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[TheDreadLord]

This doesn’t make any sense. Pure bureaucracy and waste of resources.

 

[Kokoloko85]

About 30 years ago. It was the only time I believe

Nothing like buying Bethesda or Activision lol

 

[KungFucius]

I don;t get the Fanaticism either, who cares if the game was bought on Steam, EGS, GoG, Origin, Battle Net, uPlay, MS Sotre etc., at the end of the day they land on the exact same drive of your PC, and either way it the exact same double-click the launch them, and who gives a shit which launcher boots up in the background?

They don't want competition and want everyone to know how painful it is for them to be asked to click somewhere else to buy a game. It is amusing that they get the most vocal about games they claim to have zero interest in.

That said, it is kind of a pain in the ass when my PC launches. Steam and Epic are quiet, Origin is a little annoying because I don't auto login, and Microsoft spams a near full screen pain in the ass thing that gets in my way of launching my browser. Leave it to MS to know how to steal focus from what the user is doing.

 

[TheDreadLord]

I don’t think it shows anything but weakness. MS paid 7bi for 5+ studios plus IPs that are among the biggest in their genre. Sony paid 3.6bi for a single IP company no one talks about.

 

[JCK75]

Activision will give MS a lot to work with but seriously what would Sony really gain buying an Ubi or an EA? pay way more than they are comfortable with for a lot of bloat and wasted potential..
Sony has made bank on small but talented dev teams... I'd wager looking for the next Naughty Dog is way more in their game plan than another Activision.

 

[RespawnX]

EA is such a bad purchase. For that price they could get Ubi, Take 2, Capcom and still have change left over. And those 3 would buy them real leverage over MS with their exclusive Bethesda bullshit and inevitable future attempts to make cod exclusive.

After the Vivendi story, everyone should have realised that Ubisoft wants to remain independent. They are out of the race. EA has a strong mainstream portfolio and is the only competitor to Activision-Blizzard besides Ubisoft. Take 2 would easily cost 25 billion in a takeover. I'm not sure Sony or Microsoft want to afford that. Microsoft would not get such a deal through with competition authorities after the last acquisition. On Microsoft's side, smaller studio takeovers are more likely now. It will be some time before Sony responds to the last takeover.

 

[JCK75]

It takes Two was published by EA.

If EA goes to Sony or Microsoft, we are all fucked.

I can't think of a single thing EA handles now I give two shits about.

 

[Pedro Motta]

MS spent $75b buying 2 pc stores. Now Sony spent $3b on bungie, and will buy big publishers in the future.

Valve owns steam, which has big pc market share. It's value is between $4b-$10b.

If anyone of these 2 companies buy valve, we pc community are screwed.

Future now is bleak.

What the hell are you smoking?

If it wasn't for Microsoft and Sony trying to bring quality games to PC you would be stuck with Valheims and PUBG's and early access everything.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

After the Vivendi story, everyone should have realised that Ubisoft wants to remain independent. They are out of the race. EA has a strong mainstream portfolio and is the only competitor to Activision-Blizzard besides Ubisoft. Take 2 would easily cost 25 billion in a takeover. I'm not sure Sony or Microsoft want to afford that. Microsoft would not get such a deal through with competition authorities after the last acquisition. On Microsoft's side, smaller studio takeovers are more likely now. It will be some time before Sony responds to the last takeover.

Vivendi was attempting a hostile takeover. That doesn't mean they wouldn't be open to Sony or Microsoft acquiring them. Relationships matter a lot in those types of deals

 

[Bo_Hazem]

ahaha poor Bo ..I bet after Ms 75b he's still excited about how Sony is crushing them hahaha

Nah, let's see who'll bottle it in the long run.

 

[MonarchJT]

Who would they buy though? Lots of red tape and laws for Japanese companies to be protected. From Software is the one I would think could be bought by Tenecent, possibly Namco/Bandai since they have ties to some Chinese companies that are holdings for developers like From Software.

companies as right don't seem interested in Japanese publishers....and from the sound of the rumor it would seem even bigger than Activision Blizzard ...which would exclude Japanese publishers .... or the emphasis on rumor is given by WHO is buying ... like Apple buying Sega even if a small publisher it would upset the gaming world

 

[TGO]

It was a Monday..

