Sony and Square Enix

[Rurouni]

Amidst the various batch of discussions around acquisitions including the latest, for many months I've seen mentions over the idea of Sony acquiring Square.

My question is, what sort of benefits would this being for Sony in particular? Especially given that they've already secured timed exclusivity with Forspoken and FFXVI (the latter being heavily associated with the PS brand since the jump to 3D).

 

[Lord Fanny]

Chaos

 

[TheGhost]

Why would Square sell when they take money from everyone?

 

[CorpseLight]

Square-Enix is a really large company. I don't think Sony could even afford purchasing them. It seems like Sony are pretty content just being the de-facto console platform for Square games, even when its a multiplatform title.

 

[Deleted member 10119]

None whatsoever,
Just a logistical nightmare.

Why bother acquiring and managing, when you are already getting first dips on the most valuable thing they have, their IP.

 

[dgrdsv]

Bullshit

 

[Noog]

The less third party studios that get bought and consolidated the better. I'm a PlayStation fanboy, but I don't want Sony taking Square Enix games away from other players. Sony has some of the best studios in the industry, they don't need to take away games from other platforms to have exclusives. I don't like the way they're doing timed exclusives now, but it's a lot better than outright taking them away.

 

[platocplx]

Sony is not acquiring square and almost no one will because they are a publicly traded company the cost to acquiring them would more than likely be even greater than Bethesda.

only way that even happens is if they are in dire straights.
almost all these acquisitions have been of private companies for the most part. And the zenimax one was so massive because they were public.

 

[Ctrl Alt Del]

Non-timed exclusivity? Honestly, Square is huge, a big publisher to own. As to if I think this is a likely prospect, not at all.

 

[KtotheRoc]

Not happening. Sony is happy to make smaller deals with Square for (timed) exclusive content.

 

[DrewM1788]

The benefit to Sony is that Microsoft DOESN'T acquire them because they got there first. Simple as that. Hulst and Spencer can deny it all they want, but unfortunately they are in an "arms race."

Of course I'm not saying it is feasible for Sony to acquire Square Enix though. It seems unlikely.

 

[Hu3]

Bullshit

Click to shrink...

👆🏻

 

[Teiresias]

The obvious reason for Sony to acquire SE would be to take them out of play, and make sure MS doesn't acquire them.

Of course, there will be threads like this hoping Sony doesn't acquire them, and then if/when MS does the acquisition will be cheered and celebrated here just like Bethesda was.

 

[Syntsui]

Square-Enix is a really large company. I don't think Sony could even afford purchasing them. It seems like Sony are pretty content just being the de-facto console platform for Square games, even when its a multiplatform title.

Click to shrink...

Bethesda was head and shoulders bigger as far as the sales of their games go and they were bought. I don't think it's worth it though, their games are already pretty much Sony brands as far as recognition go, why waste so much money for things that will always sell better on your platform?

 

[Fabs]

Sony only buys them if they're looking to sell and keep them away from someone else. Why would they spend an exorbitant amount of cash when their exclusivity deals are much cheaper?

 

[Liliana]

OP, what you're seeing being mentioned is just wishful thinking. I wouldn't put mind to it.

 

[pillowtalk]

Sony Pictures exclusive Spirits Without

 

[Cantaim]

Bethesda was head and shoulders bigger as far as the sales of their games go and they were bought.

Click to shrink...

Bethesda was a privately owned company. Square Enix is publicly traded. The barriers to purchase are very different.

 

[CorpseLight]

Bethesda was head and shoulders bigger as far as the sales of their games go and they were bought. I don't think it's worth it though, their games are already pretty much Sony brands as far as recognition go, why waste so much money for things that will always sell better on your platform?

Click to shrink...

Yeah but Microsoft has money to burn. Sony can't match that.

 

[PoeticProse22]

If anything, MS buying a publisher is a far more common talking point. In either case, buying publishers shouldn't be encouraged. These publishers will continue to exist healthily for the foreseeable future.

 

[Mesharey]

Chaos

Click to shrink...

Bullshit

Click to shrink...

*starts the music*

Like what they said, Square is taking money from everyone right now, it's not happening.

 

[Weiss]

Please stop treating corporate acquisitions as a fun thing.

Square puts all their stuff on Sony consoles anyway so they'd be spending a lot of money to buy a company that already has deep ties to it.

 

[catboy]

just a bingo card for console warriors

 

[BabyDontHurtMe]

The most Sony could do is acquire a minority stake into the company, similar to what they did in the PS1 days, and even that's unlikely.

 

[z1ggy]

SE isnt selling, they make a lot of money and they have more business beyond gaming.

 

[breakfuss]

It seems like Sony are pretty content just being the de-facto console platform for Square games,

Click to shrink...

That ain't even true. Square clearly fucks with the highest bidder. They have exclusives on every platform. Put tons of their stuff on Gamepass.

 

[Hippopuncher12]

Please stop treating corporate acquisitions as a fun thing.

Square puts all their stuff on Sony consoles anyway so they'd be spending a lot of money to buy a company that already has deep ties to it.

Click to shrink...

Well they definitely don't put ALL their stuff on PS, but yes it doesn't make sense for them to buy them, assuming they even could.

