Microsoft to buy vivendi? (concerns d3)

Microsoft Buys Vivendi? 9:40 AM - Andrew "Andy" Burnes - Game Biz.: General News - (200)
Well I was sitting on the fence with regards to posting this earlier after I heard of this from various sources but now Computer & Video Games has posted the story. As the article mentions this would mean that Microsoft would control the publishing rights of Half-Life and this would certainly make the rumour of Half-Life 2 being Xbox exclusive more of a reality:

If insider speculation is to be believed, Microsoft has bought US publisher Vivendi, with an announcement to that effect due soon. Take a deep breath and reflect on the implications of that, if true.

Half-Life 2, Warcraft, Counter-Strike, Crash, Spyro, Lord of the Rings... Vivendi has an enormous portfolio boasting some of the biggest titles on all formats, and it would be an ultra-smart move on Microsoft's part to snap them up. Such a buyout, of course, would come at a terrifically high price, making the 365 million acquisition of Rare look like peanuts. But if anyone has the necessary funds, it's Microsoft.

Furthermore, an email from Universal was accidentally sent out to developers last week stating that all work on GBA titles should be suspended. The email was promptly recalled and branded an error, but could it be that this was in some way tied in with this alleged deal?

We contacted Vivendi for comment and a spokesperson told us: "We've heard all sorts of rumours over the past months - Activision, EA and many more. They'd all like to get their hands on Blizzard. I guess Microsoft are one of the few companies that has enough money."

If this is true as various sectors of the press believe then we should be seeing an official announcement on Friday. So Microsoft now has its hands in Valve, Blizzard and others if this is true... Dark times or more security for developers considering Vivendi's habit of dropping underperforming studios?

commentary:
IF this happend we may see things like "diablo 3 exclusively for x-box" this would also require paying for there online service if u want to multiplay. Dont worry, they will probably ruin warcraft and cs as well.

Heh well I'm covered, xbox and live I've got... maybe they'll actually work on D3 though.

heh, this could totally destroy the way the game works if they take over. Also, xbox live is free at the moment, but after the first year its gonna cost $$$ to use it. So in a fiew months u can enjoy a subscription fee.

Dude it does cost money... consider the $50 buying the starter kit part of the subscription. And it's a year free, not a few months... and of course itll have to be less than $50, since people would just buy another kit.

i said it was free for a year, by a fiew months i was referring to current owners....some poeple read and think at the same time. It should only be $5-$10 a month, or so poeple hope.