Support NeoGAF

[Topher]

This is obviously not happening.

Sony just doesn't have the juice to buy Kadokawa.

Sure they have the funds in terms of Kadokawa's network but not enough to convince them that it would be worth it to sell out to Sony.

They simply don't need to be with them exclusively after Elden Ring.

I don't think it is happening either but not because of funding or lack of "juice". Kadokawa's market cap is $3 billion. Sony could pay three times that in cash easily. Sony isn't going to buy an entire corporation just to get From though.

 

[Unknown?]

From
Kojima
And for Take 2’s price Id swop it for Konami, Square, Capcom and Sega lol

Yeah Take 2 is crap now that Rockstar is a shell of its former self.

 

[DenchDeckard]

This?



Liurnia of the Lakes? I had to Google it, I am shit with names too lol.

Yeah man, going from like 50 fps to 55 to 60 in a lot of places now. Improved across the board on series x in the overworld.

 

[graywolf323]

They'd have to pay Kadokawa a hefty price after Elden Ring I'd imagine.

I wonder if they'd just merge with/acquire Kadokawa

 

[akaFullmetal]

Sure, why not, it would fit Sony's buy out in anime and gaming.

 

[Vognerful]

Hopefully it happens. would love some salty tears.

Funny how some of these people are worried FromSoft titles might be exclusive to PlayStation if they get acquired, that alone would be entertaining just for the meltdowns.

Quite frankly, karma is a b*tch and I do expect meltdowns specially since everyone has been joking with Sony's "organic growth" well if the super secret deal comes to fruition people will commit account suicide.

You guys are thirsty

 

[Kokoloko85]

PlayStation Studios...

1) Motion Captured animation - Just like the rest of the industry (check)
2) Voice acting - Just like the rest of the industry (check)
3) GAAS - Just like the rest of the industry (check)
4) The same games over and over and over and over and over and over and over again (check)
5) $70 games (because we are special, that's right, just believe us)
6) MTX - Because you want to win right? Pay us to win!!!! yay!!!!!

No thanks guys.... I will keep my money for something that is worth it...

1.) Who in the rest of the industry outside Rockstar comes close to PS studios like Santa Monica, Naughty Dog, Insomniac, when it comes to animation?
2.) Same again. The rest of the industry wishes It was like Naughty Dog outside of Rockstar no1 comes close.
3.) How many Gaas games are there for PS4/PS5 from 1st party stydios

4. Yes Returnal is totally the same as BloodBorne, which is totally the same God of War, Which is totally the same as Ghost of Tsushima which is the same as GT, which is the same as Dreams, which is the same as TLOU, which is the same as The last Guardian….. Yes all the same……There all the same as Demon Souls and Astrbot……

5. ) Every paid $60 for a game?
6.) How many MTX games are there in the 1st party? Have you played GT7? Its not play to win lol

Can you tell me which studios you are willing to keep your money for?

 

[Topher]

1.) Who in the rest of the industry outside Rockstar comes close to PS studios like Santa Monica, Naughty Dog, Insomniac, when it comes to animation?
2.) Same again. The rest of the industry wishes It was like Naughty Dog outside of Rockstar no1 comes close.
3.) How many Gaas games are there for PS4/PS5 from 1st party stydios

4. Yes Returnal is totally the same as BloodBorne, which is totally the same God of War, Which is totally the same as Ghost of Tsushima which is the same as GT, which is the same as Dreams, which is the same as TLOU, which is the same as The last Guardian….. Yes all the same……There all the same as Demon Souls and Astrbot……

5. ) Every paid $60 for a game?
6.) How many MTX games are there in the 1st party? Have you played GT7? Its not play to win lol

Can you tell me which studios you are willing to keep your money for?

 

[adamsapple]

Yeah man, going from like 50 fps to 55 to 60 in a lot of places now. Improved across the board on series x in the overworld.

Yeah, ER came in pretty hot and it's a safe assumption that Elden Ring 1 year later will be a very different playing game (in terms of optimization) compared to Elden Ring day 1.

