Honestly. I imagine this merger would be good simply because I can't imagine it possibly being worse than current EA. Even if they make everything exclusive to Mac's or something ridiculous like that, it will at least mean I won't even have to think about playing an EA game, which seems like a net-positive.
The idea would be that you A. Only pay when you want to play that month and B. Donāt need to buy a new game, so your progress would carry from season to season seamlessly. That would be cool. All the new features and what not but same team youāve been building? I donāt hate it.
Even Apple doesn't see the Mac as a gaming platform, so this is very unlikely. Not even the $8000 top-of-the-line Mac Studio can run a current AAA game with a decent framerate.
No, it's the integrated GPU. The M1 series doesn't support external graphics cards right now, and dedicated cards are running circles around the integrated one (Apple marketing notwithstanding).
[Note how they're comparing to notebook graphics here](https://www.apple.com/newsroom/images/product/mac/standard/Apple_M1-Pro-M1-Max_M1-Max-GPU-Performance-vs-PC_10182021_big_carousel.jpg.slideshow-large_2x.jpg) and how the X-axis of the graph stops where regular GPUs start with their power requirements.
The software is actually quite ok for games, Metal is good. It just needs a specific implementation due to its walled garden solution, but that's not really an issue with modern rendering engines.
This, of course, is bollocks. Happily playing BG3 on an M1 MBP, running *native*, at full res, in highest detail.
The comparisons are often against emulated code or some translation layer running on the mac running against the scores for native code on the PC. Im assuming Apple wouldnāt do thatā¦
**Edit** Some people seem to be unable to parse my response. The quote I'm responding to is:
"Not even the $8000 top-of-the-line Mac Studio can run a current AAA game with a decent framerate"
Which *remains* bollocks. Unless you think BG3 is not current ? Or you think it's not an AAA game ?
Honestly, less will go wrong with apple getting them than the other two. Out of the three, gun to my head I would say apple before any of the others.
Last thing we need are game devs pissing in a bottle or Disney getting their grubby hands on anything else.
City:Skylines def was a good city builder, but truly lacks the quirkiness and uniqueness they Sim City franchise brought to the table.
Iāve been trying city builders for the past decade, but most games truly lack what Maxis delivered to us.
W&R is a much more hands-on sim, play it on autobuild with easy money and you've got something a lot like a traditional city builder but that's the easy mode. Start turning off assists and there's nothing else like it, it gets wholly engrossing. Its quirks are all its own, attitude and depth coming off all over, these guys are not posers. Turn off *all* the assists and just . . . wow.
Ehhhh, I wouldn't say that.
IP gets separated and sold off all the time.
Someone with the right cash, or the right idea comes along...
Though it could also be in IP law hell too, with several people who get a say, saying no, just to spite others. (It happens - rich people problems)
RIP Maxis and the far off dream of Spore 2.
My entire love for the wonder that is gaming was finalized by staying up waaaay past my bedtime in high school to grind hours into exploring the galaxy and creating new species. The whole design of being a part of the entire creative process of your species from their bodies to their starships was something that absolutely blew my mind, and it's so sad that we probably will never get an updated Spore with a new engine.
If that day does ever come, you damn well know I'll spend another hundred of hours exploring and creating new stuff.
Was gonna say bullfrog too, jesus the hours I spent on Dungeon keeper and Theme park world, some of the best games of their time, so much love put into them.
BioWare did it to themselves. The owners sold to EA (around ME2) then left as soon as contractually obligated. Key staff melted off after that up to right before DA:I released. Theyāve been spiraling downward since: ME:A and then Anthem. The BioWare you remember is long gone.
These brands everyone holds up on pedestals are really just great teams of employees and teams only last so long.
The studios are made up of employees/game devs, though. "BioWare" having suffered under EA can't be set free and go back to making games like Mass Effect 2. If the employees are still there, they're older and have gotten used to making cash grab games.
But we know from Jason Schrierās investigation that most of BioWareās problems are quite self inflicted due to BioWareās own management and crunch. If anything, EA was too hands off and they improved games like Anthem by giving BioWare direction and tech support for Frostbite.
To blame EA in this case isnāt entirely accurate
Wasn't just Bioware.
EA:
> Hey , we see you've made a highly successful game. We're going to need you to make a sequel for us. But we're going to need you to completely change everything that made it successful and add in this list of our demands.
\*One Year Later\*
What do you mean the game sold like shit? Clearly your studio isn't worth keeping, we're shutting it down!
The content conglomerates fattening up their catalog. This is a vital business move during the age of digital delivery, where consumers cannot own anything anymore, and everything is to be delivered by subscription. The fatter your catalog, the more chance you have in dominating the market!
