Game News “Microsoft Should Sell Its Xbox Branch” Phil Spencer Steps Up After Analyst Remarks
Published on 02/28/2023 at 17:30
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Lately, Microsoft has been sparing no effort in explaining to analysts why the acquisition of Activision Blizzard would be beneficial for gamers. Nevertheless, some industry observers are struggling to be convinced. Worse, she thinks Xbox’s days are numbered. So, “Xbox is going to die”? Phil Spencer speaks.
Summary
The president of Microsoft wets the shirtSerious consequences in the event of failure of the takeover of Activision Blizzard?Phil Spencer assures him, Activision is not vital for the Xbox
The president of Microsoft wets the shirt
Microsoft’s media week has been complicated. However, everything seemed to start under the best auspices. On Tuesday February 21, 2023, Xbox organized a press conference in Brussels focusing on the proposed acquisition of Activision by Microsoft. The event followed a private hearing on the takeover review file conducted by the European Commission. During this day, the president of the Redmond firm, Brad Smith, brandished two contracts signed by industry giants: Nintendo and Nvidia, ensuring on the one hand the arrival of the Call of Duty series on Nintendo consoles. for 10 years (if the takeover takes place) and, on the other hand, the immediate arrival of Xbox PC games on GeForce Now. The operation aimed to reassure regulators fearing a hypothetical exclusivity of the famous franchise while transforming a former opponent into a new partner.
Serious consequences in the event of failure of the takeover of Activision Blizzard?
Despite the efforts of the American giant to convince the press, the fallout from the event was not as positive as expected. A few days ago, the site specializing in video game business news, GamesIndustry, fired red bullets at the Redmond firm through an opinion piece written by the site’s editor, Christopher Ding . A paper reviewed and corrected since, because of factual errors appearing there. The author later acknowledged on Twitter “not having done a good job” and delivered a new version of his article. The next day, the site published another post, this time by Rob Fahey. Both opinions were heading in the same direction: that of a “noisy but meaningless” press briefing, with “concessions that do not address the main concerns”. In addition, Activision’s way of communicating is compared to a “rhetoric (…) that has won Trump a lot of support in the United States”.
On February 27, it was the editor-in-chief of VGC who expressed his opinion on Twitter (before limiting his account). According to him, “irrespective of Spencer’s words, (…) many industry experts believe that the sale of the Xbox branch by Microsoft is a real possibility if the takeover is blocked”. He adds “I don’t expect that to happen, but I can say with authority that some important people are thinking about it.” On February 18, 2023, Metro.co.uk publishes the opinion of a reader, Taylor Moon, believing that the Redmond firm should sell its Xbox segment to Sony in the event of a failure of the merger.
Phil Spencer assures him, Activision is not vital for the Xbox
For its part, IGN has approached experts to determine what the outcome of the acquisition might be.. The least we can say is that the specialists cannot agree. Windows Central’s Jez Corden also expressed some concerns on Twitter. “I don’t believe that under Phil and Satya the Xbox segment will be closed at Microsoft. But given how Microsoft has killed major products in the past, it’s not ridiculous to ask the question.
I don’t believe that under Phil / Satya Xbox will be shut at Microsoft.
But given how MS has killed off major products in the past, its not ridiculous to ask.
Windows Phone was actively being used by millions when they killed it. Corp didn’t care about that community *at all.*
— Jez (@JezCorden) February 27, 2023
In this climate pointing out certain wanderings of the Xbox file in the takeover of Activision, where some analysts go so far as to mention the sale of Microsoft’s gaming segment, Phil Spencer spoke at Times to reassure fans.. “It’s an important acquisition for Microsoft, but it’s not pivotal for the future. Xbox will exist even if the agreement does not happen,” he explains. Nothing new under the sun since Satya Nadella, the CEO of the company behind Windows, had already announced three months ago that success or failure of the merger, “Microsoft has been the gaming business for decades and will remain so in the future. ‘coming”. The reassuring words were interpreted by some as an attempt to prepare people for the abandonment of the takeover, while other observers believe that Spencer should have said otherwise in order to put additional pressure on regulators. As a reminder, gaming at Microsoft represents 9% of the overall turnover of the Redmond firm. For the past 5 years, all the signs have been pointing in the direction of a major commitment by the American giant to video games (repurchase of studios and publishers), rather than a withdrawal.
According to Ampere Analysis, Xbox’s market share would now be equal to that of Nintendo worldwide (taking into account sales of games, consoles, services). The Redmond firm would also be the only one to experience progress in 2022.
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