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[demigod]

Breaking: Microsoft to acquire Activision-Blizzard in near 70$ billion deal

There is nothing Sony can do to combat this. They can't get into an arms race with MS. Sony's path here is inevitable. They either get bought up by Google, Apple, whoever or they eventually let Game Pass on PlayStation and their first party output goes multiplatform. This purchase today is...

www.neogaf.com

Breaking: Microsoft to acquire Activision-Blizzard in near 70$ billion deal

RIP PlayStation, we had fun together. Xbox and Game Pass smashing it all over the show now. Just don’t compete with that if you’re Sony.

www.neogaf.com

Looks like he forgot to delete those posts, what a fucking clown. At least he got a thumbs up from florian.

I just gave his 2 posts emojis, enjoy.

 

[Heisenberg007]

Looks like he forgot to delete those posts, what a fucking clown. At least he got a thumbs up from florian.

I just gave his 2 posts emojis, enjoy.

The meltdowns have been more amazing than whatever this acquisition could bring to us in the future

 

[sachos]

Why they and anyone at all should care about tantrums of some petty manchildren?

'Cause PR, always nice to have a good one.

 

[XXL]

The meltdowns have been more amazing than whatever this acquisition could bring to us in the future

 

[killatopak]

I’m wondering why only Sony seems to be brought up in this. Are there no other prospective buyers?

 

[Mibu no ookami]

I’m wondering why only Sony seems to be brought up in this. Are there no other prospective buyers?

Their letter of intent almost certainly assures a period of exclusivity.

 

[tmlDan]

I’m wondering why only Sony seems to be brought up in this. Are there no other prospective buyers?

I would assume its because they want to stay Japanese-owned and there aren't many that can take on the price tag.

I am sure Tencent has a ton of interest but there's a lot of baggage in this deal with everything Kadokawa owns

 

[ergem]

Their letter of intent almost certainly assures a period of exclusivity.

Can I ask why is that? I have no clue on merger and acquisition.

 

[Three]

I hope this is one of those threads someone bumps 10 years from now.

This thread was so right but the regulars were mocking it badly. I'm surprised alphachino didn't do a cheeky bump:

Doesn't the ABK acquisition actually signal the transition of MS to being a 3rd-party publisher?

We already know Game Pass subscriber numbers have stagnated in the past couple of years and they no longer care about their consoles sales. We might see GP get a massive influx of subs if they throw all AB games on the service, but that is a massive gamble which I doubt there is any appetite for...

www.neogaf.com

You look at the laugh emojis on the OP and you'll see the who's who of xbox diehards (not all of them though). Now they go into threads pretending this was the grand master plan all along that they were aware of.

 

[ULTROS!]

Era is almost a xbox, pc, and Nintendo community nowadays. Admins are xbox fanboys.

Fixed

 

[midnightAI]

I would assume its because they want to stay Japanese-owned and there aren't many that can take on the price tag.

I am sure Tencent has a ton of interest but there's a lot of baggage in this deal with everything Kadokawa owns

With Tencent being Chinese I doubt they'd want to sell to them anyway, but also if that did happen I could see them breaking up Kadokawa and selling off the parts they don't want (Tencent would probably only want the game studios?)

 

[SweetTooth]

Breaking: Microsoft to acquire Activision-Blizzard in near 70$ billion deal

There is nothing Sony can do to combat this. They can't get into an arms race with MS. Sony's path here is inevitable. They either get bought up by Google, Apple, whoever or they eventually let Game Pass on PlayStation and their first party output goes multiplatform. This purchase today is...

www.neogaf.com

Breaking: Microsoft to acquire Activision-Blizzard in near 70$ billion deal

RIP PlayStation, we had fun together. Xbox and Game Pass smashing it all over the show now. Just don’t compete with that if you’re Sony.

www.neogaf.com

Haven't you heard, "MS has won and Playstation is finished "

Biggest winner of Acti/MS is Bobby and Acti shareholders, it was the robbery of the century. Biggest losers, well Xbox .. the brand is dying slow painful death

 

[gow3isben]

Haven't you heard, "MS has won and Playstation is finished "

Biggest winner of Acti/MS is Bobby and Acti shareholders, it was the robbery of the century. Biggest losers, well Xbox .. the brand is dying slow painful death

Wrong biggest winner was Sony. It gave them the console war while not losing out on a single thing. They still get their COD and they still get their share from PS sales.

