Support NeoGAF

[John Wick]

What else could they do? Sony can buy timed exclusives with no questions asked, if MS tried they get grilled.

So instead of buying timed exclusives just buy the developer, that way nobody can question you.

If Sony had invested into 1st party instead of trying to buy everything as a timed exclusive, MS might not have felt the need to go for the big guns.

Of course there's more to it than that, but let's be real, Sony got themselves into an arms race they didn't want to see.

Let's look back just a little bit to Aug 2020.....

Report: Sony Contacted All Major Third Parties for Exclusivity Deals, Offered More Money Than Microsoft

Report: Sony Contacted All Major Third Parties for Exclusivity Deals, Offered More Money Than Microsoft Kinda Funny’s Imran Khan said: There isn’t a major third party out there Sony failed to approach asking what kind of deals they could work out. Some had content, some had games, some had...

www.neogaf.com

Really? That's your take? Not the fact that MS needs developers and first party content for gamepass?
Sony could never hope to outbid MS on exclusivity deals.

 

[John Wick]

Sony could have too, instead they felt it was better to buy timed exclusivity on games they were getting anyway.

It's not like they have never been deceptive about it, just nobody bothered to ask, like Diablo 3.

I'm not trying to say one is better or worse than the other, but I don't see how anyone didn't understand this was how it was going to end.

You can only sit back and take it for so long before you make your move.

Are you really trying to compare timed exclusivety to buying up whole publishers now?
It's funny now how MS is the good guy and underdog?
Remember when MS didn't want crossplay in 360 days?
Or had exclusive deals themselves for 360 games?
There has never been nothing stopping MS from getting exclusive games.

 

[Kagey K]

Really? That's your take? Not the fact that MS needs developers and first party content for gamepass?
Sony could never hope to outbid MS on exclusivity deals.

I think they would have been fine with the status quo, but once Sony started writing in anti gamepass clauses, they realized what they had to do.

 

[Boss Mog]

I don't know why but a company that would make sense is Bandai Namco.

It feels like Bandai Namco would go good with Crunchyroll with all the Anime stuff.

Only thing it has a Market Cap of 16.13 Billion, which may end up being 20 billion to purchase.

Other than Bandai Namco, there is
Konami: 7.14 B
Square Enix: 5.91 B
Capcom: 5.14 B

Isn't most of Konami's value in its slot machine business though, I doubt Sony has any interest in that. They could probably buy just the videogames division for a lot less if Konami was willing to sell it off.

 

[Kagey K]

Are you really trying to compare timed exclusivety to buying up whole publishers now?
It's funny now how MS is the good guy and underdog?
Remember when MS didn't want crossplay in 360 days?
Or had exclusive deals themselves for 360 games?
There has never been nothing stopping MS from getting exclusive games.

Timed exclusivity I think MS would have dealt with, as they always have.

It was the anti gamepass, anti streaming clauses in the recent contracts that really pushed them.

 

[John Wick]

I think they would have been fine with the status quo, but once Sony started writing in anti gamepass clauses, they realized what they had to do.

And you know this how? Did you sit in with the Nadella and Spencer?
They weren't happy with what they outputting. The Xbox One had hardly any first party games towards the end of the gen. They bought the publishers to have the talent and games and also to make life difficult for Sony and Nintendo.

 

[Kagey K]

And you know this how? Did you sit in with the Nadella and Spencer?
They weren't happy with what they outputting. The Xbox One had hardly any first party games towards the end of the gen. They bought the publishers to have the talent and games and also to make life difficult for Sony and Nintendo.

And you know this how? Did you sit with Nadella and Spencer?

FUCK OFF, so stupid.

We are here having a conversation. You get stupid, say my shit is dumb, and then come up with more dumb shit I say is stupid.

 

[The_Mike]

Why are so many Sony haters sweating about this?

looks like you're seeing ghosts.

 

[Kagey K]

Ship has sailed, it’s an arms race right now.

That's going to suck for someone.

Glad we are all happy about it

 

[Dibils2k]

I agree. That game was phenomenal. The direction, the artstyle, exploration, combat. Everything was just top notch. I think it's my personal GOTY so far, but the year has just begun. I was thinking that...

What? Hold on. We're not talking games on GAF anymore? Acquisitions? What the fuck! I thought this site was for discussing games! Well, excuse me Princess. Allow me to take my leave then. Have fun console warriors. I hope the next purchase furthers strengthens your favorite box.

what game are you talking about there? i need to check that out! sounds awesome

 

[anothertech]

All developers bought by Ms and Sony.

