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[Kerotan]

Blue point and either R* or T2.

 

[M.W.]

Blue point and either R* or T2.

 

[kretos]

People saying T2 should tell me what kind of stuff are they smoking it must be real good

for the money that will cost to buy T2 they could buy SE + Capcom + Sega and will still have change

 

[Nickolaidas]

I too think that Sony should buy a powerful publisher, because if Microsoft keeps buying 3rd party publishers and dev teams, they'll eventually lock out Sony out of EVERYTHING, except for their 1st party games. Since MS so far is keen of buying western studios and publishers, Sony should go for the eastern ones. Capcom, FROM Software ... producers of solid Japanese IPs with a huge following. This will also help in differentiating the two rivals even more.

You like western games? Buy an X-Box.

You like Japanese games? Buy a PS or Switch.

You like both? Buy a PC.

 

[EDMIX]

People saying T2 should tell me what kind of stuff are they smoking it must be real good

for the money that will cost to buy T2 they could buy SE + Capcom + Sega and will still have change

This.


Nothing wrong with them either, simply that we all know the real meat behind Take Two is Rockstar. I don't really know if they are truly worth a company like Sony putting all their eggs in 1 buy like that, a buy that they won't even see the return on for some time too. I agree that a buy of many smaller publishers like SE, Capcom make much more sense.

How anyone came up with Take Two being a viable buy for Sony is beyond me. (Maybe for MS, even for them that is a fucking costly buy, but after the Minecraft and Zenimax deal, nothing is off the table for MS, but doesn't mean that applies for Sony, Nintendo etc)

 

[kretos]

I'll go ahead and comment than. Sony fans are starting to sense a game drought as Microsoft is putting together a set of games and they have no answer to the recent deals.

drought

with all these acquisitions MS is the one trying to catch up to Sony or did people quickly forget the memes and xbox has no games? even after Bethesda acquisition they are releasing 2 timed PS5 exclusives that won't be on xbox for a while

maybe in 2-3 that will change

i'm actually happy MS is putting up a fight this gen instead of being humiliated for an entire gen with no response, that will put more pressure on Sony to do even better

 

[kretos]

This.


Nothing wrong with them either, simply that we all know the real meat behind Take Two is Rockstar. I don't really know if they are truly worth a company like Sony putting all their eggs in 1 buy like that, a buy that they won't even see the return on for some time too. I agree that a buy of many smaller publishers like SE, Capcom make much more sense.

How anyone came up with Take Two being a viable buy for Sony is beyond me. (Maybe for MS, even for them that is a fucking costly buy, but after the Minecraft and Zenimax deal, nothing is off the table for MS, but doesn't mean that applies for Sony, Nintendo etc)

Zenimax wasn't doing too good wanted to sell for a while as some insiders said, i doubt T2 even want to sell and i doubt Sony or MS will try a hostile takeover

 

[oldergamer]

Buying rockstar, also requires buying take-two

Not gonna happen. This would be way too expensive. Also i think MS might have a right of refusal. At one point years back MS loaned them a bunch of money? At least i recall that happening but i cant find an article on it.

 

[draliko]

The problem is you tend to give too much weight to ms acquistion, ms has a long history of buying everything they think fits their narrative:

List of mergers and acquisitions by Microsoft - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

This was just pocket change, they will go for sure for other acquistions, they know the market is going to be huge and the big spending players are stepping in. The problem is amazon and google can spend billions just to corner the competition, and sincerely i'm more worried about amazon than google.
Sony hasn't the money to fight this game, they need to be smart and worry about amazon (that could buy ubisoft without problems and Bezos is pretty aggresive when he wants).

 

[oldergamer]

drought

with all these acquisitions MS is the one trying to catch up to Sony or did people quickly forget the memes and xbox has no games? even after Bethesda acquisition they are releasing 2 timed PS5 exclusives that won't be on xbox for a while

maybe in 2-3 that will change

i'm actually happy MS is putting up a fight this gen instead of being humiliated for an entire gen with no response, that will put more pressure on Sony to do even better

I thought those timed exclusive deals are no more?

 

[pasterpl]

if anything, I think Sony should carry on with smaller studio acquisitions to build their in house capabilities. There were these rumours about $750M exclusivity deals that Sony was trying to secure with various publishers, this kind of money invested 2 years ago would result in probably 10 new IPs being ready for realise in 1-3 years.