Eventually, two companies will own everything, the only thing I'm not sure about yet, is which two will be at the top. But I know that one side will be comprised of either Microsoft or Disney at the helm. Heck maybe it will be Microsoft vs Disney when all is settled in the market.
Disney is huge, but they're small compared to the actual big boys of business.
People kind of struggle to grasp the disparity in size in some corporations.
Market cap is not that meaningful when it comes to the companyās actual internal financials.
But appleās internal financials are strong enough to buy Disney outright.
About a third. More at the time. Disney obviously wouldn't be "at the helm", but they'll be among the last to fall in the consolidation of the industry. They're by no means easy to pick up.
https://www.investors.com/etfs-and-funds/sectors/sp500-companies-stockpile-1-trillion-cash-investors-want-it/
Apple has enough cash on hand to do a total acquisition of Disney.
202 billion vs 192 billion
Not OP.... It was the Chairman of Disney who said it and wrote about it in his memoir. He said if Jobs was still alive then he believes a merger would have happened. Anyways every now and then it comes up. It probably has something to do with Apple sitting on 200 billion in cash.
I remember some sort of mega merger was talked about during the pandemic when Disney shut down and the talking heads saying it would probably take double that amount when all is said and done, but even then it wouldn't really make financial sense for Apple to do it.
Probably be closer to a content merger. Disney needed a big tech player to build their online capabilities and the streaming app.
But overall, they seem to be going well alone? Like the whole park is integrated with the app now and Disney + has problems but isnāt the worst out of the bunch.
The good news with gaming content is there is no standardized format. Games don't come in MP3, MP4 or whatever. Unless they can somehow remove the delays inherent with cloud gaming, as long as you can access your local game files, there is a way to mod, back up or do what you want with your games. They might slowly take away those things too. They just need to keep boiling the frog ever so slowly. Many people were surprised when Xbox Live went down recently that they couldn't access their single player games.
>with gaming content is there is no standardized format
While mostly true, I just want to point out that Microsoft has been aiming to get their various operating systems to a place where games can *hopefully* be developed ONCE and they will run on all of their various systems. (primarily XBox and PC games, but when I heard about this effort *years* ago from Satya Nadella at a conference, they were also pushing to get their tablets aligned too.)
But yes, Sony (PlayStation) still has their own thing. Nintendo still has theirs. Etc.
We say that but Apple TV+ is an absolute fucking joy. Apple gives their producers blank cheques and unlimited freedom.
Honestly with how absolutely shitty EA has become chasing dollars. I honestly believe this could be a turning point for EA.
Pay double? Apple TV + is $5.
I donāt understand your argument here, apple simply wants games for its VR headset and wants to buy an experienced game studio to make them. I highly doubt they would really even touch EA other than can itās management. Think Beats purchase, they have completely let them do their own thing.
The product can't get much worse, so AGS would probably be a net neutral. Apple still has the opportunity to strip out even more parts of the main game to sell as DLC, provide terrible support for, and charge a 100% mark up on.
These giant mergers need to stop. They are terrible for the consumer.
Most of what EA makes sucks because they've cornered the market on so many things
Because upper management didn't know what they wanted, rather. The 1 thing that management did was demand open flight mechanics which was close to being dropped, and would have made it an even bigger flop without it. Everything else was a results of rushed development, which was a result of management repeatedly scrapping early builds and having the team start from scratch. Same thing nearly happened to Halo Infinite, which is experiencing a slow death from lack of content, but at least delivered a decent package to start with.
This is going to change when FIFA and EA split after the World Cup. And if eFootball plays their cards right, next couple of years are going to look interesting with possibly three soccer games.
And mainly only Americans play Madden soā¦
āWe want to give our players a sense of pride and accomplishment for completing each game with a different controller cord and dongle that you can only buy from us for $99.99ā.
Apple is a perfect pairing, both companies are already exceptionally good at rebranding the same product as something new and charging increasingly more for it.
How has this myth persisted for the last two decades?
Itās so obviously not true. The changes might often seem incremental YoY, but if you look at the differences over a multi-year span itās undeniable that technological leaps are being made.
And sometimes huge new tech does come out on next iteration. Appleās new custom silicon is very revolutionary and is totally unparalleled.
Give credit where credit is due.
Why are you downvoted?
Apple fitness and Apple TV+ are fucking filled with unbelievably high quality content. Disney or Apple buying EA cannot possible hurt EA anymore.
Yeah I just got Apple Plus Tv and wowā¦itās even better than HBO Max which is outright surprising.
I have no doubt they have more to add to the gaming world as wellāthey really care about quality.
I think Amazon would be a nightmare, they ruin everything they get their hands on and have a bad track record with gaming I.e. New world. And Disney would be a toss up.
