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Mergers and Acquisitions |OT| Thread Merged

Acquisitions and mergers official topic

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I'm confused by people saying Kadokawa. They aren't primarily a Gaming company.
They own FromSoft like the whole company they also own alot of anime stuff and a few other studios and pachinko if anyone wants to buy FromSoft they would have to buy up the whole company. To keep it short they arent selling
 
It would be worth Sony acquiring EA simply because that means that there would be more people with reductionist reasoning who could complain that Sony shouldn't have shut Evolution and Studio Liverpool if they were going to just buy them all back again.
As with any other acquisition, in the long run it would be negative to me as the end user but hey, at least that one would get a chuckle out of me. :messenger_beaming:
 
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SLB1904

Banned
Square + Enix

But then Sony forgets to put their grasses on and everything goes wong.
Then Square leaves Sony and becomes SquareSoft again. Enix does the same.

Both become based again and return to making games for glorious nippon only.
giphy.gif
 

Kerotan

Member
Thanks Phil. Look what you've started.

Anyway I thought sony were 3 Trillion in long term debt? How did they possibly afford this?

Personally I think Sony should go for Ubisoft or R*. Western publisher with some big ips. I could be wrong but I don't think MS are allowed to buy a Japanese company so there's no point sony buying them to use as leverage.
 

Jigsaah

Gold Member
Pretty sure Microsoft, Amazon, Google (lol).Facebook (double lol) and Tencent are the only ones who can afford EA.

37 billion is what their net worth is. Add the extra the buying company will pay. I'm just guessing here, but maybe 45-50 billion? Pretty sure that's out of Sony's league.
 

EDMIX

Member
If they made Destiny (new IP during the PS3\360 days), they can make another one.



I'm assuming they've learned one or two things over the last 10 years when it comes to making MP games, GaaS game, and MTX stuff that Sony would love to put in some of their other games that they are making for the PS5.

I don't disagree with you, but I don't really buy that Sony is buying a team like this, based on a new IP that no one knows about. They make very, very sound purchases which tells me they are buying them for what they have done in the past, just as much as what they'll do in the future.

Destiny is just too be of an IP to pretend that isn't factoring here or something. So I'd say it has MORE to do with Destiny and its success, then simply a new IP. Sony is not spending 3 Billion based on a new fucking IP, they have never done something like that so I doubt that is the case here. It is not the say its not part of the deal as shit for all we know maybe Sony saw something megaton behind closed doors or something, but they are pulling the trigger for Destiny, they are more sure about that move cause the new IP. I think its both, but more so the established known value. Sony historically doesn't buy teams at this price, for nothing. Its usually based on something established that we know they do or something. (I think you are both right btw, simply to different degrees)

I don't think it would be Kojima unless he was given complete control. And with how things went down with Konami, would Sony be willing to give that to him?

This. I love the developer but shit, that situation with Konami, I feel the publisher might be justified and spending might have really been to out of control, thats not saying Konami doesn't have its own fuck ups, but they could be right regarding that spending and maybe Sony saw that with Death Stranding as to why they didn't buy the team yet. Who knows. I think Sony wants to support him, but without reason. I think such a deal is likely though.

Kerotan Kerotan Agreed, but I think those purchases might be inevitable at this point.
 
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What's insane here is it sounds like Sony, despite acquiring Bungie, literally has no control over them as a studio, they're fully independent (which is good), but it seems like they, Sony, literally have zero say in where Bungie's games go not just inside the Destiny IP, but beyond even brand new IP. Now I have to imagine that Bungie will opt to break Sony off a little somethin, somethin here and there on the exclusive front, but there is Bungie out there saying flatly they won't do any such thing.

This is a clear sign that Sony plans to make another big guy, and wants to calm regulatory concern. So Take Two and EA is totally in the discussion now. And, bizarrely, it appears Sony did not get ownership of the Destiny IP in this deal. It sounds as if Bungie is still in complete control of it, just under the Sony corporate structure in the deal they worked out.
 

IDKFA

I am Become Bilbo Baggins
If that rotten hellscape ever comes to be, I will completely bow out of current year gaming and just work on my backlog until I get tired of videogames.

That landscape is already here.

Subscription models need regular content to keep people playing every month. To do this, they'll need a lot of developers to put out this content on a regular basis.

A future of streaming and subscription will be the way forward in a few years.
 
Pretty sure Microsoft, Amazon, Google (lol).Facebook (double lol) and Tencent are the only ones who can afford EA.

