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Sony Business Thread [Quarterlies, Annual Financials, Share price, Acquisitions etc.]

Bryank75

Banned
Sony Corporation (ソニー株式会社, Sonī kabushiki gaisha, /ˈsoʊni/ SOH-nee, commonly known as Sony and stylized as SONY) is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Kōnan, Minato, Tokyo. The company operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional electronic products, the largest video game console company, the second largest video game publisher, the second largest record company, as well as one of the most comprehensive media companies, being the largest Japanese media conglomerate by size.

Listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange (traded since 1970, making it the oldest Japanese company to be listed in an American exchange), and was ranked 122nd on the 2020 Fortune Global 500 list. (Wikipedia, 2021)

Sony is the 4th most valuable company in Japan measured by market cap and could break the top 3 sooner, rather than later if current trends continue. The company is also considered a 'Core' business for Japan and fully protected from any foreign acquisitions.


G & NS Strategy

PlayStation is currently in a time of management transition, the successful strategy until now has been based on excellent first party, high quality content, strong support from Japanese developers and publishers such as Square-Enix, Capcom, Bandai Namco, Koei-Tecmo, Sega, Platinum and others. On top of strong relations with TakeTwo, Activision and strategic long term marketing deals, such as with EA's Fifa games.

Going forward, it is likely that management will continue to focus on blockbuster AAA exclusives, however there are many threats facing the business.... aggressive poaching of their highly skilled staff by Microsofts Xbox division, a seeming exodus of staff from Japan Studio, including the creator of Silent Hill, senior staff from Sony Bend have also left and Sony San Diego.
Some comments and moves by the new management have also been very questionable.... Jim Ryan saying that he wanted to lower costs, which could damage game quality and result in talent leaving, eroding morale and negatively effecting studio reputation forever, as we have seen with CDPR.
Exclusives are made to attract gamers to your system to spend money on a multitude of other content, not to be a sole earner in it's own right.... so recent pushes to publish games on PC should be very concerning to investors as it damages PlayStations USP and core strength of creating games of such quality that only one or two publishers can ever match them (Rockstar being one).

After Microsoft recently invested possibly over 10 Billion in their games division it is concerning that Sony have been so reserved in expanding their own studios (Only 13) or making any pro-active moves. PlayStation is lacking a blockbuster exclusive shooter and possibly face Xbox having Elder Scrolls, Fallout and whatever Obsidian do next as exclusive, on top of Doom.
There is no point in Sony going out and just buying any old studio... such as the recent rumors of them buying Leyou. They need top tier developers such as From Soft or if they are going towards China, studios such as MiHoYo and Game Science Studio. Turtle Rock would be a great shooter studio which could support PSNow for instance, as it is always online.

So overall, threats to the business are.... censorship (with many online communities starting to hate Sony's censorious ways of late), loss of talent, lack of investment, Competition investing massive amounts comparitively, being too focused on cloud and subscription gaming and getting distracted from core competencies, not valuing Japanese heritage and Japanese partners enough and losing support (i.e. Sega with Football manager and Yakuza).

There are also many obvious opportunities, PSNow needs to be rebranded and relaunched with a great selection of Indie games, always online games with all DLC, like Destiny and Monster Hunter World and with Sony's leverage, they should be able to have a new AAA 3rd party game or one that is just a month or two old every 2 months.... along with some lower cost projects like Concrete Genie and multiplayer experiences like Factions (TLOU2) would help sell such a service and make it seem more premium.
Developing their relationship with Disney, to bring more Marvel characters to PlayStation exclusively would generate a lot of excitement and hype for the system. Possibly with a new MVC game using 2D sprites in collaboration with Capcom. A Wolverine / Logan game or X-men game etc.
I also find it surprising that Aniplex and Sony at large own so much or have massive leverage over anime IP's, yet they are made into games by 3rd party developers and then brought to every platform. These should in all rights be exclusive to PlayStation.
With so many potential players in cloud and subscription gaming, Sony should make sure that PlayStation is the only place that you can get everything... especially COD, Fifa, NBA, GTA, RDR, Destiny, Fortnite etc etc.
In a sense, letting Bethesda be bought by a competitor was a huge slip regarding this idea of being a unified place to play everything.


