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[RUMOR] Sony Relationship With Square-Enix Might Considerably Strengthen (Investment?)

In addition to SE, what other 3P would you like to see Sony invest in (choose all that apply)?

  • Capcom

    Votes: 89 61.8%
  • Koei-Tecmo

    Votes: 27 18.8%
  • CDPR

    Votes: 44 30.6%
  • Take-Two

    Votes: 43 29.9%
  • EA

    Votes: 4 2.8%
  • Ubisoft

    Votes: 9 6.3%
  • Sega-Sammy/Atlus

    Votes: 26 18.1%
  • Konami

    Votes: 49 34.0%
  • Devolver Digital

    Votes: 10 6.9%
  • Annapurna

    Votes: 18 12.5%
  • Epic

    Votes: 11 7.6%
  • Vanillaware

    Votes: 21 14.6%
  • Level 5

    Votes: 20 13.9%
  • Arc System Works

    Votes: 15 10.4%
  • Bandai-Namco

    Votes: 26 18.1%
  • Falcom

    Votes: 8 5.6%
  • Kadokawa/From Software

    Votes: 61 42.4%
  • Neoxon

    Votes: 4 2.8%
  • Pearl Abyss

    Votes: 10 6.9%
  • Neowiz

    Votes: 9 6.3%
  • MiHoYo

    Votes: 13 9.0%
  • Moon Studios

    Votes: 12 8.3%
  • Other (mention them below)

    Votes: 5 3.5%

  • Total voters
    144
  • Poll closed .
The rumor comes from Head on the Block on ResetERA. For those who don't know, this person has been consistently accurate with various Sega/Atlus rumors in the past (particularly surrounding Persona). I believe they were the one who broke wind of Persona 3 Remake stuff and also Final Fantasy IX Remake. So they have a quite reliable track record in this regard.

L4CTAp9.jpg

Well, as you can see above, it'd appear as though Sony and Square-Enix might have either already, or are in the process of, significantly bolstering their partnership. Which, naturally, will probably lead to more Square-Enix exclusives for PlayStation. Primarily Final Fantasy but, this could mean other IP in addition to or in lieu of Final Fantasy.

Now for my own speculation: if this rumor is true, I would think it's related not to an M&A (it's illegal to tease an M&A of a publicly-traded company ahead of announcement, IIRC that would be indicative of things like insider trading and well, go ask Yuji Naka how that went), but a large investment into the publisher. It'd appear Square-Enix were open to outside companies investing into various divisions of them years ago, and even at the time I felt it were common sense for Sony to invest into one, many, or all of said units (at varying amounts, of course). It's possible this has occurred now or is in the process of happening.

FWIW, these investments are not limited to just a company like Sony to do; however as the rumor is specific to them we will keep the focus there. Personally, I would love this to be true, but not just for the prospect of Final Fantasy games. I would love to see IP like Einhander and Parasite Eve return; if Sony can invest in Square-Enix to make that happen, and provide co-development and marketing for said games, it'd be a big W for not just PlayStation (likely console exclusivity), but also fans of those IP. Maybe even stuff like a remake for Xenogears (remember, a lot of the last disc was rushed and content was heavily cut or truncated) could be possible through this.

I would also like to see Sony make similar initiatives with other 3P publishers, Japanese and otherwise. It brings many of the benefits of full M&As without actually needing to consolidate the 3P market, offers more flexibility for all parties involves, and helps secure interests at various levels. Again, this is just me speculating on what likely may be happening here (large investments) if the rumor happens to be true. For me, it could also bring some unique exclusive content to PlayStation, which is always a good thing. In fact exclusive content on all platforms (PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo) is a good thing IMO but that's a somewhat different conversation.

Anyway, how do the rest of you feel about this potential rumor? Are you excited about what it could mean for future Final Fantasy content, or future Square-Enix software releases? Do you think it could net revivals of some classic Square-Enix IP like Parasite Eve, Einhander, Xenogears, Erghiez, maybe even stuff like ActRaiser or a remake/sequel to games like Illusion of Gaia? If the rumor pertains to big investments, are there other 3P studios and publishers you'd like to see Sony invest in more heavily/directly?
 

Sethbacca

Member
It would be kind of fun to let Squenix RPG-ify some Sony properties like they did for Nintendo with Mario back in the day. Could make for an interesting partnership but I doubt it would ever happen.
 
I don't see how exclusivity stuff gets much worse. The Microsoft/SE relationship actually looks like it'll be strengthening compared to where it was in the past.

EDIT: Also, I'd rather see Sony invest in themselves rather than paying to keep games off of other platforms. If they want SE games that bad, they should figure out a way to acquire them.
 
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IDKFA

I am Become Bilbo Baggins
Sony are going to purchase SE, Capcom and CDPR to counter Microsoft.

Microsoft will then counter that counter and purchase SEGA.

Sony will then counter that...........

15 years and there isn't a single independent publisher or developer left standing. Mark my words.
 

Mibu no ookami

Demoted Member® Pro™
I don't see how exclusivity stuff gets much worse. The Microsoft/SE relationship actually looks like it'll be strengthening compared to where it was in the past.