This huge expenditure triggered Microsoft leadership who were otherwise allowing Xbox execs to do their thing, but now they needed to recoup costs ASAP and thus adopted a multiplatform strategy and effectively shuttered the hardware. Philip was obviously tooth and nail against losing exclusives but after shelling out 70B his opinions didn't cut it anymore.

 

[SweetTooth]

Wrong biggest winner was Sony. It gave them the console war while not losing out on a single thing. They still get their COD and they still get their share from PS sales.

This huge expenditure triggered Microsoft leadership who were otherwise allowing Xbox execs to do their thing, but now they needed to recoup costs ASAP and thus adopted a multiplatform strategy and effectively shuttered the hardware. Philip was obviously tooth and nail against losing exclusives but after shelling out 70B his opinions didn't cut it anymore.

Sony always wins !!

Imagine spending $70B for you to cut 50% of the player base? MS simply needs Playstation more than PS needs them

 

[Bernardougf]

Lol has nothing to do with gender, only common human stupidity. Whether people wanna be honest about it or not the common people of humanity dont have much creative/intellectual juice going on, the people who knew how good gaming was early on were a nontypical type of human being, ahead of the curb, it took others a long time to realize something others had years ago.

What im saying is taste isnt equal in value across all people and we have been in the mainstream gaming era for awhile now, its because of the common peoples lack of care/conviction to fight back against corporations with thier wallet at negative trends that has shaped our unfortunate toxic gaming landscape. That is why I wish gaming was still relatively niche.

Perfectly said

 

[Bernardougf]

Could not agree more. Sony would be nuts to not have a remake ready or a sequel. Now that the Souls games are mainstream thanks to Elden Ring, that would probably have a Bloodborne game do crazy well in contrast to the original 10 years ago.

I have a theory that Sony has one, and they’re timing a release window since Elden Ring is still fresh. Or at least hopes and dreams

Its my only wish that everything that made Elden Ring mainstream never appears in another souls game ever again.

Going mainstream has done no favors to games in the long run.. and will do no favors to the souls genre either.

 

[Dorago]

Dark days are ahead of us. Sony will ruin the last functioning Nipponese developer who makes AA&1/2 games (the best kind.)

This is filling me with such dread that I have rarely felt.

 

[Skifi28]

Everyone! Before Kudokawa come out and make an official statement.

I am happy to inform you I have written to kudokawa with a letter of intent to purchase Miyazaki!

How will you distribute him in all your rooms?

 

[DeepEnigma]

Its my only wish that everything that made Elden Ring mainstream never appears in another souls game ever again.

Going mainstream has done no favors to games in the long run.. and will do no favors to the souls genre either.

I can agree with this. Elden Ring serves it's purpose and should only be in a sequel. I still would love nothing more than a traditional metroidvania souls formula again. On Decima or Bluepoint's engine. Preferably Bloodborne sequel/prequel... did I mention Bloodborne?

 

[Akuji]

There are not enough bloodborne mentions in this thread.

 

[DeepEnigma]

There are not enough bloodborne mentions in this thread.

Bloodborne!

 

[Monkfish877]

Dark days are ahead of us. Sony will ruin the last functioning Nipponese developer who makes AA&1/2 games (the best kind.)

This is filling me with such dread that I have rarely felt.

Your absolutely right, I'm feeling the same way, Fromsoftware will never be the same again. They're the crowning jewel of the video games industry for me. You just know the main character in their next game will be some chick "who don't need no man" or something, it's inevitable. Observing Sony/Playstation closely for the past 10 years, it seems to me that the Japanese side of Playstation is subservient to the Western/Californian side, when it should be the other way around, that's why they conform to this DEI nonsense that's plaguing the gaming industry right now. Honestly, I could see a situation in the near future where Miyazaki and some of the bigwigs at FROM could leave to form a new studio because of Sony's interference, I think it's a plausible scenario.

 

[yurinka]

I’m wondering why only Sony seems to be brought up in this. Are there no other prospective buyers?

Kadokawa wants to expand their anime, games and manga market outside Japan, because Japan makes 80% of their revenue.

Sony is the only player who can help them both in gaming and specially anime. So I don't see why they would listen offers from anybody else.