Sony Pictures / TV / Streaming Strategy

We are in the midst of a streaming war, with Disney and Netflix both spending themselves dry to produce content to attract people to their services.
Sony's position here is unique as they are the only one of the bigger film and tv studios that do not have their own streaming service and instead position themselves as an arms dealer of sorts.
Nearly all the top shows on Netflix and Amazon are made by Sony.... The Crown, The Boys, Breaking Bad, Atypical, Hotel Transylvania The series, The Tick, Truth Seekers, Alex Rider, Cobra Kai and then they also supply many films on top of that, recently 21 / 22 Jump Street, Venom and Into the Spiderverse were just some of those.

This strategy has been profitable, while Sony has closed its grip around the anime streaming niche, with the two main platforms and various content production initiatives, such as Aniplex, under Sony Music Japan.
People will see notifications of late on series such as Attack on Titan, that it will no longer be available on Netflix from February 2nd.... I would assume Netflix will have to depend on it's own anime production going forward.

After the latest decisions at AT&T to focus on streaming, prominent directors such as Christopher Nolan have been very vocal about how they don't like the direction.... Sony Pictures againstands to gain from theior 'outside' position here and may become directors first choice for creative freedom but that is dependent on Sony embracing that label and avoiding censorship and limiting creatives.


Common Stock Performance

fBWsNiR.jpg


Currently sitting at 103.29 dollars per share on the NYSE

Market Cap of 126.65 Billion dollars.




Cash and Cash Equivalents

[One of the company's crucial health indicators is its ability to generate cash and cash equivalents.]

As of last quarterly report: 41.59 Billion dollars.



Most recent Annual / Quarterly results


Reserved for next quarterly results ETA February 2/3.


Recent and ongoing acquisitions



31 July 2017FunimationVideo streaming service and television/film distribution
23px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png
US
$143,000,000
22 May 2018EMI Music PublishingMusic publishing
23px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg.png
UK
$2,300,000,000Sony/ATV Music Publishing
8 January 2019AudiokineticVideo Game
23px-Flag_of_Canada_%28Pantone%29.svg.png
CAN
Sony Interactive Entertainment
6 February 2019Madman Anime GroupFilm and television distribution
23px-Flag_of_Australia_%28converted%29.svg.png
AUS
A$35,000,000Aniplex
10 June 2019Mido HoldingsElectronics
16px-Flag_of_Switzerland.svg.png
SWI
Sony Electronics
8 July 2019NurulizeMovies/Virtual Reality
23px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png
USA
Sony Pictures Entertainment
19 August 2019Insomniac GamesVideo Game
23px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png
USA
$229,000,000Sony Interactive Entertainment
1 October 2020NevionIP media and cloud
21px-Flag_of_Norway.svg.png
NOR
Sony Electronics


Pending​


DateCompanyBusinessCountryValueUsed as / Integrated with
9 December 2020CrunchyrollVideo streaming service
23px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png
USA
$1,175,000,000Funimation



Plausible Future Acquisition Targets

MGM is currently for sale and holds the rights to many valuable IP's such as James Bond, Rocky Films and The Pink Panther etc.
Asking price is 5.5 Billion which is high considering the complicated IP ownership arrangements, the low number of IP's and the future prospects of those IP's.... particularly when Sony Pictures could pick up the distribution rights in many possible eventualities.

Epic Games - With already 1.4% of a stake in the company at a cost of 250 million dollars, and following on from the purchase of Audiokinetic.... it could be possible that Sony will look to increase their stake in Epic either gradually or in one deal, to get it above 51% and thus controlling the company.

Bluepoint games - After a long partnership and recently launching the very well received Demons Souls remake, it would make sense for Sony to purchase the Texas based developer. They have been proven to be technically gifted and can generate massive nostalgia and hype around impeccable remakes and may well make their own full games based on all their experience with multiple franchises. This would be very much in the mold of how Insomniac was bought.

Kadokawa Corporation - After the purchases of Funimation, Madman Anime Group and soon Crunchyroll, and considering Sony already own Aniplex and the associated IP (Full Metal Alchemist, Sword Art Online, Demon Slayer, Angel Beats! Etc.) it would make sense for them to continue to complete their stranglehold on the entire sector and would also net them From Soft, which would be highly beneficial due to existing IP arrangements, possible sequels and remakes through Bluepoint. Asking price would be at least 2 Billion dollars.

