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Timestamps
0:00 Intro
1:21 EA Ends Project Cars
3:05 Gears of War Netflix Adaptation
5:13 EU Enters Second Phase of the Xbox Activision Blizzard Acquisition
12:35 Nintendo Switch Quarterly Report
15:35 Poll of the Day ( Activision Blizzard Revival )
Sources:
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/ea-has-ended-the-project-cars-series/
https://twitter.com/netflix/status/1589695430404677632
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_6578
https://twitter.com/pierre485_/status/1589871116188717056
Nintendo Switch Successor Nintendo Switch 2 Super Switch Super Nintendo Switch Activision Blizzard Acquisition Update European Commission Second Phase Xbox Activision Blizzard Buyout
Foreign Everybody and welcome back to newsdos And the European commission just gave Their latest update on the Xbox Activision Blizzard acquisition this is One of those big Regulators looking into The buyout and they have now officially Confirmed that they are heading into Phase two of their investigation and They've listed their concerns as to why Now to be very clear because I know There's always a lot of questions Regarding this topic this news was Completely 100 to be expected this is Not an indictment that this acquisition Is facing any kind of trouble per se but Rather this follow suit with most Regulators up to this point the FTC the CMA and others they are all kind of Going into that second phase of the Investigation now with that said what Does their listed concerns actually mean And what should we expect next and That's what we're going to cover today Also Nintendo they made waves yet again For their continued success with the Switch and its library but did actually Have to pull back just a little bit the Switch does appear to be slowing down Just ever so slightly after all before We get started though if you're new to The channel and if you like this type of Content definitely definitely hit those Buttons below like subscribe and do ring
That Bell with that said though let's Just go and jump right into things Starting off with unfortunately a Franchise cancellation this is for Project cars as EA has decided in the Series as is which is ironically Actually a very messed up situation see This is a slightly mad Studios game and The thing about this studio is that they Were also behind Need for Speed Shift Yet another simulation experience under EA however EA did away with that series Years ago hence project cars was then Born but sadly slightly mad still Couldn't get away from EA because they Acquired code Masters back in 2019 which Included yes slightly mad Studios so now Here we are in 2022 and EA has halted All work on their second car simulation Series again it's it's an ironically Messed up situation I do feel really bad For the developers in this case project Cars though for the most part has been a Pretty good car simulation series I know The third entry wasn't as well received And some people thought that that was a Little bit more arcadey but I'd say for The most part this Series has kind of Filled a void in the game industry There's really only a few car simulation Games that are of this caliber you have Forza Motorsports and then you have Gran Turismo but with both of those games They are exclusive to Xbox and
Playstation project cars though this Kind of acted as that multi-platform Series and was also available on PC now To be fair Microsoft has expanded to PC And steam so the next Forza Motorsports Game will likely be on Steam as well so That does lessen the blow here but as For slightly mad Studios EA did say that They'll put them on other EA Sports and Racing games let me know though if you Did like this series and if you're gonna Miss it going for support next up here We're getting another game to film Adaptation as Netflix posted this up on Twitter Gears of War was released 16 Years ago today and to Mark the occasion Netflix has partnered up with the Coalition to adapt the Gears of War Video game Saga into a live action Feature film followed by an adult Animated series with the potential for More stories to follow now these Netflix Adaptations can be admittedly very Hit Or Miss sometimes they turn out to be Great like with cyberpunk Edge Runners Which in large part actually helped Revive 2077 and then you also have the Castlevania series which was really Really good as well then on the opposite Side you have others like Resident Evil And Dragon's Dogma now both of those Were questionable to say the least but I Will say Gears of War is a really Interesting choice here now this is
