I'm not sure. Would Sony be able to release at least one big game a quarter continuously ? I think that is the issue and frankly I think you'd need at least 2 big games a quarter to drive enough growth going forward. I think in 2023 and beyond you will see MS able to do so. They now have what 30-32 studios ?
Honestly speaking Sony's situation reminds me of late Xbox 360 era situation where Xbox relied too much on third parties but at one point all those third parties were bought out.
Sony of course is in much better position but kinda similar. And they are also not stupid enough to allow third parties owning IPs.
Sony have a long history of ditching IP relatively quickly.
That's actually has always been surprising for me. They abandon their own IPs - Gran Turismo aside - almost every generation. Though, honestly, since the very beginning they relied on third party publishers with Resident Evil, Devil May Cry, Final Fantasy, Tomb Raider and so on.
I would think for sony Konami , Capcom or Square would be the best purchases. Capcom could be really good for them since they own evo. Lots of good fighting games there . Sega can be another one since they have virtua fighter and fighting vipers.
IMHO, I don't believe Capcom will be interested in being bought by Sony - not to mention they are public. However, there are interesting moves like Sony hired formed Capcom's president for example. But Capcom has too much ties with Nintendo and PC, so for Capcom it is even detrimental. I believe Capcom will stay third party (though maybe having some dealings with Sony). Also MS now also owns e-sports league too. MS needs to grab WB and make alliance with Nintendo and they are set.
Microsoft has over 30 game studios now
Somebody counted that they have 60+ now due to sheer size of Blizzard too. And add to that support studios, esports league and there is even some video company or something.
I think some are really underestimating what Sony is willing to spend, or willing to do. This isn't the same suffering Sony during the PS3 era. But we shall see what pans out within the coming weeks...
I would say some people overestimate Sony. People thinking that Sony would go after T2 are living in a dream world. Pure cash deal certainly won't happen and spending more than 5b at once will put them in jeopardy (they hardware division is a dead weight though). I expect Sony will do nothing.
I also don't think MS is done with purchasing studios. There are still 3 other deals I know of in the backround and at least one of them (a small one) is getting close to wrapping up
You said there was some 20b deal, but it did not happen.
Another fun thing is that MS will probably have around 20b pure profits next week again (with 40b+ revenue).
And another interesting is that MS might become more attractive to Japanese publishers due to sheer size of the deal. Like "they are willing to spend 70b on gaming? They are all in! We should support them"