Sakai

It's tail time!

Looks like the CMA are backing down already and have asked for a stay of litigation to try and settle this without the CAT.

"In a further development today, Microsoft president Brad Smith has said the FTC's decision has prompted it and the CMA to agree that a "stay of litigation" is now "in the public interest" - sparking further hope for Microsoft of a breakthrough on these shores.

"After today's court decision in the US, our focus now turns back to the UK," Smith said today in a statement shared to Eurogamer. "While we ultimately disagree with the CMA's concerns, we are considering how the transaction might be modified in order to address those concerns in a way that is acceptable to the CMA.

In order to prioritise work on these proposals, Microsoft and Activision have agreed with the CMA that a stay of the litigation in the UK would be in the public interest and the parties have made a joint submission to the Competition Appeal Tribunal to this effect."

CMA are going to agree to remedies and it will be a big win for the UK regulator. This is what the FTC should have done the whole time but unfortunately ideology got in the way

It would not suprise me if after this, the FTC dropped their trial in August, as no matter what, they need a federal judge to side with them.

The FTC does not have the power to block or divest, a federal court does.

It's a really bad day for the FTC, especially as they failed on every one of their points. It's also a really bad day for the CMA, who now have no support from any regulator or judge around the world

Whatever the decision of the judge, I will back her. Throughout the whole process she seemed a very intelligent lady, and seemed switched on and asking alot of the right questions. She seemed to have a fairly decent understanding of the industry, more so than alot of the lawyers.

Iv made a point of keeping off PX and PS this last week as its been toxic from all sides. Il be taking another break until the decision, just wanted to give my thoughts on the Judge.

Approve or deny the motion, il back her decision 100%. Now we wait.

Xbox didn't seem to mind when they gave San Diego development kits before release.

Come on Jim, do us fellow Geordies proud, sign the deal and end this

Last time I played Quake 2 was on the 360. Great game

Nobody likes a price increase. Think its the wrong move. Trying to gain market share is hard enough without it. Bit stupid to be honest.
I think it's wild that getting my ps5 and series x on launch day actually saved me money. Usually being an earlier adaptor costs a premium, not this time

MGS1 looks really rough in the video

No Xbox one or PS4 version is really stupid when its coming to the switch

On a personal level, psvr1 is still the worst purchase I ever made due to the sickness. I was super hyped for VR, until i actualy purchased a headset.

I tried to get over it like the internet keeps telling people, but nothing helped. Getting your VR legs just didn't seem to happen for me. And what's really wierd is I don't actually get motion sickness or anything from anything else except VR.

Until VR/AR is technology like a holodeck or Ready Player One, its just not going to work for most people. It feels more like "monitor strapped to your face" than an "immersive vr technology"

I mean it was pretty obvious and a few of us have been saying this, with these very reasons, for a few months now at least

I own a 65inch LG C2 OLED and 30fps games like Zelda are fine on it. I also own an older 55inch LG B7 and 30fps is fine on that aswell.

It was always going to be 30fps on £500 console. Come on

Nice controller i have to say but il stick with my 20th anniversary clear black controller for now, its awesome and my favourite one

By the end of the month we should have a much clearer idea of the deals chances

If i had to buy it for £70, instead of using gamepass, this would stop me buying and playing it until it was really dirt cheap.
Single player campaigns should not be always online. Full stop.
The only saving grace is that its on gamepass and is included in my subscription

The bit I don't understand really is the FTC are still using the console theory of harm, when every other country has rejected it already. Is it because MS have a higher market share in the US?

End of the month and we should have a much clearer idea of the deals chances. I am pretty sure they will get the temporary order

We don't need mid gen upgrades at all

@NEStalgia zelda looks fine on my oled at 30fps. It's an lg c2 65"

@TakeItEasy because Starfield is a simulation and system heavy game with the size and scope of an entire galaxy. The game will be cpu limited not gpu limited. This means dropping resolution wouldn't help to get to 60fps. This is what alot of us have been saying for a while now. Starfield was never going to be 60fps on a £450 console

I tried to tell everyone that a game the size and scope, and with the very many systems would not be 60fps on a £450 console. You don't get a game this big if you aim for 60fps

If Starfields delivers on everything shown then it's going to be some achievement. It's the size of it that I was most impressed with. Talk about ambition.

