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[Clear]

Surely the obvious bet is some chunk of WB Games getting sold off.

The thing people forget is that these aren't likely to be hostile takeovers, the present owners need to be in the market to sell like Zenimax were.

 

[Badlucktroll]

Buying Konami would be really dumb, as they are barely a videogame company at this point. You would be getting their IP and a bunch of slot machines and gyms.

Maybe they would just buy the gaming part of Konami?

 

[Shut0wen]

Nah, they have had a rough run of it. They took on too many projects, and because of Nintendo's contract on top of outside forces their work for Gran Blu Fantasy was cut, and redone. They couldn't commit to the entire game which I HAD HEARD the producers of that title wanted them to actually finish it. But other forces from parent company that owns that franchise wanted the game to fit in with their mobile versions in terms of how combat looked and how the game looked.

When PG was working on Gran Blue it had a more cell shaded asthetic, and I guess some people from higher ups were not ok with that it looked too departed from their mobile. So they took PG off the project, which at the time PG was stretched thin, that other game they were making( Babylon's Fall) looks like utter shit because more people were working on gran blue and Restarting Bayonetta 3. I heard B3 switched engines, and also that they hit a wall on switch to get 60fps.

So let's say they may have a new dev kit they are using.

Damn, tbh i had a feeling pg was going that way ehen they were making

Nah, they have had a rough run of it. They took on too many projects, and because of Nintendo's contract on top of outside forces their work for Gran Blu Fantasy was cut, and redone. They couldn't commit to the entire game which I HAD HEARD the producers of that title wanted them to actually finish it. But other forces from parent company that owns that franchise wanted the game to fit in with their mobile versions in terms of how combat looked and how the game looked.

When PG was working on Gran Blue it had a more cell shaded asthetic, and I guess some people from higher ups were not ok with that it looked too departed from their mobile. So they took PG off the project, which at the time PG was stretched thin, that other game they were making( Babylon's Fall) looks like utter shit because more people were working on gran blue and Restarting Bayonetta 3. I heard B3 switched engines, and also that they hit a wall on switch to get 60fps.

So let's say they may have a new dev kit they are using.

Damn that sucks, kinda thought pg was going down the to many games in dev route, transformers, tmnt and star fox werent the kinda games youd expect from pg, thought nier would of given them a relief since it was there first profitable game and id expect them to be making another mainline game, i do hope if they go under someone will save them as they have made some incredible games

 

[sublimit]

Nah, they have had a rough run of it. They took on too many projects, and because of Nintendo's contract on top of outside forces their work for Gran Blu Fantasy was cut, and redone. They couldn't commit to the entire game which I HAD HEARD the producers of that title wanted them to actually finish it. But other forces from parent company that owns that franchise wanted the game to fit in with their mobile versions in terms of how combat looked and how the game looked.

When PG was working on Gran Blue it had a more cell shaded asthetic, and I guess some people from higher ups were not ok with that it looked too departed from their mobile. So they took PG off the project, which at the time PG was stretched thin, that other game they were making( Babylon's Fall) looks like utter shit because more people were working on gran blue and Restarting Bayonetta 3. I heard B3 switched engines, and also that they hit a wall on switch to get 60fps.

So let's say they may have a new dev kit they are using.

Sounds like their success with Nier really got over their heads and thought they could do everything simultaneously.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Valve buys Nintendo. That would be the only thing that would legit get me excited. Then I could ditch consoles completely.

 

[Badlucktroll]

Maybe this has something to do with that rumor that Sony wanted the Konami IPs. Calling it: Sony buys Konami gaming division and Kojima productions. (I hope).

 

[FStubbs]

I still think MS buys EA and/or Value or creates some other financial structure related to these. That’d be huge and there was rumours prior.

As for this, I’m not buying that ACG is the first one breaking real news. Maybe someone was trolling him and having a good laugh now.

If MS buys Valve, Tencent would sue them the next day guaranteed.

 

[Calverz]

Sony are buying blue box studios.

 

[yurinka]

Tencent buying Ubisoft seems realistic.

When Tencent got some Ubisoft shares, both agreed that Tencent weren't going to buy more stocks of Ubisoft and that Tencent wasn't going to affect any decision on Ubisoft. Tencent was going to make an investment on them and help them in China, that's all.