Actually one of my all-time favorite Series so maybe I'm a little biased in This case but gears has such a Fascinating world that can tell a lot of Different stories when thinking about Gears I'm only always taken back to the Original Mad World trailer for that First game legitimately one of the best Ads I've ever seen for really anything Ever but the reason I bring that ad up Specifically is because of how Immediately it connects with you and you Just want to know what happens in that World so I think that that's a true Testament to not only how beautiful that Ad was and still is today but also Because I think it kind of shows you if Done Right There is a draw to this world And its characters trying to survive on This planet Gears of War has always been A story of survival and I think there's A lot of things that you can do with That and all the terror that comes from Monsters rising up from the ground below You Xbox though I mean they've tried to Do a film adaptation for this series for Years and years and nothing to show for Their efforts but now with Netflix it Looks like it's finally happening and With the Coalition involved here I think That that's a good sign for fans now I Don't know about the live action film as Those don't always really shape up all That well but I am really curious in the
Animated Series specifically as we have Seen Netflix have success with those let Me know what you all think about all This are you excited for Gears of War on Netflix or not Speaking of Xbox though let's just go And dive right into the Activision Blizzard acquisition once again though The European commission as expected did Announce that they are moving into the Second phase of their investigation Where they'll take a look on whether or Not this buyout could pose a bigger Problem now the first thing that Everybody needs to kind of understand Here is that this is not a bad thing and It's not an indication on whether or not This deal will pass it is always Important to keep in mind that this is a Nearly 70 billion dollar acquisition and It's not every day that an acquisition Of this size just makes their way to Regulators desk they they see that Number and they think whoa what's Happening here and that only amplifies When they realize that it's coming from Microsoft out of all companies one of The biggest companies in the entire World so they absolutely want to do Their due diligence as they very much Should now again though this is Completely 100 to be expected but they Did list their concerns and what they Plan on taking a closer look at and when
I looked through what they had to say it Actually was not all that bad now their Primary focal points seem to boil down To pretty much three key areas being the Potential to significantly reduce Competition for the console and PC Distribution market then subscriptions And cloud-based services and lastly Which was a little bit of a surprise Here competition for PC operating Systems yeah that one's a little bit of A strange one there but where we're Gonna dive in each one of these Individually but but I do look at this And I think yeah this is this isn't Really all that bad for Microsoft thanks To the Brazilian documents that was made Public we've we've already seen how Microsoft has handled these questions Over there and these concerns they they Don't really seem all that much Different outside of the operating Systems anyways again that was a little Bit of a strange one this isn't another CMA situation though where they actually Just seem more concerned with Sony's Market lead than anything else but the One thing that continuously pops up in These investigations is what's happening With Call of Duty And again that very much is the case Here as well as they did say this in Particular the commission is concerned That by acquiring Activision Blizzard
Microsoft May foreclose access to Activision Blizzard's console and PC Video games especially to high profile And highly successful games so-called AAA games such as Call of Duty so Unsurprisingly Call of Duty Still Remains the primary concern as it is Specifically named here now it is Interesting though that they did mention Other AAA games as well but they didn't Really name any specific names either But that could still be worth paying Attention to going forward so far Microsoft hasn't named any other games Outside of Call of Duty and Quote-unquote popular franchises for Whatever that means but that is the Thing here Microsoft has time and time Again committed to Call of Duty Remaining multi-platform and they've Been very adamant that they want Call of Duty on more platforms and not less They've even compared Call of Duty to Minecraft what we we do know though is That thanks to Sony's public complaints Call of Duty operates on a contract and Technically after that contract ends Microsoft could then make it exclusive To Xbox now I assume that Minecraft is Similar as well I'm sure that that Probably operates on some type of Contract but that appears to be the big Concern for these regulators and Obviously Sony as well now I still do
