Tag: nintendo

How the Microsoft-Activision Deal Came Back From the Dead
23Aug By adminNo Comments
Technology

How the Microsoft-Activision Deal Came Back From the Dead

[ad_1] If Microsoft Corp. completes its acquisition of Activision Blizzard in the coming months, the $69 billion deal will go down as one of the biggest comeback stories in the history of mergers.By this past April, the gaming industry's biggest acquisition ever appeared doomed. US regulators had filed a challenge to the takeover and their counterparts in the UK had blocked it outright. But Microsoft resurrected the purchase earlier this summer, deploying what amounted to a bluff that pitted US and UK regulators against each another. And on Tuesday the UK agreed to open a fresh probe of the transaction, following an offer from Microsoft to sell the cloud rights of current and future Activision games released over the next 15 years to Ubisoft Entertainment SA. If the transaction clears t...
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Einstein and Musk Chatbots are driving millions to download Character.AI
9Jul By adminNo Comments
Technology

Einstein and Musk Chatbots are driving millions to download Character.AI

[ad_1] Albert Einstein died in 1955, but the physicist is still a prolific conversationalist. As a chatbot on Character.AI, Einstein has responded to 1.6 million messages, expounding on everything from theories of relativity to pet recommendations: “A cat would be a great choice!”Silicon Valley is in the throes of a chatbot craze, with companies like OpenAI notching valuations in the billions for devising computer programs that can effectively imitate humans. But none are quite so strange as Character.AI. The artificial intelligence startup, valued at $1 billion, allows people to create their own customized chatbots, impersonating anyone and anything — living or dead or inanimate. The website, and accompanying app, is one of the most surprising hits of the artificial intelligence craze....
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Microsoft’s Lineup of Exclusive Games Draws Fire From Deal Foes
29Jun By adminNo Comments
Technology

Microsoft’s Lineup of Exclusive Games Draws Fire From Deal Foes

[ad_1] US officials suing to stop Microsoft Corp.'s $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard Inc. argue the software giant's recent acquisition history suggests it's motivated to rope off blockbuster video games from competitors.Microsoft routinely distributes its video games across multiple consoles, but with the 2020 purchase of gaming conglomerate ZeniMax Media for $7.5 billion, the company placed an increased emphasis on exclusive, top tier titles. As the Federal Trade Commission seeks in court to block the Activision merger, the agency pointed to the ZeniMax deal to poke holes in Microsoft's assertion that the acquisition will be good for the industry and question its intention to make more games available on multiple platforms. Starting with the ZeniMax purchase, Microsoft made...
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Microsoft-Activision deal: What is ‘cloud gaming’?
28Apr By adminNo Comments
Technology

Microsoft-Activision deal: What is ‘cloud gaming’?

[ad_1] Technology firms have long dreamt of shifting gamers away from cumbersome consoles and physical purchases to subscriptions and virtual access -- essentially a Netflix for video games.However, on Wednesday the UK's antitrust regulator blocked Microsoft's purchase of Activision largely because it had the potential to kill competition in the still developing "cloud gaming" sector. - How does cloud gaming work? For decades, the console has been king. Sony's PlayStation, Microsoft's Xbox and various Nintendo units have dominated.Millions have also enjoyed gaming on their PCs.But the arrival of superfast broadband has allowed companies to experiment with new ways of delivering and monetising games.Rather than buying games and storing information on their personal consoles and PCs, game...
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Nintendo Must Plot an Exit From Switch’s Uncharted Territory
3Mar By adminNo Comments
Technology

Nintendo Must Plot an Exit From Switch’s Uncharted Territory

[ad_1] The moment that Nintendo Co. investors have dreaded for years is finally here: peak Switch. Sales of its mainstay console are falling, along with profits. The Kyoto firm cut its outlook for the year ending March to 18 million units after a disappointing holiday season. During the height of the pandemic, it shifted nearly 29 million machines. President Shuntaro Furukawa says the company's entering “uncharted territory” with the Switch, which first went on sale six years ago this Friday, set to become its longest-selling piece of premier home hardware. With 122 million sold to date, it's also the bestselling — but with no sign of a successor, some investors fret that the firm is over-confident in its longevity. In the past, profits and share price have been tightly connected ...
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Microsoft claims to have no idea why ‘Call of Duty’ franchise is special
4Jan By adminNo Comments
Technology

Microsoft claims to have no idea why ‘Call of Duty’ franchise is special

[ad_1] Last year in January Microsoft announced it would spend USD 68.7 billion to acquire Activision Blizzard, highlighting how it would get 'Call of Duty', 'Warcraft' and 'Candy Crush' for that fee. American tech multinational Microsoft, which a year ago announced its plans to acquire Activision Blizzard, might keep 'Call of Duty', the video game company's iconic franchise, from appearing on Sony's PlayStation. According to The Verge, an American technology news website, last year in January Microsoft announced it would spend USD 68.7 billion to acquire Activision Blizzard, highlighting how it would get 'Call of Duty', 'Warcraft' and 'Candy Crush' for that fee. However, the new website has reported that Microsoft's lawyers are suddenly pretending they have no idea why 'Call of...
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