 

[shubik]

and how much would pay Sony to buy EA?

I have no idea. EA would most definitely be a very expensive buy

 

[Gone]

Squares Western branch doesn't even do anything original and they've had a bunch of disappointments and memes ( the Marvel game ), they might as well just be yet more forgettable Western devs as far as I am concerned it wouldn't even change a thing if they were sold.
The Japanse branch tho I don't want to see get sold..
Japan ( and Korea but they're less integrated ) is like the last beacon of not being completely US-centric and centralized in gaming.
Their games are distinctly different and that's a good thing, gaming shouldn't be as stale and samey as it is.

To be honest I was referring to Tomb Raider as the main get from such acquisition. A very well established heroine and a good story game can be very successful.

 

[MonarchJT]

The classic defence:

Who gives a shit. I don't like online FPS but I'm happy Sony are fixing their problems with this as they will keep wasting money until they get their online success. Hopefully they can then use the money on creating more games I like such as GOW, Horizon, GoT and so on.

classic defense ? I said they spent x20 times more........answering at that ridiculous "they lost a bidding war against sony" idiocy that hurt my brain just reading it

 

[MonarchJT]

I don’t think it shows anything but weakness. MS paid 7bi for 5+ studios plus IPs that are among the biggest in their genre. Sony paid 3.6bi for a single IP company no one talks about.

Mojang / Minecraft sales have topped 200 million and 126 million play per month (2020 figures) ...it costed 2.5b ..this should show how much overpayed Bungie is

 

[Dick Jones]

classic defense ? I said they spent x20 times more........answering at that ridiculous "they lost a bidding war against sony" idiocy that hurt my brain just reading it

I also had an emoji of shrugged shoulders after that. Go back and re read, I haven't edited it since. I said if you believe Grubb and Jez, then MS knew of the Sony Bungie deal. Grubb specifically mentions bidding war in his tweet that some here had up.

Sorry for hurting your small brain with words and pictures, I'll just draw pictures for you now on.

 

[ChuckeRearmed]

Sony bought Bungie for two reasons mainly

• Not to lose the last big FPS maker basically
• That GaaS money

 

[Topher]

This doesn’t make any sense. Pure bureaucracy and waste of resources.

Actually these government resources are doing exactly what they were created to do. Why doesn't that make sense?

 

[Stuart360]

Ubisoft will be a killer get! I love Ubisoft games.

RB6 (successful tactical shooter), The Crew (arcade racer), AC (well-established 3rd person action game), Ghost Recon (another IP that could be setup right to its better days), For Honor (successful tactical melee fighting online game), and let's not forget PoP and much more.

I think we are the only 2 people on this forum that love Ubi games Bo. Great minds think alike for sure.

I'll tell you one thing though, people can hate on Ubisoft all they want but they make good quality games, and whoever buys Ubisoft will be open to some fantastic big named franchises.

 

[iorek21]

MS will sell Crash and Spyro to Sony as a show of good faith and the deal will go through

 

[Dick Jones]

Sony bought Bungie for two reasons mainly

• Not to lose the last big FPS maker basically
• That GaaS money

Add share information helping Sony's attempts to crack GAAS with their own studios and partners like Deviation and that's everything.

 

[The Alien]

I'd say defensive strategy. Def not power.

Sony, even before Activision deal, needed a capable multiplayer. They got it. Good move/great move.

I fully expect any Bungie game and Destiny content on PS5's version of GamePass.

What dont i like about the deal? Well, it was more of a deal than an acquisition. All Bungie games will remain multiplat. Bungie itself will remain independent.

 

[MonarchJT]

I think we are the only 2 people on this forum that love Ubi games Bo. Great minds think alike for sure.

I'll tell you one thing though, people can hate on Ubisoft all they want but they make good quality games, and whoever buys Ubisoft will be open to some fantastic big named franchises.