 

[Kokoloko85]

Buying Fromsoft would be kinda organic because they have worked on creating IP together and there teams worked together……. They’ve made Demon Souls, Bloodborne and Deracine together with Japan Studios.

The definition of organic if that is important to everyone is:

A publisher buying a studio they have never developed a game with before = not organic growth to the company.
Examples:
Playstation buying Haven, Bungie, Psygnosis, Firesprite.
MS buying Ninja Theory, Activision, Bethesda, Mojang.

Organic growth.
Working with a studio, creating IP together and expanding that studio until you Aquire them = organic
Building a studio from scratch= organic.
Examples:
Playstation done with Naughty Dog, Insomniac, Bluepoint, HouseMarque etc
Xbox done with Undead Labs and DoubleFine in some ways.

Its not really important but if people wanna keep throwing the definition around then there it is. Also everytime a xbox fan says but I thought Sony only does organic, the answer is….. Not anymore since Xbox studios is buying publishers, studios and Ip’s. Sony has to do the same. The last time they done the same is buying Wipeout with Psygnosis

 

[Kokoloko85]

Another idiot tweeting and suggesting acquisition and everyone believing him. And then him saying he was joking…. Didnt we get this last week with Jef Grub?

 

[DevilMayFlyForAWhiteGuy]

Hopefully doesn’t happen. All this acquisition stuff is annoying and only good for investors and console warring. The latter of which can be fun for a bit, but isn’t good for the players in the long run.

Taking it with a grain of salt anyways as I’ve seen random people claim the same thing online before. I would think it would make more sense for Sony to just bankroll another PS exclusive From game, rather than bother trying to deal with Kadokawa just for From's entire future output being exclusive.

 

[Godot25]

Kadokawa is a Japanese corporation, Tencent is a chinese government related group, so yeah, we kind of know what would happen

Yeah. Because Tencent being Chinese literally stopped them to throw money left and right including japanese companies (Platinum)

 

[Topher]

Another idiot tweeting and suggesting acquisition and everyone believing him. And then him saying he was joking…. Didnt we get this last week with Jef Grub?

Where did he say he was joking?

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

I don't think it is happening either but not because of funding or lack of "juice". Kadokawa's market cap is $3 billion. Sony could pay three times that in cash easily. Sony isn't going to buy an entire corporation just to get From though.

Yeah. FROM would just be the icing on the cake if they were to acquire Kadokawa.

The fundamentals of the company are eh but I don't know enough about Kadokawa's business to say one way or another whether an M&A with Sony would make sense. I mean just looking at their wiki they deal in more than just anime production. Is Sony even interested in the whole manga side of things?

 

[Kokoloko85]

Where did he say he was joking?

Didnt Jef say he was only joking or something Last week.

And this guy comes and says: “Some people are getting mad at me because they think this thread on FromSoftware suggests I predict Sony will indeed buy them Amazing psychology or just lack of reading skills? Twitter is colossally entertaining”

 

[Topher]

Yeah. FROM would just be the icing on the cake if they were to acquire Kadokawa.

The fundamentals of the company are eh but I don't know enough about Kadokawa's business to say one way or another whether an M&A with Sony would make sense. I mean just looking at their wiki they deal in more than just anime production. Is Sony even interested in the whole manga side of things?

Could be that Kadokawa is willing to sell off From for the right price. Kadokawa isn't a big name in gaming and the primary reason gamers know they exist is because of From. But yeah, there would have to be a broader strategy involved for Sony to buy Kadokawa entirely and I just don't see what it is. That's why I'm not running a multi-billion corporation I guess.

Didnt Jef say he was only joking or something Last week.

And this guy comes and says: “Some people are getting mad at me because they think this thread on FromSoftware suggests I predict Sony will indeed buy them Amazing psychology or just lack of reading skills? Twitter is colossally entertaining”

Yeah....Grubb pulled that stunt a couple weeks back. I had not seen that from this guy though. Twitter is fucking useless.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

Could be that Kadokawa is willing to sell off From for the right price. Kadokawa isn't a big name in gaming and the only reason gamers know they exist is because of From. But yeah, there would have to be a broader strategy involved for Sony to buy Kadokawa entirely and I just don't see what it is. That's why I'm not running a multi-billion corporation I guess.