ViacomCBS - With a market cap of about 25 Billion, it would be a massive acquisition that would put Sony in control of CBS, MTV, Comedy Central and countless other channels and networks, as well as Paramount Pictures and their back-catalogue, including Titanic, Mission Impossible, Transformers, The Godfather series, Interstellar and most of the early Marvel Films... such as Iron-Man 1 & 2, The first Avengers film, Hulk films and Thor films.
Sony has positioned themselves as a type of arms dealer in the streaming war, profiting massively by providing content to Netflix, Amazon and others and adding ViacomCBS, would make Sony a Film and TV juggernaut that could easily leverage their relationships with Disney, Apple and others to excellent effect.


Details above may be amended, updated or altered as they change or if new information emerges.
 

Bryank75

Banned
(Reserved for feature pieces)

New feature piece looking at employee numbers and trends.


Sony has been cutting back on staff and automating as many processes as possible since the late 2000's, when it became obvious that the company was suffering from bloat.
Kaz Hirai continued with cuts from 2013 until his retirement and the company began to see great profitability with that action combined with the new focus on Gaming, Music, Film, Finance and sensors / cameras and optics.

It has come from a peek of 180.5K in 2008 down to 111.7K in 2020. With outsourcing of assembly to foxcon for PlayStation and further automation and more focused product lines... I imagine there will be further cuts to employee numbers.

I do expect staff to increase in certain areas such as gaming, music and possibly film and finance, however. Cuts will however far outnumber the additions.
 
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Personally, I’d like to see them buy Bluepoint. It makes total sense given their history. I hope they’re working on the MGS remake. After that, let them have a shot at a fresh new game.

I don’t see them doing anything on the movie side considering where that industry is right now given the pandemic. I do hope Ghostbusters Afterlife is awesome and theaters are fully open for it. It could be a great revival for that franchise. Not sure I would get into tv either at this point given to move to streaming services.

The biggest thing I’d like to see is Sony return to a leader in TVs. The Korean and now Chinese companies have really disrupted that market. I miss having Sony as king and Panasonic as a more affordable alternative. Their quality used to be head and shoulders above the competition.
 
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Bryank75

Banned
Personally, I’d like to see them but Bluepoint. It makes total sense given their history. I hope they’re working on the MGS remake. After that, let them have a shot at a fresh new game.

I don’t see them doing anything on the movie side considering where that industry is right now given the pandemic. I do hope Ghostbusters Afterlife is awesome and theaters are fully open for it. It could be a great revival for that franchise. Not sure I would get into tv either at this point given to move to streaming services.

The biggest thing I’d like to see is Sony return to a leader in TVs. The Korean and now Chinese companies have really disrupted that market. I miss having Sony as king and Panasonic as a more affordable alternative. Their quality used to be head and shoulders above the competition.
Yeah, I am very excited about a possible MGS remake. MGS got me onto PlayStation in the first place.

Sony are still the leaders in premium TV's... i.e. TV's that cost more than 2,500 dollars. But since TV's have got so cheap, it's hard to go lower and there's no payoff for it. Making them 5th overall.

I think Bluepoint would really make sense if they had From Soft too, they need that synergy going on.... one making classics and the other remastering classics.

Sony only have 13 studios and some of those, like London and Mm have not made any real blockbuster in a long time, so they really need to buy some quality studios IMO.
They also lost valuable partnerships, like Ueda, Quantic Dream, Supermassive, Ready at Dawn etc.
 
I dunno, link me to a post of his that made you think that... I am curious!
A single post? That bot only posts threads that are about Nintendo Switch winning at sales in Japan, or Sony is doomed in NIPPON.

At first I said it's just a run of the mill Nintendo fanboy but I've not seen him/her/it in any Nintendo game threads discussing the games, then I thought is he/she/it a Nintendo employee? No no no they won't do something like that it's too dishonobru shamfuru dispray, so the only conclusion is that it's a bot!
 
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I guess I’d like Sony to be the leader in premium non OLED TVs. Right now, they kind of have their trade offs, even on the premium side.

Yes, would like to see them buy From Software too. That would be a nice get for PS exclusives.

I really like movies, but I’m not sure where that industry is headed. Even before the pandemic, movie attendance was down. Movie theaters had shifted to higher price, more comfort models to offset declining attendance. Unless you can get a big discount, I wouldn’t be spending my money in that segment.
 