Ubisoft have lots of quality IPs .... it would be worth buying them even just for Splinter Cell ......... or imagine a remake of Driver with more open world things ala GTA ..wow

 

[Bo_Hazem]

I think we are the only 2 people on this forum that love Ubi games Bo. Great minds think alike for sure.

I'll tell you one thing though, people can hate on Ubisoft all they want but they make good quality games, and whoever buys Ubisoft will be open to some fantastic big named franchises.

I'm actually surprised at Ubisoft's market cap as it has a revenue as large as 1.59 euros ($1.79B) which is on Zenimax level, but with better quality games and diversity.

 

[brian0057]

Given that Bungie only makes DLC for Detiny 2 (and Destiny in general) while Activision/Blizzard has some of the biggest gaming franchises in the industry (including Crash Bandicoot, which is kinda funny), I'd say this seems more like desperation.
But I'm mostly a PC + Nintendo kind of guy, so what do I know.

 

[MonarchJT]

I'm actually surprised at Ubisoft's market cap as it has a revenue as large as 1.59 euros ($1.79B) which is on Zenimax level, but with better quality games and diversity.

i think them would be perfect for Sony ....could improve the narrative side of their tpa games (given their experience) and would get along well with the movies division ... Splinter Cell .. or Assassin's Creed.....and above all they are not very expensive

 

[Bo_Hazem]

i think them would be perfect for Sony ....could improve the narrative side of their tpa games (given their experience) and would get along well with the movies division ... Splinter Cell .. or Assassin's Creed.....and above all they are not very expensive

Yeah it can work perfectly with their Movie and Anime sides of business as well. Also they have good shooters.

 

[Shmunter]

But if one company makes enough money, haven't they earned the right to own the market?

That's capitalism, isn't it?

Btw, not saying I endorse monopolies, just curious about the moral context behind free markets, etc.

A free market till it’s not free is the benchmark. A single entity cannot own so much as to stifle the free market for others.

 

[Stuart360]

None of the above. Buying Bungie for near $4mil is not a power move against Bethesda and Avctivision/Blizzard, and if it is its showing a lack of power.
Possibly defensive if they felt Microsoft were snffing around Bungie and Sony felt they couldnt lose another FPS.

For me though its just a bit of strategy. Getting a solid studio known for a genre they are lacking, while also being able to provide content for its own Gamepass in Spartacus.

I know people like to think both Sony and Microsoft are like some of the more rabid fanboys on here, but they really arent. That tweet from Phil yesterday, he probably meant every word. He probably meets up with Jim for a coffee when they are in the same city lol.

I really think Sony are onboard with the whole Gamepass/sub model, and realize that its where gamning is going, just like it already has with other entertainment, and how a few decades from now pretty much anyhting and everything we consume will be on some kind of subscription.

People have to lopok at the bigger picture. There are some big name trillionaire companies just itching to get into gaming, and get a piece of this pie for their subscription services and streaming services. Its not some wild coincedence that all these buys have started happening over the last couple of years, and they will continue happening for a few more years i feel.

10-15 years from now, it wont be Xbox vs Playstation, it will be mostly Gamepass vs Spartacus, with hopefully Micosoft and Sony owning most of the big name studios and publishers. Imagine paying like $30-40 a month for Gamepass and Spartacus, and having 90% of all games available to your on one or the other services.

 

[Stuart360]

I'm actually surprised at Ubisoft's market cap as it has a revenue as large as 1.59 euros ($1.79B) which is on Zenimax level, but with better quality games and diversity.

Yep seen some people say you could probably get Ubisoft around the 10bil mark, compared to what?, 50bil for EA?. I know which company i would rather have.

 

[reksveks]

Tim responding to silly questions (at least the op knew it) imo

 

[Hawking Radiation]

I wouldn’t be so sure of that, the rumour is that the Xbox/Activision deal on started talks in November 2021 and was announced by the end of January so you’re probably talking just as much shit as everyone else.

“These deals are months of years in the making” said a non-expert to other non-experts in multi-billion dollar acquisitions.

