Darwinianevolution on 30 January 2018
| Asriel said: If Microsoft buy EA, it won't be the case that EA's major licensed titles suddenly become Xbox/Windows only. Think about it from the perspective of FIFA and Disney - are these giant entities going to be happy that the audience for their licensed videogames has been reduced by 10s of millions? Or will they pass those licenses onto other publishers who are able or willing to address a large, multi-format audience? Microsoft are more of a software and services company than a hardware company. It's easy to forget that sometimes because Microsoft have done a disappointing job lining up in-house or exclusive software for Xbox One. It makes more sense for Microsoft to expand their activities in gaming (as they are doing) by offering their content, their software and services, on more platforms. If they do buy EA, I'd expect the major licensed EA titles to remain multi-format, at least in the medium term. The effect on Nintendo will therefore be minor. It may even be beneficial - Microsoft might be willing to have more EA titles on Switch, by way of helping to create more competition with Sony. Ultimately, the more interesting question is: what happens with the IP EA own themselves? Would big projects like Anthem, Titanfall, Mass Effect etc be Xbox only in future? |
This is true, but I don't know if they becoming a multiplatform company would compensate for the loss of the XBOX live fees. I mean, if they are charging for an exclusive platform and its exclusives, but then making all of their games available to the rest of their competition, wouldn't they be compeeting against themselves?
FIFA profits are bigger than XBox Live profits, aren't they? Can someone bring numbers?