37 billion is what their net worth is. Add the extra the buying company will pay. I'm just guessing here, but maybe 45-50 billion? Pretty sure that's out of Sony's league.
It really isnt. But it will take months for something that big to be negotiated.
 

Three

Member
What's insane here is it sounds like Sony, despite acquiring Bungie, literally has no control over them as a studio, they're fully independent (which is good), but it seems like they, Sony, literally have zero say in where Bungie's games go not just inside the Destiny IP, but beyond even brand new IP. Now I have to imagine that Bungie will opt to break Sony off a little somethin, somethin here and there on the exclusive front, but there is Bungie out there saying flatly they won't do any such thing.

This is a clear sign that Sony plans to make another big guy, and wants to calm regulatory concern. So Take Two and EA is totally in the discussion now. And, bizarrely, it appears Sony did not get ownership of the Destiny IP in this deal. It sounds as if Bungie is still in complete control of it, just under the Sony corporate structure in the deal they worked out.
Bungie own the IP but Sony own Bungie. It's the same as Marvel IPs and Disney. Disney owns Marvel but Marvel owns the IPs. The structure is actually the same as the MS acquisitions too. It is known as a subsidiary company.
 
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Jigsaah

Gold Member
It really isnt. But it will take months for something that big to be negotiated.
Ok well Sony doesn't seem to have the appetite for it. Maybe that's a better way of putting it. They buy studios, not publishers. But I suppose that could change. To outbid the likes of Microsoft, Amazon and Tencent doesn't seem likely. Looking from another angle, maybe the deal with Bungie might serve as a signal to EA or another publisher that they can have a similar deal.
 

YukiOnna

Member
They own FromSoft like the whole company they also own alot of anime stuff and a few other studios and pachinko if anyone wants to buy FromSoft they would have to buy up the whole company. To keep it short they arent selling
Yeah. Not to mention they are a major publishing arm of Books, Light Novels and Manga. They are in a multitude of industries that are bigger for them than gaming so it's unlikely.
 

Bridges

Member
Just dawned on me that after the Acti buyout you can get CoD and BF (albeit delayed) on GPU.

I don't see why MS would want to buy EA given that all their titles already go to Game Pass, and they don't make any exclusives that I can think of.

Ubisoft being bought would be just lame for anyone, sure you get a lot of mega franchises but they're all so creatively bankrupt (imo) from being churned out too often, only thing modern Ubi does right is Mario+Rabbids (though I wouldn't complain about getting a Rocksmith+ subscription bundled into Gamepass).

When Japan gets involved then things will get interesting, but there are only a few of those that would qualify as megatons. Hoping Capcom keeps their independence more than anything else really.
 

Menzies

Banned
I don't see why MS would want to buy EA given that all their titles already go to Game Pass, and they don't make any exclusives that I can think of.
I don't believe EA Access bundled in GPU is a pact made in blood. It would be a contract with terms and an expiry. If Sony were to purchase EA I can't imagine this being renewed.
 

SoraNoKuni

Member
Sony getting Capcom is my best bet.

I wish they would go after Konami's ips but I don't think that's happening.

The hints...
Microsoft making a monster hunter killer, Capcom closing the arcade business, Sony having bought Evo is also a hint that they want to invest in the FGC, I am confident that that's the acquisition, also Capcom while a Japanese company it has great western appeal.
 
Sony getting Capcom is my best bet.

I wish they would go after Konami's ips but I don't think that's happening.

The hints...
Microsoft making a monster hunter killer, Capcom closing the arcade business, Sony having bought Evo is also a hint that they want to invest in the FGC, I am confident that that's the acquisition, also Capcom while a Japanese company it has great western appeal.

Wait I thought it was reported that Sega was the one closing its arcades down not Capcom?
 

Brofist

Member
It won't. Phil Spencer has ruined the industry because he can't get dominance organically.
You guys are ridiculous with this narrative. Sony is still a multi billion dollar corporation that just bought Bungie and you still believe this load of crap that Sony is this small time local operation like the local town grocer.
 

Thirty7ven

Banned
What's insane here is it sounds like Sony, despite acquiring Bungie, literally has no control over them as a studio, they're fully independent (which is good), but it seems like they, Sony, literally have zero say in where Bungie's games go not just inside the Destiny IP, but beyond even brand new IP. Now I have to imagine that Bungie will opt to break Sony off a little somethin, somethin here and there on the exclusive front, but there is Bungie out there saying flatly they won't do any such thing.

