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[Varteras]

Fuck I hate consolidation...

This gets a tad bit of Leeway because we have no clue what this studio can produce yet.

This is just the future of gaming I suppose.

More of this then, more unknown smaller talents being bought up. But fuck I wish gaming would get less exclusive and walled off.

To be more serious about this post, I get the concern and I'm not a fan of it either. But companies do want to grow and be able to provide their users with plenty of content. More and more people are needed to pull it off. The industry is already hurting for available talent so it's often way easier to go find existing companies than it is to try and build new teams from scratch.

Not to mention, some of these studios Sony has been grabbing are doing things none of their other studios are doing or have done well. Good chance that whatever these guys are working on is something Sony's current studios can't or just won't. Much easier to grab someone who is already doing it versus asking or forcing any of your current teams to do it.

If any kind of inorganic growth is to happen, this is the kind I want to see. Smaller companies who haven't already been providing experiences for a bunch of different users. A situation where talent and studio culture is being pursued instead of names and IP. Many of these companies, without adequate and sustained backing, will be doomed to failure or forced into compromised visions for their creations. Many such companies will risk it and try to stay independent. Some will take a safer approach given the chance.

And, quite frankly, having your studio's name attached to the PlayStation group of developers nets you a level of prestige few houses in the industry can match. You get access to among the best resources and talent pools in gaming. A lot more people will want to come work for you. The games you make automatically get far more attention than they otherwise would.

 

[vivftp]

Fuck I hate consolidation...

This gets a tad bit of Leeway because we have no clue what this studio can produce yet.

This is just the future of gaming I suppose.

More of this then, more unknown smaller talents being bought up. But fuck I wish gaming would get less exclusive and walled off.

For the most part Sony seems to be taking an alternate route to opening up more internal studios. Instead, they're making agreements with fledgling companies who're still in their formative stages. Sony fully funds their initial project, provides developmental support via XDEV and in some cases if Sony's happy with the team and their work, an acquisition happens. It's really the same thing as Sony opening a brand new internal studio, only Sony doesn't take on the initial work and costs of trying to cobble together a studio and building a culture. Look at how Manchester Studio worked out which was their last internally developed studio - closed after a few years without ever shipping a game.

It's a lower risk option for Sony and honestly, I think we'd be hard pressed to call it consolidation when it's not all that different than simply hiring more people. Now it's quite possible that Sony might not acquire some of these companies they're helping with their first project, which means that Sony's contributing to getting a brand new studio for the industry off the ground. Said studio might continue to work with Sony in the future, or they may develop multi-platform content.

IMO it truly is the win-win-win scenario. Sony gets more content. The new studio gets all the support they could ever want. Gamers get more games. Nothing is taken away from the rest of the industry. It's as organic as can be in terms of growth.

 

[In Cold Blood]

Fuck I hate consolidation...

This gets a tad bit of Leeway because we have no clue what this studio can produce yet.

This is just the future of gaming I suppose.

More of this then, more unknown smaller talents being bought up. But fuck I wish gaming would get less exclusive and walled off.

I actually like it.
If you have two options.
I would rather have more exclusive content on both PS5 and Xbox than less.
It was headed towards a future of 98% of games being exactly the same on both consoles, and maybe two or three exclusives on each platform.
Fuck that.
The more exclusive games PS and Xbox can get the better.
It will help drive sales for both consoles.
If you are an xbox gamer, and Sony has two exclusives this year, then I'm probably not going to shell out for a PS5 to play two or three games a year on it.
If there is ten exclusives a year on the PS5, then I'm probably going to grab a PS5 sooner rather than later.

 

[Draugoth]

https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/519735-52#overview

PitchBook is a financial data and software company with offices in London, New York, San Francisco and Seattle. Serving clients in 19 languages, we provide thousands of global business professionals with comprehensive data on the private and public markets to help them discover and execute opportunities with confidence.

Ballistic Moon Overview

• Founded 2019
• Status Acquired/Merged
• Employees 47

Parent Company

Sony

 

[FalsettoVibe]

https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/519735-52#overview


Ballistic Moon Overview

• Founded 2019
• Status Acquired/Merged
• Employees 47

Parent Company

Sony

Well that's interesting.