PS gets gamepass and XB gets psnow.

Nintendo still sub 1080.

PC still master race.

Amen

 

[Topher]

looks like you're seeing ghosts.

 

[Concern]

Can't think of another logical acquisition for their mp live service focus. Ubisoft is trash and Capcom isn't really a big mp pub.

On another note funny how people who constantly shit on Grubb all of a sudden want to quote him when its something they like. Yet everyone trashed him when he was one of the first if not the first to say HFW was delayed.

Can't make this shit up lol

 

[John Wick]

And you know this how? Did you sit with Nadella and Spencer?

FUCK OFF, so stupid.

We are here having a conversation. You get stupid, say my shit is dumb, and then come up with more dumb shit I say is stupid.

Listen dipshit MS got hammered for not having games. Especially towards the last gen. Or were you asleep under a rock? It happened on this very forum. So how do you instantly get ready made studios? By buying a publishers who owns quite a few.
Also the fact that MS have transitioned to more of a software focus and subscription. Again Mr Stupid this requires someone to make the first party games. I think my reasoning sounds alot more plausible than your fanboy warring theory.

 

[Akhawi]

Are you really trying to compare timed exclusivety to buying up whole publishers now?
It's funny now how MS is the good guy and underdog?
Remember when MS didn't want crossplay in 360 days?
Or had exclusive deals themselves for 360 games?
There has never been nothing stopping MS from getting exclusive games.

None of the console manufacturers wanted to do console cross-play back then and even cross-play with PC was something both Sony and MS just barely dipped their toes in but it didn't work out in the end. Wii's online was horrible and for the most part had completely different versions of multiplayer titles that wouldn't even have been compatible with the 360 and PS3 versions, so cross-play with Nintendo wasn't really possible. MS would also have had to been completely stupid and insane to even consider doing cross-play with PS3 back then seeing as PSN was just a unsecure, laggy, unstable and barely functional mess throughout the entire generation and Sony's patch verification process was slow as hell and would have been a pain in the ass for both the game devs and MS as they would have to sit around and wait on Sony each time a patch was ready to be deployed or they would have had to temporarily disable cross-play each time just so 360 players could keep playing. This slow patch verification process was also one of the main reasons the plans for PS3+PC cross-play in CS:GO fell apart.

On top of all that the PSN hack happened which was a fucking disaster to put it mildly, so yeah like I said MS would indeed have had to be absolutely insane to even consider doing cross-play with PS3 back then. They would literally have made their online gaming experience worse for all their 360 players by exposing them to the absolute shitshow that was PSN/PS3 and hurt their brand and reputation in the process.

Getting exclusive deals for themselves was already the norm back then and something Sony have been doing since PS1-era, so there's no point in singling out MS here.

 

[Yoboman]

Listen dipshit MS got hammered for not having games. Especially towards the last gen. Or were you asleep under a rock? It happened on this very forum. So how do you instantly get ready made studios? By buying a publishers who owns quite a few.
Also the fact that MS have transitioned to more of a software focus and subscription. Again Mr Stupid this requires someone to make the first party games. I think my reasoning sounds alot more plausible than your fanboy warring theory.

No, Nadella read on Twitter that Sony got Street Fighter 5 as a console exclusive and decided to spend 80 billion dollars to even things out

 

[Max Payne’s Baretta]

Capcom will NEVER HAPPEN lol. The delusion in here is striking.

 

[DarthPutin]

No offense but "Microsoft spent 70 billion dollars and counting because they got upset about Sony moneyhatting FFVII" is quite an idiotic fanboy narrative. Ditto Sony having marketing rights to Re:VIII (the reason why they stipulated "no premiere on gamepass" clause.
They could've moneyhatted everything under the sun with modicum of this money. And they did temp exclusives before, but it's not what they are interested in now. They are building for the streaming future they perceive and try to build. Sony may not buy anything and MS will still continue its course of building stream of first party games for Gamepass.
As to what will be bought, acquisitions appear to be akin to crimes of opportunity. Since we've no idea who might be for sale it's tough to predict anything. Don't think we should be stuck on this 10 bill figure. Sony can alocate more money if needs be. Clearly they have limited budget for this kind of big spending so they'll need to choose wisely. Get enough stuff to survive if the industry is gobbled up by bigger fish.

 

[Yoboman]

Capcom will NEVER HAPPEN lol. The delusion in here is striking.

You really just saw Activision get bought out and Bungie go to Playstation and are still saying "x will never happen"?

