Travis | Cheerful Ghost

Microsoft Has Purchased Zenimax Media, and Now Owns Bethesda, id, MachineGames, and More

In what may be the biggest gaming deal ever, Microsoft has purchased Zenimax for $7.5 Billion. That's almost twice what Disney paid for Star Wars, just to put that in perspective.

This means they now own Bethesda Softworks, Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, ZeniMax Online Studios, Arkane, MachineGames, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog, and Roundhouse Studios.

This gives Microsoft a huge swath of exclusives going forward. While they've said they're excited to bring these games to Xbox and PC, they haven't specifically said that new games from these studios won't come to PS5, but it's very doubtful they'd pay $7.5 billion and keep making games for their competitors. While they're now ironically publishing a few timed Sony exclusives, it's a fairly safe assumption that when the Elder Scrolls 6 finally releases, for example, it'll be Xbox and PC exclusive. In, y'know, 2035.

I really only want to play most of the games that this acquisition affects on PC, so this isn't a huge hit for me, but this definitely cuts into the argument that Sony has the best exclusives. Right now, they definitely do, but give it a couple years and things will change.

What's most surprising about all of this honestly, is that it didn't leak. Nobody was talking about this at all.

https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2020/09/21/welcoming-bethesda-to-the-xbox-family/?ocid=Parterships_soc_omc_xbo_tw_Video_buy_9.21.1

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/21/2020 at 03:56pm

https://i.imgur.com/3IaBXRa.gif

Thoughts:

* Everyone with Game Pass should be elated by this news. So much more value here.

* Microsoft still could release games in a standard way on Playstation and if they kept Beth games to Game Pass streaming/sub exclusively that might be worth this deal entirely. This seems like a Game Pass play to me but I could be wrong.

* If Bethesda _NEEDED_ to be purchased, and I'm not sure it did, I'd prefer Microsoft due to it's focus on PC games and Steam lately. At some point new Beth games might be exclusives but at least they will come out on PC? I'm not sure how exclusive they will be given what Microsoft has done with Mojang as an example.

* Microsoft bought Beth for 7.5 billion in cash. Just you know, had it in the couch cushions. Dear Euclid that's some couch!

Questions:

* Does this mean John Carmack might be allowed to engage with iD Software again? I certainly hope so, he needs to be around in some form to talk about the classics.

https://twitter.com/ID_AA_Carmack/status/1308069857913720832

* Will Microsoft focus on existing games IP or have Beth push for some new stuff? I love Beth but one note is they haven't dropped a ton of new IP lately and I think that might be good while they keep the hit train rolling.

* What's going to happen to the Beth.net launcher in the mid/long term? Will all our purchases transfer to the Microsoft store or something? I think Mojang still has it's launcher but didn't we all get Minecraft on the Microsoft store?

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/21/2020 at 03:58pm

Prediction: Microsoft will purchase Epic Games in one year or less.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 09/21/2020 at 04:00pm

"Does this mean John Carmack might be allowed to engage with iD Software again?"

Isn't Carmack owned by Facebook?

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/21/2020 at 04:00pm

(In)sane wish: Microsoft focuses iD Software and releases a Doom II.5 that is a follow up to Doom II in the old engine with some new modifications releasing an entirely new 3 chapter game Mega WAD.

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/21/2020 at 04:02pm

> Isn't Carmack owned by Facebook?

Employed, yes. With that, he had a beef(suit) with Beth/Zenmax over VR. It's caused a rift and hasn't allowed him to be involved with classic iD games such as the recent Quake soundtrack re-release.

https://kotaku.com/quake-soundtrack-features-shenanigans-between-bethesda-1845084718

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/21/2020 at 04:14pm

Another question for folks WITH Game Pass. Will you buy Beth games moving forward now that they are coming date and day to Game Pass?

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/21/2020 at 04:24pm

"Future Bethesda games will be on Xbox, PC, and "other consoles on a case by case basis.""

https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1308062702905044993

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/21/2020 at 04:36pm

https://twitter.com/Obsidian/status/1308044609604341763

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 09/21/2020 at 06:08pm

I have Game Pass and I love Game Pass, and I am not elated. It's going to lead to less choice for the player which I'm never happy about.

I'm not sure I'll always keep a game pass subscription going. I may just renew it once in a while to play some games then let it lapse. So I imagine I'll buy new games I'm really into, especially since Bethesda games are not short.

And as I'm sure Will will agree-- physical is always better.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 09/21/2020 at 07:16pm

I'll get Game Pass when my physical backlog is 0

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 09/21/2020 at 07:38pm

WRT Carmack: "I think Microsoft has been a good parent company for gaming IPs, and they don’t have a grudge against me, so maybe I will be able to re engage with some of my old titles."

https://twitter.com/ID_AA_Carmack/status/1308069857913720832

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/21/2020 at 07:38pm

> I'll get Game Pass when my physical backlog is 0

Hahahaha, so as soon as I get Game Pass then. 🤣

> I have Game Pass and I love Game Pass, and I am not elated. It's going to lead to less choice for the player which I'm never happy about.