Bryank75

Banned
A single post? That bot only post threads that are about Nintendo Switch winning at sales in Japan, or Sony is doomed in NIPPON.

At first I said it's just a run of the mill Nintendo fanboy but I've not seen him/her/it in any Nintendo game threads disscussing the games, then I thought is he/she/it a Nintendo employee? No no no they won't do something like that it's too dishonobru shamfuru dispray, so the only conclusion is that it's a bot!
Yeah, I actually searched for one of his posts, I get you now!

Well, I was reading various sites and I was just amazed that many people think Sony is still some struggling company with no cash etc.
My OP isn't finished yet, I haven't touched Music, sensors, banking / finance etc. yet.

I like Sony and PlayStation but I think they have many faults and weaknesses and certain things really need to be addressed, like the censorship stuff. I used to be very into art and I fundamentally disagree with how censorious they have become.

I also feel like Gaf needed a place to discuss all this stuff, there's a lot of consolidation in the industry right now... so it's a hot topic IMO.
 

AmuroChan

Member
If Kadokawa is only going to cost them $2B, I don't know what they're waiting for. Besides FromSoft, Kadokawa is also in the anime/film business. So the acquisition would benefit other Sony divisions as well. They paid $1B for Crunchyroll and were willing to bid over $1B for Leyou. $2B for Kadokawa seems like a pretty good deal. Japan's acquisition laws also wouldn't be an issue as both are Japanese companies.
 
Long time coming. OP delivered.

Edit: What does OP believe is a realistic price for Kadokawa Corporation, specially if Elden Ring is a success as an IP (thus increasing portfolio value and price).
 
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I guess I’d like Sony to be the leader in premium non OLED TVs.
I remember back in the day when Sony TVs were the best and meant your dad was rich! Ah those were the days...

On topic: it seems like they want a control over the western Anime market, which makes sense since they OWN Aniplex and several anime steaming sites in the US and EU, and now that Crunchyroll is out of the way they basically have a monopoly on that market, truth be told i want them to focus on making smaller AA studios to do unique games on medium to low budgets, they have so many IPs that need new games that shouldn't be made for over 40-50Mil like a new Sly, a new Twisted Metal etc.
 
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Bryank75

Banned
If Kadokawa is only going to cost them $2B, I don't know what they're waiting for. Besides FromSoft, Kadokawa is also in the anime/film business. So the acquisition would benefit other Sony divisions as well. They paid $1B for Crunchyroll and were willing to bid over $1B for Leyou. $2B for Kadokawa seems like a pretty good deal. Japan's acquisition laws also wouldn't be an issue as both are Japanese companies.
Yes, 100%. The move would be completely synergistic.

Bluepoint could even help them with their engine etc.
 
I remember back in the day when Sony TVs were the best and meant your dad was rich! Ah those were the day...

On topic: it seems like they want a control over the western Anime market, which makes sense since they OWN Aniplex and several anime steaming sites in the US and EU, and now that Crunchyroll is out of the way they basically have a monopoly on that market, truth be told i want them to focus on making smaller AA studios to do unique games on medium to low budgets, they have so many IPs that need new games that shouldn't be made for over 40-50Mil like a new Sly, a new Twisted Metal etc.

What’s interesting is that Bandai basically abandoned the western anime market, but they sure do produce a lot of anime games. I wonder if Sony wants a cut of that market or if they at least want the royalties.
 

Bryank75

Banned
Great OP, but Sony buying EPIC games is the by far most unlikely acquisition in the gaming industry.

Microsoft buying Nintendo would he more likely.
Epic would cost 40 to 50 billion and Tencent owns 40 with Tim Sweeny over 50
I think they are valued around 17-18 billion.
They'd only have to buy 50%, which would be around 9 billion. But I agree that it's highly unlikely, they seem to prefer to buy companies that are under 3 Billion.
 

Bryank75

Banned
I remember back in the day when Sony TVs were the best and meant your dad was rich! Ah those were the day...

On topic: it seems like they want a control over the western Anime market, which makes sense since they OWN Aniplex and several anime steaming sites in the US and EU, and now that Crunchyroll is out of the way they basically have a monopoly on that market, truth be told i want them to focus on making smaller AA studios to do unique games on medium to low budgets, they have so many IPs that need new games that shouldn't be made for over 40-50Mil like a new Sly, a new Twisted Metal etc.
Jaffe is of the same opinion as you, he always says that budgets have to come down and they should make fun smaller games.