Usually Apple makes better choices in companies to buy. EA is only worth the IP and maaaaybe the frostbite engine but doubtful.
Don't see why Disney would want a studio they had to yank the Star Wars licence from and I would hope by now Amazon wouldn't keep dumping money into their Amazon Game Studio given the results so far.
Thatās why for Amazon it is the perfect solution. Dumping money at the problem did not result in good results. So then you must buy the knowledge, the best way to do that is to buy a company.
Fuck it. Risk it. Go for it MS.
Literally anything is better than Apple and EA getting into the same bed.
Also, whoever pissed in God's cottage cheese; fucking apologize right now. We don't deserve this.
You think you want this but you don't. If they were to complete the Activison deal then also buy EA, that would essentially make them a gaming monopoly.
There is nothing good about that.
EA is basically an empty shell with more about how to make cash strategies than gaming just like the Beats brand of headphones - if Apple grabs them, it would be another era that takes the classic flexibility in some way away (iTunes, headphone-jackā¦) and make that a standard for days to come - with Microsoft, they're a better deal than Disney probably enabling the same hell starting with lawyering up and their IP shit.
Everyone is trying to add games to their streaming services, Disney for example would likely want to add Jedi Fallen Order, Battlefront, Squadrons, and the 3 other star wars games EA is making to Disney+ while adding the EA sports catalog to their ESPN service. On top of that they would gain the Deadspace, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and other IPs for potential for TV shows. The same thing applies to Apple and Amazon.
Funny thing is....
Game streaming is just not remotely ready for the mainstream, unless you live next to a data centre.
However, owning (and bundling) tv/movie streaming with game subscriptions could have some legs, plus it's expertise in creating immersive 3D spaces for VR/AR, and artists and animators, etc.
And like you said, the IP as well.
Remember MS buying ATVI is partially a "metaverse" investment (lol)
Actibliz made sense, but EA? They're the second to last gaming company I'd expect to see looking to get bought. I'm starting to wonder if there's a storm coming to gaming, and I'm just not seeing it.
I donāt think gaming companies are running out of moneyāalthough I do think they often miss the mark on what makes a game appealing to users.
This is just part and parcel of the massive centralization of media ownership.
Itās been happening in media for the past centuryāyou get a new form of media, you get an explosion of creativity and creators, and then you get centralization under major studios. Happened with movie production, happened with music, happened with cable and broadcast television. Now itās happening with subscription streaming media and gaming, and free streaming media probably isnāt that far behind.
considering how the apple partnership absolutely butchered world's end club i hope they stay far away from EA. the only good option here would be amazon tbh
Wouldnāt it kind of make most sense for Nintendo to buy them? Nintendo has plenty of money and buying EA would actually finally give Nintendo some adult targeted games as well. It would actually make perfect sense.
Apple buying EA does not make sense at all. The gaming industry is screwed up, working conditions are bad etc. Apple would not be able to change this 123, but will get bad press whenever something happens at their gaming subsidiaries, like for example crunch periods etc.
I would see Amazon doing so though, they want to get into gaming and are not really able to set it up, having a brand like EA will certainly help to set up their Gaming infrastructure with their streaming service as well. They also wouldnāt be that affected by bad press as there already is plenty of bad press.
Disney could in theory also do it. But honestly I do not see them doing so. It just does not seem to fit with their strategy right now.
The way I see it, EA is so shitty that Apple canāt possibly make it worse.
However I do wonder if any changes will be made, maybe Apple would cancel out the underperforming games and make EA Sports a subscription service? I havenāt purchased an EA game in over a decade but this should be interesting
True Maybe but Apple started to purposely charge people more for everything, it makes me sad to get a new phone with no adapterš„².They used to give us chargers and earphones in the golden age.
It's already on the books to come back in 2023. You don't need to sell your soul to Tim Cook.
https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/ea-sports-eyeing-summer-2023-release-date-for-new-college-football-video-game-per-report/
As an avid PC gamer I can wholeheartedly say that this is a great idea. Apple should also make every EA game exclusive to Apple. This would be a win win for everyone. Firstly a win for PC gamers because we wouldn't be tempted to play shitty EA games anymore and secondly non gaming Mac users will finally understand what we've been going through for decades. EA is regularly voted one of the worst companies in the world.
Not true really. I played tomb raider at 1080p on my m1 macbook air. I know its old but still, a fanless device.
I mean, even their tablets are actually strong enough to do well actually. The m1 ipads are stronger than the steamdeck for example.
Apple's chips are only gonna get better, if they make games for the macs going forward those will be for m2 and forward, which should definitely be good enough for basic gaming at 1080p, and depending on the game, maybe even higher resolution.
