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☆ Mark Zuckerberg says Meta will offer its virtual reality OS to hardware companies, creating iPhone versus Android dynamic
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Meta will partner with external hardware companies, including Lenovo, Microsoft and Asus, to build virtual reality headsets using the company's Meta Horizon operating system, the company said Monday. The move will create new hardware devices that run on the same operating system and software as Meta's current first-party virtual reality hardware, such as the Quest 3 and Quest Pro. The move further defines the fault lines of the virtual reality hardware market, months after Apple released its $3,500 virtual reality headset called Vision Pro in January. According to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who shared the news in an Instagram video Monday, the announcement essentially recreates the Android versus iOS dynamic in smartphones — only for virtual reality headsets. Meta Horizon is based on a version of Android, allowing for easier ports of apps from phones to virtual reality.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Meta's, Meta Organizations: Lenovo, Microsoft, Asus, Quest Pro, Apple, Reality Labs, Meta, Apple's, Google, Steam, Gaming, Xbox

☆ Microsoft could buy Activision Blizzard by the end of the week. Here's what that means for 'Call of Duty.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-08 | by ( Kenneth Niemeyer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Activision President Rob Kostich said he thinks the deal will make "Call of Duty" better. "This deal is good for the industry," Kostich told Games Beat. AdvertisementAdvertisementActivision Blizzard's president thinks that Microsoft could make the "Call of Duty" franchise even better. The UK Competition and Markets Authority previously blocked Microsoft's attempts to buy Activision Blizzard, causing Microsoft to reorganize the deal. "As we've said previously, this deal is good for the industry and will bring more games to more players," Kostich told Games Beat.

Persons: Rob Kostich, Kostich, —, we've, Activision Blizzard Organizations: Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, Activision, Service, Markets, Ubisoft, Cloud Gaming, Sunday

REUTERS/Kevork Djansezian Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Sept 27 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Microsoft’s (MSFT.O) gaming master plan is slowly coming together. But Microsoft’s gaming revenue was still around 8% of group sales, or $15 billion, for the year ended June 2022. Given these risks, it makes sense for Nadella to grow his exposure to those parts of the gaming market which are less likely to be upended by cloud gaming. It remains possible that cloud gaming is a dog that doesn’t bark – or at least not for some time. As a result of the Activision deal, Nadella has a hedge of sorts against cloud gaming happening too fast.

Persons: Kevork, Satya Nadella’s, Ampere, ”, GamesIndustry.biz, Nadella, George Hay, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: Activision, REUTERS, Reuters, Bethesda, Microsoft, Satya Nadella’s Activision, Ampere, Sony, Nintendo, Reuters Graphics, Netflix, Gamers, Xbox, PlayStation, Big Tech, Apple, HK, reckons, Competition, Markets Authority, CMA, Xbox Cloud Gaming, Ubisoft Entertainment, Ubisoft, Thomson Locations: Los Angeles , California, United States, U.S

☆ Meta Connect: All the details on Quest 3, Ray-Ban smart glasses, AI chatbots
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg delivers a speech, as a pair of Ray-Ban smart glasses appear on screen, during the Meta Connect event at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, California, U.S., September 27, 2023. AI CHATBOTS, STICKERSMeta unveiled more than two dozen chatbots that will work within its social media applications. The company announced Meta AI Studio, a platform for developers to build custom AI chatbots. RAY-BAN SMART GLASSESMeta announced new generation Ray-Ban smart glasses, priced at $299. The smart glasses will also have Meta AI built in, with the ability to give information on the item a user is looking at.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Carlos Barria, Snapdragon, Meta, Microsoft's Bing, Bear Grylls, Chloe Kim, Josh Richards, RAY, Yuvraj Malik, Shounak Dasgupta Organizations: Meta, REUTERS, Gaming, Facebook, United States, Thomson Locations: Menlo Park , California, U.S, WhatsApp, United, Bengaluru

☆ Microsoft's $68.7 billion Activision acquisition clears key hurdle after UK regulator provisionally approves deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The CMA provisionally greenlit Microsoft's acquisition of the "Call of Duty" developer. It comes after a lengthy period in which the deal was threatened because of competition concerns. Get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in business, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley — delivered daily. The CMA will conduct a consultation until October 6, before the acquisition agreement expires on October 18. Activision said in a statement issued to Insider, "The CMA's preliminary approval is great news for our future with Microsoft."

