Tech
Microsoft's Buyout Of Bethesda Could Be A "Brilliant" Counter Move Against Sony, Founder Says – GameSpot
Bethesda Softworks founder Christopher Weaver–who no longer works at the game company–has shared his thoughts on Microsoft’s $7.5 billion buyout of Bethesda and its parent company ZeniMax. Speaking to Inverse, Weaver said he sees Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda as being similar to the company’s buyout of Bungie.
Microsoft famously acquired Bungie in 2000, and its new game, Halo: Combat Evolved, proved to be a very big success and has since become synonymous with Xbox. Bungie and Microsoft later split, but Halo remains one of Microsoft’s crown jewels.
If Microsoft can successfully integrate Bethesda into Microsoft, this could be a “brilliant counter-move against Sony,” Weaver said of the longstanding rivalry between the two companies.
“The acquisition of Bungie acted as an important trigger for the success of the early Xbox. Depending upon how soon Bethesda can prime the Microsoft pipeline, I suspect Microsoft is looking at their playbook and looking to repeat one of its ‘best moves,'” Weaver told the site. “If the strategy works, it will be a brilliant counter-move against Sony. Users from around the world will be the ultimate beneficiaries of this deal. I wish them well.”
Weaver also spoke about how he believes Microsoft purposefully timed its announcement of the Bethesda deal to be close to the recent PS5 news.
“Properly managed, consolidation can provide a powerful mechanism for groups to share experience and ‘best practices,'” he said. “I do not think it is any accident that this announcement occurred so close to Sony’s PS5 announcement. There are only a limited number of proven creators of AAA. What Microsoft owns, Sony cannot get. There are many economies of scale that consolidation between the right partners has the capacity to provide, but the ultimate test will be evidenced by the quality of products produced over time.”
The full interview at Inverse touches on a number of other interesting subjects–go read it here. And for more on the buyout, check out GameSpot’s stories below.
Now Playing: Xbox Buys Bethesda: What It Means For Game Pass, Starfield, PS5 + More | Generation Next
Facebook parent company Meta today announced the upcoming expansion of Meta Horizon OS, a virtual and augmented reality operating system that will be available to third-party hardware manufacturers that want to design their own headsets.
Right now, Meta sells the Quest line of headsets, but the company wants to provide the software for third-party VR and AR products in the future, much like Microsoft offers Windows for all manner of third-party PCs.
Meta Horizon OS is the mixed reality operating system that Meta created for its own Quest headsets, and it has support for eye, face, hand, and body tracking along with passthrough, spatial anchors, scene understanding, and other features. There is a “social layer” that will allow the identities, avatars, and friends of users to move between virtual spaces on different devices.
According to Meta, multiple companies are working on devices that will use Meta Horizon OS. ASUS ROG is developing a performance gaming headset and Lenovo is working on mixed reality devices for productivity, learning, and entertainment. Meta says that it is also creating a limited edition version of Meta Quest in partnership with Xbox.
With the expansion of Meta Horizon OS to third-party hardware manufacturers, Meta is making it easier for any developer to ship VR software on the platform by removing barriers between the Horizon Store and App Lab.
By creating an operating system that can be used by other hardware manufacturers, Meta is inserting itself into the growing AR/VR ecosystem and creating opportunities for it to outpace Apple in mixed reality development. Apple launched the Vision Pro headset earlier this year, but software is lacking given the high price and limited distribution of the device.
According to a report from earlier today, interest in the Vision Pro is already waning at Apple’s retail locations with fewer people requesting demos.
There have been more launches in the past two weeks than any other two-week period I can remember since I started sweeping floors at Freedom Bike Shop back in 2001. Yes, that means I’m very old. It also means that after several years of delayed product releases, some brands have finally cleared out enough inventory to share what they’ve been working on.
The Pinkbike team came down to Sea Otter this year with mixed expectations, and there were definitely some weird vibes. Everyone is concerned for the remaining Kona employees, and more than one brand expressed that their plan is to #surviveto2025. But overall we loved catching up with everyone, the weather was great, and somehow there was even more gear to cover. The industry might be going through a tough time, but ultimately riding bikes is still ridiculously fun and bike tech is as interesting as ever.
And on that note, here are a few of the random things that caught my eye during the show.
OutsideBrendan works smarter not harder, and dog Bubbie(?) is awesome.
I mistakenly thought it was a garage project kind of thing, but it’s a real brand with a promo video and everything.
And with that, it’s time to face my expense report. Until next year, Sea Otter!
Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.
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