You can only pick one to survive. Who do you choose? EA, Act/Bliz, Ubisoft (Poll added)

[Alm]

I voted to save EA. Mainly because I prefer their games to the other two.

Must admit, as much as I hear about all the bad that goes on, I don't really research it. I know that Ubi & ActiBlizz have had sexual harrassment cases recently. I guess that's worse than being a cold hearted business. I do hate EA's loot boxes though.

 

[flashn00b]

Honestly, i wouldn't save any of them. In fact, I'd try and bring myself to the minimum safe distance outside Activision's blast radius just to get a glimpse of the souls being released from their clutches.

Ubisoft's death would probably allow for a group of passionate fans to give their own takes on the Might & Magic universe since that IP's more likely to enter the public domain than actually be bought by any other company.

 

[McStabStab]

Activision / Blizzard first for their crimes against humanity (exaggerating but not really).

EA next cause now that Battlefield is less great and I'm over Apex. I think I can barely survive knowing C&C won't come back ever.

Ubisoft stays cause I like Anno 1800, I've enjoyed the two Assassin's Creed games I've played, and other Ubi games still interest me. Only think that irks me is that TENCENT owns 5% of Ubi, so there's that...

 

[WoodenSaucer]

I posted this poll on another forum I'm on, and so far, nobody has voted to save EA. Lol

 

[Brian Boru]

survivors will rise and become the next big AAA monster and the circle of life is complete

That's the thing. Anyone wishing for release from corporate clutches is sadly dreaming. All 3 of the choices were small companies once.

It's a fact of Capitalism that once a company goes public, the focus changes from products and customers to revenue, market share, share price and similar.

However, without the major money influx which going public brings in, what company would be able to develop the AAA games of tomorrow? Take for example The Last of Us 2:

"Early story concepts … in 2013"
"By August 2017 … the entire 350-person team at Naughty Dog had shifted to develop"
"Release June 19, 2020"
"In total, approximately 2,169 developers across 14 studios worked on the game."

No small company could deploy 1/100th of those resources. So let the small guys do what they do best, and let the big guys do whatever—which is mainly to bring gaming from being a small ridiculed nerd pastime to become the mainstream entertainment industry second only to TV. All in about 20 years!

 

[WoodenSaucer]

I just want to say I don't have the time or money to fight for causes in the gaming scene. I buy games based on whether I like the game or not, rather than because I think a company is morally upstanding, or whatever. I pointed out earlier that EA has been given the Golden Poo Award multiple times, because they're a crap company. And a lot of people really hate their trend of microtransactions, loot boxes, and all that stuff.

But when I choose Ubisoft, it's not even because I think EA is crap. It's not because I'm overlooking Ubisoft's sexual stuff and trying to pass them off as a more moral company. It's only because I, personally, like their games more. That's all it is for me. I know a lot of people that fight causes with their game purchases, but that's not me. In my opinion, there are a lot of greater causes to fight out there than game companies.

No small company could deploy 1/100th of those resources. So let the small guys do what they do best, and let the big guys do whatever—which is mainly to bring gaming from being a small ridiculed nerd pastime to become the mainstream entertainment industry second only to TV. All in about 20 years!

Yeah, I think you're right about this. The bigger a company gets, the more they have to start thinking about the bottom line to keep the machine going. I think if you want something outside the box and creative, you have to look to indies these days.

 

[ZedClampet]

Don't vote if none of them are to your liking,

The question was supposed to be about making a tough decision that's really going to be wrong no matter who you pick. You're not supposed protest it. You're supposed to play along

 

[ZedClampet]

..to bring gaming from being a small ridiculed nerd pastime to become the mainstream entertainment industry second only to TV. All in about 20 years!

Welcome to the age of gaming. You're late to the party.

Number of Americans who watch television: 183.5 million
Number of Americans who play video games: 227 million

Only 56 percent of Americans said they watched cable or satellite television. Only about 5 years ago that number was 76 percent. While television plummets, gaming has skyrocketed.

US television market size in 2022: $46.8 billion
US game industry market size in 2022: $95.4 billion

Mostly old people are the ones still watching television, and if it weren't for sports, that $46 billion would be a lot less. For everyone else, it's mostly YouTube, Twitch and Netflix, but I'm fairly certain Netflix is counted in that $46 billion.