Re.T2, Take 2 market cap is less than what ms paid for LinkedIn, so if they can see a good return on Bethesda acquisition ms might go for even bigger fish, but honestly I think there will be less acquisitions and more "strategic" partnerships putting games from the big 3rd party publishers on game pass while these are still available on other platforms, that would be win-win situation, Gamers wouldnt miss out on any games and gamepass value would still be increasing. I can even see ms making deals with publishers for streaming exclusiveness, while no exclusivity on standard model.

 

[Damigos]

Bait thread etc..
But IF i had to choose I would choose Konami.
Konami has a shit ton of IPs just sitting there.
If MS chooses to make new games like elder scrolls etc exclusive then Sony could to make new games like new metal gear castlevania etc exclusive.
In case Konami isn't interested to make games again then Bandai Nandi would be another solid choice.
Both of these companies are Japanese and their games always clicked with PlayStation audience.

 

[lastmessiah]

You guys do realize that, even if Sony had the financial means, they can't just buy whatever they want at will? The publisher or studio has to be for sale.

 

[mcjmetroid]

I think he requested a ban for a couple of months.

He always requests a ban when things go south on playstation or Kojima.

 

[kungfuian]

How many of Sony's developers have 2 teams vs. Microsoft's studios? Sony has 14 devs and Microsoft has 23, but how many teams does each have? This seems a better way to evaluate their positions and total output potential.

Seems logical Sony would grab a few smaller studios, Blue Point, Housemarque, Kojima Productions, maybe invest in starting up 1 or 2 new studios, and then focus the rest of their energy on getting more exiting developers up and running with multiple teams.

If they want big name IP they should try and buy IP rights to Konami's catalog. From the rumors they are already working on several exclusives using Konami IP (Silent Hill and Metal Gear Remake if rumors are true) and Konami isn't doing shit with them on their own.

 

[IDKFA]

Nintendo

 

[Sweep14]

Sheesh, taking the acquisition hard eh?

Sony doesn't need to do anything. They are fine.

Well, will you be saying the same thing if MS buys Take 2 in a few months ? What can impeach MS to go all in with buyouts and technically organize a drought of games for other actual or future platforms ?

 

[rofif]

Microsoft should buy Sony

 

[Spukc]

What if sony buys ..

MICROSOFT

 

[geordiemp]

How many of Sony's developers have 2 teams vs. Microsoft's studios? Sony has 14 devs and Microsoft has 23, but how many teams does each have? This seems a better way to evaluate their positions and total output potential.

Seems logical Sony would grab a few smaller studios, Blue Point, Housemarque, Kojima Productions, maybe invest in starting up 1 or 2 new studios, and then focus the rest of their energy on getting more exiting developers up and running with multiple teams.

If they want big name IP they should try and buy IP rights to Konami's catalog. From the rumors they are already working on several exclusives using Konami IP (Silent Hill and Metal Gear Remake if rumors are true) and Konami isn't doing shit with them on their own.

Yup talent >> old IPs with nobody to make a good version.

Sony would be better off with Insomniac and bluepoint like aquisitions, its quality over quantity.

 

[Sweep14]

should buy From Software and make Bloodborne 2 a PS5 exclusive

Well, if Bloodborne 2 was to be developped, it would be a defacto exclusive as Sony owns the IP.

 

[Rick Monster]

Bluepoint and Housemarque. They have worked with them for years now and seem to be a good fit. I already have a feeling that SONY is gonna pick up Bluepoint once Demon's Souls releases.
They can be their remake studio while also working on their own IP.

Yeah. Sony does this over and over again. You put out a great game, they buy you. They did this with Horizon, Spider-Man, Infamous, Uncharted. Any game that becomes a PS Classic - those devs get picked up.

 

[Rick Monster]

Microsoft should buy Sony

Could you imagine? This is like if Disney bought Warner Brothers. Then they would own Marvel, DC, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Star Wars. All they would need is Star Trek.

 

[Orta]

As we approach console launches Microsoft recently had one heck of a pickup and is now a "threat" in the gaming world. Is it time for SONY to buy Rockstar?

Take-Two Interactive could probably buy Sony.

 

[Yoboman]

Take-Two Interactive could probably buy Sony.

It only takes a quick Google search to not say something so stupid

 

[SaucyJack]

Sensible answer?

1. Moderately sized studios that fit their portfolio: Bluepoint, Housemarque, Remedy, Supermassive. Price from a couple of tens to a couple of hundred million.