 

[Varteras]

https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/519735-52#overview


Ballistic Moon Overview

• Founded 2019
• Status Acquired/Merged
• Employees 47

Parent Company

Sony

Lol we know. We've been talking about this already

 

[SteadyEvo]

SnoopDogWho?!.gif

 

[remember_spinal]

i wonder how long sony is legally able to go without publicly confirming they acquired them. I assume they have probably bought a few companies they aren’t talking about.

I remember they held onto the bluepoint acquisition announcement for like 6 months, and housemarque was leaked 3 months prior

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

i wonder how long sony is legally able to go without publicly confirming they acquired them. I assume they have probably bought a few companies they aren’t talking about.

I remember they held onto the bluepoint acquisition announcement for like 6 months, and house-marque was leaked 3 months prior

as far as we know Sony already bought SE and capcom

 

[Ronin_7]

i wonder how long sony is legally able to go without publicly confirming they acquired them. I assume they have probably bought a few companies they aren’t talking about.

I remember they held onto the bluepoint acquisition announcement for like 6 months, and housemarque was leaked 3 months prior

Yeah they are probably waiting for the Activision deal to be over before talking.

It's a matter of time though.

 

[Ar¢tos]

i wonder how long sony is legally able to go without publicly confirming they acquired them. I assume they have probably bought a few companies they aren’t talking about.

I remember they held onto the bluepoint acquisition announcement for like 6 months, and housemarque was leaked 3 months prior

Why would they have to ever publicly confirm the acquisition of a tiny studio?
Do they make a public list of every staff they hire/layoff too?

 

[Varteras]

Why would they have to ever publicly confirm the acquisition of a tiny studio?
Do they make a public list of every staff they hire/layoff too?

The question is being asked because thus far these companies have publicly announced every studio acquisition, no matter how small. So there is a wonder if they are legally obligated to publicly declare ownership and, if so, what the timeframe is. Purchasing ownership of a company is not the same as hiring individuals.

 

[vivftp]

I seem to recall the subject coming up during past acquisition talk, and IIRC folks discovered that Sony wouldn't have any legal obligation to announce an acquisition of a smaller private company. I think the topic came up during the whole Bluepoint acquisition speculation. Of course my memory may have gaps in it, but I'm reasonably certain the findings were that there either wasn't any obligation, or they had an extended period of time before they'd have to report anything.

 

[Ar¢tos]

The question is being asked because thus far these companies have publicly announced every studio acquisition, no matter how small. So there is a wonder if they are legally obligated to publicly declare ownership and, if so, what the timeframe is. Purchasing ownership of a company is not the same as hiring individuals.

And that applies only to gaming studios?
Makes no sense, they are not forced to announce when they buy asset creation studios that are technically considered gaming studios.

 

[Varteras]

I seem to recall the subject coming up during past acquisition talk, and IIRC folks discovered that Sony wouldn't have any legal obligation to announce an acquisition of a smaller private company. I think the topic came up during the whole Bluepoint acquisition speculation. Of course my memory may have gaps in it, but I'm reasonably certain the findings were that there either wasn't any obligation, or they had an extended period of time before they'd have to report anything.

Damn it, man! Get to the bottom of this!

 

[Varteras]

And that applies only to gaming studios?
Makes no sense, they are not forced to announce when they buy asset creation studios that are technically considered gaming studios.

Like I said, they were wondering because it has happened every time before.

 

[vivftp]

Damn it, man! Get to the bottom of this!

 

[Baki]

And that applies only to gaming studios?
Makes no sense, they are not forced to announce when they buy asset creation studios that are technically considered gaming studios.

Applies to any company under a specific acquisition price. They only need to make announcements when the finances are materially relevant to investors. The other times they announce, it’s for PR and hiring purposes, not because they have to.

 

[solidus12]

Sony fucked up by not acquiring Ready At Dawn and Quantic Dream.

Say what you want about David Cage, but at least his games are different than your typical third person shooter game. QD games have an audience as well.

Ready At Dawn are extremely talented and they have expertise in VR.

 

[Varteras]

Sony fucked up by not acquiring Ready At Dawn and Quantic Dream.