Its 2022 baby, the sky is falling and everyone is for sale

 

[Max Payne’s Baretta]

You really just saw Activision get bought out and Bungie go to Playstation and are still saying "x will never happen"?

Its 2022 baby, the sky is falling and everyone is for sale

There’s literally no business incentive for Capcom to sell to Sony. Acti-Bliz were SEEKING a buyer.

You guys so desperately wanna see Capcom get snapped up that you’re ignoring all of the current realities that make that completely implausible.

 

[Nitty_Grimes]

Just seems to be a variation on console warring now this does. Its not whose got the best games, the fastest SSD, its whose got the most money now. Green or blue.

 

[Yoboman]

There’s literally no business incentive for Capcom to sell to Sony. Acti-Bliz were SEEKING a buyer.

You guys so desperately wanna see Capcom get snapped up that you’re ignoring all of the current realities that make that completely implausible.

Nobody knew Activision, Bethesda or Bungie were looking to sell until it was done

And I could care less for Capcom but nothing is out of the realm of possibility

 

[mejin]

Another publisher is certain, but Take2 is just a deram.

 

[Tams]

Switch mostly appeals to young adults

Kids are busy playing Minecraft, Fortnite and watching streamers

That wasn't my point.

It was that Nintendo are the one's in kid's gaming with the reputation to keep their position there for a long time. Any competitors are going to have a hard time.

 

[Estocolmo]

Sony paid Bungie 3,6 billion dollar for them to release multiplatform games and stay independent?!

 

[Max Payne’s Baretta]

Sony paid Bungie 3,6 billion dollar for them to release multiplatform games and stay independent?!

Yes

 

[Yoboman]

That wasn't my point.

It was that Nintendo are the one's in kid's gaming with the reputation to keep their position there for a long time. Any competitors are going to have a hard time.

Not sure what that matters? Most games are played by adults, and we are well past the era where kids can only play cereal box mascots

I do agree with you that Nintendo will be fine, but its not because they are kid friendly (as I showed their main demographic are adults) - its because they have a reputation for quality and undeniable brand recognition. Id even argue that their games appealing to women (like Animal Crossing) is a far bigger impact than appealing to kids

 

[Thirty7ven]

That's going to suck for someone.

Glad we are all happy about it

I hear you brother, but most of the game press and the Xbox community threw a party at MS buying AB for 70B, no pushback whatsoever. It’s the hipster world we live in, no values, just consumerism and mega corp worship.

 

[Topher]

I think they would have been fine with the status quo, but once Sony started writing in anti gamepass clauses, they realized what they had to do.

Phil Spencer said two or three years ago that first party was a weakness and it needed to improve. He said the same thing a couple of years prior to that as well. This isn't new info.

 

[darrylgorn]

Nintendo DNA?

Sounds like eugenics to me.

 

[ToTTenTranz]

Sony currently has about $10 billion left to spend on future acquisitions, buyouts, and share buybacks.

It needs to be said that these $10B don't need to be spent of videogame publishers or studios.
Sony's initial statements about the $18B investment mentioned an expansion of their media IP properties.

Stuff that should be included in that investment, beyond devs/publishers and share buybacks:

- Movie production (Uncharted movie, maybe Dwayne Johnson's videogame movie)
- TV Series production (The Last of Us Netflix series)
- IP licensing for videogames, like Insomniac's Wolverine and perhaps other characters that could crossover with Spider Man games (mimicking MCU's strategy).

Sony paid Bungie 3,6 billion dollar for them to release multiplatform games and stay independent?!

Sony paid Bungie 2.4 billion, with a further investment of 1.2 billion to retain Bungie's employees, to get the technical expertise on multiplayer games that Sony doesn't have.

Bungie gets to have full creative and publishing control for its own IPs (Destiny included), though all the future multiplayer games spearheaded by Sony's 1st-party studios which will get assistance by Bungie will probably be exclusive to Playstation.

I don't know why but a company that would make sense is Bandai Namco.

It feels like Bandai Namco would go good with Crunchyroll with all the Anime stuff.

Only thing it has a Market Cap of 16.13 Billion, which may end up being 20 billion to purchase.

Other than Bandai Namco, there is
Konami: 7.14 B
Square Enix: 5.91 B
Capcom: 5.14 B

Konami as a whole isn't an interesting purchase for Sony because the core of their revenue is coming from some casual and simple Switch games for the Japanese market.
What Sony could do is either buy Konami's hardcore IPs (Castlevania, Metal Gear, Silent Hill, Pro Evolution Soccer, Bomberman, Contra, etc.) or make a multi-year licensing deal.