I usually hit around 5-600 from my 600 virgin connection

JSRF, I'm pretty boring and say the same game everytime

I just hope Starfield is a proper Bethesda style rpg. Basically nobody but them (and possibly Obsidian at a push) make them anymore. Fingers crossed.

The wife is super hyped for Fable, she was gutted it didnt show last year

Good. I mentioned this a while ago that trailers should be clearly labelled so you know what you are watching. Sony were the masters of this, clearly labeling everything, but the last showcase a couple weeks ago they took some backwards steps and actually were alot worse than previously. Sony, MS, Nintendo, please be transparent.

And Microsoft, please show as much gameplay as possible, far to much cgi the other week from Sony, and cgi trailers are practically useless to the end cosumer

New Ninja Gaiden, new ninja gaiden, new ninja gaiden

Me and the ball and chain (wife) will be watching it together like every year. Looking forward to seeing what they show

The CMAs lawyer seemed in way over his head yesterday, and i actually felt kind of sorry for him to be honest. I think he knows their case is pretty weak. Never seem somebody stutter so much in my life.

I managed to guess one of the grounds for appeal correctly, that the cma did not even follow their own guidelines regarding remedies. Judge seemed to see straight through the CMA yesterday and was not impressed with their dither and delay tactics

a new Ninja Gaiden game, a new Quake game, a new Jet Set Radio or a new Banjo game please and thank you

Zelda and its glorious. Have not switched on the ps5 or series x since it came out, and probably won't until I'm finished. Brilliant game

Apart from the lack of first party, the problem with the showcase was the sheer amount of cgi trailers. Not really alot of gameplay in the whole show. Not good enough.

I hope MS don't do the same next month, I want gameplay not pointless cgi rubbish

Where was all the gameplay. Barely anything but CGI trailers the whole hour. So boring

Wo long was my favourite xbox game so far this year. But Zelda is the best game so far, games just great

@Stormageddon the cma win 67% of appeals

Please just no, this gen has barely started

Me and the wife love pokemon so Cassette Beasts is a highlight for us. It got some good reviews

I told everyone it ain't over until its over. All the fanboys going crazy a few weeks ago. You never celebrate at half time. Plenty of legs left in this

@Magabro Phil didnt congratulate anyone. It was Larry Hyrb, Xbox and Sea of Thieves.

Can't wait until the kids are in bed and I can finally play some Zelda!

@UltimateOtaku91 just got delivered, cant wait to play it after work, Il be playing it alongside Ragnarok

Really can't wait for Zelda tomorrow, hopefully Amazon deliver it in good time!

Managed to preorder a z1 extreme version early today at Currys for £699, as a friend works there. But preorders are not live at Currys until later next week.
Can't wait for this thing! May just end up being my main gaming platform, despite owning all the consoles and an oled TV. With a wife and 2 kids, this thing should free up some extra gaming time

The EU are fans of behavioural remedies, the CMA are not, so I can see the EU passing it, but who knows at this point. If it does pass:

Then MS will need to argue that the CMA took the "easiest/lazy" option, and not the "best/proper" option, CAT will approve the appeal and pass it back to the CMA to do the work again.

Blocking the deal solely for Cloud Concerns with all the concessions already offered, always seemed a needlessly costly option when there are less costly and less dramatic options available.
This is what the CMA will fail the appeal on, if I had to guess, as its in the CMAs guidelines that any remedies should be proportionate.
Blocking the whole deal at a cost of several billion pounds, for a nascent market, is like the total opposite of that. Very shaky ground for the CMA to be on.