This is a clear sign that Sony plans to make another big guy, and wants to calm regulatory concern. So Take Two and EA is totally in the discussion now. And, bizarrely, it appears Sony did not get ownership of the Destiny IP in this deal. It sounds as if Bungie is still in complete control of it, just under the Sony corporate structure in the deal they worked out.

Really? They own everything, they simply want Bungie to be who they are instead of buying them to turn them into another cog. They want Bungie to be Bungie 20 years from now, and PlayStation is no longer a console, so there’s no point in buying Bungie to sell consoles, PlayStation the brand sells consoles already.
 

Butch_0451

Member
How can they reserve the option to “self publish”? Wouldn’t they have to ask daddy Sony for money if they wanted to?
 

yurinka

Member
What's insane here is it sounds like Sony, despite acquiring Bungie, literally has no control over them as a studio, they're fully independent (which is good), but it seems like they, Sony, literally have zero say in where Bungie's games go not just inside the Destiny IP, but beyond even brand new IP. Now I have to imagine that Bungie will opt to break Sony off a little somethin, somethin here and there on the exclusive front, but there is Bungie out there saying flatly they won't do any such thing.
Sony bought them, so obviously have total control over them. If desired Jimbo can fire all their bosses, rename the studio, to put them inside PS Studios, sell the Destiny IP to Kim Jong-Un and to put all these Bungie 900 devs to make Xperia Play exclusive Knack games.

But Jimbo decided to give them freedom and to continue being an independent, multiplatform publisher inside SIE, which now will have 2 publishers, Bungie and PS Studios. And as happens with their other Sony internal studios, they will share info, knowledge, tech, data and tool with the rest of the studios, and will make movies or tv shows using these IPs.

How can they reserve the option to “self publish”? Wouldn’t they have to ask daddy Sony for money if they wanted to?
Yes, now Sony owns Bungie, which is now part of SIE. So Jimbo is their boss and must be ok with whatever they will do. But they are ok will allowing them to continue publishing games on PC & Xbox. Even if inside SIE, Bungie will continue as a different publisher. Won't be integrated inside PS Studios even if they will work together, share stuff, etc.
 
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How can they reserve the option to “self publish”? Wouldn’t they have to ask daddy Sony for money if they wanted to?

You're confusing who their boss is.

Jim Ryan is their boss not Herman Hulst.

They work for Sony Interactive Entertainment, they don't work for PlayStation Studios.

Yes, they'll need to get funding by SIE, and they'll get it too. I expect Bungie to grow to the size of a say Rockstar Games with ~2000 people, basically doubling in size over the next 5+ years. You'll see them work on Destiny 2, Destiny 3, New IP, my guess being AAAA FPS to compete with Call of Duty, maybe even a AAAA SOCOM game.

Then you'll have a lot of other studios benefit from the investment as well.
 

Atrus

Gold Member
IMO Kojima is probably poor value for money and simply funding him per project should be good enough. It takes ages for games to be made in his studios and there's very little focus on returns which is why Konami got fed up.

Buying up Konami's dormant IP's that they themselves aren't interested in outside of Pachinko and re-releases, a major Japanese publisher like Capcom/Square-Enix, or curating and funding games with talented studios like Housemarque or Mercurysteam will have better ROI.

Playstation already has a shared development community that promotes success and games that people want to play, so they need volume, particularly in the persistant online gaming space.
 
What's insane here is it sounds like Sony, despite acquiring Bungie, literally has no control over them as a studio, they're fully independent (which is good), but it seems like they, Sony, literally have zero say in where Bungie's games go not just inside the Destiny IP, but beyond even brand new IP. Now I have to imagine that Bungie will opt to break Sony off a little somethin, somethin here and there on the exclusive front, but there is Bungie out there saying flatly they won't do any such thing.

This is a clear sign that Sony plans to make another big guy, and wants to calm regulatory concern. So Take Two and EA is totally in the discussion now. And, bizarrely, it appears Sony did not get ownership of the Destiny IP in this deal. It sounds as if Bungie is still in complete control of it, just under the Sony corporate structure in the deal they worked out.

Lol man think about what you’re saying and read between the lines. Sony OWN Bungie. Bungie can’t independently own an IP when they don’t own their own company anymore.

That makes absolutely no sense, they will continue to run indepdently in the same way Bethesda does
 
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