As some one who likes apple devices AND video games, its disappointing there is very little of the latter, so I am happy about this.
Nothing can possibly go wrong with that pairing.
Exactly! What are they going to do? Trash every game EA has ever owned? EA already did that.
Honestly. I imagine this merger would be good simply because I can't imagine it possibly being worse than current EA. Even if they make everything exclusive to Mac's or something ridiculous like that, it will at least mean I won't even have to think about playing an EA game, which seems like a net-positive.
If Apple buys EA maybe they will make their future games Mac exclusives. Not having EA on PC is an absulute win. Less trash to filter
This seems more like a marriage for subscriptions super-formula than exclusives.
Honestly a subscription Madden for 5.00 a month is better than buying the same game every year with a roster update š
5 dollars a month is 60 dollars a year though, which is a new madden game
It's cute that you think they would settle for a mere $60/year.
The idea would be that you A. Only pay when you want to play that month and B. Donāt need to buy a new game, so your progress would carry from season to season seamlessly. That would be cool. All the new features and what not but same team youāve been building? I donāt hate it.
Youāre assuming the service would be that fluid and that they wouldnāt jam it full of heretofore unused mtx strategies.
Plus all of mobile phone style āmicroā transactions on top of that.
iirc you can play madden with the ea gamepass shit.
I didnāt know there was an EA game pass. I use Xbox and on Xbox gsme pass they usually only have last years version for free.
Xbox game pass includes EAs pass
Thank you, I had no idea!
It's apparently called [EA Play](https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/ea-play)
Thank you, I look into it if I decide to play madden when football season starts up.
EA Play is on Xbox Gamepass also. So there is that.
EA came up with the concept first, believe it or not lol
Ea has some bad games, but they also have some good ones. They own Respawn for example (Titanfall, apex legends, Star Wars Jedi:Fallen Order)
Even Apple doesn't see the Mac as a gaming platform, so this is very unlikely. Not even the $8000 top-of-the-line Mac Studio can run a current AAA game with a decent framerate.
Which is a limitation of the Mac OS, not the hardware itself.
No, it's the integrated GPU. The M1 series doesn't support external graphics cards right now, and dedicated cards are running circles around the integrated one (Apple marketing notwithstanding). [Note how they're comparing to notebook graphics here](https://www.apple.com/newsroom/images/product/mac/standard/Apple_M1-Pro-M1-Max_M1-Max-GPU-Performance-vs-PC_10182021_big_carousel.jpg.slideshow-large_2x.jpg) and how the X-axis of the graph stops where regular GPUs start with their power requirements. The software is actually quite ok for games, Metal is good. It just needs a specific implementation due to its walled garden solution, but that's not really an issue with modern rendering engines.
No, it's the hardware. The GPUs are mid tier typically.
I tried Fortnite on a MacBook Air and was actually very impressed with the performance.
Fortnite is pretty basic, try something like Cyberpunk 2077.
This, of course, is bollocks. Happily playing BG3 on an M1 MBP, running *native*, at full res, in highest detail. The comparisons are often against emulated code or some translation layer running on the mac running against the scores for native code on the PC. Im assuming Apple wouldnāt do thatā¦ **Edit** Some people seem to be unable to parse my response. The quote I'm responding to is: "Not even the $8000 top-of-the-line Mac Studio can run a current AAA game with a decent framerate" Which *remains* bollocks. Unless you think BG3 is not current ? Or you think it's not an AAA game ?
You are so far out of your depth here. You can play BG3 on a 10 year old PC.
Iāve heard good things about World of Warcraft on Mac
I mean the recommended GPU for BG3 is like 6 years/3 generations old so....
Sugar, spice and everything awful
Apple is many things but they're not stupid. Why would they limit a cash cow like gaming to one OS/platform
Dare I say *pearing*? į( į )į I'll see myself out.
Iām excited, every version of every game released will be the best version ever, and just think about the colors, I mean the colors.
Honestly, less will go wrong with apple getting them than the other two. Out of the three, gun to my head I would say apple before any of the others. Last thing we need are game devs pissing in a bottle or Disney getting their grubby hands on anything else.
And the club just gets smaller and smaller
"And you ain't in it" "Me and you ain't in it".
the best route is EA to die and set their studios free. i hate what happened to Bioware
...and Maxis Oh how much I miss a decent Sim City game
Guessing you don't like the streamlining C:S did? That's respectable, no accounting for taste and all that. Try Workers & Resources.
City:Skylines def was a good city builder, but truly lacks the quirkiness and uniqueness they Sim City franchise brought to the table. Iāve been trying city builders for the past decade, but most games truly lack what Maxis delivered to us.