Say what you want about David Cage, but at least his games are different than your typical third person shooter game. QD games have an audience as well.

Ready At Dawn are extremely talented and they have expertise in VR.

From what I've gathered, David Cage was a pain in the ass to work with whom Sony had to step in at different points and straighten him out while he was under contract with them. I believe Colin Moriarty said he had heard from a number of Sony PR guys that they couldn't stand him. When news started making the rounds that Quantic Dream had a terrible work culture, that is the moment Sony walked away.

Now word is that the Star Wars game QD is working on is in trouble and they've had trouble keeping talent. Not sure how accurate any of that is. Ultimately, as evidence by Supermassive, the kind of games QD makes aren't unique to them. They just did them better. If it's true that Ballistic Moon has a number of former Quantic Dream and Supermassive devs, then we could be seeing exactly what you think Sony should have done. Grab a studio that makes those kind of games.

As for Ready at Dawn, that one I have to agree with. I really feel like Sony walked away from them too soon after The Order. Yes, it didn't turn out very well. Yes, Sony had put a lot of hype behind it. But they clearly had some talent. They made great PSP games. The Order was visually impressive with a decent take on Gears of War style gameplay. They made a really good VR title later on. That was one studio I feel Sony should have stuck with and picked up later despite the rough turnout of a game that was supposed to be high profile.

Though honestly Sony's leadership at the time had a different view on things. I think a Sony under Ryan and Hulst would have handled that very differently from Layden and Yoshida.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

as far as we know Sony already bought SE and capcom

Not sure if sarcasm or not but...aren't these publicly traded companies? They wouldn't be able to hide something like this right?

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Not sure if sarcasm or not but...aren't these publicly traded companies? They wouldn't be able to hide something like this right?

well, we will know after the outcome of that Activision-Blizzard-King deal.

 

[//DEVIL//]

well, we will know after the outcome of that Activision-Blizzard-King deal.

to me, Sony buying Square Enix has a higher impact than Activision. dozens of Square Enix games I adore and can not wait to play. while I do not care about anything Activision aside from COD and maybe crash but even that I didn't play the last 2 games so meh.

However, I do not see Sony buying them anyway. as that makes zero logic. Square Enix market is both switch and PS5. Xbox is out of the picture. its clear the in the games being released on Playstation and years later on xbox as an afterthought or never at all. and Switch isn't really competing with PS5. one is portable weak system and the other Is advanced home console. if anything they co exist more than anything else. the Switch 2 isn't going to be any different.

buying Capcom though, yeah that will suck and have a hard impact on Xbox. But capcom is not for sale , they do not want to be sold to anyone. and Sony probably can't afford them either.

 

[remember_spinal]

From what I've gathered, David Cage was a pain in the ass to work with whom Sony had to step in at different points and straighten him out while he was under contract with them. I believe Colin Moriarty said he had heard from a number of Sony PR guys that they couldn't stand him. When news started making the rounds that Quantic Dream had a terrible work culture, that is the moment Sony walked away.

Now word is that the Star Wars game QD is working on is in trouble and they've had trouble keeping talent. Not sure how accurate any of that is. Ultimately, as evidence by Supermassive, the kind of games QD makes aren't unique to them. They just did them better. If it's true that Ballistic Moon has a number of former Quantic Dream and Supermassive devs, then we could be seeing exactly what you think Sony should have done. Grab a studio that makes those kind of games.

As for Ready at Dawn, that one I have to agree with. I really feel like Sony walked away from them too soon after The Order. Yes, it didn't turn out very well. Yes, Sony had put a lot of hype behind it. But they clearly had some talent. They made great PSP games. The Order was visually impressive with a decent take on Gears of War style gameplay. They made a really good VR title later on. That was one studio I feel Sony should have stuck with and picked up later despite the rough turnout of a game that was supposed to be high profile.

Though honestly Sony's leadership at the time had a different view on things. I think a Sony under Ryan and Hulst would have handled that very differently from Layden and Yoshida.

Quantic Dreams games were saved by sony money and resources, its why they looked better than supermassive games.