 

[Topher]

Capcom will NEVER HAPPEN lol. The delusion in here is striking.

Most would have said the exact same thing about Bethesda and Activision. I would bet Capcom stockholders are hoping they get a big payday as well.

Sony paid Bungie 2.4 billion, with a further investment of 1.2 billion to retain Bungie's employees, to get the technical expertise on multiplayer games that Sony doesn't have.

That cannot be overstated. Technical expertise is a big reason why Tim Sweeney sold 40% of Epic to Tencent and how Fortnite became a massive cash cow.

 

[The_Mike]

Well I've read the whole thread though, and I can't see anyone shaking their pants over the acquisition

 

[Topher]

Well I've read the whole thread though, and I can't see anyone shaking their pants over the acquisition

I can't make you see what I see. But this isn't even about an "acquisition". It is about the possibilities. Might want to read it again.

 

[The_Mike]

I can't make you see what I see. But this isn't even about an "acquisition". It is about the possibilities. Might want to read it again.

Well according to this thread Sony still has some money left on the table.

Where are the Sony haters? What are they saying that makes them Sony haters?

I just can't see the connection.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

Timed exclusivity I think MS would have dealt with, as they always have.

It was the anti gamepass, anti streaming clauses in the recent contracts that really pushed them.

The fantasies some of you come up with

 

[Vognerful]

The Activision deal is not guaranteed to go through, but it's very, very likely that it will. Do you want to risk the FTC stepping in even more if they acquired someone like Take 2?

Not saying they will block the deal, but it is risky.

This is what several people who follow the video game industry are saying and it seems very reasonable why it would be risky.


Microsoft would have to get approval from the Japanese government if they tried to acquire a major publisher.

Then maybe you are not reading carefully what those who are familiar with the law say. It is not that Microsoft is creating a monopoly by buying game publishers; it is opening FTC eyes to stuff like cloud gaming and other stuff that Microsoft has semi monopoly on.

This will prove nothing but wishful thinking.

 

[Topher]

Well according to this thread Sony still has some money left on the table.

Where are the Sony haters? What are they saying that makes them Sony haters?

I just can't see the connection.

If you scroll right past a post calling out "Sony fanboys" on page one and it doesn't register then nothing will. Oh well....see what you want to see then.

 

[assurdum]

Capcom, and call it a day.

10 billions for capcom seems a lot too much to me.

 

[Bernd Lauert]

10 billions for capcom seems a lot too much to me.

Yes and no. Market is crazy rn so 10b doesn't sound like that much. They have some great IP.

 

[lh032]

lets pray for the best for Sony acquisitions!!

 

[assurdum]

Yes and no. Market is crazy rn so 10b doesn't sound like that much. They have some great IP.

Are you crazy? They are not remotely comparable to Bethesda. Capcom it's a very minuscule company compared even Bungie.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

Are you crazy? They are not remotely comparable to Bethesda.

Neither are their valuations. They were a private company

Capcom it's a very minuscule company compared even Bungie.

Lmao what?

 

[lh032]

I would be surprise if Sony did not try to get SE, i mean Sony is going for Live service game now.

FF MMO is a great money maker.

 

[BigBooper]

Konami seems obvious if they don't jack the price too high. Very valuable IPs just rotting away.

 

[Cyber_hunter026]

Konami seems obvious if they don't jack the price too high. Very valuable IPs just rotting away.

With no talent or development studios. as far as I'm aware they are getting even more in on their pachinko business.

 

[Bernd Lauert]

Are you crazy? They are not remotely comparable to Bethesda. Capcom it's a very minuscule company compared even Bungie.

Capcom does more revenue than Zenimax (estimated). Their IP is also comparable in popularity.

 

[Topher]

Are you crazy? They are not remotely comparable to Bethesda. Capcom it's a very minuscule company compared even Bungie.

What data are you using to make this statement? Capcom brought in almost $900 million last year. It has over 3000 employees. From what google is telling me, Bungie has a third the number of employees and less than $500 million in revenue. Zenimax has 2/3 the employees and also brings in less revenue than Capcom. I don't see how Capcom is comparatively "minuscule" at all here.

 

[Mozza]

At 10 Billion they seem to be a little out of their depth, might be better buying some talented smaller studios, that are under the radar.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

At 10 Billion they seem to be a little out of their depth, might be better buying some talented smaller studios, that are under the radar.

10 billion is easy peasy lemon squeezy if they want it