one to download from an online site anyways.

 

The thought of having to pay a monthly 'service' fee is the one thing that concerns me about MS, everything else is just either I'll like something or I won't - so that hasn't changed.

I too was worried about Steam going under. I had a game or so on it when it first started. I hadn't used it or gave it much thought and lost the needed info email and such to recover when I decided to use it seriously a few years ago. I thought it was a fad! Little could I imagine it was a wave of the future (also they didn't have a good library of games they created at that time.. not a large one at least)

 

Monthly services aren't so bad. I was given a subscription to Origin and found it wasn't too bad considering I can play any game on their increasing list anytime (provided the time downloading it.. can't blame them for my slow internet.  I have done so from time to time with enough frequency and such that It is a reasonable cost.  Can play games without worry if I like it or not beyond the time and effort to get it downloaded.  I don't end up having shit games i my library etc.  The only difference is ... onnce the company is gone or when they decide to change or even remove games... I am SOL.  Unlike Steam. I have at least one game (I believe 4~5) that they stopped selling due to the Origin pulling out of Steam.  I like that STeam as a company realized the shit that other companies might do and created a licensing agreement with those games companies that they sold games for, to make sure that once it was bought... it stayed available (barring legal issues etc which is fully understandable)

 

The one downside is in order to have the game to play after you decide to stop the subscription etc (perhaps your finances are bad at this tiem) you have no games. That and in order to keep the game available you end up having to pay .. on top of what you are paying for subscription!  Origin at least gives you a discount for the purchase for those that subscribe. However to be honest, I haven't liked any game they have created enough to buy it since the subscription (I already have whatever I wanted from their collection... many are on Steam... lol)

[RitualClarity]

2 hours ago, Zor2k13 said:

Yet another career youtuber video showing another starfield leak and a release date for 2021.

 

 

that is a "stragitic leak" from Bethesda/MS to stimulate sales for the upcoming Xbox  release and to hopefully help recoop some of the money MS shelled out for Bethesda IMO at least.

[landess]

6 hours ago, RitualClarity said:

recoop some of the money MS shelled out for Bethesda IMO at least.

This makes me wonder about a few things: First, we know the CEO and board members at Zenimax will give themselves a nice fat bonus. What does this do to the stock values of Zenimax though? I don't see the value going up making it hard to sell those stocks now Bethesda is no longer part of the equation. Does Zenimax have to buy out any stocks with the monies gained from Microsoft? How much stock was traded right before the sale was announced (insider trading)?

 

Kinda the same thing in reverse for MS, although I doubt this purchase made as big a % difference in the MS stock value after acquisition.

 

Big companies playing with stockholder money - yeah, like I trust that if not on the 'inside'.

[Celedhring]

On 9/28/2020 at 4:29 PM, Kendo 2 said:

This thread isn't even in the same zip code as 'Microsoft buys Zenimax'.

 I know. *eats chili*

[RitualClarity]

On 9/28/2020 at 2:29 PM, Kendo 2 said:

This thread isn't even in the same zip code as 'Microsoft buys Zenimax'.

That's ok... this section of the site isn't even in the same city as a gaming site.. lol

[winny257]

49 minutes ago, Celedhring said:

 I know. *eats chili*

too much of the good, I mean Chili. ?

[NickNozownik]

New TES and Fallout games were fucked anyway, I had absolutely no interest in buying this complete and utter garbage. I just want to see some decent train wreck, some good old dumpster fire. Microsoft + TES = mountains of wet, hot, steaming trash. I think. I hope so. At least there will be something new to laugh at.

[phillout]

On 9/27/2020 at 5:32 PM, winny257 said:

no, who over a GamePass plays does not install these games on his PC.
More than 100 games are already available in the Microsoft GamePass, I do not know how it works, I only know that even the savegames are saved on Microsoft Cloud.
 

Steam also uses cloud to keep saves for some games supporting this feature. Keeping saves in a cloud doesn't mean you don't have the game installed.

 

Here, have some reading on the subject.

 

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-xbox-game-pass-works

 

"Unlike Sony's subscription service, PlayStation Now, Xbox Game Pass allows you to download and install the games locally on your console, so you won't have to stream them from the cloud. "

 

 

 

As for the deal itself, I ain't gonna be jumping to any conclusion before I see at least first results from this buyout, but I tend to be more optimistic since nothing can be worse than Zenimax management. At least there is a slight hope, but they won't be getting any preorder money from me - not that they did before, I've bought Fallout 4 only on a cheap sale a couple of years after the release and I've never paid them a penny for F76 trash. I'm not losing anything by waiting anyway.

[cozmo1]

Did this really happen? -------Yeah it did. One of the biggest hits in electronic gaming 9 years running is a mere shadow of itself. And not because of it's fan base,...or is it?

Just like athletic sports, motorsports,or a hobby it has moved into the realm of bigger business,damn what the customer wants. Today you get to pay to play all the off shoots of the Skyrim franchise.

Only because you have no choice.What about those of us that want to "out right own what we pay for" and "do with it as we please for our personal use"?

We'er screwed.

Microsoft aquiring Bethesda is the death knell of those of us that wish to own what we pay for. The  21st century business model is to sell a service...not a product...and you'll never have any control over whatever.

If we as a consumer except this, it is our own fault.

[Just Don't]

20 hours ago, cozmo1 said:

Microsoft aquiring Bethesda is the death knell of those of us that wish to own what we pay for. The  21st century business model is to sell a service...not a product...and you'll never have any control over whatever.

You talk like Bethesda wasn't milking Skyrim or FO before being acquired by Microsoft. Damn do you even remember horse armor DLC?