2. Kadokawa: fits their Anime strategy comes with FROM as a bonus. Price $1.5 bn give or take

3. Strategic deal: Buy or partner with Konami on the ip they're not interested in. Leave Konami to their pachislots.

4. Bold moves: big but doable acquisitions - Capcom, Sega, Ubisoft

5. Fantasy land: Take 2.

 

[darthpaxton]

I personally think that PlayStation needs to focus on private studios to avoid getting into a bidding war with Tencent, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft.

BluePoint, Housemarque, and IO Interactive feel live obvious choices. People Can Fly could be a really interesting fit with Sony to give them some multiplayer muscle. Dontnod gives them a bit more variety and their output is great. They could do story games like Life is Strange and expand the team that made Vampyr to have the polish you expect from Sony first-party.

The one public acquisition I could see them chasing is Remedy. I personally would like to see SIE diversify, but their is something to be said for doubling down on what they do best and Remedy could jump in and not miss a beat. They also may be a bit more willing now that the 505 stuff seems kind of rocky.

One more name to throw at you, Panache Digital Games. They made Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey, which was a little disappointing, but their next game is rumored to be an third-person action game (the studio head was the driving for behind Assassin's Creed 2) based on a prototype he did at Ubisoft called 1666: Amsterdam, which he secured the rights to after leaving Ubi.

 

[Gormless Noodle]

Just merge with Nintendo and let's wrap this shit up.

That'd be meaningless. Their business models contradict one another. If you end up with that sort of first party output you'd be trampling over every third party, a big reason quite a few publishers more or less avoid Nintendo systems even if they're very successful. Something MS will have to watch out for now too BTW.

 

[Orta]

It only takes a quick Google search to not say something so stupid

Stupid question deserves stupid answer.

 

[Roufianos]

Bluepoint, Kojima Productions, Konami's IP, From and Capcom are possibilities.

Doubt Sony will do anything though. Probably don't need to either.

 

[Zekra Dezivad]

A new PR person

 

[Maogp]

A lot of people think that is enough having money to buy studios...

 

[SaucyJack]

Take-Two Interactive could probably buy Sony.

Sony is a good 5-6 times higher market cap than Take 2, even though the latter has grown significantly.

Sony could buy T2 in cash if they really wanted, but it ain't going to happen unless they really want to bought.

 

[lastmessiah]

Sony could buy T2 in cash if they really wanted.

You guys are too much.

 

[Hideous Snake]

The most realistic thing to do is buy KJP. If they did that I'll shill for Sony forever

 

[SaucyJack]

You guys are too much.

Nice edit of my post, but ....

- Sony cash reserves $33 billion
- Take 2 market capitalisation $17 billion

So "Sony could buy T2 in cash if they really wanted" is an objectively true statement.

You have a nice day now.

 

[lastmessiah]

Nice edit of my post, but ....

- Sony cash reserves $33 billion
- Take 2 market capitalisation $17 billion

So "Sony could buy T2 in cash if they really wanted" is an objectively true statement.

You have a nice day now.

no, it is an absurdly false statement. You don't understand business or the way the world works.

You have a nice day as well.

 

[Rick Monster]

I can see Bluepoint acquired, but not Kojima. He bristled at having any constraints on him, and I think with his newfound freedom, he is not eager to be under anyone's thumb again so soon. I was thinking maybe FROM, but they seem to be doing just fine on their own. I think if the price was right, they could be bought.

 

[Roberts]

I'm most likely skipping Sony next gen, so being as egoistical as I am, they can have whatever studio that I don't give a shit about: Kojima, most Japanese developers and the weirdos that made Life of Black Tiger.

 

[SaucyJack]

no, it is an absurdly false statement. You don't understand business or the way the world works.

You have a nice day as well.

Because ...... trust me dude?

 

[daninthemix]

Is this a bait thread?

Nope, just more fanboi inanity.

 

[Ogbert]

They should buy a game mechanics designer for Naughty Dog.

 

[llien]

I think they should sell instead.

Selling Neil Druckman (Duckman?) to competitors, would improve Sony's games, while woke-sicking games of the others..

 

[yurinka]

As we approach console launches Microsoft recently had one heck of a pickup and is now a "threat" in the gaming world. Is it time for SONY to buy Rockstar?

Sony is a distant leader selling consoles, games, game subscriptions, game streaming services or premium VR. These recent years Sony set new several all time gaming history records on these fronts.