Persons: Activision Blizzard, Sarah Cardell, Brad Smith, We're Organizations: Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, CMA, Service, Activision, Markets, Ubisoft, Cloud Gaming Locations: Wall, Silicon

Microsoft announced the biggest gaming deal in history in early 2022, but the acquisition was blocked by Britain's competition regulator, which was concerned the U.S. computing giant would gain too much control of the nascent cloud gaming market. Under the restructured deal, Microsoft will not be able to release Activision games like "Overwatch" and "Diablo" exclusively on its own cloud streaming service — Xbox Cloud Gaming – or to exclusively control the licensing terms for rival services. Instead, French gaming rival Ubisoft will acquire the cloud streaming rights for Activision's existing PC and console games, and any new games released by Activision in the next 15 years. A view shows a Microsoft logo at Microsoft offices in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France, January 25, 2023. Microsoft said Ubisoft would acquire the rights through a one-off payment and a market-based wholesale pricing mechanism, including an option that supports pricing based on usage.

Persons: Tom Smith, there's, Gonzalo Fuentes, Alex Haffner, Fladgate, Sarah Cardell, Yadarisa, Kate Holton, Foo Yun Chee, Barbara Lewis, Sharon Singleton, Mark Potter Organizations: CMA, Microsoft, Activision, Ubisoft Deal, Ubisoft Entertainment, Ubisoft, Markets Authority, European Commission, Geradin Partners, Big Tech, Reuters, REUTERS, European Union . Competition, Federal Trade Commission, European, European Union, Sony, U.S, Thomson Locations: New York, Paris, U.S, Europe, Brussels, EU, Issy, France, British, United States, Bengaluru, London

Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is the only regulator to block Microsoft's $69 billion Activision deal, in a test of its post-Brexit clout. The CMA in a statement said the revised transaction would "allow Ubisoft to commercialise these rights to other cloud gaming services providers (including to Microsoft itself)". Under the new terms, Microsoft will not be able to release Activision Blizzard games exclusively on its own cloud streaming service — Xbox Cloud Gaming – or to exclusively control the licensing terms of Activision Blizzard games for rival services. The new transaction deals with streaming rights outside the European Economic Area, reflecting the fact that Brussels had already approved the deal. Ubisoft will, however, receive a non-exclusive licence for Activision's European gaming rights too, enabling the French group to also stream the rights in the EU.

Persons: Yadarisa, Kate Holton, Rashmi Aich, Sachin Ravikumar, Barbara Lewis Organizations: CMA, Activision, Ubisoft Deal, Microsoft, Ubisoft Entertainment, Britain's, Markets Authority, Ubisoft, European Union, Sony, U.S, Activision Blizzard, Economic, Activision's, Thomson Locations: Paris, British, Brussels, Bengaluru, London

☆ Microsoft says it will sell Activision streaming rights to Ubisoft to unblock its takeover bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Microsoft has restructured its deal to hand Activision cloud gaming rights to rival Ubisoft. Microsoft really wants to get its takeover of Activision Blizzard over the line. The tech giant has substantially restructured its deal to try and appease the UK regulator's concerns that a takeover would hurt competition in cloud gaming. The new deal involves selling Activision cloud-gaming rights for countries outside the European Economic Area to video-game publisher Ubisoft. Microsoft announced its intent to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion in January 2022, but the deal has been entangled in competition concerns ever since.