That's a great point Travis, I suppose I was thinking about a particular user. So there is that $25 a month Series S that comes with Game Pass for two years and this news seems like great news for them.

My hope is that physical games go strong well into the era of services like Game Pass and game streaming. I mean, I own Doom 64 digitally on Switch and I'm still gonna get it from Limited Run this Thursday! ❤

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/21/2020 at 07:40pm

Some have also said this is bad news for Sony and I suppose in the long term it could however I think this is abysmal news for Stadia. Why would Microsoft license anything to Stadia at all moving forward? The more companies like Sony and Microsoft buy up studios is horrible news for upstart game streamers. Odd to say Stadia is an upstart, but it is as it is relatively new and doesn't own any game IP I'm aware of.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 09/21/2020 at 09:00pm

I haven't heard a ton of great stuff out of Stadia. And with Game Pass (especially the 25 a month series S financing with Game Pass) there's not a ton of reason to pay for the 4k Stadia. Game Pass is closer to a Netflix for Gaming than Stadia, and with Stadia you never own anything really and are dependent on a constant internet connection.

So in short yeah I agree.

Thinking more about how it affects me personally, none. Except perhaps that Zenimax under Microsoft will be run a bit more... eh... nicely? I love Bethesda's games but the corporate side of things has gotten some reasonable criticism. MS could be better or worse here and I wouldn't be surprised with either.

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/21/2020 at 11:20pm

In an unrelated yet related thought. I’ve been hearing rumbles of a 4K Switch, which is welcomed news. That said I hope Nintendo always has a physical card option in each of its consoles. Physical Switch ownership on that platform is incredible and could be one way to differentiate as Sony & Microsoft move to a digital only world.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 09/23/2020 at 09:24am

I read that MS CEO said they plan on leaving Zen/Beth alone. There are a couple articles on www.gamefaqs.com if you want to look (it's where I get my daily gaming news and vote in the poll).

As for the 4K Switch, I seem to recall reading or hearing about the possibility of a new Switch model coming out some time, though I'm not sure of the source. Honestly, the Switch is the only console I care about. Though keep in mind I'm not considering PC to be a "console," because it's not functionally exclusive to gaming and video streaming, etc.

So, I'm pretty much strictly a PC/Steam player and I don't really have much of a reaction to this news (MS & Zen), because I don't believe it's going to affect me, at least not very much or in a negative way. Here's hoping that MS provides Zen/Beth w/ a decent Quality Assurance team! I know MS is a software giant, but I've always viewed MS favorably. I loved every new version of Windows as I saw it improve over the years and I'm pretty happy w/ Win10.

Oh, I don't think MS did much to Mojang/Minecraft. You can get the Win10 version of Minecraft, which is the same as the current console versions, but you can also get the Java edition. There are significant differences such as performance and the fact that Java is the one for mods. Yes, there is still a Mojang launcher, though mine only has Minecraft (Java) and Minecraft Dungeons (which I think I pre-ordered via the MS Store).

If you want to join this conversation you need to sign in.

Cheerful Ghost Radio Episode 82: High Score Review (first half)

In this episode we're dusting off our favorite old consoles as we take a trip back to the early days of gaming, in our review of Netflix's new documentary series, High Score. For this review, we covered the first 4 episodes.

Tale of the White Wyvern Season 3, our first Race, Starts Now!

Tale of the White Wyvern Season 3: The Wyvern Race is now open! In this season, we're changing up the goals a bit. This time, it's a race to see who can get three Wyvern kills first. Once that threshold is met, the season will end and the leaderboards will be filled out.

To help speed this up a bit, we're also increasing the number of forest fights and PvP fights, as well as giving you a bonus to experience gain and gold find.

Come join the race, whether you plan to be competitive or just want to play a second game!

Cheerful Ghost Radio Episode 81: Tale of the White Wyvern First Anniversary Celebration!

It's hard to believe that a year of Tale of the White Wyvern is behind us. In this episode of Cheerful Ghost Radio, we're looking back at our favorite moments from Wyrmdoor, and looking forward to what's ahead.

Thank you all so much for playing Tale of the White Wyvern!

Tale of the White Wyvern Update: The Citizens of Wyrmdoor Are Celebrating the Wyrmdoor Jubilee!

Hello adventurers!

Tale of the White Wyvern launched last year on July 28, 2019. We are celebrating our anniversary with an in-game event in which the Wyrmdoor residents celebrate the town's founding!

From now through August 3, you can get some great bonuses as with all of our events:

+11 forest fights.

+1 fishing.

+3% to forest fight gold.

+18% to forest fight experience.

But the main attraction is the Wyrmdoor Jubilee itself. Head over to Jubilee to play Ring Toss, Wyvern Smash, and Bean Bag Throw for some awesome prizes, and talk to Ilsa to learn more about the event.