Yeah, that's the only way I see this happening. Makes a fair bit of sense actually knowing they got FROM for like $25 million or something. That return on investment would be huge

 

[Clear]

I don't think it is happening either but not because of funding or lack of "juice". Kadokawa's market cap is $3 billion. Sony could pay three times that in cash easily. Sony isn't going to buy an entire corporation just to get From though.

I dunno, Kadokawa actually has pretty good synergy with Sony. They are a Japan-centric media-conglomerate, and especially given Sony's recent moves it actually seems like they could get a lot of value from M&A beyond gaming.

 

[Zok310]

This is all speculation
Might be issues at Kadokawa, they are not a gaming company by any measure and that puts From in a situation where all they get from Kadokawa is capital, From would need more than capital if their games are to get bigger and better and stay ahead.
From needs a video game first company/pub as its owner. To me its either Bandi or Sony.

 

[CosmicComet]

I don't think it is happening either but not because of funding or lack of "juice". Kadokawa's market cap is $3 billion. Sony could pay three times that in cash easily. Sony isn't going to buy an entire corporation just to get From though.

You're not saying anything different than me.

By networth they could easily buy Kadokawa but the latter isn't going to simply sell at their networth especially after the smash hit of Elden Ring. They can ask for way more

And Sony will not be willing to go to their asking price.

MS may be willing to buy them at 5x their worth but Sony can't justify that. Even though they honestly should.

 

[Clear]

The key thing for me is what Sony as a corporation sees as their future. MS has pumped so much money into gaming recently that it might be that they decide that going head-to-head with them in the West is not good business. Because being real, MS can always out-bid them and absorb the short-term loss without blinking.

By looking outside of what MS are -and this obviously puts Japan as a prime territory due to their laws regarding overseas ownership- they can further their interests without having to concern themselves with getting into a financial fire-fight.

They can't bully big tech giants, but what they can do is hold strategic ground technologically and IP-wise and in so doing get a seat at the table. Their optical sensor business is a great example of this.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

You're not saying anything different than me.

By networth they could easily buy Kadokawa but the latter isn't going to simply sell at their networth especially after the smash hit of Elden Ring. They can ask for way more

And Sony will not be willing to go to their asking price.

MS may be willing to buy them at 5x their worth but Sony can't justify that.

Elden Ring has already been priced in

MS can just pay x times more than Sony is the dumbest counter point to keep going around

 

[Topher]

You're not saying anything different than me.

By networth they could easily buy Kadokawa but the latter isn't going to simply sell at their networth especially after the smash hit of Elden Ring. They can ask for way more

And Sony will not be willing to go to their asking price.

MS may be willing to buy them at 5x their worth but Sony can't justify that. Even though they honestly should.

I didn't say I was necessarily disagreeing. Not sure why MS has to be brought into it though. Not every discussion needs to have a console war angle added to it.

 

[Ghost of Caelid]

Sony buying Kodokawa is more than just acquiring From Software. They are basically killing many birds with one stone. Anime / Manga/ and games just to name a few. Its inline with their other acquisitions such is Crunchyroll and Funimation.

Plus, they have a long standing relation with From Software so its a win win situation for both parties.

Being acquired while you are at the height of your creative freedom/sales isn't a "win" for from persay. 50% of their sales on pc/xbox would be slashed. I wouldn't want anyone to acquire them rn...they are making the best games rn, why mess with the mojo.

 

[Topher]

Being acquired while you are at the height of your creative freedom/sales isn't a "win" for from persay. 50% of their sales on pc/xbox would be slashed. I wouldn't want anyone to acquire them rn...they are making the best games rn, why mess with the mojo.

I seriously doubt From would stop putting their games on PC considering how PC friendly Sony has become. Not sure about Xbox though.

 

[MasterCornholio]

This is a troll post

I agree.

 

[Ghost of Caelid]

I seriously doubt From would stop putting their games on PC considering how PC friendly Sony has become. Not sure about Xbox though.