 

[Colif]

Gaming was part of whats killing TV but you really need to look at this to see real cause - https://blog.hootsuite.com/youtube-stats-marketers/ (point 2, 74% of US watches Youtube)
Multiple choice vs no choice. ad blockers vs recording the damn shows and fast forwarding through ads. (Mind you, I don't see ads on YouTube. I know they exist and are pretty bad but I have a Google sub for the ability to block them. So a 5 minute video has no interruptions. I was not born to be a consumer. I don't want to waste my time watching your stupid sales pitch that I will just ignore. That is why I stopped watching TV 10 years ago)

 

[Brian Boru]

You're late to the party

Not yet, but soon I imagine, could easily happen mid-decade.

♣ Worldwide gaming revenue 2020 ~$150Bn, 2025 projection $200Bn
♦ Worldwide TV revenue 2020 ~$220Bn, 2025 projection ~$205Bn

TV trend is going the wrong way. Gaming on the other hand is trending upwards, so it definitely looks like a question of when, not if.

Entertainment & media revenues rebounding strongly from pandemic slump; shift to streaming, gaming and user-generated content is transforming industry: PwC

The global entertainment & media (E&M) industry has regained its momentum, with revenues outpacing the economy as a whole. The $2+ trillion industry is on track to grow 6.5% in 2021 and 6.7% in 2022, fueled by strong demand for digital content and advertising. The renewed growth follows a...

www.pwc.com

 

[Colif]

i remember having 2 channels to choose from, then it grew to 3, then 5, then about 30.
Each time I hoped to find something worth watching... nope, almost all crap.
More channels didn't bring more choice, just more crap
Then the number of programs I liked started to dwindle.
Eventually it was only 2 shows and the channel I was watching took one of the off. At this point I just stopped. I could find the show I wanted on Youtube
I never went back and now I see it as a legacy entertainment system, desperately trying to stay relevant, but no one needs them anymore. Same applies to print media (oh wait, Future).
Almost all jumping onto streaming hoping it will save them.
Don't let the door hit you on the way out

 

[ZedClampet]

Not yet, but soon I imagine, could easily happen mid-decade.

♣ Worldwide gaming revenue 2020 ~$150Bn, 2025 projection $200Bn
♦ Worldwide TV revenue 2020 ~$220Bn, 2025 projection ~$205Bn

TV trend is going the wrong way. Gaming on the other hand is trending upwards, so it definitely looks like a question of when, not if.

Entertainment & media revenues rebounding strongly from pandemic slump; shift to streaming, gaming and user-generated content is transforming industry: PwC

The global entertainment & media (E&M) industry has regained its momentum, with revenues outpacing the economy as a whole. The $2+ trillion industry is on track to grow 6.5% in 2021 and 6.7% in 2022, fueled by strong demand for digital content and advertising. The renewed growth follows a...

www.pwc.com

And you call yourself an analyst.

Number of people worldwide who play video games: 3.24 billion
Number of people worldwide who watch television: 1.7 billion

Revenue numbers don't tell the story and are grossly misleading. In the biggest market, China, games are generally free, for instance.

Bottom line: Brian equals Wrong.

 

[Pifanjr]

EA hands down has to go. The are more likely to kill a studio and any other company

Why is Atari in there? As far as I'm aware Electronics Arts never bought them or caused their demise in any way.

In my opinion, there are a lot of greater causes to fight out there than game companies.

True, but there's some pretty bad stuff happening in the game industry and it's not like not supporting those companies is all that much effort. There's enough choice nowadays, either from indies or your own backlog, that you don't really need to fork over money to a company that mistreats their employees whenever they can as long as it profits the shareholders. Even without doing additional research you probably are aware of some of the worst offenders already.

 

[Brian Boru]

you call yourself an analyst

I believe what I said was I hire analysts

Number of people worldwide who play video games: 3.24 billion
Number of people worldwide who watch television: 1.7 billion

Number of people who walk every day: 6.48Bn

Is walking twice as *whatever* as gaming?

Revenue numbers don't tell the story and are grossly misleading

What story are you trying to tell?

In the biggest market, China, games are generally free, for instance

And yet, Asia has over half worldwide revenue.

Anyway, I was talking about gaming as an industry in the post you originally replied to. Industry's main measure is revenue. Ties in with the thread topic, AAA companies.

 

[WoodenSaucer]

Only 56 percent of Americans said they watched cable or satellite television. Only about 5 years ago that number was 76 percent. While television plummets, gaming has skyrocketed.