My argument with him is that PlayStations specialty is high production value AAA games. But they wouldn't have to abandon one to do the other IMO.
 

Elios83

Member
They're having a CES digital conference on January 11.


January 11th, 2:00 - 2:30 p.m. PST – Accessible on the CES site and Sony Square live
Sony Digital Press Event, featuring Chairman, President and CEO of Sony Corporation Kenichiro Yoshida and top executives from Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony Music Entertainment. Global insights from Sony.

Jim just drop the first WW PS5 sales update after last year's defining logo moment :messenger_tears_of_joy:
 

Bryank75

Banned
They're having a CES digital conference on January 11.


January 11th, 2:00 - 2:30 p.m. PST – Accessible on the CES site and Sony Square live
Sony Digital Press Event, featuring Chairman, President and CEO of Sony Corporation Kenichiro Yoshida and top executives from Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony Music Entertainment. Global insights from Sony.

Jim just drop the first WW PS5 sales update after last year's defining logo moment :messenger_tears_of_joy:
Interesting, I didn't include in my OP how Sony is evolving from just a hardware company to mostly an entertainment company but I should have.

It's in full effect there... with Games, Music and Film.

They have their quarterly on February 2nd or 3rd, so they might have something to say to make investors all tingly. Or it could be another logo...
 
If Kadokawa is only going to cost them $2B, I don't know what they're waiting for. Besides FromSoft, Kadokawa is also in the anime/film business. So the acquisition would benefit other Sony divisions as well. They paid $1B for Crunchyroll and were willing to bid over $1B for Leyou. $2B for Kadokawa seems like a pretty good deal. Japan's acquisition laws also wouldn't be an issue as both are Japanese companies.
Japanese hostile take over laws?
Jaffe is of the same opinion as you, he always says that budgets have to come down and they should make fun smaller games.

My argument with him is that PlayStations specialty is high production value AAA games. But they wouldn't have to abandon one to do the other IMO.
Thing is Sly 4 Thieves in Time, Puppeteer, Folklore, Astro bot and Gravity Rush etc weren’t big budget games made for over 50mil, they sure didn't look or marketed as one, but they each were unique and fun and added to the variety of the 1st party line up and there's an audience for it, they should focus on appealing to them in the correct way since they're by all accounts loyal Core gamers.
What’s interesting is that Bandai basically abandoned the western anime market, but they sure do produce a lot of anime games. I wonder if Sony wants a cut of that market or if they at least want the royalties.
Which is weird since they own Sunrise (the Gundam studio for those who don't know), i'm not American but i remember their logo in various anime shows in the 2000's especially Gundam Wing and Dragon Ball Z.
 

THEAP99

Banned
It'd be interesting seeing more playstation tv show or movie ips that help spread awareness.

They gotta pull the trigger on Bluepoint though, not sure what they're waiting for.
 

Bryank75

Banned
Japanese hostile take over laws?

Thing is Sly 4 Thieves in Time, Puppeteer, Folklore, Astro bot and Gravity Rush etc weren’t big budget games made for over 50mil, they sure didn't look or marketed as one, but they each were unique and fun and added to the variety of the 1st party line up and there's an audience for it, they should focus on appealing to them in the correct way since they're by all accounts loyal Core gamers.

Which is weird since they own Sunrise (the Gundam studio for those who don't know), i'm not American but i remember their logo in various anime shows in the 2000's especially Gundam Wing and Dragon Ball Z.
Oh yeah? You liked Folklore? I live very close to Doolin, I was driving near there today.

I always wish they'd buy Crash and Spyro back. I was playing Crash with my son the last few days. He loves it.
 

Bryank75

Banned
It'd be interesting seeing more playstation tv show or movie ips that help spread awareness.

They gotta pull the trigger on Bluepoint though, not sure what they're waiting for.
I know that there is a Sly Cooper show, Twisted Metal show, TLOU show, Uncharted film and some other stuff being made, 7 in total I believe.
 

THEAP99

Banned
I know that there is a Sly Cooper show, Twisted Metal show, TLOU show, Uncharted film and some other stuff being made, 7 in total I believe.
And all of those are going to different streaming platforms, right? Perhaps they should find a way to incorporate it into PS NOW or something, I am still awaiting changes on that front.
 
