4 ms·

Reading this the second time, I think it might be one of the best "we're being acquired by X" announcements I've ever read. Excited but restrained, and it ackno

by Doches 6y ago

Reading this the second time, I think it might be one of the best "we're being acquired by X" announcements I've ever read. Excited but restrained, and it acknowledges (somewhat implicitly, but still) that there's going to be _quite a bit_ of trepidation in Bethesda's fanbase over the change. "WHEN THE HELL WILL YOU TELL ME ABOUT STARFIELD?" and the rest of that paragraph actually fills me with a pretty high degree of confidence that this will go well. That, and Nadella-era Microsoft's surprisingly good track record in recent acquisitions.

IshKebab 6y ago
Really? I was immediately unimpressed when they started trying to claim they did it so they can make better games, rather than because Microsoft offered them a boatload of money.
- darknavi 6y ago
  Why not both? So far Microsoft has been pretty "hands off" with the development process of a lot of the IPs it has acquired.
  - the_hoser 6y ago
    No, not at all. They've been pretty hands-off with their most recent acquisition, but one studio does not a trend make.
    - SahAssar 6y ago
      Looking outside of the gaming space their recent acquisitions seem to have gone fine, no? For example Github seems to go well, Linkedin was always pretty shit and unethical, so I'm not sure it's any better or worse. Citus seems to still be going well and still offers on-prem or enterprise versions on other clouds than Azure. Xamarin is more open-sourced since Microsoft took over. IMO, (and if you told me I'd say this 10 years ago I'd say you're crazy) of the big tech companies right now I think MS might be the best steward.
      - the_hoser 6y ago
        Maybe, but that really depends on how independent Microsoft's gaming business is from the rest of the company. I'm still waiting on the other shoe with github.
      - ssalazar 6y ago
        Skype is a very loud example of a poorly handled acquisition by Microsoft. The client has been turned into a real fan-spinner and it seems like they sacrificed a great standalone service for something that pushes consumer and business users towards tight integration with Microsoft's platform. 2020 could have been a banner year for Skype; instead Zoom is now shorthand for any video meeting whatsoever.
        SahAssar 6y ago
        Yes, Skype was handled incredibly bad. I don't think MS knew what they bought and both the client and the platform turned from being the kleenex of voip to similar to seeing a yahoo email nowadays. I think MS'es ways have changed since then though, looking at acquisitions since 2013 to 2015-ish they seem to have been handled better IMO.
        WorldMaker 6y ago
        Also, an argument can be made that some of Microsoft's mess was being too hands off with Skype. A lot of Skype's own development woes were projects they started back while owned by eBay and simply finished in time for Microsoft to get the blame. Also the whole "Skype for Business isn't Skype and doesn't share anything but the brand name" was a hands off decision that was dumb in retrospect.

by Doches 6y ago

IshKebab 6y ago

Really? I was immediately unimpressed when they started trying to claim they did it so they can make better games, rather than because Microsoft offered them a boatload of money.

darknavi 6y ago
Why not both? So far Microsoft has been pretty "hands off" with the development process of a lot of the IPs it has acquired.
- the_hoser 6y ago
  No, not at all. They've been pretty hands-off with their most recent acquisition, but one studio does not a trend make.
  - SahAssar 6y ago
    Looking outside of the gaming space their recent acquisitions seem to have gone fine, no? For example Github seems to go well, Linkedin was always pretty shit and unethical, so I'm not sure it's any better or worse. Citus seems to still be going well and still offers on-prem or enterprise versions on other clouds than Azure. Xamarin is more open-sourced since Microsoft took over. IMO, (and if you told me I'd say this 10 years ago I'd say you're crazy) of the big tech companies right now I think MS might be the best steward.
    - the_hoser 6y ago
      Maybe, but that really depends on how independent Microsoft's gaming business is from the rest of the company. I'm still waiting on the other shoe with github.
    - ssalazar 6y ago
      Skype is a very loud example of a poorly handled acquisition by Microsoft. The client has been turned into a real fan-spinner and it seems like they sacrificed a great standalone service for something that pushes consumer and business users towards tight integration with Microsoft's platform. 2020 could have been a banner year for Skype; instead Zoom is now shorthand for any video meeting whatsoever.
      - SahAssar 6y ago
        Yes, Skype was handled incredibly bad. I don't think MS knew what they bought and both the client and the platform turned from being the kleenex of voip to similar to seeing a yahoo email nowadays. I think MS'es ways have changed since then though, looking at acquisitions since 2013 to 2015-ish they seem to have been handled better IMO.
        WorldMaker 6y ago
        Also, an argument can be made that some of Microsoft's mess was being too hands off with Skype. A lot of Skype's own development woes were projects they started back while owned by eBay and simply finished in time for Microsoft to get the blame. Also the whole "Skype for Business isn't Skype and doesn't share anything but the brand name" was a hands off decision that was dumb in retrospect.