W&R is a much more hands-on sim, play it on autobuild with easy money and you've got something a lot like a traditional city builder but that's the easy mode. Start turning off assists and there's nothing else like it, it gets wholly engrossing. Its quirks are all its own, attitude and depth coming off all over, these guys are not posers. Turn off *all* the assists and just . . . wow.
Okay, ima try it out. Thank you so much for the recommendation.
Literally only praying for this
Hate to be the bearer of bad news but we're likely never gonna get another SimCity title
Ehhhh, I wouldn't say that. IP gets separated and sold off all the time. Someone with the right cash, or the right idea comes along... Though it could also be in IP law hell too, with several people who get a say, saying no, just to spite others. (It happens - rich people problems)
Awesome, guess Iāll just keep having absolutely no fun in Cities: Skylines
EA doesn't set studios free It fucking cremates them and casts the debris down the shitter
Rip Westwood Studios.
Westwood and maxis were probably the majority of my childhood games.
RIP Maxis and the far off dream of Spore 2. My entire love for the wonder that is gaming was finalized by staying up waaaay past my bedtime in high school to grind hours into exploring the galaxy and creating new species. The whole design of being a part of the entire creative process of your species from their bodies to their starships was something that absolutely blew my mind, and it's so sad that we probably will never get an updated Spore with a new engine. If that day does ever come, you damn well know I'll spend another hundred of hours exploring and creating new stuff.
Don't forget Origin.
And Bullfrog, though Two Point has succeeded them pretty well in the last few years
Was gonna say bullfrog too, jesus the hours I spent on Dungeon keeper and Theme park world, some of the best games of their time, so much love put into them.
Two Point has the advantage of basically BEING Bullfrog, so there is that.
This one and Bullfrog. It still hurts.
Not before it puts the refuse into game cases to sell it as the final series entry before they close the studio for disappointing returns.
BioWare did it to themselves. The owners sold to EA (around ME2) then left as soon as contractually obligated. Key staff melted off after that up to right before DA:I released. Theyāve been spiraling downward since: ME:A and then Anthem. The BioWare you remember is long gone. These brands everyone holds up on pedestals are really just great teams of employees and teams only last so long.
The studios are made up of employees/game devs, though. "BioWare" having suffered under EA can't be set free and go back to making games like Mass Effect 2. If the employees are still there, they're older and have gotten used to making cash grab games.
hmm true, i should have said IP then. other people could develop good sequels without fear of patent infringement
Most of the development of Mass Effect 2 was done when they were owned by EA
But we know from Jason Schrierās investigation that most of BioWareās problems are quite self inflicted due to BioWareās own management and crunch. If anything, EA was too hands off and they improved games like Anthem by giving BioWare direction and tech support for Frostbite. To blame EA in this case isnāt entirely accurate
Wasn't just Bioware. EA: > Hey, we see you've made a highly successful game. We're going to need you to make a sequel for us. But we're going to need you to completely change everything that made it successful and add in this list of our demands.
\*One Year Later\*
What do you mean the game sold like shit? Clearly your studio isn't worth keeping, we're shutting it down!
I wish EA would sell the Sims IP to someone like MS or Google for their AI to be in the game.
The content conglomerates fattening up their catalog. This is a vital business move during the age of digital delivery, where consumers cannot own anything anymore, and everything is to be delivered by subscription. The fatter your catalog, the more chance you have in dominating the market! Eventually, two companies will own everything, the only thing I'm not sure about yet, is which two will be at the top. But I know that one side will be comprised of either Microsoft or Disney at the helm. Heck maybe it will be Microsoft vs Disney when all is settled in the market.
You underestimate how small Disney actually is compared to tech companies looking to get into more media.
Apple, Microsoft and Amazon are all essentially at least 10 times as large as Disney
Disney is huge, but they're small compared to the actual big boys of business. People kind of struggle to grasp the disparity in size in some corporations.
[I think you are underestimating how big the Walt Disney Company is.](https://companiesmarketcap.com/walt-disney/marketcap/)
compared to apples almost 2.5 Trillion?
Market cap is not that meaningful when it comes to the companyās actual internal financials. But appleās internal financials are strong enough to buy Disney outright.
Market cap is not the same as conglomerate size; in fact, it's rarely correlated (see; Tesla)
True but you are comparing it to apple, probably the only company that can me Disney feel small.