And they can't afford a huge publisher either

PlayStation made more revenue than Nintendo and Xbox, it was so big that the difference between PS and the other two was more than the amount of money MS spent to buy Zenimax and Minecraft combined.

Their business volume is huge and are in a healthy cash an debt position so yes, if interested Sony could afford it.

 

[PhaseJump]

looks like dream acquisition wish lists are back on the menu, Boys.

 

[yurinka]

Can you say which certain publisher?

Blue Box, obviously.

Herman Hulsts seemingly random interview late friday with game informer talking about first party games. Pre-emptive damage control or just pure coincidence?

Hermen is the boss of Sony's 1st party (which includes 2nd part party) games. So when they interview him the normal thing would be to talk about their 1st (and 2nd) party games and studios and related strategies. Plus maybe his past as dev or boss at Guerrilla.

 

[REDRZA MWS]

Maybe this has something to do with that rumor that Sony wanted the Konami IPs. Calling it: Sony buys Konami gaming division and Kojima productions. (I hope).

I’m not a fan of all this buying of big companies and development teams, but whatever would make Solid Snake return has to happen: Sony or MS, idc. Metal Gear needs to be a thing in our hobby.

 

[Maxwell Jacob Friedman]

 

[Papacheeks]

Sounds like their success with Nier really got over their heads and thought they could do everything simultaneously.

Thats what they have been though, is a multi-project studio. Thing is when they are all hands on deck on one project they can deliver and get it done. Issue is they want to stay independent and busy, but their contract with Nintendo is really whats killing them, but its the most lucrative.

Kind of a damn if you do, damned if you dont scenario.

 

[hemo memo]

"Something will happen to someone at some point."

Am I an insider now?

Pretty much. It is the exact same fortune-telling tactic.

 

[Badlucktroll]

I’m not a fan of all this buying of big companies and development teams, but whatever would make Solid Snake return has to happen: Sony or MS, idc. Metal Gear needs to be a thing in our hobby.

I agree that Silent Hill, and Metal Gear need to be a big AAA thing in our hobby, and maybe Sony feels the same way.

 

[VolticArchangel]

Breaking news: Sony Playstation and Microsoft's Xbox game console divisions are now being sold to a brand new owner who is going to spin these 2 into their own new console in the industry.

Spoiler

More to come at gamescom. Valve and Tencent are next on this legend's radar.

For more credible news and insider leaks like, share and subscribe to hiphopgamer.

 

[JLB]

Yes.... please. Believe.

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

Nah, they have had a rough run of it. They took on too many projects, and because of Nintendo's contract on top of outside forces their work for Gran Blu Fantasy was cut, and redone. They couldn't commit to the entire game which I HAD HEARD the producers of that title wanted them to actually finish it. But other forces from parent company that owns that franchise wanted the game to fit in with their mobile versions in terms of how combat looked and how the game looked.

When PG was working on Gran Blue it had a more cell shaded asthetic, and I guess some people from higher ups were not ok with that it looked too departed from their mobile. So they took PG off the project, which at the time PG was stretched thin, that other game they were making( Babylon's Fall) looks like utter shit because more people were working on gran blue and Restarting Bayonetta 3. I heard B3 switched engines, and also that they hit a wall on switch to get 60fps.

So let's say they may have a new dev kit they are using.

I was wondering what the heck happened to Granblue. They took the Platinum logo off the game’s website and on the same day, both Platinum and CyGames released terse statements saying Platinum was no longer working on it.

The Platinum fanboys around here tried to spin it like “Platinum is done with their portion of the game” but obviously something was very wrong there.

And of course don’t forget Scalebound, canceled after 4 years of development

 

[Papacheeks]

I was wondering what the heck happened to Granblue. They took the Platinum logo off the game’s website and on the same day, both Platinum and CyGames released terse statements saying Platinum was no longer working on it.

The Platinum fanboys around here tried to spin it like “Platinum is done with their portion of the game” but obviously something was very wrong there.