Oh yeah? You liked Folklore? I live very close to Doolin, I was driving near there today.

I always wish they'd buy Crash and Spyro back. I was playing Crash with my son the last few days. He loves it.
IMG-20210109-025254.jpg

Hell yeah dude!
Folklore was a quirky fun game with a unique setting, look and awesome soundtrack, but it was very flawed and very much a product of it's time, but it had potential and needed another game to iterate and improve same with Genji, the 1st game on PS2 was short and sweet with fantastic graphics and satisfying if simplistic gameplay.
 
Much love to cerny as he did a fantastic job of the ps4 and ps5 but honestly jim ryan needs the kick and be replaced. hes just sitting there letting microsoft buy up studios and hes just doing nothing! Sony should buy up a few big studios and little studios. Its like Microsoft is paying him to fuck Sony over
 

Bryank75

Banned
IMG-20210109-025254.jpg

Hell yeah dude!
Folklore was a quirky fun game with a unique setting, look and awesome soundtrack, but it was very flawed and very much a product of it's time, but it had potential and needed another game to iterate and improve same with Genji, the 1st game on PS2 was short and sweet with fantastic graphics and satisfying if simplistic gameplay.
Yeah, it's a real shame that they didn't get a chance to develop a series and do as you say...
I feel like Sony marketing is really terrible sometimes, they have a great game and nobody knows anything about it or even that it was made by them. Certainly in the past anyway.
 

Aion002

Member
If they bought Kadokawa that would be huge for Sony in Japan.


Plus having From Software as a PS studio would be really impactful to the core gamers.


In the same way, Sony should definitely get Koei Tecmo... Dead or Alive, Ninja Gaiden, Dynasty Warriors and the Atelier games being exclusive would give a good impulse to PlayStation in Japan.
 
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Yoboman

Member
Great OP, but Sony buying EPIC games is the by far most unlikely acquisition in the gaming industry.

Microsoft buying Nintendo would he more likely.
Epic would cost 40 to 50 billion and Tencent owns 40 with Tim Sweeny over 50
Won't happen unless they want a genuine entry point into the PC gaming market
 

FritzJ92

Member
Yeah, I am very excited about a possible MGS remake. MGS got me onto PlayStation in the first place.

Sony are still the leaders in premium TV's... i.e. TV's that cost more than 2,500 dollars. But since TV's have got so cheap, it's hard to go lower and there's no payoff for it. Making them 5th overall.

I think Bluepoint would really make sense if they had From Soft too, they need that synergy going on.... one making classics and the other remastering classics.

Sony only have 13 studios and some of those, like London and Mm have not made any real blockbuster in a long time, so they really need to buy some quality studios IMO.
They also lost valuable partnerships, like Ueda, Quantic Dream, Supermassive, Ready at Dawn etc.
Reading your post for some correction, Sony hasn't led in TV sales in 2008, and in the premium market Samsung has been leading sales for a few years...

Samsung widens its lead in the US premium TV segment - SamMobile

2018, the Premium market brand was led by Samsung>LG>Vizio & Sony tied... there are other sources.

Edit: They really need to make a move to purchase BluePoint, because as their quality gets more recognition other publishers will start looking at them for a purchase which may inflate their value, or the sell because we all know money talks.
 
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Bryank75

Banned
Reading your post for some correction, Sony hasn't led in TV sales in 2008, and in the premium market Samsung has been leading sales for a few years...

Samsung widens its lead in the US premium TV segment - SamMobile

2018, the Premium market brand was led by Samsung>LG>Vizio & Sony tied... there are other sources.

Edit: They really need to make a move to purchase BluePoint, because as their quality gets more recognition other publishers will start looking at them for a purchase which may inflate their value, or the sell because we all know money talks.
Well, if I did get it wrong it's because of this article...


Could have been right at the time but at least I didn't include it in the OP.

Agree on BP, they'll be snapped up with all that talent in no time.
 
I think that sony should buy to level 5, housemarque, bluepoint games, supermassive games, mihoyo, game science and ember lab
Also capcom would be a nice take over especially with the games they produce aka megaman monster hunter , street fighter etc but also u have IO interactive , crytek , and the team that made cyberpunk under sonys wing they could end up making a brilliant game
 
I think they are valued around 17-18 billion.
They'd only have to buy 50%, which would be around 9 billion. But I agree that it's highly unlikely, they seem to prefer to buy companies that are under 3 Billion.
If a company is valued at X right now, you can't buy it for X. You have to pay X and 30% or 40% extra.
51% would not work. You have to buy kore for full control and if you get to certain threshold you have to make an offer to all shareholders to buy their shares.

