As for why the UK players are on the front of the game in all other regions other than Australia, it’s highly likely because Cricket is almost solely a commonwealth sport and the game will get negligible sales accordingly outside of Australia and the UK.
I was able to try Xbox Cloud Gaming on my Xbox One. Not bad! The lag was noticeable so some games which require precision might be ruined by it. I did get some frame tearing but that might be down to my FTTN NBN connection. Maybe once new data centres in Australia open the lag will become minimal.
One of the commentators on the video game, Alison Mitchell, told ABC Grandstand this afternoon that she recorded more than 4000 lines during a single recording session in a London studio earlier this year. Mitchell, who arrived in Australia a week ago to prepare for Seven and ABC Radio’s coverage of the Ashes, also said that after Paine’s recent resignation, she received a phone call from Cricket 22’s producers that she would have to return to the studio to record new lines.
Microsoft is acquiring Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Crash Bandicoot publisher Activision Blizzard for almost $70B.
This is 10x larger than the Microsoft acquisition of Zenimax Media last year. Which at that point was Microsoft’s largest gaming acquisition and more than 2.5x the size of their Linkedin acquisition in 2016.
Just to show the significance of this price tag, Disney acquired 21CF for $70B and AT&T acquired Time Warner for $85B
The rumours surrounding the Sega acquisition have been going on for about a year now.
The issue that Microsoft may have with the Japanese market (aside from the fact that the Xbox has never pulled more than a market share in the single digits) is that unlike the west, they are not as big on the subscription model that Microsoft is clearly wanting to push long term. Physical media is still king over there when it comes to console gaming.
I’m surprised these deals dont attract more regulatory attention - surely there is a concern that a deal like this can lock a decent amount of content (including some big franchises) to Xbox/Windows gaming only
I wouldn’t be surprised if the US Department of Justice steps in. Zenimax was one thing, but Activision Blizzard?! I can see the Activision side being split up into its subsidiary studios, with Blizzard being kept intact.
A lack of understanding probably helps Microsoft because it means the deal doesnt attract attention, but I would have thought the sheer size of the deal might raise a few eyebrows
Will be interesting to see if the ACCC or the EU have something to say about it - they’re a little more on the ball
Microsoft has had a troubled past with studios, until Phil Spencer took the lead.
The only issue I see is if they choose an ill fitted successor when he decides to step down.
Reuters reported on Tuesday that it was told by sources that EA made a “significant offer” to FIFA for an eight-year exclusivity period across all of FIFA’s gaming and esports rights, but soccer’s governing body was unwilling to lock up all of its gaming and efootball rights with just one publisher.