He kept getting beat up in Crash Bandicoot 1 on ps4 he had a meltdown instead of breaking his ps4 he broke his Labo.

Somerville pre-install is up, 10GB.

Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ:TTWO) CEO Strauss Zelnick said he has no issues with the Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) planned $69 billion purchase of Activision (NASDAQ:ATVI) and most of his competitors feel the same way.

"Well there's one big company that is, but apart from that no," Zelnick said in a Tuesday interview with CNBC. "Generally speaking I don't think people are particularly concerned because it remains a fragmented business" Zelnick said in a Tuesday interview with CNBC where he said he told regulators he had no issues with the deal.

Zelnick didn't identify which company he was referencing, though reports have indicated PlayStation owner Sony Corp. (SONY) has been critical of the transaction. Microsoft last monthcomplained about the influence of videogame console rival Sony on UK regulators, as the country's competition watchdog reviews the deal.

"We don't really think the competitive landscape is meaningfully effected in the event that that merger goes through," Zelnick said.

While Zelnick said he saw a 90% chance the deal would go through when it was announced, those odds appear to be lower now.

"It's hard to say what will happen at this point," Zelnick said. "If you asked me when it was first announced I would have said I thought it was about 90% chance it would be approved," Zelnick said. "It appears as though it's less than that."

Take-Two CEO Has No Concerns with Microsoft's Planned Activision Deal (NASDAQ:ATVI) | Seeking Alpha

Regardless if this deal closes or not;  the gloves are coming off moving forward.  No more playing Mr. Nice Guy.

What exactly does Sony think MS is going to do with that $70b if the deal doesn't go through, just put it back in the bank? I'm not sure Sony wants to find that out.

Yeah, I think so too, Microsoft is going to be pissed off if Sony is the only reason for the deal being blocked, the Mr Nice Guy act will vanish quickly. They've spent years doing the Mr Nice Guy stuff precisely for a scenario like this and if it fails, Lol.

Activision-Blizzard will be furious with Sony too, they want to sell, and Sony may be the only reason why Kotick and others miss out on a huge payday, I really don't know what kind of relationship Sony expects out of Activision if they block the deal.

At minimum I think CoD will go back to Xbox marketing, as Xbox will likely pay for that stuff again, if they can't acquire then it's probably back to moneyhats and timed exclusivity along with acquiring some of the smaller publishers.

If it's blocked only due to CoD which is crazy, then I don't know what the line is, anyone with a huge IP can't be acquired? Take-Two? Ubisoft? EA? Leaves only the Japanese publishers left really, Lol.

Seeing how Sony's been acting on the issue, they want to find out. 

No industry leader wants to be toppled and I have no doubt Sony doesn't see MS, despite being such an insanely large company compared to Sony, as much of a threat. They see the overarching MS as nothing more than daddy opening up his wallet for his small gaming division compared to themselves. 

So I doubt Sony is thinking much of the repercussions of them being the sole reason the deal falls through. 

Would be hilarious if Microsoft just paid for CoD to launch day one into Game Pass if the deal falls through.

Though it'd cost a fuckton, I'd guess near $1bn just for a month in Game Pass.

I wonder what kind of boost to performance on console this will allow

The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess the proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft under the EU Merger Regulation. The Commission is concerned that the proposed acquisition may reduce competition in the markets for the distribution of console and personal computers (‘PCs') video games and for PC operating systems.

The Commission's preliminary competition concerns

The Commission's preliminary investigation shows that the transaction may significantly reduce competition on the markets for the distribution of console and PC video games, including multi-game subscription services and/or cloud game streaming services, and for PC operating systems.

In particular, the Commission is concerned that, by acquiring Activision Blizzard, Microsoft may foreclose access to Activision Blizzard's console and PC video games, especially to high-profile and highly successful games (so-called ‘AAA' games) such as ‘Call of Duty'.

The preliminary investigation suggests that Microsoft may have the ability, as well as a potential economic incentive, to engage in foreclosure strategies vis-à-vis Microsoft's rival distributors of console video games, such as preventing these companies from distributing Activision Blizzard's console video games on consoles or degrading the terms and conditions for their use of or access to these video games.

When it comes to multi-game subscription services and/or cloud game streaming services in particular, the Commission is concerned that, by acquiring Activision Blizzard, Microsoft may foreclose access, to the detriment of its rival distributors of console and PC video games that offer such services, to its own PC and console video games, which are key for the provision of the nascent services of multi-game subscription and cloud game streaming.

Such foreclosure strategies could reduce competition in the markets for the distribution of console and PC video games, leading to higher prices, lower quality and less innovation for console game distributors, which may in turn be passed on to consumers.

Finally, at this stage of the investigation, the Commission has concerns that the proposed acquisition may reduce competition on the market for PC operating systems. In particular, the Commission is concerned that Microsoft may reduce the ability of rival providers of PC operating systems to compete with Microsoft's operating system Windows, by combining Activision Blizzard's games and Microsoft's distribution of games via cloud game streaming to Windows. This would discourage users to buy non-Windows PCs.

The preliminary investigation suggests that Microsoft may have the ability, as well as a potential economic incentive, to engage in such conduct vis-à-vis rival providers of PC operating systems.

The Commission will now carry out an in-depth investigation into the effects of the transaction to determine whether its initial competition concerns are confirmed.

The proposed transaction was notified to the Commission on 30 September 2022.

The Commission now has 90 working days, until 23 March 2023, to take a decision. The opening of an in-depth inquiry does not prejudge the outcome of the investigation.

Mergers