MS bought Zenimax to be closer to Sony in terms of big internal studios and IPs, so to make their console and streaming service more appealing. But MS will still be way behind Sony because the only big next gen (even if crossgen) AAA console exclusive they will put in Xbox and Game Pass during at least 2020 and 2021 will be Halo. I think MS will release their first big next gen only console exclusive in 2023, or mid November the earliest, since MS said that all the games they will publish during the first two years will be crossgen. They also said that Zenimax exclusivity deals after the timed exclusives they have in PS5 will be on a 'case by case basis', so sounds that some of their future games will end on PS5.

At that point around 2023 Sony will have released a shit ton of full exclusives (crossgen or not) and big timed console exclusives. We know that at least for 2020+2021 Sony has their biggest launch year exclusives lineup ever. So I think MS may start to catch up in early 2023 or so, but it may be too late because the difference between PS5 and Series X may be too big at that point.

MS isn't a threat for Sony, even after purchasing Zenimax and after adding EA Play (also available on PS4) to Game Pass.

 

[whitesugar]

They are playing different games. And Microsoft's is a much more lucrative game. Hardware sales to poors who buy deeply discounted games and trade on the used market is not going to sustain Sony in the coming years.

sony will get most of their money from subscriptions like MS, so not really sure what selling to poors is talking about. maybe it's just cope that Playstation makes so much more money than xbox. very lucrative for ms..

 

[Cato]

MS was reacting to Amazon, not Sony. And Amazon Luna is going to be a huge threat to Sony, you're kidding yourself if you think they see Sony as legitimate competition.

The first part I think you are right. This is a move against amazon (and stadia if it had not suicided already).
It is clear that MS goal is games-as-a-subscription and gamepass is the core of that.
That also means that I think MS is less interested in consoles or even the xbox brand itself, OTHER than for now being a very important vehicle to reach the games-as-a-subscription stage.

In that scenario I can well see gamepass becoming available on playstation too.
I mean, Netflix sells you the service and they don't care what brand of tv you have.
Similartly, not now, but in the future, MS sells you the service and they don't care what platform you use to consume on.
As long as you pay the monthly fee.

That is probably where the industry is going, and MS wants to be top dog.
Unfortunately, just like netflix did to film/tv, it does likely mean that games will trend away from AAA and towards AA titles.

 

[jigglet]

I don't think Take 2 wants to sell Rock*... They make an shitload money with mostly one IP alone.

I don't think Rockstar is Take 2's to sell. They simply have an exclusive publishing arrangement which has a finite lifespan. I distinctly remember reading an article about how they extended their publishing agreement, so "extend" implies it's going to come to an end eventually. It's unlikely they will move on to another publisher, sure, but it doesn't mean T2 owns them.

 

[Fulcizombie]

Companies that make the most sense:

Konami (or just their IP's and then contract their own studios or Kojima to work on Silent Hill/Metal Gear again).

Bluepoint (Might as well at this point)

Kojima Productions (They need the capital)

Other companies that might be too much of a reach:

Activision (A lot of their well known IP's from the PS1 days are tied up here)

Rockstar (remember that rumor Sony was buying them)?

Won't ever happen but would be one hell of a acquisition:

Capcom (Monster Hunter, Devil May Cry and so on. Too many amazing IP's to count)

Square Enix (Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and a whole backlog that goes back into years of gaming of amazing RPG's)

Seeing Activision and....bluepoint on the same list is .....something alright.

 

[lpking2005]

Sony don't really need to do anything at all.
They still have the best studios in the world with consistently praised games.

What i like about Sony is they let a relationship build with a studio instead of just chucking money everywhere like Microsoft.
However, i am baffled why they have not snapped up Bluepoint yet. They are some talented devs and i would love to see what an original IP from them would be like.

 

[ToadMan]

back in the day blockbuster video was unbeatable. then the game changed
sony=blockbuster
microsoft,amazon,google=netflix

Sony isn't like blockbuster at all - Sony makes the movies, it doesn't rent them out.

Indeed Netflix remains unprofitable to this day - the approach Google has already failed with and MS and Amazon are making big plays for now.

One which Sony already explored years ago and hasn't made a big play with because they can see the financials don't work.

AAA Movies make money - movie streaming services that rely on exclusive to fill out content, don't.

Sony should do very well out of making AAA games and licensing them to cloud subscription services.