Believe that Sony's being a little Disingenuous but this is a major part of The second phase of this investigation If these Regulators really do find this To be an issue we could be heading down A path of concessions Microsoft might Have to put it in writing that they will Keep Call of Duty on PlayStation and if They do that then they'll just kind of Get the ball rolling from there now I Don't think Microsoft will have a Problem with that because they've Already publicly committed to it but if They can get through regulations without Any concessions that of course would Still be ideal for them this entire Call Of Duty exclusivity concern though I Think has zero Merit on actually Stopping this buyout I think that this Acquisition has always always been more About Xbox game pass than it is about Exclusivity so Microsoft will likely Play ball and make sure that these Regulators know that it will remain Multi-platform whether that be in Writing or not now as for subscriptions The EU said when it comes to multi-game Subscription services and or cloud game Streaming services in particular the Commission is concerned that by Acquiring Activision Blizzard Microsoft May foreclose access to the detriment of Its rival Distributors of console and PC Video games that offer such services to
Its own PC and console video games which Are key for the provision of the nascent Services of multi-game subscription and Cloud game streaming now this here is The part of the investigation that I Think is a little bit more interesting Just because they are looking at Subscriptions in cloud gaming as a Separate entity but we've already seen Microsoft combat this argument before Again thanks to through that Brazilian Document and there's not only a lot of Competition here including with PlayStation Plus EA play GeForce now and Cloud gaming you have Luna PlayStation Now etc etc but Microsoft isn't really Dominant in either of these builds to The extent that it is a major concern Even with PlayStation plus they just Launched their own Game Pass competitor And are now making more money because The increased price and those Services However this is the one I could see Being the biggest issue for Xbox in a Sense that I don't think that they'll be As willing to work with Regulators sure They might be willing to put in writing That Call of Duty will remain on Playstation as a platform but I don't Think that they'd be as willing to make Call of Duty available for other Subscription and streaming services so I Could see Microsoft fighting against That if Regulators were to bring that up
Now as for operating systems this is the Strange one as they do mention that Microsoft could technically keep games Off of Linux and Mac which could affect Consumers decisions to go with Windows PCS instead but that that to me seems a Little off base by this point I I don't Really see this being a major issue at All and and again when I look at their Focal points I don't think that really Any of these poses a major threat to Microsoft Call of Duty Still Remains the Big concern it seems and I think that if That is the big issue going forward Microsoft will just work with Regulators As for this other stuff I think that It'll be far too difficult for Regulators to actually make a case Against Microsoft that that seems to be The problem because I mean they can't Just make up their own rules and I I Think that there's a lot of arguments Against some of the things that some of These Regulators are concerned about That is where the next big question Comes in though what's the timeline look Like and now that we are in a second Phase of the investigation when should We get our next update well they do have 90 working days to Hash all this out With Microsoft and the deadline is now Set from March of 2023. now keep in mind Though that the FTC is also Investigating this there in their second
Phase as well and that one we might hear About even as early as this month so so We should start to hear some pretty Major updates things are about ready to Get very very interesting of course as Always though stay subscribed hit that Bell and everything because I will keep You all update on all the latest Activision Blizzard news so do hit that Bell Now we did also get an update for the Nintendo switch as Nintendo posted their Quarter three fiscal year report this is For July 1st through September 30th and In this time frame they sold an Additional 3.25 million switch units Bringing the total to 114.3 million sold worldwide now that Means that it's less than 3 million Units away from surpassing the PlayStation 4 and just a little over 4 Million away from the Game Boy now once It passes those it will have become the Third best Sun console ever made and at The rate it's selling this is very Likely going to happen by the end of This year so this is a huge huge thing Right now I mean we don't see this Happen very often but one thing that we Are seeing is that the switch is slowing Down just ever so slightly while what They're doing is still very very Impressive 3.25 million units sold is Still technically down 19 year over year