And well, both Kadokawa and FromSoft have been making deals/exclusive games for Sony for like 30 years, they already have a very long relationship and are happy with each other.

Sony wants more entertainment content/IP, both existing and new, plus teams making them. Kadokawa would turn them into by far the most important anime company in the wolrld, and also one of the top manga publishers. Plus would give them some extra gaming, film, tv show, books and magazines stuff.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

The meltdowns have been more amazing than whatever this acquisition could bring to us in the future

The funny thing is MS is now releasing everything on Playstation and if this acquisition goes forward Sony is capable of not releasing FromSoftware games on Xbox with no problem whatsoever.

 

[ShadowkillXNA]

Your absolutely right, I'm feeling the same way, Fromsoftware will never be same again. They're the crowning jewel of the video games industry for me. You just know the main character in their next game will be some chick "who don't need no man" or something, it's inevitable. Observing Sony/Playstation closely for the past 10 years, it seems to me that the Japanese side of Playstation is subservient to the Western/Californian side, when it should be the other way around, that's why they conform to this DEI nonsense that's plaguing the gaming industry right now. Honestly, I could see a situation in the near future where Miyazaki and some of the bigwigs at FROM could leave to form a new studio because of Sony's interference, I think it's a plausible scenario.

 

[Bernardougf]

I can agree with this. Elden Ring serves it's purpose and should only be in a sequel. I still would love nothing more than a traditional metroidvania souls formula again. On Decima or Bluepoint's engine. Preferably Bloodborne sequel/prequel... did I mention Bloodborne?

Even its inevitable sequel I dont want Miyazaki involved.... I want him on the next Souls project whatever it may be. I wouldn't mind a direct sequel to Dark Souls or Bloodborne or something very different like Sekiro.

Give Elden Ring 2 to the B team ... it will sell regardless. And if dosent, if the mainstream have moved on to the next big thing .. I wont mind at all.

 

[ulantan]

Your absolutely right, I'm feeling the same way, Fromsoftware will never be same again. They're the crowning jewel of the video games industry for me. You just know the main character in their next game will be some chick "who don't need no man" or something, it's inevitable. Observing Sony/Playstation closely for the past 10 years, it seems to me that the Japanese side of Playstation is subservient to the Western/Californian side, when it should be the other way around, that's why they conform to this DEI nonsense that's plaguing the gaming industry right now. Honestly, I could see a situation in the near future where Miyazaki and some of the bigwigs at FROM could leave to form a new studio because of Sony's interference, I think it's a plausible scenario.

They made all cars gay in gran turismo.
And they keep telling us astro bots pronouns. This is the funniest thread.

 

[Heisenberg007]

The funny thing is MS is now releasing everything on Playstation and if this acquisition goes forward Sony is capable of not releasing FromSoftware games on Xbox with no problem whatsoever.

Sony used the 30% they earned from Xbox games on PS5 to "reduce Xbox's survival on the market."

 

[Sooner]

hopefully they tell Sony to go chase themselves.

i'll never forgive Sony if they ruin From Software.

What you really mean by "ruin" is stop putting From games on Xbox.

Well, it's about to be "ruined:.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Can I ask why is that? I have no clue on merger and acquisition.

When you submit a letter of intent (particularly in Japan if it isn't slated as non-binding) it's a declaration that you're going to buy the company assuming closing conditions [listed out in the letter] are met. While still not quite being a tender offer.

It's exactly so that you don't end up getting into a bidding war or end up paying more money for the company because word got out about the intent to acquire.

It's me giving you the amount of money I'm willing to pay for your company, asking you not to talk to anyone else during the period of due diligence about selling your company, asking for you to hand over the relevant financials I'm looking for and perhaps supporting documentation, and that you don't talk to anyone about it publicly.

 

[Ebrietas]

The funny thing is MS is now releasing everything on Playstation and if this acquisition goes forward Sony is capable of not releasing FromSoftware games on Xbox with no problem whatsoever.

It would be incredibly stupid of Sony to release any FROM game on Xbox. They are fully in the driver's seat now. Heck, MS' biggest franchise (one of the biggest in the industry) which they spent 70 billion dollars for is almost entirely (82% to be exact) dependent on PS to function.

 

[Bernardougf]

They made all cars gay in gran turismo.
And they keep telling us astro bots pronouns. This is the funniest thread.

