Microsoft acquires ZeniMax Media (Bethesda, id Software, Arkane + 5 more) [2020-09-21, 2021-03-09]

[Tkumpathenurpahl]

Microsoft buying Konami would genuinely bother me. We'd have Kojima working closely with Sony, and his creation being toyed with by the corporate machine of Microsoft. Like seeing studios other than Naughty Dog and Insomniac doing Crash Bandicoot and Spyro.

*spits*

 

[cheapchips]

Microsoft buying Konami would genuinely bother me. We'd have Kojima working closely with Sony, and his creation being toyed with by the corporate machine of Microsoft. Like seeing studios other than Naughty Dog and Insomniac doing Crash Bandicoot and Spyro.

*spits*

Poor Brit's going to have to tidy this into the generic MS purchasing thread...

Konami kicked Kojima out and for his part, he blew hot and cold on MGS for years.

Konami are really just a back portfolio as far as console games are concerned. They were faced with the AAA challenge, same as Bethesda, and decided the answer was more pachinko.

 

[PSman1700]

Personally speaking the only reason I'd consider any console or have is certain exclusives not available on the PC.

Yes spec wise their not so intresting anymore.

 

[Daozang]

That's why I see Sony's strategy is more like that of Nintendo. The first priority is to build the best first-party games and
to give more diversity to attract different kind of consumers.

They will need to redefine their image if they are to do that.
Nintendo is about gameplay and fun first, everything else second.
Sony's image is more closely associated with the perception that they are providing the most polished single player experience you can get, and that doesn't come cheap.
You cannot make God of War, Uncharted, Horizon, Spiderman and a Last of us every two years.
And right now, it seems that they need a huge game (or more realistically two) every year to compete...
I feel that if MS goes for one more publisher, or a few well targeted individual studios, the game is over.
And it's a shame really, because there is a uniqueness in what Sony does and it would be sorely missed if push comes to shove and they have to cut back.

 

[Nesh]

right. If you buy any company it'd be ideal to publish everywhere, thus the more you sell and the more people enjoy those games the better.

Nadella is a god compared to Ballmer, so maybe he shall see that. I've always been a fanboy of MS - not Xbox itself - since my first game alongside Need for Speed was Microsoft Golf on a Windows 95 os, but yeah

If you are just a publisher that relies only on the software you publish then yes.
But the thing is with the existence of platforms whether it is hardware based or cloud based or a subscription service, we have companies that rely on third, second and first party sales to get revenue. The market size and the market share determines how much revenue they get. MS has a strong incentive to withhold content from competition to transition many users to their own services/platform thus increase their market share. Thus increase the revenue they get from every sale that lives in their own services.

 

[Nesh]

Interesting read

https://www.pcgamer.com/what-microsoft-buying-bethesda-means-for-pc-gamers/#:~:text=Microsoft announced today that it,Dishonored and many, many more.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1308051339763613697

Also rumors are floating that they are trying to enter the Japanese market by purchasing another Japanese company. It could be Konami or Sega. But it would be a huge megaton if it is one of the other bigger companies. It is shocking to even think about it.
Expect them to make the announcement at TGS.

This is why they are the ones making the TGS introduction even though their efforts have been pretty much dead 3 times in a row in Japan

 

[manux]

Interesting read

https://www.pcgamer.com/what-microsoft-buying-bethesda-means-for-pc-gamers/#:~:text=Microsoft announced today that it,Dishonored and many, many more.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1308051339763613697

Also rumors are floating that they are trying to enter the Japanese market by purchasing another Japanese company. It could be Konami or Sega. But it would be a huge megaton if it is one of the other bigger companies. But it is shocking to even think about it.
Expect them to make the announcement at TGS.

This is why they are the ones making the TGS introduction even though their efforts have been pretty much dead 3 times in a row in Japan

That's same bullshit we saw in streaming movie/tv-series business year ago. Then the mantra was netflix is going to die as the big boys are coming(apple, disney,...). Business is still as normal, market is big enough to have multiple players. The market shares might change but I seriously doubt any one company could monopolize gaming and serve everyone. If anything gaming market is still very small and ever growing as young people used to gaming become older(more money to consume, make new people who like gaming) and older people who don't like gaming die away. Similarly developing countries become richer and eventually will have resources to spend on gaming.