And because of this Nintendo has scaled Back their forecast previously they were Expecting 21 million units sold for the Year but they've now dropped that Forecast to 19 million instead now we Are starting to see a little bit of a Trend where they're dropping their Forecast and as we talked about last Week this could actually be a sign that The switch generation is winding down Just a little bit now to be clear what They're doing here is still insanely Impressive don't get me wrong there and The switch is still selling incredibly Well but I think that we are starting to Get to that point that a new Switch Console might be on the horizon in order For Nintendo to keep their momentum Going strong a new console could Possibly help with that and I could see A scenario where we might start to hear About a new console as early as next Year whether that be official or Unofficially now as for their software Though Nintendo I mean they continue to Impress there as well Kirby and Forgotten land is now officially the Best-selling Kirby game ever made Selling 5.27 million units so big Congrats there it definitely looks like Moving to 3D paid hop in a big way maybe They should pay attention to that maybe We should do something with the Donkey Kong IP as well just going to kind of
Throw that out there as well Xenoblade 3 Also though became the biggest debut for That franchise already selling 1.72 Million units it's actually great to see That franchise grow the way it has I Personally believe in terms of quality Xenoblade is one of their better IP Which is something that that's saying a Lot because Nintendo has a lot of really Great franchises Splatoon 3 also had a Massive launch I feel like sometimes People forget just how big this IP is But in just three weeks it sold 7.9 Million units which is I mean that is Absolutely insane now if you are Interested to see some updates for some Of their other games I will drop a link In the description below I just kind of Wanted to look at some of their their New big games for this year but I mean If you want to see some other games as Well definitely check the links in the Description below but unfortunately we Still haven't got an update for Metroid Dread I I really want to see them come Out and confirm that game cells but Overall another really impressive Quarter for Nintendo Let's go take a look at the poll today Though where I asked you all if Microsoft completes the deal which Activision Blizzard franchise would you Most like to see them revive and as you Can see here the majority of you all
Would like to see Starcraft return with 34 of the votes 28 for Spyro the Dragon 20 for Warcraft then 10 percent voted For other and then seven percent voted For hexen so yeah this really leans into What Phil Spencer was just saying the Other day he did suggest that he would Like to revive franchises like Warcraft And Starcraft and considering that most Of you all did vote for Starcraft looks Like a lot of you all would be very very Happy if that did turn out to be the Case this is one of the reasons though That I do believe that this acquisition Could actually be a good thing I do Believe under the Xbox umbrella and just How Xbox game pass works that they would Likely encourage more variety in the Activision Blizzard portfolio whereas Activision currently they primarily seem To focus more on Call of Duty and just Try to pump out one big release every Single year Bill Spencer though I mean He's already mentioned Starcraft Warcraft and a hexen Revival now for me Personally I just want to see Spyro 4 That that's what I'm personally hoping For and that did get second place here So a lot of you all do seem to be on Board for that one as well yes let's get A Spyro Revival in development according To the comments though Serge Leon also Mentioned another good idea here in my Opinion as they said all the above
Really miss good RTS from back in the Warcraft and Starcraft days Toys for Bob Could be the platformer studio for Microsoft if they are freed from Call of Duty and Spyro Crash Bandicoot revive Banjo would also be wonderful if Raven Software was allowed to revive the hexen Series they could partner with the ID Software team with the latest iD Tech Engine and I'd also like to see a new Soldier of Fortune from them so yeah I Do like this idea here and just just the Cross development between Xbox Bethesda And Activision there could be some good Frog from that as search pointed out Fans have been asking for a new Banjo-Kazooie for years myself included And Toys for Bob would be the perfect Just the absolute perfect Studio to Bring it back we've already seen them do That with Crash Bandicoot and I believe Spyro reignited I think that came from Them as well so it would be really cool To see him do that with banjo even if It's just a remake they could be that Studio to make it finally finally happen Then you have hexen and that could be Revived with its software I mean we've Already seen that with modern old school FPS games like Doom so yeah there's There's a lot of possibilities there and This Activision Blizzard acquisition has A lot of potential with those type of Partnerships now I did see some other
Games though pop up in the comments Including prototype you have Singularity And even games like Guitar Hero one Thing's for sure though there's a lot of Dormant Activision Blizzard games that It would be really nice to see them Return Anyways though that's it for this Episode but if you liked the video don't Forget to hit the Bell notification And Subscribe button for more content just Like this also if you'd like to support The channel to patreon thank you for Making this content possible peace out