Yeah Im fully into the anti-woke crowd and even I am embarrassed by this thread.

 

[graywolf323]

somehow it’s always users with low post counts too…

 

[DeepEnigma]

Your absolutely right, I'm feeling the same way, Fromsoftware will never be same again. They're the crowning jewel of the video games industry for me. You just know the main character in their next game will be some chick "who don't need no man" or something, it's inevitable. Observing Sony/Playstation closely for the past 10 years, it seems to me that the Japanese side of Playstation is subservient to the Western/Californian side, when it should be the other way around, that's why they conform to this DEI nonsense that's plaguing the gaming industry right now. Honestly, I could see a situation in the near future where Miyazaki and some of the bigwigs at FROM could leave to form a new studio because of Sony's interference, I think it's a plausible scenario.

Is this a copypasta?

 

[Fret Runner]

if this happens then gg for Sony, they get the golden egg laying hen of the past 3 gens in a row, not to mention the Anime hold it will give them lol

Suppose there is a conspiracy about that sudden Game Awards change now, especially if this deal gets done before the awards,
since we don't know how long they have been discussing this. Sony gets to announce on a big stage their latest get?
Admittedly a strech but that Sudden inclusion of Elden Ring DLC as game of the year still seems odd to me.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

if this happens then gg for Sony, they get the golden egg laying hen of the past 3 gens in a row, not to mention the Anime hold it will give them lol

Suppose there is a conspiracy about that sudden Game Awards change now, especially if this deal gets done before the awards,
since we don't know how long they have been discussing this. Sony gets to announce on a big stage their latest get?
Admittedly a strech but that Sudden inclusion of Elden Ring DLC as game of the year still seems odd to me.

The deal isn't getting done before the awards and this would have no connection to the awards. They aren't telling Geoff about this deal before it goes down, let alone ahead of the nomination process.

 

[larrybrady]

The deal isn't getting done before the awards and this would have no connection to the awards. They aren't telling Geoff about this deal before it goes down, let alone ahead of the nomination process.

This is a quote from you from another thread I was just reading, from February........... .. Mibu no ookami--"A long time ago I thought SCEJ should buy Acquire, funny that they've been purchased by Kadokawa who I wouldn't be surprised if SIE or Sony Corp purchases in the next fiscal year.". . Good call(potentially)

 

[nial]

This is a quote from you from another thread I was just reading, from February........... .. Mibu no ookami--"A long time ago I thought SCEJ should buy Acquire, funny that they've been purchased by Kadokawa who I wouldn't be surprised if SIE or Sony Corp purchases in the next fiscal year.". . Good call(potentially)

To be fair, people have been discussing Sony Group and Kadokawa for a long time now, but the last part was a good call indeed, even if it most likely closes at the NEXT fiscal year, lol.

 

[Kamina]

 

[TropicanaTwista]

Your absolutely right, I'm feeling the same way, Fromsoftware will never be same again. They're the crowning jewel of the video games industry for me. You just know the main character in their next game will be some chick "who don't need no man" or something, it's inevitable. Observing Sony/Playstation closely for the past 10 years, it seems to me that the Japanese side of Playstation is subservient to the Western/Californian side, when it should be the other way around, that's why they conform to this DEI nonsense that's plaguing the gaming industry right now. Honestly, I could see a situation in the near future where Miyazaki and some of the bigwigs at FROM could leave to form a new studio because of Sony's interference, I think it's a plausible scenario.

I literally cannot tell if this is parody or not, but if it is, bravo sir. It got a chuckle out of me

 

[Monkfish877]

Is this a copypasta?

Nah, I'm dead serious, I'd like FROM to remain a distinctly Japanese company. The thought of Playstation/Califronia getting their pozzed hands on FROM makes me feel sick as they are one of my favourite studios, it'll be a sad day for me if/when Sony takes them over.

 

[Thief1987]

Nah, I'm dead serious, I'd like FROM to remain a distinctly Japanese company. The thought of Playstation/Califronia getting their pozzed hands on FROM makes me feel sick as they are one of my favourite studios, it'll be sad day for me if/when Sony takes them over.

It's just games, you will manage

 

[nial]

I want to know about the Californians running SIE, oh wait, there aren't any.