And of course don’t forget Scalebound, canceled after 4 years of development

Cygames has a habbit of contracting then changing their minds. I heard that what they showed in 2017-2018 was super early and not a complete build of the game, more of a demo. Cygames likes to have people double dipping in their other products like their mobile.

Platinum could not commit their entire studio which was I believe the main issue.

 

[MrA]

I don't believe it, major acquisitions don't just happen on the spot , the Bethesda buyout took 6 months from public announcement to completion, an announcement could be made in a month but a large acquisition has a lot that goes into it.

 

[Dane]

Nah, they have had a rough run of it. They took on too many projects, and because of Nintendo's contract on top of outside forces their work for Gran Blu Fantasy was cut, and redone. They couldn't commit to the entire game which I HAD HEARD the producers of that title wanted them to actually finish it. But other forces from parent company that owns that franchise wanted the game to fit in with their mobile versions in terms of how combat looked and how the game looked.

When PG was working on Gran Blue it had a more cell shaded asthetic, and I guess some people from higher ups were not ok with that it looked too departed from their mobile. So they took PG off the project, which at the time PG was stretched thin, that other game they were making( Babylon's Fall) looks like utter shit because more people were working on gran blue and Restarting Bayonetta 3. I heard B3 switched engines, and also that they hit a wall on switch to get 60fps.

So let's say they may have a new dev kit they are using.

Wow, that's tragic to hear, do you know what went wrong with Scalebound? Because for me it seems to be a similar story, PG was taking too many projects and all of them were critical flops and it raised the alarm on Microsoft that releasing it would do even more harm for both sides as reception was actually mixed during trade shows. Some people think it was an Aliens Colonial Marines situation where they would have diverted the money to develop a better game, but I doubt they would ever think about doing that.

 

[Papacheeks]

Wow, that's tragic to hear, do you know what went wrong with Scalebound? Because for me it seems to be a similar story, PG was taking too many projects and all of them were critical flops and it raised the alarm on Microsoft that releasing it would do even more harm for both sides as reception was actually mixed during trade shows. Some people think it was an Aliens Colonial Marines situation where they would have diverted the money to develop a better game, but I doubt they would ever think about doing that.

Scalebound was a combination of things. It was a similar situation as Granblue, where scalebound was a big project and they were at the time working on other projects for other people including Nintendo. The language barrier working with Microsoft/Xbox was not great relation wise. Xbox was more than willing to do what needed to be done, but it was going to cost Platinum needing to hire more people as they didnt want to pull people off of the other contracts they had at the time. On top of Platinum Games didnt work with online games much in terms of designing a multiplayer. Xbox was adamant on Multiplayer being delivered. PG said they could deliver a good single player experience, but KNEW they promised it as a Multiplayer game first.

Microsoft was going through changes internally at the time, and since at the time there wasn't a lot of traction Xbox cut their losses on it. It was not one party, one part was PG not being able to commit more people unless they hired more which would require a larger investment than what was originally negotiated on.

On top of them being out of their depths on multiplayer server/network wise making it work and because of the language/distance barrier it made getting engineers to help with that very hard.
Too many things were stacked against that game, if Microsoft was ok with a quality single player game with maybe them adding online down the road I think the game could have been ok. But at the time online was the big engagement and focus, so both parties decided to just drop the project. No ill will, as its one of those things where there's issues that happen and there isnt a immediate solution to it.

If PG didnt have so many projects, and worked on one at a time, I think they would be better off. But them staying independent in one of the most expensive countries in the world doesn't help them. So diversifying has been where they have kept the lights on.
I hope maybe one day scalebound will be dusted off and get full funding from Microsoft with PG, but after that whole headache I think PG will stay with ASIAN/Japanese companies as their bread and butter.

 

[Verchod]

I think I'd prefer either Microsoft or Sony acquiring Square, only because of the IPs they inherited from Eidos.
I need more Deus Ex, Thief, and Tomb Raider.

 

[Umbasaborne]

I hope sony buys square tbh

 

[SaucyJack]

Still surprised at those who think that Sony can't afford to buy a major publisher. This isn’t 2009. Sony is very profitable, has a big pile of cash and next to no debt, they could buy almost anyone they want.

