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Sony Game Studios Acquisitions and Divestitures
- Thread starter BRiT
- Start date
With two players swallowing up everything, there won't be a monopoly so no regulation, but competition will be very constrained. Block Sony. Block MS. Put a hard cap on how much of a market a company can own that's below a controlling stake that'll inherently buy success.
You think that's fair? Where you think those of us who want the growth to stop now with MS already in front in studio count being blocked from AB growing are showing favouritism...
Again, the numbers (pulled from Wiki)
Sony studios - ~22
MS Studios without AB - ~23
MS Studios with AB - something like 30?
So don't stop now, balanced in numbers, but let MS get a larger developer base and then slam on the brakes to stop anyone growing past them, right?
I have pointed you to the graphs showing the change in acquisition rate from 2019, following MS's massive payouts for Mojang and Bethesda. It was only after MS bought Bethesda that Sony started buying up studios far faster than typical, 5 purchases in 2021 after the Bethesda acquisition completed. But as you didn't understand it then, repeating the actual data probably won't help with the argument here.
So acknowledging an arms race is bad, and presently MS has more studios than Sony (maybe about a tie by now with Sony buying catch-up), you want MS to get even more studios than Sony with the acquisition of AB and then the regulators should stop them all growing more? After MS have a significant studio advantage?Yes this forum has convinced me that I was wrong that both companies should just buy developers when they see fit. Instead they should just invest in their own studios and wait 5-10 years for them to release a game. That seems to be the right way.
Well hopefully when it comes time for Sony to purchase Take2 the CMA and FTC can stop the purchase so that Sony can't foreclose on MS
You think that's fair? Where you think those of us who want the growth to stop now with MS already in front in studio count being blocked from AB growing are showing favouritism...
Again, the numbers (pulled from Wiki)
Sony studios - ~22
MS Studios without AB - ~23
MS Studios with AB - something like 30?
So don't stop now, balanced in numbers, but let MS get a larger developer base and then slam on the brakes to stop anyone growing past them, right?
Ideally. But even then, Sony's three latest purchases wre founded in 2020/2021, so Sony are buying early studios to grow them over 5/10 years! Although maybe they will manage them differently to get games produced on a shorter timescale...?
Inuhanyou
Veteran
They are. But MSs moves to cover for their own failures after not doing that for almost a decade are forcing Sonys hand into even bigger moves.
Something I have feared would happen ever since MS bought Bethesda. We are on a cliff looking out into an abyss and customers don't win when MS and Sony resort to shit like this.
But if the defense of ABK is that it's inevitable because it's to stop tencent or someone else, than no one should be complaining about what Sony is doing now. Because by their own logic it's inevitable.
I'll say right now I don't support any publisher buyouts from any of these companies. Just stick to ones own logic consistently and no hypocrisy to support their side.
This seams overly pessimistic. The thing with video games, as an industry, is that there has always been a vibrant indie scene with a bunch of breakthrough successes. Music may be the only other entertainment industry that has that, and I don't even know if it's at the same scale. Among Us, Valhiem, PUBG, Hallow Knight, Undertale... these game all are big deals in gaming. There's a constant stream of new IPs and game ideas coming from the indie scene, the big publishers are so risk averse that they are sticking to established ideas anyway.
I guess what I'm saying is that I don't think consolidation is really going to have a grave impact on gaming innovation, though it may lead to your favorite established franchise becoming exclusive to one platform or another. But since I'm 90% a PC gamer now, I'm not sure that even affects me.
Square
Top gaming companies market value 2023 | Statista
in billion U.S. dollars
Square Enix Holding Group 5.72
Ubisoft 3.04
CD Projekt 2.64
IMO Ubi would be great buy, and they are darn cheap! People keep to shit on them but IMO they do pretty good games and in terms of open world games they are top in the class. For that money they could buy Ubi+CDPRD
edit1: Square is also very strong candidate and Sony has good relationship with them. To be honest i think that Square would be much better studio / publisher if managed by Sony.
edit2: You will get a LOT for the money by buing UBI
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Japanese regulators may block it
On a bit of a sidenote... since we're talking about mergers and acquisitions. CMA doing its thing...