Helga, as always, keeps the history of Wyrmdoor available for all who are interested, so check in with Helga to learn more about the founding of Wyrmdoor and the Wyrmdoor Jubilee.

And stay tuned, tomorrow is the one-year anniversary of the Tale of the White Wyvern launch, and we have an episode of Cheerful Ghost Radio dedicated to talking about our first year.

Cheerful Ghost Radio Episode 80: The Life Update, Summer Edition

The year 2020 has been with us for approximately 57 years now. Experts are still at odds on the specific amount of time it's been. But we're still here, and we're back this episode to tell youwhat we've been playing and watching in the absolute hellscape of 2020, and also to dish about the Fallout TV show that may be filmed if there's ever a time when it's safe to be around people again. Plus , we talk COVID-19, Black Lives Matter, and other things hitting us hard in this nightmare of a year.

FYI: There are Final Fantasy VII Remake spoilers from 47:25 to 52:50 so please skip that part if you want to play this and haven't.

Plus Travis mentioned Daveed Diggs and how amazing his hip-hop group was, but couldn't remember the name. The group is called Clipping: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipping_(band)

Cheerful Ghost Radio Episode 79: The Rise of Skywalker Blu Ray Review

In this episode of S̶t̶a̶r̶ ̶W̶a̶r̶s̶ ̶R̶a̶d̶i̶o̶... ahem, Cheerful Ghost Radio, we're here to talk all about the home release of The Rise of Skywalker and see if our opinions have changed since December.

You may notice we are a bit late with this one, and as you listen you might notice from date cues that we recorded this a while back. With people across the world protesting for a great cause, our podcast seemed less important, and we didn't feel the timing was great for releasing new episodes. We hope listening to this can give you a fun reprieve from reality, but please don't let us, or anything, distract you from the importance of what's going on around us.

The Humble Fight for Racial Justice Bundle is Another Great Way to Grow Your Backlog and Support Racial Justice

The itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice has just finished up, raising over $8.1 million, and now Humble is out with their version of this.

There are currently 50 games and 25 books, too many to list out here, but a few highlights are in the image above.

This is a starting price of $30 if you want to get the goods, but it's well worth it. Head over to Humble and support a very worthy cause!

https://www.humblebundle.com/fight-for-racial-justice-bundle

Support Racial Justice and Get Thousands of Dollars Worth of Games for $5 (Minimum)

There's a massive bundle on itch.io that will probably continue to grow. At the start, a few days ago, there were only a few dozen games in this bundle. Now there are 740+ works total (not all games, but a huge majority) from 560+ creators. All proceeds go to two non-profits fighting for the cause of racial justice, and I can't think of anything more worthy of our support.

I'll let the itch.io copy speak for itself:

We live in a time of racial injustice, inequality, and police brutality against black people. We hope that everyone takes a stand in any way that they can. We’ve partnered with creators from all across our platform to support organizations that are working directly with those affected.

We reached out to our community and an unprecedented number of creators donated over 740 projects to be part of what we believe is the largest bundle ever. Over $3,400 of paid works are available Pay-what-you-want with a minimum donation amount of $5.

All proceeds will donated to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and Community Bail Fund split 50/50.

This is a great way to start your library on itch.io if you haven't used it much before, and it's a cause worth supporting. Please give as much as you can and get some pretty great games.

Grab the bundle here:
https://itch.io/b/520/bundle-for-racial-justice-and-equality

Cheerful Ghost Radio Episode 78: The Episode Where We Tell You The Future of Gaming

You may not know this, but we recently unlocked latent psychic abilities, and in this episode we are here to tell you exactly what's coming to gaming in the next ten years. But this episode is not the most important thing right now.

While we usually boost ourselves on social media when we drop a new episode, but this time we aren't doing that. Right now, the world is hurting. If the pandemic wasn't enough, the senseless murder of George Floyd has resonated throughout the world, and this seems like the wrong time to try to boost ourselves. We hope this episode provides you with a welcome distraction, but we aren't going to try to spread it around. Instead we'd like to boost those who are working to make a difference right now.

Instead, we want to boost those who can make a difference.

If you want to protest or help financially, or just help by boosting others, there's a cardd on cardd.co that's being updated with resources to help out.

https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/

The Obama Foundation is working on the My Brother's Keeper initiative to change how policing is done.

https://www.obama.org/

The NAACP and Southern Poverty Law Center are always working toward racial equality and stamping out hate, and can always use your support.

https://www.naacp.org/

https://www.splcenter.org/

And finally, check out the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag on Twitter for more info on the current up-to-date happenings of these protests, and help spread the word.

This is a stain on our history, but it is also a source of hope. What happened to George Floyd is inexcusable, and the conduct of the police during the protests is as well, but the rising tide of support for Black Lives Matter and meaningful police reform is a heartwarming reprieve from the suffering.

We usually try to stay away from politics on Cheerful Ghost, but this is too important. We 100% stand with Black Lives Matter, and hope we can do our part to spread awareness and support.

Travis4

547 Posts