We plan to utilize the excess operating cash flow from this fiscal year as a source of future strategic investment going forward. Opportunities for investment, especially in the entertainment space, are steadily increasing and during the period of our next mid-range plan, which will begin next fiscal year, we aim to make more investments for growth than we did during the current mid-range plan.

source: Sony Q3 earnings press release.

Additionally, the have allocated ¥ 2 trillion ($18 billion+) for “strategic acquisitions” over the next 3 years*. This covers gaming, music, streaming and film. n.b. music has seen $5 billion plus in acquisitions in the last 3 years and streaming just got a $1.2 billion investment of Crunchyroll.

* source: Sony annual corporate strategy meeting.

tldr - if, for example, Square Enix or Capcom (market caps circa $6 billion) was available. Sony could not only afford it, it would actually be consistent with their announced investment strategy.

 

[Gavon West]

When Tencent got some Ubisoft shares, both agreed that Tencent weren't going to buy more stocks of Ubisoft and that Tencent wasn't going to affect any decision on Ubisoft. Tencent was going to make an investment on them and help them in China, that's all.


PlayStation made more revenue than Nintendo and Xbox, it was so big that the difference between PS and the other two was more than the amount of money MS spent to buy Zenimax and Minecraft combined.

Their business volume is huge and are in a healthy cash an debt position so yes, if interested Sony could afford it.

Sony can't afford it. Any publisher up for sale will attract much bigger fish than Sony. Not to mention much wealthier fish.

 

[FStubbs]

When Tencent got some Ubisoft shares, both agreed that Tencent weren't going to buy more stocks of Ubisoft and that Tencent wasn't going to affect any decision on Ubisoft. Tencent was going to make an investment on them and help them in China, that's all.


PlayStation made more revenue than Nintendo and Xbox, it was so big that the difference between PS and the other two was more than the amount of money MS spent to buy Zenimax and Minecraft combined.

Their business volume is huge and are in a healthy cash an debt position so yes, if interested Sony could afford it.

I am altering the deal. Pray that I do not alter it any further.

 

[SaucyJack]

Sony can't afford it. Any publisher up for sale will attract much bigger fish than Sony. Not to mention much wealthier fish.

You can keep saying the same thing over and over but it still won’t be true.

You could argue that they won’t go for a publisher because it’s not their modus operandi and that they tend to go for more organic, smaller purchases, where historically you’d be right, but stop saying that they can't afford it when it’s bloody obvious that they can.

Sony have more cash on hand than, say, Tencent.

Last time I checked Activision Blizzard was the only publisher whose market capitalisation ($60+ billion) exceeded Sony's cash on hand ($45 billion or thereabouts).

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Sony can't afford it. Any publisher up for sale will attract much bigger fish than Sony. Not to mention much wealthier fish.

this is false

Sony can easily afford, get in a bidding war, and win if they so desired to obtain a publisher on the scale of Bethesda.

it depends on if their board believes it’s worth it, however.

 

[Jigsaah]

My guess is Microsoft finally doing something about those WB leftovers.

EDIT: Mind you, "Huge" could mean big money, but it could also mean megaton or hugely impactful for the industry...or both. I wouldn't count Sony out on this one. The fact that he mentions 4 means Tencent is definitely on the table.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Sony
Nintendo
Microsoft
Tencent

The weird part is Sony and Nintendo aren’t really part of this whole so called consolidation movement happening right now. The recent game studio purchases made by them were all defense acquisitions, but some people just love to lump them together with Microsoft in order not to make Microsoft look bad or evil.

You literally forgot Embracer Group.

Also lol at implying Sony acquiring Nixxes was a "defense acquisition". They even outright came out and said that was for more PC ports, who's forcing or threatening Sony from porting games to PC?

Wait, does this mean by your own logic, Sony would internally want to port more games to PC and they feared they couldn't do that if someone for whatever reason acquired Nixxes?

Some people just love to destroy their own bad logic within sentences of each other huh?

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Maybe Microsoft are not evil?. I'd much rather Microsoft and Sony gobble up everyone than Tencent, or Amazon etc, sticking games soley on their streaming service or something. Atleast with Microsoft and Sony we will still get games in the traditional sense, and in Microsfts case on PC day and date too.