Demon souls re would like a word with you...I assume any sony exclusive will be a console exclusive for a while based on patterns. If they could push more ps5s by making ER2 or whatever next exclusive they will.

 

[jaysius]

Yea, sometimes that man says stupid shit. He's flip flopped on pretty much all his main criticism of his main competitor.

 

[Rhazer Fusion]

I really doubt they will acquire From, but I guess you never know. One of the reasons I have my doubts is because they are a Japanese company and after and even before Elden Ring, they probably won’t be cheap to procure.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

The key thing for me is what Sony as a corporation sees as their future. MS has pumped so much money into gaming recently that it might be that they decide that going head-to-head with them in the West is not good business. Because being real, MS can always out-bid them and absorb the short-term loss without blinking.

By looking outside of what MS are -and this obviously puts Japan as a prime territory due to their laws regarding overseas ownership- they can further their interests without having to concern themselves with getting into a financial fire-fight.

They can't bully big tech giants, but what they can do is hold strategic ground technologically and IP-wise and in so doing get a seat at the table. Their optical sensor business is a great example of this.

I think your logic is pretty flawed. MS has always had more money and yet Sony (and Nintendo) have largely dominated it. I guess MS could literally buy up every single developer and publisher left but outside of that, I don't see them spending their way into absolute victory over Sony. MS has invested more this generation for sure but it's still yet to bear any fruit that is obvious.

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

Yea, sometimes that man says stupid shit. He's flip flopped on pretty much all his main criticism of his main competitor.

What he actually said was that they're going to "grow their studios organically and through acquisitions" . . . people need to quit misquoting and paraphrasing just to keep calling him Jim Lyin Ryan . . .
It's the damn "we believe in generations" all over again, when he clearly stated in that same interview they'd be supporting the PS4 for years to come.

 

[jaysius]

What he actually said was that they're going to "grow their studios organically and through acquisitions" . . . people need to quit misquoting and paraphrasing just to keep calling him Jim Lyin Ryan . . .
It's the damn "we believe in generations" all over again, when he clearly stated in that same interview they'd be supporting the PS4 for years to come.

That full quote is even dumber than the misquote.

It's as dumb as when Playstation said rumble was an outdated gimmick, because they were getting sued by the rumble people for the Six Axis.

 

[Pallas]

I think some people forget that neither Fromsoft nor Kadokawa own the Elden Ring IP

In fact, they don’t actually own most of their popular IP outside of Sekiro.

Bloodborne, Demon’s Souls, and Deracine are owned by Sony

Dark Souls and Elden Ring are owned by Bandai Namco

The only toes Sony would be stepping on in this theoretical acquisition would be Bandai Namco as they’ve been their go-to publishing partner in the west

All of that is pretty irrelevant, Kadokawa has to be willing to sell it or the entire brand(Kadokawa Corps) to Sony. Not saying it’s impossible but you guys shouldn’t get your hopes up.

 

[SLB1904]

how much would from soft go for any way?

Not much, they barely own ips

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

That full quote is even dumber than the misquote.

It's as dumb as when Playstation said rumble was an outdated gimmick, because they were getting sued by the rumble people for the Six Axis.

Yea actual facts are dumb. Completely blow away fake narratives.

 

[CosmicComet]

Elden Ring has already been priced in

MS can just pay x times more than Sony is the dumbest counter point to keep going around

I didn't say MS can pay x more than Sony.

I said Kadokawa would likely ask for 5x more than their worth to be bought.

MS and Sony could both easily do that. Only Sony would not be willing to do so with their god awful prioritization scheme.

 

[Hezekiah]

This is obviously not happening.

Sony just doesn't have the juice to buy Kadokawa.

Sure they have the funds in terms of Kadokawa's net worth but not enough to convince them that it would be worth it to sell out to Sony.

They simply don't need to be with them exclusively after Elden Ring.

Of course they have the 'juice', and Kadokawa produces a lot of popular anime. However this all sounds like guesswork.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

I didn't say MS can pay x more than Sony.

I said Kadokawa would likely ask for 5x more than their worth to be bought.