Following UK antitrust order, Meta sells Giphy to Shutterstock for $53M after buying it for $400M
Yikes!
I wonder if Meta is going to pullFacebook Meta from the UK, or threaten them with might US Powahzzz!
Following UK antitrust order, Meta sells Giphy to Shutterstock for $53M after buying it for $400M
Yikes!
I wonder if Meta is going to pull
cheapchips
Veteran
It'll be interesting to see if anything has changed there. The Guillemots would have to be keen on it. Ubisoft have resisted take overs for years, particularly from Vivendi.
My nostalgic persona wishes Sony buys Sega and pours the funds, talent and tech to revive and do justice to many awesome Sega franchises like Panzer Dragoon Saga, Nights and Golden Axe. I mean...the last two GoW games do have a lot of that Golden Axe vibe. And Panzer Dragoon Saga has a lot of potential at becoming such an awesome RPG.
Of course the IPs owned by the other companies mentioned above such Ubisoft, CDProjekt, Take Two and Square have a lot more value currently and are probably more future proof.
Of course the IPs owned by the other companies mentioned above such Ubisoft, CDProjekt, Take Two and Square have a lot more value currently and are probably more future proof.
On top of Mr. Magoo's post, how about a whole load of indie studios like Devolver Digital and publisher Team 17 and Supergiant Games? Rather than going for a landmark IP, Sony could just suck a decent chunk of colour from XB's library, and vice versa.
Please Sony (Microsoft included), leave CD PROJEKT alone. The PC community beggeth you!
Sega would be huge. Konami would be great as well! Mgs, new castlevania by GoW people ohhh god yes please! And new Contra by Housemarque. One can dream
MS and Sony are not tencent. They don’t nearly acquire at the same pace or with the same style if aggressiveness.
If Sony is buying up companies they want to merge with Sony, then that is that. If Sony is buying up companies that don’t want to be absorbed by Sony, then we are talking an arms race.
Neither MS or Sony have done such moves. ABK certainly is not.
Whatever you want to call it, over four generations Sony was happy to get a new studio every couple of years, replacing ones it closed down to remain a fairly constant size right up until 2019. It was only after MS dropped $7.5 billion on Bethesda (after a $2.5 billion Mojang show-of-strength) that we see a sudden change in Sony Computer Entertainment's behaviour, acquiring multiple (even many) studios per year. And now the rate of spending and growth of both is completely different to the small-scale studio acquisitions that have defined the video game market for decades.
That said, we don't know what of areas of Entertainment Sony is targeting here - perhaps not gaming? But then ask eastmen about Sony's activities in other entertainment markets like Anime and how monopolising they are becoming. More 'consolidation' by Sony in any field is probably a negative unless it's an area they are weak/small where they are brining in more competition, not locking down their existing biggest player position.
But is it really because of MS? Or did both Sony and MS see what tencent and netease were doing and both came to the same conclusion of what is happening?
Silent_Buddha
Legend
Yes, it's about finding developers and/or publishers that want to be acquired. Bethesda wanted/needed to be acquired. The same goes for ABK.
Someone like Devolver Digital most certainly does not want to be acquired since the whole founding ethos for the company was anti-big traditional publisher.
So, the question would be, what publisher and/or developer wants and/or needs to be acquired?
Rumors are that UBIsoft were shopping around but the asking price was too high.
Square-Enix doesn't want to be acquired, but their finances have flirted at times with potentially needing to be acquired (the Eidos sale put that off a bit). The poor performance of Stranger of Paradise and Forspoken is certainly putting a lot of pressure on FFXVI and FFXIV can only do so much to keep the company afloat. Likely FFXIV's continuing stellar success is the reason the FFXIV producer was put in charge of FFXVI. If FFXVI spectacularly underperforms (doubtful, IMO) then they could be forced into looking for a buyer. If it's successful, Square-Enix likely remains off the table.