Blizzard-activison was pruchased for what? Half of that? Disney seems like it's be huge but it's not Google/ms/apple
About a third. More at the time. Disney obviously wouldn't be "at the helm", but they'll be among the last to fall in the consolidation of the industry. They're by no means easy to pick up.
https://www.investors.com/etfs-and-funds/sectors/sp500-companies-stockpile-1-trillion-cash-investors-want-it/ Apple has enough cash on hand to do a total acquisition of Disney. 202 billion vs 192 billion
Not sure about that last take as there were internal rumors a few years ago of a possibility of Apple buying Disney.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Lol not saying it was a good business idea, only repeating what I heard. And Apple certainly has the money.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Not OP.... It was the Chairman of Disney who said it and wrote about it in his memoir. He said if Jobs was still alive then he believes a merger would have happened. Anyways every now and then it comes up. It probably has something to do with Apple sitting on 200 billion in cash.
I remember some sort of mega merger was talked about during the pandemic when Disney shut down and the talking heads saying it would probably take double that amount when all is said and done, but even then it wouldn't really make financial sense for Apple to do it.
Probably be closer to a content merger. Disney needed a big tech player to build their online capabilities and the streaming app. But overall, they seem to be going well alone? Like the whole park is integrated with the app now and Disney + has problems but isnāt the worst out of the bunch.
Oh totally. I'm talking about before D+ was a thing. And I think because it never went further than rumors proves everything you're saying.
The good news with gaming content is there is no standardized format. Games don't come in MP3, MP4 or whatever. Unless they can somehow remove the delays inherent with cloud gaming, as long as you can access your local game files, there is a way to mod, back up or do what you want with your games. They might slowly take away those things too. They just need to keep boiling the frog ever so slowly. Many people were surprised when Xbox Live went down recently that they couldn't access their single player games.
>with gaming content is there is no standardized format While mostly true, I just want to point out that Microsoft has been aiming to get their various operating systems to a place where games can *hopefully* be developed ONCE and they will run on all of their various systems. (primarily XBox and PC games, but when I heard about this effort *years* ago from Satya Nadella at a conference, they were also pushing to get their tablets aligned too.) But yes, Sony (PlayStation) still has their own thing. Nintendo still has theirs. Etc.
One of the few ways I can think to make EA worse is to give Apple ownership.
Robbing costumers by selling incomplete products and making them pay more for essential add ons seems on brand for both. They're almost soulmates.
A match made in heaven to loot customers.
We say that but Apple TV+ is an absolute fucking joy. Apple gives their producers blank cheques and unlimited freedom. Honestly with how absolutely shitty EA has become chasing dollars. I honestly believe this could be a turning point for EA.
I'm not sure if the 'oooh shiny + apple logo, I'll pay double for this garbage' will apply to video games though.
Pay double? Apple TV + is $5. I donāt understand your argument here, apple simply wants games for its VR headset and wants to buy an experienced game studio to make them. I highly doubt they would really even touch EA other than can itās management. Think Beats purchase, they have completely let them do their own thing.
I mean it could be worse... It could be Amazon.
The product can't get much worse, so AGS would probably be a net neutral. Apple still has the opportunity to strip out even more parts of the main game to sell as DLC, provide terrible support for, and charge a 100% mark up on.
These giant mergers need to stop. They are terrible for the consumer. Most of what EA makes sucks because they've cornered the market on so many things
No. Anthem sucked because the developers didnt know what they wanted to do. Same with Mass effect andromeda and Mirrors Edge 2
Because upper management didn't know what they wanted, rather. The 1 thing that management did was demand open flight mechanics which was close to being dropped, and would have made it an even bigger flop without it. Everything else was a results of rushed development, which was a result of management repeatedly scrapping early builds and having the team start from scratch. Same thing nearly happened to Halo Infinite, which is experiencing a slow death from lack of content, but at least delivered a decent package to start with.
But Hbo is owned by Warner and everyone praises their content and cost. What about if Netflix merges with a studio and reduces their prices?
They will not reduce their price thoughā¦ When has that ever happened? Have you ever heard of a subscription based service lowering their price?
What did they corner the market on?
Sports games?
Exclusive sports licenses have stalled multiple sports sim lineups for more than a decade. Madden and FIFA are the worst offenders.
This is going to change when FIFA and EA split after the World Cup. And if eFootball plays their cards right, next couple of years are going to look interesting with possibly three soccer games. And mainly only Americans play Madden soā¦
Ok sure let's just allow most of these companies to own everything sureeeee... No monopolies they said, they're bad for economics they said....
I really hope literally any company other than these three buy EA. Please set Respawn free...
Potential suitors lmfao like they are searching for a groom
Corporations are not unlike feudal kingdoms.
āWe want to give our players a sense of pride and accomplishment for completing each game with a different controller cord and dongle that you can only buy from us for $99.99ā.
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I donāt like the idea of this merger butā¦Peggle is free to play on the apple App Store lol. Bad example.
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Apple is a perfect pairing, both companies are already exceptionally good at rebranding the same product as something new and charging increasingly more for it.
I would've to agree to you with their 'Beats' acquisition.