 

[fehu]

Oh my god when you grow up considering japan the land of the future and technology and then you visit a japanese site!
Does someone have the schedule and the link to streaming for TGS?

 

[AlNom]

https://www.siliconera.com/tokyo-game-show-2020-schedule/ Seemingly begins 9PM JST / 8 AM Eastern, Sept 24.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClFyIegrk4g6CFqGYCwTViA

 

[iroboto]

If anything gaming market is still very small

hmm... I think the global video game industry nets about 160B US per year. This surpasses film and TV I think at around 100B? So I definitely think people are playing, if not openly, then quietly.

That's same bullshit we saw in streaming movie/tv-series business year ago. Then the mantra was netflix is going to die as the big boys are coming(apple, disney,...).

On a general statement, movie and film content is not consumed the same as game content. Gamers can spend 1000+ hours on a single title, equivalent to watching the same movie 3x times a day every single day for years on end. Most console games have a running length between 8-16 hrs; 20-40 when you attempt to do everything. I do not think the two are comparable. One relies heavily on producing new content all the time. The subscribers are more than willing to swap up streaming services to get the content they are intersted in. There is no stickiness with video, there is no loyalty. The viewership is only loyal to the content they must watch, they don't care where they must watch it.
Games are different, people build personas in communities, people build up personal game libraries, almost every game has some sort of mechanism of building things up now. You're much more linked with that, and a lot of people have a much harder time letting go. Something as simple as Steam still holding onto a great deal of the PC population is just a taste of that. A simple taste and all it is, is a store launcher, and people can't be bothered to use another one.

So in this way, I can't say they are equivalent. Your argument is decent, but when I think about all the people that are reluctant to swtich ecosystems, because being PC/PS/Xbox/Nintendo person is somehow a defining character trait, than ti's much different. No one says they're a netflix guy, I'll never use Hulu, Disney etc. I'll glad use any service, but I don't have the money to own them all. Some folks have more than enough money to own several consoles or things, but still choose to stick to 1.

 

[manux]

hmm... I think the global video game industry nets about 160B US per year. This surpasses film and TV I think at around 100B? So I definitely think people are playing, if not openly, then quietly.

Gaming is big but sony/ms piece is tiny. Console market between sony/ms is less than 200 million active consoles. Microsoft has some share on pc. Both players are mostly out of mobile gaming market?

There are billions of people who are potential customers and don't play sony/ms "hardcore" games like those from zenimax or sony 1st party studios. Something like spiderman probably doesn't reach more than few tens of millions new sales + some from used market/loaned games. Something like candy crush or whatever is the thing today reaches a ton more people as sad as it is.

 

[manux]

Worst case I can see for sony is that they stop producing HW and become another game publisher supporting other companies platforms. They can crank out blockbuster a year and make some money. Also try to do some free2play micro transactions garbage. Probably do same as epic which is to start their own store to avoid middlemen. In this future sony games probably would also appear on something like geforce now that doesn't take a cut from game sales(as opposed to stadia/...)

 

[iroboto]

Gaming is big but sony/ms piece is tiny. Console market between sony/ms is less than 200 million active consoles. Microsoft has some share on pc. Both players are mostly out of mobile gaming market?

There are billions of people who are potential customers and don't play sony/ms "hardcore" games like those from zenimax or sony 1st party studios. Something like spiderman probably doesn't reach more than few tens of millions new sales + some from used market/loaned games. Something like candy crush or whatever is the thing today reaches a ton more people as sad as it is.