Take-Two Interactive is unlikely to want to be acquired as long as R* continues to knock it out of the park.
Capcom a few years back was rumored to be shopping around, but they seem to be more financially stable now.
EA may potentially want to be acquired but the asking price for that would be really high. Not as high as ABK but certainly a lot higher than most other publishers.
Konami might be willing to give up it's gaming division, but Sony likes good developers when shopping around. They usually don't buy a developer just for its IP catalog. So that's not really a Sony target, I'd imagine.
SEGA has a lot of developers, but I don't think they want to be acquired and they are financially stable enough (at least their digital gaming division) that they don't need to be acquired.
Interesting to try to think of what Sony would want to pick up with a few billion USD in cash while keeping in mind the types of developers that Sony has generally wanted to acquire and what developers are potentially wanting to be acquired or needing to be acquired. I'm doubtful that Sony would go after a publisher since that comes with a lot of baggage (both the good developers under the publisher as well as the mediocre or even bad developers under the publisher).
I feel like Sony would stick with acquiring development studios. So, the fertile ground there would be critically acclaimed developers that have trouble selling enough titles to continue to fund ambitious projects. Basically someone like Bungie. A good developer that is on somewhat financially unstable ground. So the AA space is the most likely acquisition space and potentially the Indie space as well.
Regards,
SB
You know typically I am one to let petty insults go but could you try to act more your age. We've already had problems with parts of this forum being closed off due to this shit.
So let me explain it again. Sony is the dominate player in the market outselling microsoft over 2:1 . Sony doesn't actually need to buy any company to continue with its current lead. Yet sony continues to buy studios of all different sizes.
When Ms goes to make a purchase people want MS to be blocked from doing it. When Sony makes a purchase people get excited.
Secondly for you trying to paint me as a moron you actually don't read what I write. I have always said that both companies should be able to make purchases as they see fit. I have said that in every thread. With that being said if Ms is blocked from buying companies to better compete with sony then Sony itself should be blocked from buying companies to further extend their monopoly. It makes zero sense to allow Sony to continue purchasing companies and extending its lead while stopping MS from trying to catch up.
Why would we only want studios to be balanced ? What we want balanced is the install base. So ideally to do that Sony shouldn't be able to anything until MS and Sony are selling at almost 1:1 vs the over 2:1 we have now. That is how you prevent a monopoly.
But go ahead do more mental gymnastics
Firewalk studios was founded in 2018 , Bungie was founded in 1994 , Valkyrie studios was founding in 2002 , Bluepoint was 2006 , Firesprite was in 2012, Nixxes was 1999 , House Marque was 1995 , Insomniac was 94
It looks like Savage game studios , haven studios and lasengle were the ones that are newer. But Savagae game studios was purchased between Firewalk and Bungie and haven before bungie and lasengle before that. Then valkyrie.
I think the narrative of Sony buying early studios is a bit of a massaging of what is actually going on considering the facts.
It's a bit unfair to paint MS as a villain here in regards to ABK. ABK were looking to sell because of all the issues they were having. I don't think sony could afford the almost $70b price tag. So that would have left Google buying it to prop up stadia and we may have only seen ABK games on Stadia , It could have been apple buying it and the we only see ABK games on apple devices , Tencent or another extremely large company. Instead MS is trying to purchase it and so far the solutions MS has put forth are extremely beneficial to gamers
CD projekt might pose an issue since they are one of the few semi succesful pc stores on the market. of course I could see Sony wanting that and just rebranding GOG as Playstation pc . Also they would actually finally get Western RPGs and a game I might be interested in.
I think Ubisoft would be a big disaster for them. That pirate game seems to be the train wreck from hell and I believe they are stuck trying to make it work because they took funding from a country. Kinda reminds me of the Too Human issues. Square esp now that it chopped off edios would likely be a good purchase for them. However Sony already gets most of Squares games as defacto exclusives.
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