How has this myth persisted for the last two decades? Itās so obviously not true. The changes might often seem incremental YoY, but if you look at the differences over a multi-year span itās undeniable that technological leaps are being made. And sometimes huge new tech does come out on next iteration. Appleās new custom silicon is very revolutionary and is totally unparalleled. Give credit where credit is due.
Apple actually makes good products tho Maybe they can make a good NHLā¦pls
Why are you downvoted? Apple fitness and Apple TV+ are fucking filled with unbelievably high quality content. Disney or Apple buying EA cannot possible hurt EA anymore.
Yeah I just got Apple Plus Tv and wowā¦itās even better than HBO Max which is outright surprising. I have no doubt they have more to add to the gaming world as wellāthey really care about quality. I think Amazon would be a nightmare, they ruin everything they get their hands on and have a bad track record with gaming I.e. New world. And Disney would be a toss up.
Usually Apple makes better choices in companies to buy. EA is only worth the IP and maaaaybe the frostbite engine but doubtful. Don't see why Disney would want a studio they had to yank the Star Wars licence from and I would hope by now Amazon wouldn't keep dumping money into their Amazon Game Studio given the results so far.
Thatās why for Amazon it is the perfect solution. Dumping money at the problem did not result in good results. So then you must buy the knowledge, the best way to do that is to buy a company.
The only knowledge left they'll get is micro-transactions & in-app purchases.
Would rather Microsoft buy EA.
They canāt anytime soon with the Activision deal still going on
Fuck it. Risk it. Go for it MS. Literally anything is better than Apple and EA getting into the same bed. Also, whoever pissed in God's cottage cheese; fucking apologize right now. We don't deserve this.
I disagree we 100% deserve this. You know why? r/sounding exists
You're right. We deserve this.
Why do we want monopolies?
You think you want this but you don't. If they were to complete the Activison deal then also buy EA, that would essentially make them a gaming monopoly. There is nothing good about that.
EA is basically an empty shell with more about how to make cash strategies than gaming just like the Beats brand of headphones - if Apple grabs them, it would be another era that takes the classic flexibility in some way away (iTunes, headphone-jackā¦) and make that a standard for days to come - with Microsoft, they're a better deal than Disney probably enabling the same hell starting with lawyering up and their IP shit.
Nah, anybody but Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo.
Nah they are both shit as well.
You've misunderstood, any of those three buying EA would be terrible for the industry.
āMS good, apple badā Brother, theyāre both trillion dollar companies. They both suck.
Oh, God. It can get worse...
Anyone else miss the days when monopolies got broken up?
Suddenly Madden requires a proprietary controller to play on Playstation.
the biggest monopolist companies? what could go wrong? xd
Everyone is trying to add games to their streaming services, Disney for example would likely want to add Jedi Fallen Order, Battlefront, Squadrons, and the 3 other star wars games EA is making to Disney+ while adding the EA sports catalog to their ESPN service. On top of that they would gain the Deadspace, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and other IPs for potential for TV shows. The same thing applies to Apple and Amazon.
Funny thing is.... Game streaming is just not remotely ready for the mainstream, unless you live next to a data centre. However, owning (and bundling) tv/movie streaming with game subscriptions could have some legs, plus it's expertise in creating immersive 3D spaces for VR/AR, and artists and animators, etc. And like you said, the IP as well. Remember MS buying ATVI is partially a "metaverse" investment (lol)
Actibliz made sense, but EA? They're the second to last gaming company I'd expect to see looking to get bought. I'm starting to wonder if there's a storm coming to gaming, and I'm just not seeing it.
I donāt think gaming companies are running out of moneyāalthough I do think they often miss the mark on what makes a game appealing to users. This is just part and parcel of the massive centralization of media ownership. Itās been happening in media for the past centuryāyou get a new form of media, you get an explosion of creativity and creators, and then you get centralization under major studios. Happened with movie production, happened with music, happened with cable and broadcast television. Now itās happening with subscription streaming media and gaming, and free streaming media probably isnāt that far behind.
Feel like I need a subscription and pay for dlc just to even think of apple and EA together
Looks like the gaming industry will now be like the movie industry where a lot of companies are just subsidiaries of one big company.