Indeed. That’s actually sort of why I think GamePass with XCloud is a big deal. It’s disruptive in that those markets console games will finally be able to jump from console to mobile. And this is apples greatest fear. If the majority of profits are on mobile and they have been taking a 30% of those profits, that’s been netting them well over 20B a year out of 75B that is spent. Console market is half the size and them coming in with high quality titles and they don’t see a cent of those spend Apple was quick to deny until there is something in place in which Apple profits.
But I think the most interesting thing about game pass, is that in order to gain widespread adoption it must evolve much further than it is. It can’t just have those aaa console titles, but eventually educational games, and other much more niche style of games to grow their audience base as it reaches outside console land.

imagine Netflix without Dora. So many parents wouldn’t bother.

 

[AlNom]

But I think the most interesting thing about game pass, is that in order to gain widespread adoption it must evolve much further than it is. It can’t just have those aaa console titles, but eventually educational games, and other much more niche style of games to grow their audience base as it reaches outside console land.

imagine Netflix without Dora. So many parents wouldn’t bother.

Where's my Halo Megabloks already. >_>

I guess they have ultra violence with Doom and Gears.

Gonna need an anime section.

 

[AzBat]

How about that Fallout 4 in the PS+ Collection? Thanks Sony for giving more money to Microsoft.

Tommy McClain

 

[AlNom]

How about that Fallout 4 in the PS+ Collection? Thanks Sony for giving more money to Microsoft.

Tommy McClain

I suppose they have a nice back catalogue for Games With Gold now aside from being able to include them in Game Pass.

 

[Jay]

I feel that if MS goes for one more publisher, or a few well targeted individual studios, the game is over.
And it's a shame really, because there is a uniqueness in what Sony does and it would be sorely missed if push comes to shove and they have to cut back.

Maybe instead of people keep saying MS should just be a 3P publisher, we'll start hearing Sony should.

 

[mpg1]

Apple doesn't strike me as "gaming company" but I wouldn't be shocked if they tried to buy Nintendo or Sony Interactive to shoehorn they're way into gaming space. They are going hard into services.

Nintendo would probably never sell but Sony might if the price is right.

Amazon is another company who might try to do this as well..

 

[AlphaWolf]

Apple doesn't strike me as "gaming company" but I wouldn't be shocked if they tried to buy Nintendo or Sony Interactive to shoehorn they're way into gaming space. They are going hard into services.

Nintendo would probably never sell but Sony might if the price is right.

Amazon is another company who might try to do this as well..

They might try, but I have a hard time believing Japanese authorities would ever let it happen. There's just no net value for Japan letting Apple gobble up either of those profitable iconic companies.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

I see no chance of that. Maybe there would be antitrust issues too (though IMO, they would be foolish concerns). I can definitely see the EU getting butthurt.

I also now wonder if Sony feels compelled to strike back and buys somebody.

Funny because in recent times it felt to me like Sony had the bigger warchest to aim at gaming. MS, while technically they have more money, seemed to keep Xbox on a tight sort of pay for yourself budget (this is why for example you never see crazy low Xbox console prices, as well probably as anti trust), while PS is much more fundamental to Sony as a company and a profit engine. I had heard some twitter stuff about Sony "throwing their money around" and then at their last event they came up with several paid for timed exclusives (Deathloop. FF16?)

How many publishers are left really? I cant keep track but it seemed Zenimax was one of the few besides Ubi/EA/Activision.

I remain of the opinion exclusives are overrated. Most people go back to playing Destiny, Fortnight, Madden, Cod, NBA 2k, Fifa, the list goes on.

There's actually quite a few. Although many aren't on the same level.

However, that can change in an instant depending on conditions with publishers either moving up or moving down.

Just a few off the top of my head.

Take-Two Interactive (they own multiple smaller publishers like 2K)
Capcom
Square-Enix Eidos
Sega (also own smaller publishers like Atlus)
Paradox
Warner Bros
Deep Silver
THQ Nordic
Stardock
Daedalic
KOEI Tecmo
EPIC
Plenty more that I can't remember off the top of my head.

Like I said some are small now, but it doesn't take much for a smaller publisher to move up and become a big publisher. Just takes a hit or someone with a lot of money investing in them.

Regards,
SB