 

[G-X]

so Enix sells Square to Sony and Sony takes on all their debt and bad decision making, letting Enix and Eidos beak free to make games without carrying the burden of 9 year dev cycles of Nomura and Kitase? Sounds like Enix would be all for it

 

[Pai Pai Master]

not even worth entertaining the idea IMO

 

[YukiroCTX]

Not much, Sony have not much interest in a lot of aspects in SE - Like just taking a look at the exclusive deals - They're very particular kind of games Huge AAA RPG's that Sony aren't making at the moment. So when you think about SE as a whole, that's a whole lot of expenses for things that they may not want. It's also not very good for the industry either.

 

[Sanka]

What Microsoft did was already bad enough why do you want more multiplat publishers to become exclusive?

 

[Cruella]

Squeenix are shambling giant that has a LOT of people on payroll. If Sony could just buy FF IP and couple of most productive studios (FFXIV/FFXVI team(s) mostly), it would be worth it, but they can't. I feel like it might be even bigger consideration than the initial cost. Which they can afford if they have to, but between "can possibly afford" and "makes financial sense" there is a big difference.

 

[Syntsui]

I would much rather entertain the tought of them buying the gaming IPs that Konami holds hostage.

 

[HStallion]

Square? They're obviously buying Capcom

 

[CorpseLight]

That ain't even true. Square clearly fucks with the highest bidder. They have exclusives on every platform. Put tons of their stuff on Gamepass.

Click to shrink...

I agree, they totally do. I should have clarified that the general gaming public kind of correlates Playstation as the place where Square's games go.
To clarify even more; they are wrong - but it's just what it is.

 

[BabyDontHurtMe]

not even worth entertaining the idea IMO

Click to shrink...

You can make this exact same argument with Nintendo and Square Enix and you could have a stronger case. Doesn't make it anymore likely that it will happen either.

 

[skeezx]

you have to keep in mind what kind of publisher S-E is nowadays. it's not just FF, DQ and "legacy" stuff. they cast a wide net over everything

sony is better off just "money hatting" exclusives/timed exclusives.

 

[starfoxxxy]

I don't think that would ever happen in a million years.

It's like the exact opposite direction sony has been heading in. They describe PS Studios as a "family" because they are trying to build up smaller studios and have them collaborating with each other.

Acquiring a major publishers with 50 million studios and other businesses throws a huge wrench into that. Aside from that even it's just not worth it

 

[Deleted member 10119]

People don't realize Square Enix is a mercenary,
They work for you today, then tomorrow they work for your competitor.
Nothing personal, just business.

They do not lack for partners (Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Epic etc.)
So they have no reason to sell.

 

[Kolx]

Square is bigger than just FF16 or Forespoken, but yeah I'd rather they remain independent.

 

[808s & Villainy]

Some of you love the idea of acquisitions waay too much

 

[jonjonaug]

Bethesda was head and shoulders bigger as far as the sales of their games go and they were bought. I don't think it's worth it though, their games are already pretty much Sony brands as far as recognition go, why waste so much money for things that will always sell better on your platform?

Click to shrink...

Square Enix is over two and a half times the size of ZeniMax.

 

[Scarecrow]

I think Konami (gaming division) would sell sooner than Square.

 

[Tahnit]

Bullshit

Click to shrink...

 

[Soap]

This would not happen, and if it did I think Eidos games would be even more if a non-factor than it is within square.

 

[Acquiescence]

I think Sony acquiring Square Enix makes perfect sense because Sony needs more JRPGs and Square Enix makes a lot of JRPGs so that's one way that they'd be a perfect match but also Sony's presence in Japan is fading a bit and Square Enix has a lot of different Japanese teams so acquiring Square Enix would be a sure-fire way for Sony to bolster its significance in the Japanese market and not just that but also Sony has only been acquiring developers lately and not a big publisher like Microsoft did with the Bethesda so if Sony is to follow in the same footsteps then I think it makes perfect sense for them to acquire Square Enix.

 

[Syntsui]

Square Enix is over two and a half times the size of ZeniMax.

Click to shrink...

Put everything they have together and they won't touch Bethesda in sales/revenue.

 

[mpak]

Sony is not acquiring square and almost no one will because they are a publicly traded company the cost to acquiring them would more than likely be even greater than Bethesda.

Click to shrink...

Probably around 8-9b judging from the current market cap.

The thread will be probable devolve into "defensive moves", "don't want consolidation" and discussions whether Sony has enough money to do that or not lol

 

[Tomacco]

They are a publicly traded company, the second they get serious about selling they talk to everybody. Which means Sony would have to outbid Tencent, Apple, Google (if they were to want to continue Stadia), Amazon, and Microsoft. Not sure I like their odds

 

[HebrewHammer]

It's not happening.

From not just a financial, but STRATEGIC standpoint, Sony is only acquiring studios (not publishers). Moreover, it seems to be their mindset to pick up devs with longstanding relationships they've fostered. And while yes, SIE and Square have a long history - that doesn't mean acquiring the lot of their corporate, developer and marketing teams is necessary. Square is far too large and multifaceted to adhere to their acquisition strategy.

We should sooner talk about a Microsoft acquisition of a major Japanese publisher than Sony doing so...