 

[Varteras]

Not sure if sarcasm or not but...aren't these publicly traded companies? They wouldn't be able to hide something like this right?

well, we will know after the outcome of that Activision-Blizzard-King deal.

I don't believe any public announcement has to be made until shortly after the ink dries. But I do believe these companies can be making preparations and essentially have certain gentleman's agreements. Obviously not legally binding, but it would sour relations to not follow through. Not in a way that means they won't do business, but one that might make negotiations in the future colder.

I don't think either company would be in Sony's plans to purchase right now, considering the ABK deal at the moment, but more to do with Sony's current 3-year investments and acquisitions budget that ends March 2024. I don't think Sony has enough left in that stated budget to grab either one. Now, they COULD announce this year an alteration to that plan in the final year that adds more to the budget, but Capcom or Square Enix would obviously not be cheap. Capcom's current market cap is $9 billion and SE's is $5.7 billion.

If either company would ask for as much as a 50% premium, not likely but possible, you'd be looking at $13.5 billion for Capcom or $8.5 billion for SE. It's likely both would be less than that but let's assume they do go for it. As far as I know, that is well outside Sony's remaining budget for the next year and they are probably not willing to add several billions more to the tail end of the original budget plan or go way overbudget. They are more likely to wait until March 2024 and then come up with a new plan that budgets more than enough to pick up either one, but not both. It would also likely be that the ABK deal is done and over with by that time.

Quite frankly I think SE is who they'd shoot for. A much cheaper purchase. Obvious experience with live service games like FF14. Franchises that do very well in Japan and the rest of the world. They develop many RPGs, which is something Sony first-party sorely lacks. I also feel like Sony and Square Enix have a much more similar culture than Sony and Capcom. They also appear to have a much closer relationship.

If they were to buy SE, I could see them treating them the same as Bungie. Letting them put their games on other platforms with possibly the exception of Final Fantasy, which they might require be PlayStation-only. But I would hope that be the farthest Sony goes with big purchases.

 

[Azurro]

as far as we know Sony already bought SE and capcom

According to Punished Miku , a lot of dildos were involved in these acquisitions.

 

[bitbydeath]

as far as we know Sony already bought SE and capcom

SE maybe since they did that weird sell off last year for peanuts, and there were some rumours going about of it, but Capcom?

I don’t think we’ve seen any indication of that.

 

[remember_spinal]

Sony won’t buy any publishers, they might continue to invest in japanese companies like they did with kadokawa and Fromsoft

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Sony won’t buy any publishers, they might continue to invest in japanese companies like they did with kadokawa and Fromsoft

yeah. and sony only does "organic growth"

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

Sony won’t buy any publishers, they might continue to invest in japanese companies like they did with kadokawa and Fromsoft

Do you guys really think if the Activision deal goes through Sony will just be chill keep their "organic growth" strategy after 2 huge publishers are acquired by MS?
They won't risk losing more important IPs for them. Capcom and Square-Enix are the obvious choices.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Do you guys really think if the Activision deal goes through Sony will just be chill keep their "organic growth" strategy after 2 huge publishers are acquired by MS?
They won't risk losing more important IPs for them. Capcom and Square-Enix are the obvious choices.

they aren't/weren't chilling in the first place at all.

Sony is out there prepping for war.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Do you guys really think if the Activision deal goes through Sony will just be chill keep their "organic growth" strategy after 2 huge publishers are acquired by MS?
They won't risk losing more important IPs for them. Capcom and Square-Enix are the obvious choices.

I can’t see them acquiring major publishers unless it’s a defense move (MS gets in a bidding war with Sony)

Japanese firms don’t sell out usually.

So I don’t see anyone on the market that makes sense. Organic growth + small acquisitions is their MO

Bungie was their counter move

 

[AmuroChan]

I can’t see them acquiring major publishers unless it’s a defense move (MS gets in a bidding war with Sony)

Japanese firms don’t sell out usually.

So I don’t see anyone on the market that makes sense. Organic growth + small acquisitions is their MO

Bungie was their counter move

The Bungie deal is also a little different because they will continue to be a multiplatform developer that operates independently of PS Studios.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

The Bungie deal is also a little different because they will continue to be a multiplatform developer that operates independently of PS Studios.

4D chess move