It's funny some people still have this childish, idiotic perception of Microsoft when it comes to acquisitions, when the one example of any acquisition actually leading to employees leaving and appearing outright dismayed involve Leyou's acqusition by....Tencent.

But somehow that's still Microsoft's fault

 

[yurinka]

Sony can't afford it. Any publisher up for sale will attract much bigger fish than Sony. Not to mention much wealthier fish.

For sure Sony can afford to make an acquisition of the price of Zenimax, but they won't do it because they don't need it. They already have huge and very successful exclusive games lineup and are breaking revenue records with their current strategy. They may buy some studio, but don't need to buy an entire big game publisher.

 

[Calverz]

Scalebound was cancelled because big bad phil came along and thought the game was absolute trash. He immediately called kamiya and told him exactly what he thought about the game and kamiya as a human being. The result is platinum will never work with Microsoft again as long as phil is there.

 

[Buggy Loop]

I hope...

That Square-Enix sells off the Eidos division to a party (Microsoft?) that would actually use their heritage and franchise history to continue doing what they do best... not fucking movie franchise live services..

MS scoring Thief + Deus Ex alone would be worth it. Square-Enix and Eidos is a toxic relationship honestly, who thought it would be a good idea.

 

[SaucyJack]

You literally forgot Embracer Group.

Also lol at implying Sony acquiring Nixxes was a "defense acquisition". They even outright came out and said that was for more PC ports, who's forcing or threatening Sony from porting games to PC?

Wait, does this mean by your own logic, Sony would internally want to port more games to PC and they feared they couldn't do that if someone for whatever reason acquired Nixxes?

Some people just love to destroy their own bad logic within sentences of each other huh?

Embracer Group isn’t that big. Considerably smaller than the 4 mentioned in the post you quoted which are the 4 biggest gaming companies by revenue, by a considerable margin. Embracer are a long way behind those and are much smaller than EA, Activision, etc who would comprise the next tier.

 

[Dane]

Scalebound was a combination of things. It was a similar situation as Granblue, where scalebound was a big project and they were at the time working on other projects for other people including Nintendo. The language barrier working with Microsoft/Xbox was not great relation wise. Xbox was more than willing to do what needed to be done, but it was going to cost Platinum needing to hire more people as they didnt want to pull people off of the other contracts they had at the time. On top of Platinum Games didnt work with online games much in terms of designing a multiplayer. Xbox was adamant on Multiplayer being delivered. PG said they could deliver a good single player experience, but KNEW they promised it as a Multiplayer game first.

Microsoft was going through changes internally at the time, and since at the time there wasn't a lot of traction Xbox cut their losses on it. It was not one party, one part was PG not being able to commit more people unless they hired more which would require a larger investment than what was originally negotiated on.

On top of them being out of their depths on multiplayer server/network wise making it work and because of the language/distance barrier it made getting engineers to help with that very hard.
Too many things were stacked against that game, if Microsoft was ok with a quality single player game with maybe them adding online down the road I think the game could have been ok. But at the time online was the big engagement and focus, so both parties decided to just drop the project. No ill will, as its one of those things where there's issues that happen and there isnt a immediate solution to it.

If PG didnt have so many projects, and worked on one at a time, I think they would be better off. But them staying independent in one of the most expensive countries in the world doesn't help them. So diversifying has been where they have kept the lights on.
I hope maybe one day scalebound will be dusted off and get full funding from Microsoft with PG, but after that whole headache I think PG will stay with ASIAN/Japanese companies as their bread and butter.

In the end, it was just a "shit happens" situation, it was never any harm on both sides, it simply didn't work, and Xbox was being neglected until Spencer became VP of Gaming and by the time the game was already cancelled.

 

[SaucyJack]

In the end, it was just a "shit happens" situation, it was never any harm on both sides, it simply didn't work, and Xbox was being neglected until Spencer became VP of Gaming and by the time the game was already cancelled.

Why is Phil so Teflon?

He’s been in charge of Xbox since 2014 and was in charge of Xbox Studios for 6 years before that.

Scalebound was in development 2013-2017 so most definitely on Spencer’s watch.