EDIT: Also, I'd rather see Sony invest in themselves rather than paying to keep games off of other platforms. If they want SE games that bad, they should figure out a way to acquire them.

My guess is if there is any validity to this very vague statement, it means some games like FF9 and FFX remake will be PS5 exclusive.
 

shubik

Member
Ubisoft has killer IPs. But they have no idea what to do with them or how to tell a good story. SONY Could build upon what is there and create fantastic games. A Far Cry game or a Assasins game with a great story would sell like hot cakes...
 

Nankatsu

Member
I would say Capcom, but their output is so good that I think Take-Two would be more feasible.

Also don't sleep on Mihoyo partnership, specially with Sony going crazy over GaaS. I'm sure Sony would tackle them if Microsoft ever came near them.
 
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Mibu no ookami

Demoted Member® Pro™
That's the kind of bullshit I hate. Those games would be incredible on PC or Switch for different reasons. PS5 does nothing special for those games.

I mean that is the name of the game...

Those seem like cheap exclusives as I can't imagine either of those would be at the same budget or have the same demand as the FFVII remake. Doesn't such "much, much worse" to me at all.

I mean, Sony is probably partially funding the games. They might not be big games, but they're likely to perform pretty well and both are likely to be some of the most sought after JRPG of the generation.
 

Darsxx82

Member
Considering that Sony's rumors are usually wrong - I guess the opposite will happen :messenger_tears_of_joy:
Imagine P. Spencer publicly embracing Square's new CEO and lead developer at the company's biggest public event, affirming an agreement that involves increasing support for XBOX and the promise of more releases while behind them they signed an agreement with SONY to quite the opposite......🤔🤗🤗

Of course the rumor is not that it has had its best first steps when you see that a game like VisionMana surprisingly has an XSeries version along with FFIV...

We will see....
 
Dude made one remark on Resetera and it’s now a rumor with a giant speculation thread asking who else Sony should invest in?

And Microsoft has the astroturfers?

The "one dude" was spot-on with his Persona rumors which I assume you had no problem with since they pertained to Xbox getting specific perks, which we've since seen manifest.

Like I said, they have a solid track record. Even without this, it's a logical strategy on Sony's part to speculate upon, considering other factors in the macro side of the industry which have transpired the past couple of years.

And since when was I getting paid by Sony? I don't even own shares in them 😂.

What if I told you thicc_girls_are_teh_best thicc_girls_are_teh_best was once a Microsoft astroturfer?

Think About It GIF by Identity

(Sssh) Don't tell them about my past. I'm still on the run!
 
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Zathalus

Member
Not sure why Sony continues to invest into Square. Their output has hardly been great over the past few years. Neither have they exactly lit up the sales charts.
 

T4keD0wN

Member
I dont see how one could accurately interpret that from his post. Its too vague and could mean multiple things.

With that said i desperately want this to be true, it would be an amazing christmas miracle. This next bit might sound a bit unhinged, sorry for that.

Making all of SE games exclusive so i dont have to see shovelware on steam store would be a big win for me, shutting down Square Enix game development and turning them into a music production company would be an even bigger win for the whole industry.
 
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I don't see how exclusivity stuff gets much worse. The Microsoft/SE relationship actually looks like it'll be strengthening compared to where it was in the past.

EDIT: Also, I'd rather see Sony invest in themselves rather than paying to keep games off of other platforms. If they want SE games that bad, they should figure out a way to acquire them.

Sony can (and are) investing into themselves while also investing in 3P partners. These things aren't mutually exclusive. They've grown their internal studios by quite a lot, to where most have multiple teams working on their own projects simultaneously.

The thing with MS and Phil Spencer is, they love to showboat and put on a good performance for optics, but when it comes to things like genuinely improving relations with certain 3P, the results are usually empty. This is the same man who boasted about Crossfire X at a showcase event, only to have that game release as a meme disaster years later.

I don't see what's inherently bad about doing a large investment & strong partnership with companies like S-E for Sony, if it means the publisher can still be independent in dealings with other platforms. You get a lot of benefits similar to M&As without the messy work and without permanently removing options from the 3P space. I think that's genuine pro-consumerism right there. Seems regulators would agree as well, since it's defined as a pro-competitive practice.
 

SmokedMeat

Gamer™
The "one dude" was spot-on with his Persona rumors which I assume you had no problem with since they pertained to Xbox getting specific perks, which we've since seen manifest.

Like I said, they have a solid track record. Even without this, it's a logical strategy on Sony's part to speculate upon, considering other factors in the macro side of the industry which have transpired the past couple of years.

I don’t lurk Resetera, so I don’t know anything about this dude.

But Square’s the biggest pimp in the industry, so it wouldn’t surprise me at all if this news wasn’t specifically about Sony, but Nintendo as well.

It’s way too vague.
 

Aion002

Member
Considering that Sony's rumors are usually wrong - I guess the opposite will happen :messenger_tears_of_joy:
The opposite.... Sony revives their jrpg games and releases remakes/sequels for The Legend of Dragon, Arc the Lad, Folklore, Dark Cloud and Wild Arms.