Persons: Sarah Cardell, Brad Smith Organizations: Microsoft, Activision, Ubisoft, Morning, Activision Blizzard, Economic Area, Cloud Gaming, European Commission, Markets Authority, CMA Locations: British

☆ Microsoft Offers British Regulators Changes to Activision Deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Adam Satariano | More About Adam Satariano | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Why It Matters: The offer aims to address concerns over cloud gaming. Under the new terms, Microsoft will give Ubisoft control over licensing deals for cloud gaming services for 15 years. This is aimed at preventing Microsoft from launching titles exclusively on its own cloud streaming service, called Xbox Cloud Gaming. But Microsoft scored a major victory in May, when the European Union approved the deal. The British regulator said it would issue a decision by Oct. 18, the date that Microsoft has set as a deadline to complete its deal with Activision.

Persons: Microsoft’s, Sarah Cardell, ” Organizations: Markets Authority, Microsoft, Ubisoft, Cloud Gaming, Activision, Sony, U.S . Federal Trade Commission, European Union Locations: U.S

And according to a report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, they're especially popular among young adults — the same group that dominates PC gaming, according to Statista. However, these days, most MacBooks run on a single chip called either the M1 or M2, also known as Apple silicon, that holds both the CPU and GPU. Steam, the most popular PC gaming app, even has its own dedicated macOS catalog now. It features thousands of fantastic games, including:You also have access to a wealth of popular games outside of Steam, like Fortnite and The Sims 4. And don't forget cloud gaming services like Xbox Game Pass that let you stream popular games on your MacBook.

Persons: MacBooks, you'll, Whoopi Goldberg's, you'd, William Antonelli, I've, you've, aren't Organizations: Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, Apple, AMD, Intel, Nvidia, Mac, Forza, Xbox Cloud Locations: itch.io

☆ Video-game experts say 5G is the key to next-level play, from high-definition mobile gaming to VR experiences
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Chris Stokel-Walker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The tech helps game development and playing, especially in the growing sector of cloud gaming. One of the biggest and longest-standing cloud-gaming platforms is Xbox Cloud Gaming, which was launched by Microsoft in 2019. Whatley said he believed that the success of Xbox Cloud Gaming was dependent on the rollout of 5G technology worldwide. Changes in gaming could trickle down to other industriesWhat happens in the games industry often trickles down to the wider world in time. Given that, Bharkhada said she believed that an increase in the quality of mobile and cloud gaming would also have positive effects on industries that borrowed elements from the gaming industry.

Persons: It's, Bharkhada, James Whatley, Whatley Organizations: AAA, 5G, Research, Ericsson, Cloud Gaming, Microsoft, Xbox Cloud Gaming, Apple Vision Locations: Ukie

☆ Microsoft CFO Amy Hood warned employees not to 'build a gold toilet'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

From left, Tim Stuart, chief financial officer of Xbox at Microsoft; Phil Spencer, Microsoft's CEO of gaming; and Microsoft finance chief Amy Hood arrive to court in San Francisco on June 29, 2023. Microsoft's finance chief advised employees not to "build a gold toilet" during a 2018 meeting, according to emails that came up during federal court hearings last month over the software maker's planned Activision Blizzard acquisition. The quip might invoke a 2016 social-media claim (proven false by Snopes) that former President Donald Trump owned a solid gold toilet. "I've made that mistake on too many products, and I'm sure everyone else has too, when we've built features before we answered the core questions," Gluckstein wrote. Read the emails from Spencer and Gluckstein regarding Hood's "gold toilet" comments below.

Persons: Tim Stuart, Phil Spencer, Amy Hood, Donald Trump, MC Hammer, Catherine Gluckstein, Gluckstein, Xbox's, I've, we've, Spencer, xCloud, it's Organizations: Xbox, Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, Bluetooth, TAM, Cloud, Google, Federal Trade Commission Locations: San Francisco

☆ Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg debuts Meta Quest Pro VR headset that will cost $1,500
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer and founder of Facebook Inc., demonstrates an Oculus Rift virtual reality (VR) headset and Oculus Touch controllers. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Tuesday that his company's newest virtual reality headset, dubbed the Meta Quest Pro, will cost $1,500 and start shipping on Oct. 25. Zuckerberg debuted the device at Meta's Connect conference, geared toward VR and augmented reality developers. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella also appeared during the online event and discussed a partnership with Meta intended to bring some of his company's work-collaboration apps to Quest VR devices. WATCH: Meta to release new high-end VR headset

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