 

[Bryank75]

Sony can't afford it. Any publisher up for sale will attract much bigger fish than Sony. Not to mention much wealthier fish.

Not all about that... Square for instance has a long relationship with Sony, where SOny helped them during hard times. The founder has 20% of the stock and many other Japanese consortium's have large chunks of it too..... they are doubtful to sell to a non-Japanese entity.

30% of Square is anime, manga and film.

Kadokawa is mostly anime and manga with a few studios being a small part of their business.

Then integration and culture is a huge consideration too. Buying those companies for MSFT means they would have 3 or 4 different publishing operations, when a company only needs one really.

Sony is the biggest player in anime and has almost 100% of the access to the western anime market for these Anime producers....
So it would just hurt them too much to sell to anyone else really....

Sony has plenty of cash, they have tiny debt and 19 billion in cash..... for contrast Disney has 15 or 16 billion cash and over 50 billion debt. Making Sony far wealthier and capable of buying anything up to 40 billion if pushed I estimate...between debt and cash.

 

[SaucyJack]

Still surprised at those who think that Sony can't afford to buy a major publisher. This isn’t 2009. Sony is very profitable, has a big pile of cash and next to no debt, they could buy almost anyone they want.



source: Sony Q3 earnings press release.

Additionally, the have allocated ¥ 2 trillion ($18 billion+) for “strategic acquisitions” over the next 3 years*. This covers gaming, music, streaming and film. n.b. music has seen $5 billion plus in acquisitions in the last 3 years and streaming just got a $1.2 billion investment of Crunchyroll.

* source: Sony annual corporate strategy meeting.

tldr - if, for example, Square Enix or Capcom (market caps circa $6 billion) was available. Sony could not only afford it, it would actually be consistent with their announced investment strategy.

Excuse me for quoting my own post …….

….. but if we were playing fantasy mergers and acquisitions one could assume that given that Music got the biggest investments in the last cycle, streaming just had a big investment and films wouldn't seem they best place to invest right now that the lion's share of the $18 billion over the next 3 years could go to gaming, which is also the most important division right now.

So let’s assume that they have $10 billion of the 18 to spend, over 3 years, what might that look like? Well that could be one big publisher, e.g. Square Enix or Capcom AND a couple of medium one e,g, Kadokawa plus the gaming assets of Konami AND a whole bunch of studios.

Not saying they’ll do this, but thats the sort of money they have available to invest in gaming just now.

 

[Dane]

Why is Phil so Teflon?

He’s been in charge of Xbox since 2014 and was in charge of Xbox Studios for 6 years before that.

Scalebound was in development 2013-2017 so most definitely on Spencer’s watch.

Because who dictated the budget wasn't him, it was the Devices division, Terry Myerson which left the company in seemingly no good terms was mentioned as one of the responsibles for this.

 

[SaucyJack]

Because who dictated the budget wasn't him, it was the Devices division, Terry Myerson which left the company in seemingly no good terms was mentioned as one of the responsibles for this.

Development ran for 4 years, Phil Spencer was in charge of all of Xbox for 3 of those years. He may not have commissioned the project (although he was probably involved in the discussions) but he certainly was accountable for decisions about it.

 

[Bernkastel]

Development ran for 4 years, Phil Spencer was in charge of all of Xbox for 3 of those years. He may not have commissioned the project (although he was probably involved in the discussions) but he certainly was accountable for decisions about it.

Phil Spencer until late 2017(and all Xbox "executives" before him) didn't have the decision making power that Phil Spencer now has. Until then there was no Xbox division, Xbox was just part of Windows and Devices Group lead by Terry Myerson. Phil Spencer now directly reports to the CEO of Microsoft. This is why they have been purchasing all those studios now.

Microsoft adds its gaming chief to its Senior Leadership Team

Microsoft's Phil Spencer, now an executive vice president, is becoming part of the company's inner circle of advisers, in a move signaling the growing importance of gaming to the company.

www.zdnet.com

What Phil Spencer's promotion means for Xbox and gaming at Microsoft

Xbox head Phil Spencer recently got promoted to Microsoft's executive leadership team, in a big show of confidence for gaming. But what does it mean?

www.windowscentral.com

Microsoft reorg shakes up Windows group, Windows leader Terry Myerson departs

The Windows and Devices Group is no more.

arstechnica.com

 

[Bryank75]

Excuse me for quoting my own post …….

