Zenimax bought by Microsoft

[WisteriaHysteria]

The funny thing is Microsoft did consider buying Sega back in the 90s before deciding the Dreamcast had death written all over it and made the Xbox instead

And a not insignificant part of that was the OS based on Windows CE. Which was child’s play to crack, and the rapid spread of piracy helped kill the software market for the Dreamcast prematurely.

 

[Phantoon]

And a not insignificant part of that was the OS based on Windows CE. Which was child’s play to crack, and the rapid spread of piracy helped kill the software market for the Dreamcast prematurely.

Although there was no Windows on the Dreamcast itself, it was included on the discs of games that used it.

 

[conchobhar]

And a not insignificant part of that was the OS based on Windows CE. Which was child’s play to crack, and the rapid spread of piracy helped kill the software market for the Dreamcast prematurely.

These are both common misconceptions. Phantoon covered the first, but the Dreamcast's copy protection was broken open because a hacking group stole an SDK and used that to circumvent the code, not because the protection was weak.

 

[Vega]

Microsoft and Nintendo's relationship is... weird. Like they're technically competitors in the console market sure, but Microsoft is surprisingly cognizant of the fact that a switch and an Xbox don't really fill the same niche, and seems more than happy to give things switch releases when the option presents itself.

Despite MS's reputation as a competitor-crushing monopolist they've published a lot of apps on other companies' platforms. I think they've even done a lot with Linux?

I always wondered if it helped that their US offices are walking distance from each other.

We'll be laughing when Disney buys MS and merges it with its subsidiary Marvel's Sony in 2045, bringing all IP mankind has ever produced under one roof. Then the prophecy will be fulfilled and the sleeper will walk again and feast upon the memory of Man.

By then, China will simply declare all copyrights older than 28 years to be public domain. The very thought of that will be so horrifying to Disney that all of their facilities worldwide will simultaneously and spontaneously explode into mushroom clouds. And China knows this and will do it largely for that reason.

 

[Falselogic]

It might be nice for a Bethesda game to come out on schedule for once...

 

[Becksworth]

Despite MS's reputation as a competitor-crushing monopolist they've published a lot of apps on other companies' platforms. I think they've even done a lot with Linux?

A lot of that has to do with the changing of the guard at Microsoft. Nadella has a completely different business philosophy than Gates and Ballmer did looking at Microsoft in the past five years.

 

[Phantoon]

These are both common misconceptions. Phantoon covered the first, but the Dreamcast's copy protection was broken open because a hacking group stole an SDK and used that to circumvent the code, not because the protection was weak.

Partly due to karaoke disc support too! If it just did GD-ROMS it would've probably worked for longer.

 

[Torzelbaum]

An amusing quote from the PC Gamer article on this happening:

if I were Microsoft, I would meddle immediately. I'd put Starfield on the back burner and start making daily calls to Bethesda. "Hey, it's me, the guy who gave you $7.5 billion dollars? Yeah, hi! Just checking to see how The Elder Scrolls 6 is coming along. Not done yet? Okay, I'll call you back tomorrow.

 

[Vidfamne]

Despite MS's reputation as a competitor-crushing monopolist they've published a lot of apps on other companies' platforms. I think they've even done a lot with Linux?

Speaking as a Linux user (luser?), it is the Microsoft Windows analogue of the FOSSilosphere (just look e.g. at the list of distros infested with systemd), and I'd gladly run FreeBSD instead if certain programs of daily necessity didn't take an unironic 10 minutes to manifest themselves in the running X session.

Don't fall for corporate self-polishing -- MS pushing the Windows Subsystem For Linux is obviously a "prestige" move from a position of power where they know that their dominance on the desktop will never be threatened seriously for years on end. I fail to see how it encourages rather than deplatforms a dual-boot installation of Linux anyway (in fairness, wine plays the same role for Linux users requiring Windows-exclusive programs); besides which, please tell me of a single Linux-exclusive program you're dying to run under Windows.

Whatever the case, MS was and remains a competitor-crushing monopolist; this is not exactly a rumour, but was even found in United States v. Microsoft (2001). Though frankly, Apple deserves to be kept in check by no less than MS and Google (because nothing else ever will, at this point).

 

[Voncaster]

Bethesda potentially being MS exclusive does not bother me; as I do not play Bethesda games. I would not like it if Sega (and Atlus) became a MS exclusive company. I play games on Playstation primarily and Mac secondarily. It would mean that I would likely miss out on future Sega and Atlus titles if MS made those companies exclusive to MS.

We'll see. Maybe I'm worried about nothing. But if the video game industry becomes (more of) an IP Arms race, the consumers are the ones who lose out. The consumer will either be forced to buy multiple systems to play their favorite franchises or make tough decisions about games they will and will not be able to play. We're already there to a certain degree, but high profile acquisitions accelerate this trend.

I think MS puts Office and Office Apps on Mac. It allows the MS Office division to get on as many (practical) systems as possible. Its possible MS will operate Bethesda and any other 3rd party studio they purchase similarly. But I would not bet on it.

 

[Octopus Prime]

Y’know, Microsoft is now several billions dollars poorer than at the start of the week, maybe Sega could buy them

 

[Mightyblue]

Buying Bethesda didn't even take out ten percent of MS's cash reserves; Microsoft is a trillion dollar company, they could pretty much buy out anyone they want except for Apple or Google at this point.

 

[Bongo]

And although they've got eight billion fewer dollars, they also now have eight billion more dollars worth of assets.

 

[Phantoon]

The talk with Phil Spencer and Todd Howard was fun. Apparently Morrowind was really hard to fit in the original Xbox's memory. If you every faced a really long load it's because the game was doing a full reboot on the console and not telling you.

 

[Positronic Brain]

So the Bethesda Launcher is being sunsetted, and they are transfering purchases to Steam, not Windows Games. Good for MS. Had this been announced beforehand or is this a surprise?

 

[Violentvixen]

So the Bethesda Launcher is being sunsetted, and they are transfering purchases to Steam, not Windows Games. Good for MS. Had this been announced beforehand or is this a surprise?

Huh, the only thing I ever used this for was Elder Scrolls Online, but I've been on Xbox for years so haven't used it. Looks like it's not changing for ESO though:

Q: Will the Bethesda.net Launcher sunset affect my ability to play The Elder Scrolls Online on PC?
A: No. The Elder Scrolls Online is unaffected by this change.