Yes, Epic was valued at around $18 billion earlier this year when Sony bought 1.4% for $250 million.
But that was pre 2020 gaming industry stay at home surge and before Roblox was valued at $30bn.

I really don't see Epic being worth less.
 

Bryank75

Banned
If a company is valued at X right now, you can't buy it for X. You have to pay X and 30% or 40% extra.
51% would not work. You have to buy kore for full control and if you get to certain threshold you have to make an offer to all shareholders to buy their shares.

Yes, Epic was valued at around $18 billion earlier this year when Sony bought 1.4% for $250 million.
But that was pre 2020 gaming industry stay at home surge and before Roblox was valued at $30bn.

I really don't see Epic being worth less.
Maybe that's so, 100% of the company isn't available as Tencent owns about 40%. 51% is enough to control the company. That's just the way it works... they do not need to make it a wholly owned subsidiary to control the company.
Until a new valuation is available, I must go by the latest information available.
 
Bryank75 said:
So overall, threats to the business are.... censorship (with many online communities starting to hate Sony's censorious ways of late), loss of talent, lack of investment, Competition investing massive amounts comparitively, being too focused on cloud and subscription gaming and getting distracted from core competencies, not valuing Japanese heritage and Japanese partners enough and losing support (i.e. Sega with Football manager and Yakuza).

You're so right imo about this. We'll have to see if this and bringing games to PC will bite them in the ass long-term, will be interesting.
 

whitesugar

Banned
really hope the Kadokawa purchase happens, seems like a no brainer - From Software would be an amazing get for Sony's first party studios.

In terms of other acquisitions, I think they could do with a shooter and an RPG studio. Housemarque seems like a no-brainer, a studio that seems to be getting better and more ambitious with each game. If Returnal reviews well, it should only be a matter of time. They can become a AAA thirdperson shooter studio, maybe FPS too, with Sony's help.

As for RPG studio, might be harder. I would love to see Larian with a AAA budget, but who knows if they are open to it. If not them, it's hard to see who else might be likely, not much else available in the west at least.

People are right when they say that Sony can't compete with MS for massive purchases, but luckily for Sony they don't have to, and not just because their first party is so strong already. You don't have to spend $10B on studios when there is value like Insomniac for $230M. Stop buying timed exclusive garbage and buy some studios
 

Bo_Hazem

Banned
What a wonderful post, mate. I think you've missed this, Bravia Core, Sony's new streaming service that is promised to provide as good/better than Bluray movies at 80Mbps and to have extended, IMAX coverage of movies that's never been seen before. And the good thing is it's using Sony Pictures so no external investments = less dangerous investment. What is strange is that it's free on the new 2021 Bravia XR TV's, but not sure for how long but probably for 1 year like Apple TV with iPad and so:







So it should provide superior IQ and "taller" view compared to conventional movies that favor 21:9 aspect ratio. Gonna get one of those and might skip Netflix as already seen what I want there and already have another streaming service for free with my fiber net provider that has 10K movies/series/channels, etc (Jawwy TV) with 4K as well.


We could see Funimation merged into Bravia Core as well.
 
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Bryank75

Banned
What a wonderful post, mate. I think you've missed this, Bravia Core, Sony's new streaming service that is promised to provide as good/better than Bluray movies at 80Mbps and to have extended, IMAX coverage of movies that's never been seen before. And the good thing is it's using Sony Pictures so no external investments = less dangerous investment. What is strange is that it's free on the new 2021 Bravia XR TV's, but not sure for how long but probably for 1 year like Apple TV with iPad and so:







So it should provide superior IQ and "taller" view compared to conventional movies that favor 21:9 aspect ratio. Gonna get one of those and might skip Netflix as already seen what I want there and already have another streaming service for free with my fiber net provider that has 10K movies/series/channels, etc (Jawwy TV) with 4K as well.


We could see Funimation merged into Bravia Core as well.

Thanks Bo, I hadn't seen this information previously, I will add some of it and reference your post also when I get a chance.

I'll be adding a 'Feature Post' first about how Sony are generating so much cash in the last year or two and that will be in the reserved spot under the OP.
 