And no, people won't go silent into this new games as a service thing. It has been proven already that singleplayer 100% offline titles sell and are well received (even in console platforms). For the casual segment of the market things like Stadia, mobile gaming, 24/7 online or paying for online services may be the norm, but for the computer player base (which is also the part who happens to mod the shit out of their games) it's nothing (do you remember when Microsoft wanted to charge for online in PC?).

[RitualClarity]

On 9/29/2020 at 4:16 PM, LesboIsBesto said:

So many people scared of Xbox fuckin shit up, if anything this means Xbox could make Bethesda release their games in less buggy states for starters. Also unless yall been living under a rock, you should know Xbox don't even do exclusives anymore lmao. All their shit on Windows 10 and they put all their 1st party games on Steam and they are moddable there (I replaced the MCC background UI with a lewd Cortana pinup mod found on Nexus). Plus Xbox has already stated they intend to honor all current platform deals like Deathloop as a PS exclusive and ES/Fallout still multiplatform. Also don't forget how more mod friendly Xbox is than PlayStation with Skyrim SE & Fo4 lmao. Its nowhere near PC level ofc but still, PlayStation more likely to be scummy if they bought Bethesda than Xbox.

 

Xbox has been forgoing the whole exclusives, "my console better" route for a while now, that's why they release stuff on PC and made "Play Anywhere", they pushing crossplay & the Game Pass, & made xCloud for mobile as well as those rumors they want Game Pass on the Switch. They don't care where you play, they just want you to play their games because the money is moving from hardware to software & the more platforms their software is available, the more money & fans they get. They not gonna trash all the goodwill they been gettin by keepin longtime Bethesda franchises away from PlayStation or other PC stores.

 

If i'm wrong in the future, then hell yeah i'll eat my words & shit all over Xbox like I do with Bethesda over Creation Club, the dead engine & Fallout 76 but until then, I see no reason to be upset by this deal. Also the Game Pass worth even hella more now with Beth games comin to it & the other perks like Discord Nitro & Funimation memberships.

that is a very sound business practice that they are doing. They are moving to subscription/service system which means they don't give a flying ass fuck what is being used to play their game.  I don't see that changing soon, in fact I see them doubling down on this. This is also a reason I see them getting Bethesda / Zenimax. More game IPs that they can control and make money off of. After all many of those game IPs that are part of Bethesda are quite mature with a (at least previously ) loyal following. That translates to many more subscribers or ... if you perfer, purchases. Either way, $$$$ in their pocket. I say have at it. Can't do much worse and likely will at least demand functionality before releasing (looking at you Vault 76) and some level of competency. Not talking about great, epic level works but not fuck all don't give a shit mentality level work won't be accepted. 

[RitualClarity]

On 9/28/2020 at 1:59 AM, Urabis said:

"TES 6 - XBox Exclusive for one year"

i can smell it

If they create an epic level game that is on the level of Morrowind/ Oblivion etc... quality RPG like Witcher level work.. I say have fucking at it.  Don't give a fuck. Want it early, get an Xbox,  It isn't like that would prevent you from eventually getting the game. perhaps at a sale.. After all it is up to them if they want to hinder their profits by limiting the game to an exclusive instead of offering it across the various options. In other-words if they want to be stupid.. let them be stupid. Same goes for if they don't make it modable like previous TES games.

[Urabis]

On 10/29/2020 at 1:41 AM, RitualClarity said:

If they create an epic level game that is on the level of Morrowind/ Oblivion etc... quality RPG like Witcher level work.. I say have fucking at it.  Don't give a fuck. Want it early, get an Xbox,  It isn't like that would prevent you from eventually getting the game. perhaps at a sale.. After all it is up to them if they want to hinder their profits by limiting the game to an exclusive instead of offering it across the various options. In other-words if they want to be stupid.. let them be stupid. Same goes for if they don't make it modable like previous TES games.

 

Turns out they want to be stupid because apparently they made that move to exclusivity.

[gg4was]

so crazy. apple and microsoft and disney expanding their reach even further. whats next?

[Contessa]

I'm not too bothered by it for the short term but long term I'm very concerned. Sure Phil Spencer is open to keeping Bethesda games on PC and everything seems fine but what happens when Phil is gone some day? What if they get another Don Mattrick in there? These are the questions that make me nervous for the future.

[Velerion]

On 7/2/2021 at 5:29 AM, Contessa said:

I'm not too bothered by it for the short term but long term I'm very concerned. Sure Phil Spencer is open to keeping Bethesda games on PC and everything seems fine but what happens when Phil is gone some day? What if they get another Don Mattrick in there? These are the questions that make me nervous for the future.

 

Will not happen; Game Pass already gotten too big. Removing them from PC from their own Platform (Windows 11) would make Microsoft a laughting stock. And Consoles are no longer the go-to market as is windows; because it's quite simple:

 

It's the could baby!

 

Microsoft makes the most money nowadays out of cloud-services, keeping things on one platform is not in their interest at all.

[Guest]

The Shift of the Gaming industry to Subscription models is bad and Microsoft and this Game Pass thing. Why don't we just deliver Microsoft the whole world on a silver plate? This problem with this little group of companies, Disney/ Microsoft etc. is becoming a threat. It's not like it's the best period Economically anyway...

If you would tell me 10-20 years before i wouldn't mind but economy becomes much more strict as time goes on, as do bills, taxes and it's not like the majority makes more money.

I am gainst this Subscription (Connect to our servers to play Single Player) thing. It tries to violate ''Ownership'' Not to mention the matter of ''Privacy'' it's not their business what we see, what we say. Even if that's their whole goal.

Edited July 3, 2021 by Guest