MS and Sony could both easily do that. Only Sony would not be willing to do so with their god awful prioritization scheme.

You think it's likely that Kadokawa would demand a 400% premium? Because of one game? That they don't even own?

Are you mad?

 

[Topher]

Demon souls re would like a word with you...I assume any sony exclusive will be a console exclusive for a while based on patterns. If they could push more ps5s by making ER2 or whatever next exclusive they will.

Yeah, but these future From games are not going to be launch titles like Demon Souls Remake was. And Sony had no problem buying Bungie and keeping those games on both PC and Xbox. You said it yourself. Otherwise they are slashing 50% of the revenue. There is more money to be made with From continuing on PC than making the games PS5 exclusive.

 

[Clear]

I think your logic is pretty flawed. MS has always had more money and yet Sony (and Nintendo) have largely dominated it. I guess MS could literally buy up every single developer and publisher left but outside of that, I don't see them spending their way into absolute victory over Sony. MS has invested more this generation for sure but it's still yet to bear any fruit that is obvious.

Its not about trying to out-compete, its about avenues for expansion and growth.

MS has bought publishers because they need to support XCloud and Gamepass. Sony would never consider doing the same move because its not really beneficial to their business aims in the space. By the same token Sony have been acquiring anime studios and services because that suits their domestic and international media aims, whilst MS aren't looking that way at all.

Acquiring FROM would be incidental to the gains made by control/ownership of Kadokawa. At the end of the day Sony already owns the Demon's Souls and Bloodborne IP's, so its not like they'd be gaining that much above from owning a really good Japanese developer.

 

[zaanan]

Lol i dont think cdpr would sell to Sony after they lost their revenue on playstation for 6 months. Microsoft is the warm and cuddly choice for them.

I think their “release” of Cyberpunk has clearly shown that the CDPR board has zero scruples. Whatever happened in the past would not matter to them one bit if Sony came to them with a boatload of Now money.

Not that I think Sony will do that, because they do probably hold the broken launch against CDPR. Which they should.

 

[3liteDragon]

You guys are thirsty

Frankly, I don’t give two shits but it’s hilarious seeing the level of hypocrisy on display.

 

[Brofist]

Not much, they barely own ips

Does it matter? They already went from Demon's Souls to Dark Souls to get around that once. Most people wouldn't care if they called their next game Ass Souls as long as it played like the previous ones.

 

[SLB1904]

Does it matter? They already went from Demon's Souls to Dark Souls to get around that once. Most people wouldn't care if they called their next game Ass Souls as long as it played like the previous ones.

It really depends we had developers that were on the top of their than fail from grace, for us gamers is cool but for investors is a risk regardless

 

[CosmicComet]

You think it's likely that Kadokawa would demand a 400% premium? Because of one game? That they don't even own?

Are you mad?

Absolutely.

Why shouldn't they? And no, From Soft and Namco Bandai co-own the copyright to Elden Ring. It's not purely Namco Bandai.

They dont need or want to be exclusive to Sony so of course they are going to price ridiculously high.

Elden Ring just *easily* outdid what any Sony IP has done in the same time frame.

And Kadokawa offers a lot more in terms of IP than just From Software's offerings, stuff that is synergistic with Sony's crunchyroll purchase.

 

[FalsettoVibe]

You think it's likely that Kadokawa would demand a 400% premium? Because of one game? That they don't even own?

Are you mad?

Wait.....they don't own the Elden Ring IP? Do they own any IPs?

 

[PSlayer]

Sony bought shares of kadokawa a few months ago right? Maybe they're planning to go elon musk on that

 

[Setsuna Mudou]

Yeah. Because Tencent being Chinese literally stopped them to throw money left and right including japanese companies (Platinum)

Throw money as in investing and expecting some return? 100%
Throw money to own a major Japanese corporation? Pretty sure the local government would veto the fuck out of it.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

Wait.....they don't own the Elden Ring IP? Do they own any IPs?

They own some of their other really old IPs like Armoured Core, but Dark Souls and Elden Ring are owned by Bandai Namco