I read an article last week that the CMA have been inundated with complaints about them blocking the deal. Apparently they have recieved a huge amount.
That's my guess for what it's worth, but I could be totally wrong, it wouldn't be the first time. I still think it's 50/50 at this point if it will be approved

Ninja Gaiden Collection is awesome, just a shame its the Sigma versions (They are still good games). I would recommend playing Nina Gaiden Black and Ninja Gaiden 2 on backwards compat, 2 of the best games ever made, and much better than Sigma

@NEStalgia I game on a 65" LG C2 OLED and 30fps isn't that bad. Before that I gamed on a 55" Lg B7 OLED, and again it wasn't that bad.
I am a gameplay over graphics guy, always will be. So i am there with you. But i am also a realist and realise that if i want 60fps fullstop, its PC or nothing really.
These consoles cost the same as a low to midrange graphics card after all. If people want next gen games, something has to give at that price point. Console are for the budget gamer afterall. Sure I prefer 60fps, who wouldn't. But it's not a deal breaker if I play a game or not

@NEStalgia
A target of 1440p/60 does not mean it's a requirement or a stipulation, or all games will hit that, its just an imaginary target lol.
Honestly it sounds made up to me, but I'm happy for someone to provide a link or some evidence. Otherwise I think you are just mistaken or have taken a quote wrongly, like mistaking target for requirement.

I have never heard of any manufacturer stipulate a minimum framerate to release on their console, it sounds completely absurd just saying it.
Especially when the majority of non crossgen games have been 30fps for a decade or so.
Even Digital foundry expect 30fps to make a return after crossgen is over. These consoles are low/mid range pc parts afterall, people are expecting way too much for £450

@NEStalgia Have you got a link for that? I have never heard that and I am really curious.
All I have seen on the xbox site is that games optimised for the series x can run upto 4k and 120fps.
"Next-gen framerates
Games that have been Optimised for Xbox Series X|S use the full power of the new consoles to deliver higher, steadier framerates at up to 120FPS while playing."
https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/optimized

@UltimateOtaku91 well put, I agree 100%

@NEStalgia "Plus 60fps is Xbox's STATED minimum target even for Series S. If 60fps isn't the standard, then MS is lying (again) about their platform."

Microsoft do not dictate what fps 3rd party games release at on their console, that's up to the developer and publisher. Some will aim for 120, some 60 and some 30.
Just because something is capable of 4k/120 does not mean everything will run at that. Its a capability not a requirement. How could Microsoft (who don't even make the vast majority of games on their platform) promise all games would be 60fps minimum?

Some PC games (like Jedi Survivor, a recent example, or Flight Sim) barely hit a consistant 60fps on a 4090 without DLSS3 frame generation, how do people expect a £450 console to do that? It sounds very unreasonable

@Ralizah I have to agree on the 30fps, we are going to see it more and more once crossgen is over. If you are expecting 60fps on all games on a £450 console, you are setting yourself up for major dissapointment.

Some games have different priorities, like simulation or size and scope. These games will be cpu limited so lowering resolution or effects will not help a game hit 60fps. Consoles are cheap, if you want 60fps on everything, buy a £3000 pc

I'm ordering one as soon as preorders go live on 11th. Looks an awesome piece of hardware. Could even end up being my main gaming platform

@somnambulance Microsoft are more inconsistent than always terrible in my opinion. I personally think theres a huge amount of hyperbole around xbox at the minute. They were publisher of the year in 2021 with the highest metacritic average ever. Hardly a bad thing, but it didn't move the needle, nobody really cared. People still say "xbox has no games for a decade" That's why I actually agreed with alot of Phils words the other day. Alot of people didn't like his words, and I can respect their opinion, I just don't share it. They have released a number of good games this generation, they have also had some bad games. Redfall never looked good, but I hate looter shooter coop games. I just hope they learn from their mistakes moving forward, and correctly labelling game trailers to realisticly set expectations would be a good start