….. but if we were playing fantasy mergers and acquisitions one could assume that given that Music got the biggest investments in the last cycle, streaming just had a big investment and films wouldn't seem they best place to invest right now that the lion's share of the $18 billion over the next 3 years could go to gaming, which is also the most important division right now.

So let’s assume that they have $10 billion of the 18 to spend, over 3 years, what might that look like? Well that could be one big publisher, e.g. Square Enix or Capcom AND a couple of medium one e,g, Kadokawa plus the gaming assets of Konami AND a whole bunch of studios.

Not saying they’ll do this, but thats the sort of money they have available to invest in gaming just now.

I would suggest Square as a full buyout..... with publishing being integrated into Sony, Crystal Dynamics and Square Montreal coming under PS Studios management.
All other studios would remain under Square management to retain their culture and style. Would probably cost 7-8 Billion

Then they could increase their shares in Kadokawa up to 50/51% and install directors on the board and they would get 51% of their profits etc.

I would also love if they added Arc System Works or IOI to fill niches.

Overall that would add incredible value to the PlayStation ecosystem, give scope to build the brand in many directions and publish stuff on PC, while still keeping plenty of content fully exclusive on PS5.

It would also give a huge boost to revenue and profits. I estimate that it would push revenue over 30 Billion for G&NS and increase profits by between .5 Billion to 1 Billion per annum.

 

[Cyber_hunter026]

Still surprised at those who think that Sony can't afford to buy a major publisher. This isn’t 2009. Sony is very profitable, has a big pile of cash and next to no debt, they could buy almost anyone they want.



source: Sony Q3 earnings press release.

Additionally, the have allocated ¥ 2 trillion ($18 billion+) for “strategic acquisitions” over the next 3 years*. This covers gaming, music, streaming and film. n.b. music has seen $5 billion plus in acquisitions in the last 3 years and streaming just got a $1.2 billion investment of Crunchyroll.

* source: Sony annual corporate strategy meeting.

tldr - if, for example, Square Enix or Capcom (market caps circa $6 billion) was available. Sony could not only afford it, it would actually be consistent with their announced investment strategy.

Only daft xbox fanboys are this ignorant to keep the "sony can't afford shit" narrative. It's the only way they can sleep at night lol.


On-topic: this rumor reeks of BS, they just sit there and throw out "I know something that is huge!! I mean huge! purchase like it's really really huge!!" Without naming specifics but randomly say they know a big publisher purchase is coming.

 

[SaucyJack]

Phil Spencer until late 2017(and all Xbox "executives" before him) didn't have the decision making power that Phil Spencer now has. Until then there was no Xbox division, Xbox was just part of Windows and Devices Group lead by Terry Myerson. Phil Spencer now directly reports to the CEO of Microsoft. This is why they have been purchasing all those studios now.

Microsoft adds its gaming chief to its Senior Leadership Team

Microsoft's Phil Spencer, now an executive vice president, is becoming part of the company's inner circle of advisers, in a move signaling the growing importance of gaming to the company.

www.zdnet.com

What Phil Spencer's promotion means for Xbox and gaming at Microsoft

Xbox head Phil Spencer recently got promoted to Microsoft's executive leadership team, in a big show of confidence for gaming. But what does it mean?

www.windowscentral.com

Microsoft reorg shakes up Windows group, Windows leader Terry Myerson departs

The Windows and Devices Group is no more.

arstechnica.com

Phil Spencer was still in charge of Xbox in 2014, the fact that his reporting line changed in 2017 doesn’t change that fact.

 

[balls of snow]

Konami me thinks. Covid hitting those spas and pachinko parlour hard. Sony getting them on the cheap.

 

[Elbow Identity Shallow]

Surely somebody isn't actually buying the Eurofighter Typhoon in Flight Simulator?

I am actually joking, I bought the Spitfire Mk. XVI which I think was actually the same price. Not my photobut look at it, beautiful.

 

[Red-Town]

Sony buying Take 2, we are finally getting Agent bois