Sweet baby jesus

 

[ManaByte]

partners like Deviation and that's everything.

Man the shock that will hit when their game is revealed as an action RPG and not a COD clone is going to be epic.

 

[OverHeat]

A show of power

 

[Kokoloko85]

Activision will give MS a lot to work with but seriously what would Sony really gain buying an Ubi or an EA? pay way more than they are comfortable with for a lot of bloat and wasted potential..
Sony has made bank on small but talented dev teams... I'd wager looking for the next Naughty Dog is way more in their game plan than another Activision.

I normally agree with you but Sony needs to buy more publishers for the sole reason of not letting MS buy all the 3rd party Ip’s.
Imagine Sony losing GTA, Fifa, Battlefield, Resident Evil, Yakuza etc

 

[Hawking Radiation]

you dont do a defensive action by spending 4 billion to acquire a game studio in few weeks.....

Jim got a secret GAF account to keep up to date on MS purchases so he can buy a developer in response.
PS or Sony don't need internal road maps or planning for these acquisitions. Just log onto GAF

 

[K' Dash]

Show of power?

Lol.

 

[R3claimer117]

Would this mean, the deal will process faster? Considering the FCC are handling the case now.

Lol pretty much

 

[Mr Moose]

Sony already do open world games as good as or better than Ubisoft, there's no need for them to even attempt to get them imo.
Square-Enix would be a good get, they are already close and I like Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest and some other Square IPs.
Capcom for Monster Hunter, force some Switch players to switch (heh).
Maybe some Konami IPs rather than the company.

 

[R3claimer117]

Sony is not part of the evil Big Tech the government hates.

It's just a japanese company known for movies, music, TVs and video games for them. Entertainment.

Microsoft wasn’t named in that new bill or on the list of tech companies listed either so what are you implying?

 

[mansoor1980]

i think he is LYIN , just to play mind games with phill

 

[Hawking Radiation]

Show of power?

Lol.

Jim managed to get the last dollar for the Bungie purchase.
He'll be back out there again soon. A real trooper

...

 

[R3claimer117]

Also, Sony as a corporation is slightly smaller than MS. Where did the talk of “Nadella’s infinite pockets compared to Sony” go? We cannot celebrate MS being a behemoth and how they can use the Azure money to buy their way into the industry (FTC statement was “biggest technology companies, […] able to leverage their dominance in one line of business to gain power in other markets”) compared to Sony and also ask FTC to treat the two companies the same.

So Sony buy as many companies as you want it’s ok because you’re Sony? And Microsoft no because you have more money then Sony this is competition? As if Microsoft stole the money they make or they make products and services that people buy.

 

[Dick Jones]

Man the shock that will hit when their game is revealed as an action RPG and not a COD clone is going to be epic.

I dont like online GAAS so I'd be happy with an action RPG. Don't know about others though. My last played COD with Kevin Spacey and "Press X to pay respects". I played the VR space demo.

 

[djjinx2]

Buying publishers and making their entire portfolio exclusive is kinda lame. No two ways about it.

And money hatting 3rd party games to keep them from other platforms isn't just as bad?

 

[ManaByte]

Microsoft wasn’t named in that new bill or on the list of tech companies listed either so what are you implying?

The government sees Google, Meta, and Amazon as the tech companies they’re concerned with.

They really want to break up Facebook and there’s been talk of making them divest Instagram.

 

[ryzen1]

I would rather see Sony acquire new talents/developers than buy any big publishers for their existing IPs.
I don't need the 10th iteration of Assassins Creed or CoD.

I want to see new worlds, new characters, new games and IPs.

 

[lastmessiah]

No one wants to buy Square or Konami, get it in your heads.

 

[Panajev2001a]

So Sony buy as many companies as you want it’s ok because you’re Sony? And Microsoft no because you have more money then Sony this is competition? As if Microsoft stole the money they make or they make products and services that people buy.

That is kind of these laws work, rules change depending on your size and market influence, within reason (also, how many large publishers has Sony been acquiring?). Not sure what is odd about that or surprising.