The Activision Blizzard Merger

As you may’ve heard about in the world of business recently, Microsoft has acquired the video game studio Activision Blizzard. This $68.7 Billion merger has sparked a lot of debate with it even having to be approved through several councils and committees over the course of the past year.

However as of October 13, 2023 the merger which began in January 18th, 2022 has been closed and Microsoft has been given permission to be able to acquire the company. This deal is very significant as it means that popular Video Games such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Candy Crush, and nearly 100 other video games brands are now fully owned by Microsoft.

The split has been nearly 50/50 with many voicing their support of this deal in the hopes that it will mean continued growth for both Microsoft and Activision Blizzard. However equally so there are those who voiced fear in a potential monopoly by Microsoft and fears that this could harm consumers.

What Does This Mean For Consumers?

You may be wondering how this acquisition will affect consumers whether it be in a negative and or positive way. As it stands the ramifications of the merger will not be fully seen for at least a couple of years time.

However, we can instead focus on what has been confirmed to be coming by Xbox’s head Phil Spencer. Phil has confirmed that many games from Activison Blizzards long list of video game IP’s will come free as an addition to Xbox’s paid subscription service known as “Xbox Game Pass”.

This is in hopes to bring more people into purchasing Microsoft’s Xbox Subscription service while also providing added value and benefit to those already subscribed to it. Phil has also confirmed that through the use of the Publisher Ubisoft they also hope to expand on their “Cloud Gaming” Services.

What Does This Mean For Investors?

For investors we have already seen that with the completion of the merger, Activision Blizzard stocks have risen from an estimated ~$80 per share in January of 2022 to a near ~$94 per share as of November 2023.

In terms of Microsoft, their stocks have risen from ~$314 per share in January of 2022 to ~$346 per share in November of 2023.

This marks very notable stock price increases for both Microsoft and Activision Blizzard after the announcement and completion of their merger. This shows that there is continued trust in investors that the company will continue to make a profit over the coming years.

Xbox’s Plans To Revolutionize the Gaming Market

While Sony with their PlayStation console has been considered to be the more popular choice in terms of consoles based off of sales statistics over the past 10 years. This has left Microsoft with their Xbox consoles performing well yet just always falling short of convincing more consumers to purchase their Xbox Consoles instead.

However what Microsoft has shown through their actions is that they seek to acquire as many different studios as they can so as to make the Xbox family of products appear more appealing. This is evident through acquisitions such as with very popular studios like that of Bethesda, Mojang, Obsidian Entertainment, and 343 Industries just to name a few.

Each of the previously mentioned studios have greatly proven the value that they can bring to Microsoft to increase the popularity of Xbox and it’s studios, however no video game acquisition has ever been bigger than that of the acquisition of Activision Blizzard reigning in at $68.7 Billion.

So now truly we are just left to wait and see what Microsoft will do next, however with these acquisitions and many of them in just the past couple of years. Microsoft has proven that they are willing to do just about whatever it takes to make the Xbox one of the most exclusive brands that there is on the video game market.

Sources:

Article: https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/microsofts-activision-blizzard-deal-will-be-a-new-lure-for-brands/

Image: https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/xbox-one-gm472044719-30935152

More related information to this news:  https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/13/23791235/microsoft-activision-blizzard-acquisition-complete-finalized

Sony’s Creation

Sony is a company which was founded on May 7th in 1946 and it was founded by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita as they both shared an interest in seeing their grand visions come to life. However I’m sure that these two entrepreneurs could’ve never imagined just how popular Sony would become in the years following its creation, as Sony has become a household name for many when it comes to technology.

Whether it be through the use of tvs, cameras, and or what we’ll be focusing on today video game consoles. More specifically we’ll be focusing on how Sony’s creation of The PlayStation console has served as a way that the company makes over 1/3 out of all of their money each year.

The Rise of the PlayStation

The first PlayStation was released to the public in the month of December in 1994 when a division of Sony known as “Sony Interactive Entertainment” released the console in Japan. However the console became so popular that it was then later released to the world selling over 100 million units worldwide.

The console was so popular that it was only natural that focus would then be put towards developing a successor being that of The PlayStation 2 in the year 2000.  Profits only began to keep rising as the PlayStation 2 then sold 155 million units worldwide proving that there was a significant population of people around the world who were interested in video games all the way back in the earlier 2000s.

What Made the PlayStation So Revolutionary?

Sony sought out to not just make video game consoles, but also find ways to build up off of what they had and innovate in new never before seen ways. For example while the main PlayStation consoles were popular, so too were other consoles made by Sony such as the PlayStation Portable and its successor the PlayStation Vita. These handheld devices allowed for users to carry and use these consoles on the go and selling over 80 million units for the PlayStation Portable alone!

Even that wasn’t enough as Sony also sought to release their “PlayStation Network” allowing for players to play multiplayer games together online, and in along with that so too released the “PlayStation Marketplace” where users could purchase games online, and even try demos to entice players to purchase new games.

Sony’s innovation didn’t stop just there as they then proceeded to not only release as many games as they could for the PlayStation, but also design and release PlayStation “Exclusive” games that were designed by Sony First Party Studios and released exclusively for PlayStation Consoles.

Sony’s Future

It’s clear that Sony shows no intentions of stopping their innovative plans any time soon. As with their recent release of the PlayStation 5 in November of 2020 and the upcoming release of The PlayStation 5 Slim in November of 2023, Sony has shown that they are committed to releasing next generation consoles that give quality at an affordable price.

All of this on top of other products they’ve released such as the PlayStation VR 2 released February of 2023 and many different first party games like Spiderman 2 and God Of War Ragnarok. Sony has proven that if you’re looking for a reliable studio to trust in that will offer you gaming consoles, video games, and hardware all at an affordable price then they are the ones to trust!

Sources:

Article: https://thebrandhopper.com/2023/09/07/playstation-success-story-how-sony-revolutionized-gaming/

Image: https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/new-playstation-5-gm1287173816-383451371

More related information to this news: https://www.topgear.com/car-news/gaming/sony-has-now-sold-over-40-million-playstation-5-consoles-launch