 

[ulantan]

Nah, I'm dead serious, I'd like FROM to remain a distinctly Japanese company. The thought of Playstation/Califronia getting their pozzed hands on FROM makes me feel sick as they are one of my favourite studios, it'll be a sad day for me if/when Sony takes them over.

I hope they take thier pozzed hands and make a third person action horror game, set in a Gothic city. With few cutscenes, and I hope it looks like demon souls remake.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

when do we think the acquisition will be formally announced?

 

[Mibu no ookami]

This is a quote from you from another thread I was just reading, from February........... .. Mibu no ookami--"A long time ago I thought SCEJ should buy Acquire, funny that they've been purchased by Kadokawa who I wouldn't be surprised if SIE or Sony Corp purchases in the next fiscal year.". . Good call(potentially)

Thanks for the flowers bruv.

I try really hard to give solid analysis, so always appreciate when someone recognizes that.

To be fair, people have been discussing Sony Group and Kadokawa for a long time now, but the last part was a good call indeed, even if it most likely closes at the NEXT fiscal year, lol.

A lot of people said they sony should buy them, not that they would, nor did they put in a time frame.

How did I get this right? It wasn't luck or random. Sony announced their mid term strategy and how much they planned to spend on M&A. They said they weren't going to favor one segment over another. When you look at how much they had to spend and roughly divided into 3rds, you realize what was on the table and what wasn't. You look at what would give them the best bang for their buck and the answer was obviously Kadokawa/FromSoftware and that it would likely be easier and even less risky just to buy the entire parent company rather than just try and pay a premium for the studio. They also said this mid range plan covered the next 3 fiscal years.

Sony's vision seems pretty clear to me. They want to be a market leader in gaming across platforms, they want to grow their subscription base, and they want to build a IP juggernaut like Disney/Marvel.

In order to do that they need to be able to create their own PC Storefront. How do you do that? You need exclusives that perform well on console and PC. Who is a company they've worked with in the past, have a good relationship with, that sells well on console and PC? Who again is in the ballpark of their budget?

Acquire was a lucky accident.

But when I was younger, I thought they would have blossomed under Sony. I thought Tenchu and Way of the Samurai were great games that just didn't have the budget they needed in order to be major AAA games. I'd love to see them either work with Sucker Punch on expanding the ghost games or use the engine to make a Tenchu game.

 

[nial]

when do we think the acquisition will be formally announced?

January.

 

[nial]

A lot of people said they sony should buy them, not that they would, nor did they put in a time frame.

How did I get this right? It wasn't luck or random. Sony announced their mid term strategy and how much they planned to spend on M&A. They said they weren't going to favor one segment over

The Paramount Global thing wouldn't have fitted into this, then? That pretty much favored the Pictures segment only.
Kadokawa in the other hand will help Music (which includes anime production), Game & Network Services and maybe Pictures and Financial Services as well.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

when do we think the acquisition will be formally announced?

Really hard to tell because we don't accurately know where they are in the process.

If we assume Kadokawa is holding on to the letter of intent, which doesn't make a lot of sense, we could be months away.

If Sony is in due diligence phase, we could see them come back to Kadokawa with a tendered offer within days or weeks. If you assume Sony can conclude DD in 30 days and assume day 0 was Wednesday, you're looking at around December 20th, and then maybe give the board a week to review the offer, and then maybe a month to schedule the shareholders vote. That would put us at the end of January beginning of February.

Now if the letter of intent was actually sent a month ago and Sony has been doing DD since then and instead of Wednesday being day 0, it was day 30, that could move things up tremendously. Maybe Sony gets them a tender offer next week, and the board reviews it the week after, and we're talking about a shareholders vote at the end of December.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

The Paramount Global thing wouldn't have fitted into this, then? That pretty much favored the Pictures segment only.
Kadokawa in the other hand will help Music (which includes anime production), Game & Network Services and maybe Pictures and Financial Services as well.

The paramount global deal was a white whale. It wasn't budgeted for and as the scope of the deal got larger Sony lost interest.

I think it would have favored Pictures mostly, but in a transformative way that would have aided music and GNS.

Sony being able to put out a first party star trek game without paying royalties (outside of Sony) would have been huge. Same with Spongebob, TMNT, Mission Impossible. It also would have given them the movie rights to sonic and I think, an incentive for Sony to buy Sega.