Man, if you're going by cable and satellite, you're not looking at the big picture, and it's an inaccurate representation of what's really going on. People aren't leaving cable and satellite just for gaming. They're leaving them for Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video. I watch Hulu and Amazon all the time, but if I were specifically asked how much I watch cable or satellite, I would say extremely rarely.

True, but there's some pretty bad stuff happening in the game industry and it's not like not supporting those companies is all that much effort. There's enough choice nowadays, either from indies or your own backlog, that you don't really need to fork over money to a company that mistreats their employees whenever they can as long as it profits the shareholders. Even without doing additional research you probably are aware of some of the worst offenders already.

Yeah, I can go along with that for the most part. But I'll say this right now. When TES VI or BotW2 comes out, you'd better believe I'm buying them day one, and I don't care what Bethesda or Nintendo are in the news for.

 

[ZedClampet]

They're leaving them for Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video.

Yes, they are, but that's not television. That's streaming, like YouTube. You wouldn't consider YouTube television, would you?

 

[WoodenSaucer]

Yes, they are, but that's not television. That's streaming, like YouTube. You wouldn't consider YouTube television, would you?

I would consider Netflix and Hulu television because I'm watching TV shows on my TV, only usually without commercials. But my only point is people are moving their TV watching to streaming now. Even if you call it a different category, I'm just pointing out that the mass exodus from cable and satellite isn't just because of gaming. People are finding other methods to get in their TV watching and those same shows are still getting watched.

 

[ZedClampet]

I would consider Netflix and Hulu television because I'm watching TV shows on my TV, only usually without commercials. But my only point is people are moving their TV watching to streaming now. Even if you call it a different category, I'm just pointing out that the mass exodus from cable and satellite isn't just because of gaming. People are finding other methods to get in their TV watching and those same shows are still getting watched.

It's just not the same thing. It's two different categories. Of course there are still shows being watched, but even if you added Netflix and Hulu's numbers (just the people who don't also have cable or satellite) to the television people above, it wouldn't surpass the number of gamers, so it's a moot point.

 

[Alm]

Just seen this:

https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/microsoft-will-acquire-activision-blizzard/

I wonder if a lot of activision games will come to game pass. I know most aren't interested in COD but that on game pass could be huge for MS. Especially if COD becomes xbox / pc exclusive.

 

[ZedClampet]

Update: Microsoft is buying Activision/Blizzard.

Does that change your mind on saving them? I wonder if Blizzard will have more autonomy in the new setup?

I still doubt they will have any games I'm interested in.

 

[ZedClampet]

Just seen this:

https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/microsoft-will-acquire-activision-blizzard/

I wonder if a lot of activision games will come to game pass. I know most aren't interested in COD but that on game pass could be huge for MS. Especially if COD becomes xbox / pc exclusive.

Yeah, Spencer already mentioned how big it will be to put Call of Duty, Overwatch and Diablo 3 on Game Pass.

Sony has to be a bit upset with this news. Removing these games from Playstation is huge. Not that they will take games off of Playstation that are already there, but the future games...

 

[ZedClampet]

Does this mean Microsoft is going to shut down battle.net? Will WoW come to Steam and Game Pass? Will female employees still have to wear ghillie suits to work to avoid harassment and assault?

The article said that Kotick will still be CEO for the time being, but that employees would report to Spencer. Sounds like Kotick will get to hang around at least for awhile as a figurehead, a really unsightly one.

Also, now I get to try the Diablo games without buying them. Looking forward to them coming to Game Pass.

 

[flashn00b]

Considering Raven Software, Toys for Bob and High Moon Studios, it's apparent to me that Activision-Blizzard is a soul-sucking eldritch horror wearing the mask of a corporation. I question whether or not the souls of other Microsoft-related entities are safe or not. It's very much likely that they might try and eat the souls of Microsoft's upper management, Bill Gates included.

 

[McStabStab]

Update: Microsoft is buying Activision/Blizzard.

Does that change your mind on saving them? I wonder if Blizzard will have more autonomy in the new setup?

I still doubt they will have any games I'm interested in.

Yeah I'll probably save them now lol. Bye EA.

 

[Colif]

Just replace Activision with Microsoft on poll. same difference.

At rate they buying these up, soon it ill be one on the list. I still wouldn't save them.

if anything, it saddens me they got the easy way out.