Microsoft's huge investment in mojang: a double-edged sword that hurts and hurts

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Every massive acquisition by tech giants may be a long time of verification and investigation by multiple experts and think tanks, and a decision will not be made until it is approved. However, the acquisition process is so meticulous, but the result is still inevitable. There are too many cases of failed acquisitions in history, which deserves our consideration. However, the Wheel of Time is moving forward, and another batch of acquisitions that share the same mistakes will happen, probably including the recent massive acquisition of mojang, a game vendor by Microsoft.

To be honest, Microsoft is sorry for the title of IT giant if it doesn't jump out and find something to do. However, compared with Nokia's beneficial acquisition, can this acquisition really achieve Microsoft's expected goal? In my opinion, the acquisition of mojang is definitely a double-edged sword for Microsoft.

USD 2.5 billion! Microsoft has invested heavily in the acquisition of popular game manufacturers

To be honest, the $2.5 billion acquisition of mojang is not much more than Microsoft's $7.2 billion acquisition of Nokia, Facebook's $ more than 19 billion acquisition of WhatsApp, and Apple's $3.2 billion acquisition of beats. The problem is that Nokia was once the dominant smartphone. WhatsApp is a popular instant messaging application in the world. Beats is a high-end audio device. What about mojang? It is only a game vendor in Sweden, and its most popular game is the sandbox game Minecraft (my world).

In one aspect, this means that Microsoft is making a huge investment of $2.5 billion for a popular game! You know, the market value of the famous game manufacturer Ubisoft is only $1.4 billion. Although "my world" is very popular-since the official launch of the PC version in 2009 by June this year, the total sales volume has exceeded 54 million sets. However, its annual income is only about 0.1 billion US dollars, or even less than 1% of Microsoft's income!

Microsoft may focus on the social circle behind "my world". According to data, "my world" currently has 50 million paying users, with more than 0.1 billion registered users, gamers are widely distributed and have their own communities. It seems that the success of such a mature social circle can be achieved at $2.5 billion. This acquisition is equivalent to Microsoft's successful acquisition of a mature community with a large number of users. However, this is just a game. Compared with Microsoft's previous efforts to acquire hardware manufacturers, Microsoft's strategy to build an ecosystem of "software and hardware integration" is completely different. Maybe it is because Microsoft's overseas cash reserves are too much to be spent and it is unwilling to pay heavy taxes?

Gaming or hard-to-last Microsoft's bid for bringing WP mobile phones fails.

Now that everything is done, raw rice is made into a cooked meal, you can only identify your fate and see how much benefit my world can bring to Microsoft. After the successful acquisition, Microsoft CEO Nadella said: "games are the most attractive to user interaction, from PC games to video games, from tablet games to mobile games, players play for billions of hours each day. My world is not just a great game. It is an open world platform with an active community. We attach great importance to this and will bring new opportunities to Microsoft ."

It can be seen that Microsoft wants to bring about different opportunities and transformations with my world. However, this is all based on the fact that "my world" has a lasting vitality, rich game content, and constantly updated actions. Can Microsoft ensure all of this? After Microsoft's acquisition of mojang, its founding team will leave, including my world, Marcus Pearson, CEO Kalman, and yakppasse, who will "receive money and leave ". The biggest reason is that Marcus Pearson feels that he can no longer replicate the success of "my world"-"millions of eyes are staring at us in the world, hoping to see our next project, the pressure from the outside has become completely different from the past."

When the core game development figures go away, is Microsoft really capable of maintaining the current glory of "my world? Continue users' enthusiasm for it? I am very skeptical. In addition, the commercial value of "my world" is almost exhausted. Not only are bestsellers, LEGO toys, and even related movies launched, which is almost the same as Rovio's "Angry Birds" series. A slight difference is that with the recent rise of Rovio, revenue, profit and user viscosity have shown signs of rapid decline, while "my world" has not declined.

But I believe this is only a matter of time. After all, the vitality of the game is too short to be replaced easily. You know, even a classic game like World of Warcraft is losing players. Once Microsoft fails to continue the highlights of "my world" and users are no longer interested in it, Microsoft is truly at odds.

It is also rumored that Microsoft wants to use this game to increase the market share of WP mobile phones. But Will a user pay for a smartphone for a game? Previously, Microsoft and Sony often acquired Game Studios and released their proprietary games on the Xbox platform or PS platform to boost host sales. However, for heavy players, the loyalty of mobile games is always inferior to that of Hosts. Players may buy hosts for a game, but they will never be smart phones. Microsoft also said that after the acquisition, "my world" will maintain the status of multiple platforms. This means that although Microsoft wants gamers to jump to the WP platform, it still does not dare to break public anger. The acquisition of $2.5 billion cannot boost sales of Microsoft hardware devices.

It does not benefit your ecosystem. Microsoft is hurtful and hurtful.

Although Nadella praised the importance of the game after the acquisition, in general, the game business is in a very embarrassing position in Microsoft's overall layout. The next generation of family game host Xbox One is still fighting against Sony PS 4, but the positioning of both is quietly changing. Sony PS 4 focuses on games and is also welcomed by more gamers. Sales far exceed that of Xbox One. Microsoft is ambitious. It positions Xbox One in the home entertainment center, focusing on integrated entertainment by game positioning. Video and social networking are indispensable elements. Originally, Microsoft wanted to enter the user's home in one breath and become an indispensable member. However, in the face of the PS 4 attack, it was defeated and Microsoft was caught off guard.

From the current situation, even if Microsoft purchases a game manufacturer with a huge amount of money, it will not change the edge position of the game business in Microsoft's strategic layout. "My world" is hard to truly integrate into Microsoft's ecosystem. Its core business Windows systems and office suites are not compatible, and the hardware devices are only equipped with them at most, it does not seem to play a major role. Microsoft's move is only hurtful and hurtful-not only disturbing fans of "my world", but fearing that Microsoft will change the game to an unexpected value someday, but also wasting Microsoft's cash reserves, in fact, it can be used in more places.

Strategy is not just a saying. Microsoft remembers its original intention.

After Nadine pulled up the platform, he made all-round plans for Microsoft's future and formulated various strategies. Microsoft's strategy is centered around mobile businesses and cloud computing. The goal of all subsequent actions is to carry out the new "Mobile + cloud computing" strategy to the end, this gives Microsoft services a greater presence to users. However, for the moment, it seems that Microsoft has not really woken up and is still moving forward with ignorance. The acquisition of mojang is a manifestation of unclear strategic positioning.

It is no good for its mobile business and cloud computing strategic layout to spend huge sums to purchase popular games and vendors. In addition, Microsoft is increasingly being able to make productive devices-dominated enterprises, far from the consumer-level market. At this time, the acquisition of game manufacturers do not know what the purpose is. To compete with Google and apple again, Microsoft must keep in mind its original intention and make actions in line with the established strategy. (New technology discovery: Kang standing/Wen)

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Microsoft's huge investment in mojang: a double-edged sword that hurts and hurts