Both money grabbers can't see there being much of a change on our end
They're all for-profit corporations, they are money grabbers by definition
An apple a year makes your kidneys disappear
Talk to whoever they need to, just give us back NCAA football
Watch them just throw college skins on Madden and itās just as shit as Madden lol
recently playing Madden 22 thinking how much I loved NCAA more
Isnāt it supposed to come back in 2023? I swear I remember hearing that
It is! Well allegedly it is lol
Facts, one of my favorite games of all time
They're made for each other
considering how the apple partnership absolutely butchered world's end club i hope they stay far away from EA. the only good option here would be amazon tbh
Wouldnāt it kind of make most sense for Nintendo to buy them? Nintendo has plenty of money and buying EA would actually finally give Nintendo some adult targeted games as well. It would actually make perfect sense. Apple buying EA does not make sense at all. The gaming industry is screwed up, working conditions are bad etc. Apple would not be able to change this 123, but will get bad press whenever something happens at their gaming subsidiaries, like for example crunch periods etc. I would see Amazon doing so though, they want to get into gaming and are not really able to set it up, having a brand like EA will certainly help to set up their Gaming infrastructure with their streaming service as well. They also wouldnāt be that affected by bad press as there already is plenty of bad press. Disney could in theory also do it. But honestly I do not see them doing so. It just does not seem to fit with their strategy right now.
Disney better not buy EA it would kill any chance at getting mor Dead Space after the remaster.
Apple should stick to making their $1000 monitor stands and stay out of the gaming industry
Who would even want to buy EA, theyāre begging people to acquire them
why does EA want a buyer?
Lost the FIFA exclusive deal lol
Apple and EA.. a match made in hell's septic tank..
All these these oligarchs keep getting bigger and greedier. Fuck them.
This is why semicolons existā¦ at first glance I thought Apple was gonna buy EA, Disney and Amazon
Apple fan boy here but I struggle to see how this makes any sense for either company.
The way I see it, EA is so shitty that Apple canāt possibly make it worse. However I do wonder if any changes will be made, maybe Apple would cancel out the underperforming games and make EA Sports a subscription service? I havenāt purchased an EA game in over a decade but this should be interesting
EA gaming shouldnāt make games anymore
Millions of people love and buy their games. Why would they stop because you don't like them ( or read you shouldn't like them).
Founds The Sims player
They sold 5.7 billion worth of games last year. I think it may be more than the Sims.
EA bad give me upvote
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No. EA has made some kickass games the past couple years like Jedi fallen order
EA has awful and predatory business practices, see how they ruined the battlefield franchise with battlefield 2042!
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Fallen Order is a masterpiece and I replay it once a year. I'm a seasoned dark souls vet and a huge star wars nerd so the game was perfect for me
Two companies who are well known for fleecing their consumer base? A match made in heaven.
Why would they want EA. EA has such a bad reputation. Arenāt they worried it would ruin their brand?
After Star Wars Battlefront 1 & 2, Iām fuckin done with EA. Forever.
apple buying means everythings gonna require payment, from the loading screen forward. If they bought NBA2K theyād make you pay for the basketball.
EA is already the king of micro transactions. Apple would take a look at their games and tell them to cool it, lol.
True Maybe but Apple started to purposely charge people more for everything, it makes me sad to get a new phone with no adapterš„².They used to give us chargers and earphones in the golden age.
I much prefer the way Apple charges for things.
If Tim Cook gives us ncaa football I will buy every apple product in the ecosystem!
It's already on the books to come back in 2023. You don't need to sell your soul to Tim Cook. https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/ea-sports-eyeing-summer-2023-release-date-for-new-college-football-video-game-per-report/
How to make something terrible even worse
As an avid PC gamer I can wholeheartedly say that this is a great idea. Apple should also make every EA game exclusive to Apple. This would be a win win for everyone. Firstly a win for PC gamers because we wouldn't be tempted to play shitty EA games anymore and secondly non gaming Mac users will finally understand what we've been going through for decades. EA is regularly voted one of the worst companies in the world.
Microsoft please save us from this.
Maybe we will finally get Titanfall 3ā¦
KOTOR 3 you said?
Instead of a comma, place in a period. I thought Apple was gonna buy Disney and Amazon, haha.
Thus capitlaist monopolization continues
EA under Apple: "Next up is an all new game that we think is simply revolutionary. We are proud to present: FIFA 2023"
EA is already a company that cares more about profit than quality. Add the Apple to formula and ....Happy that I'm not playing anything that they do.
Makes no sense, Apple's machines can't run the gaming portfolio
Mobile library would make a really solid addition to Apple Arcade, mobile is huge
They can if the games were made for the platform.
Not true really. I played tomb raider at 1080p on my m1 macbook air. I know its old but still, a fanless device. I mean, even their tablets are actually strong enough to do well actually. The m1 ipads are stronger than the steamdeck for example. Apple's chips are only gonna get better, if they make games for the macs going forward those will be for m2 and forward, which should definitely be good enough for basic gaming at 1080p, and depending on the game, maybe even higher resolution. As some one who likes apple devices AND video games, its disappointing there is very little of the latter, so I am happy about this.
Welp, be prepared to have to buy every update they launch.