Sony also ends up buying the Alundra ip from Matrix Software and makes a new Alundra to rival Zelda.

jon stewart wish GIF



Rather than strengthening third party studios, Sony should just invest on their own first party. Or just outright buy Square-Enix and Koei Tecmo... This half-assed effort is weird.
 
I don’t lurk Resetera, so I don’t know anything about this dude.

But Square’s the biggest pimp in the industry, so it wouldn’t surprise me at all if this news wasn’t specifically about Sony, but Nintendo as well.

It’s way too vague.

Well I even mentioned if it pertains to the studio investments within S-E that was mentioned a year or so ago, then Nintendo could be one of those other investors.

However, since he was responding to a person specifically mentioning Sony & Square-Enix, I'm inclined to believe this is primarily about those two and doesn't involve Nintendo or Microsoft (this particular rumor). That's assuming it is about investments BTW; the investment stuff is just my own speculation on what seems like a logical direction to go in to strengthen ties without resorting to a full M&A.

The opposite.... Sony revives their jrpg games and releases remakes/sequels for The Legend of Dragon, Arc the Lad, Folklore, Dark Cloud and Wild Arms.

Sony also ends up buying the Alundra ip from Matrix Software and makes a new Alundra to rival Zelda.

jon stewart wish GIF



Rather than strengthening third party studios, Sony should just invest on their own first party. Or just outright buy Square-Enix and Koei Tecmo... This half-assed effort is weird.

The way I see it, if it starts with solid investments and stronger partnerships, that can lead to a potential M&A. But as far as this rumor goes, IMO it 100% has nothing to do with a M&A, for obvious reasons.

It's a bit wild to think of all the JRPG IPs Sony just have laying around. Throw Okage to that list; I dig the pseudo Earthbound-like charm of that one with the Tim Burton-like atmosphere.
 
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Sony can (and are) investing into themselves while also investing in 3P partners. These things aren't mutually exclusive. They've grown their internal studios by quite a lot, to where most have multiple teams working on their own projects simultaneously.

The thing with MS and Phil Spencer is, they love to showboat and put on a good performance for optics, but when it comes to things like genuinely improving relations with certain 3P, the results are usually empty. This is the same man who boasted about Crossfire X at a showcase event, only to have that game release as a meme disaster years later.

I don't see what's inherently bad about doing a large investment & strong partnership with companies like S-E for Sony, if it means the publisher can still be independent in dealings with other platforms. You get a lot of benefits similar to M&As without the messy work and without permanently removing options from the 3P space. I think that's genuine pro-consumerism right there. Seems regulators would agree as well, since it's defined as a pro-competitive practice.
I'd just rather Sony acquire SE. It would remove the question of which platforms their games would come to and allow for the biggest SE games to get the budget and marketing they deserve. The time of SE putting out interesting games outside of the biggest franchises seems long gone. Let it die.
 

Woopah

Member
I'm not seeing the link to any investment or M&A of any kind.

Both Sony and Nintendo have been getting exclusives from SE for years, and it didn't require them to purchase any additional stock.

Why buy more shares now?

SE doing joint ventures with Sony or Nintendo is possible, but is not hinted at by that post.
 

SmokedMeat

Gamer™
I'd just rather Sony acquire SE. It would remove the question of which platforms their games would come to and allow for the biggest SE games to get the budget and marketing they deserve. The time of SE putting out interesting games outside of the biggest franchises seems long gone. Let it die.

And not have Dragon Quest on the top platform in Japan? There’s no way.
 

Punished Miku

Human Rights Subscription Service
I don't really know what you "considerably strengthen" in terms of exclusivity after you already got FFXVI and FFVII. Are they going to take Little Goody Two Shoes 2 now?
 

DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
Show me dragon quest!

Funny that this comes after the new square boss comes out and says things are going to change, primarily to get more square games on xbox within a reasonable time frame.

Interested to see how this plays out.
 
I made mention on this site, much to some folks' chagrin whether they agreed or not that Sony *would* retaliate with some type of acquisition or partnership in response to Microsoft starting to purchase entire publishers out.

Whether it is wise to do so is, of course, debatable, but I wager its far riskier to do nothing. Microsoft made clear in those proceedings they've no real intention to stop.
 

DrFigs

Member
Sony is making Square make playstation exclusives when Sony doesn't even want to make playstation exclusives.
foamstars is an actual ps exclusive as was ff16 for a time. but helldivers 2 is launching on pc day 1, concord will be launching on pc day 1, probably more going forward as well.

they already have a hold on those boys.
 
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“Sony relationship may considerably strengthen (Investment?)”

That’s a long roundabout way to say they’re moneyhatting more stuff. That’s all the Reeeeee message seems to imply.
 
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Chastten

Banned
We've come at a point where Sony's own games sell way, way better than anything SE puts out, and where Sony already get all of SE's big AAA games as an exclusive/semi-exclusive. And they get pretty much all of the smaller stuff as well, safe for a few Switch/PC exclusives. I mean, I'm sure Sony occasionally sends some money their way for FF7 but I can't see Sony spending billions on SE. I mean, why would they?

That being said, I can easily see FF9 being a PS exclusive cause Sony paid them a couple of dollars.
 
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