Bryank75

Banned
really hope the Kadokawa purchase happens, seems like a no brainer - From Software would be an amazing get for Sony's first party studios.

In terms of other acquisitions, I think they could do with a shooter and an RPG studio. Housemarque seems like a no-brainer, a studio that seems to be getting better and more ambitious with each game. If Returnal reviews well, it should only be a matter of time. They can become a AAA thirdperson shooter studio, maybe FPS too, with Sony's help.

As for RPG studio, might be harder. I would love to see Larian with a AAA budget, but who knows if they are open to it. If not them, it's hard to see who else might be likely, not much else available in the west at least.

People are right when they say that Sony can't compete with MS for massive purchases, but luckily for Sony they don't have to, and not just because their first party is so strong already. You don't have to spend $10B on studios when there is value like Insomniac for $230M. Stop buying timed exclusive garbage and buy some studios
Yeah, the timed stuff is absolutely pointless, particularly the one year stuff.

PlayStation has 13 studios and some of those studios have not produced very commercial games in quite a few years (London and Mm for example)

So if they were to focus on adding 3-5 really high quality studios, that would be excellent. Larian are awesome, From, Bluepoint, Housemarque and IOI..... those types of studios. Maybe someone like Turtle Rock to make a multiplayer shooter.
 

SaucyJack

Member
Maybe that's so, 100% of the company isn't available as Tencent owns about 40%. 51% is enough to control the company. That's just the way it works... they do not need to make it a wholly owned subsidiary to control the company.
Until a new valuation is available, I must go by the latest information available.

There’s only one route to a controlling interest in Epic and that involves coming to an agreement with Tim Sweeney who currently retains a controlling stake.

In the meantime an offer for Tencent's 40% and forming a deep partnership with Sweeney would be a decent strategy, but they’d need to meet Tencent’s price.

The time to get into Epic was 2013 when Tencent paid $330 million for that 40%. Suspect they’d want $10 billion for that stake now.
 

SaucyJack

Member
Regarding Kadokawa I reckon you’d be looking at at least $3 billion. Current market cap is about $2.3 and youd need a premium on that.

In the meantime they absolutely should be scooping up the likes of Bluepoint, Housemarque, Remedy, Supermassive, etc. if they’re willing to be acquired.
 

Bryank75

Banned
There’s only one route to a controlling interest in Epic and that involves coming to an agreement with Tim Sweeney who currently retains a controlling stake.

In the meantime an offer for Tencent's 40% and forming a deep partnership with Sweeney would be a decent strategy, but they’d need to meet Tencent’s price.

The time to get into Epic was 2013 when Tencent paid $330 million for that 40%. Suspect they’d want $10 billion for that stake now.
Yes, it would be very pricey and I don't think it's the best idea for PlayStation as a brand anyway.

I added it initially because of their existing investment, their collaboration on the new Unreal Engine and the possibility that they might want to enter the PC market but that is unlikely.
 

Bryank75

Banned
Regarding Kadokawa I reckon you’d be looking at at least $3 billion. Current market cap is about $2.3 and youd need a premium on that.

In the meantime they absolutely should be scooping up the likes of Bluepoint, Housemarque, Remedy, Supermassive, etc. if they’re willing to be acquired.
Yeah, it would definitely be above 2.5B anyway. But the company just makes sense for Sony in general, since they got so heavily into anime and then obviously have PlayStation and the existing history with From... so even at 3 Billion, I think it would be a high value to Sony.

You're absolutely right about how they should be buying now, those studios will only ask for more in the future and they will be kicking themselves if they do not get them.
 

Bo_Hazem

Banned
There’s only one route to a controlling interest in Epic and that involves coming to an agreement with Tim Sweeney who currently retains a controlling stake.

In the meantime an offer for Tencent's 40% and forming a deep partnership with Sweeney would be a decent strategy, but they’d need to meet Tencent’s price.

The time to get into Epic was 2013 when Tencent paid $330 million for that 40%. Suspect they’d want $10 billion for that stake now.

It was massively cheap back then, and $10B now is still a great price. The potential is still gigantic, Sony could dominate the CGI scene in both movies and other stuff. Sony Imageworks already massive and does VFX for WB, Disney, Marvel, and others. NASA and other agencies use UE!

This is a Sony deal, not a PlayStation deal.
 
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