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vivftp

Member
Oct 29, 2017
19,744
Why do you said this? Any links to said rumors on acquisition?

Just a completely ass-pulled guess I came up with one night when I was bored ;)

There're PLENTY of smaller devs that Sony are closer to that would be more likely candidates for acquisition (Bluepoint, Koji Pro, Insomniac, Supermassive...) but I guess if you had to name one massive publisher out of all of them that they would be more likely to purchase, I guess Square Enix is probably it. They've been very close with Sony for years, and from what I've learned online Sony helped them out financially in the early 2000's when they really needed it, then Sony sold the ~18% they owned in SE back in 2014 when Sony as a whole was still in recovery mode. Sony's in a far better financial situation now, so I guess anything's possible?

But in the end, it's still just a guess pulled from my ass mostly cause SE took Sony's E3 conference spot, lol.


EDIT.

lol, I need to learn to read better. Regarding the "sources" for the leaks just before I made that post that Tidux fellow made his tweet about Sony acquisitions that was reposted in this thread, and apparently the Colin person who's also disliked liked it or something like that which a couple of folks took to mean maybe something had happened.
 

JaseC64

Enlightened
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
11,008
Strong Island NY
Just a completely ass-pulled guess I came up with one night when I was bored ;)

There're PLENTY of smaller devs that Sony are closer to that would be more likely candidates for acquisition (Bluepoint, Koji Pro, Insomniac, Supermassive...) but I guess if you had to name one massive publisher out of all of them that they would be more likely to purchase, I guess Square Enix is probably it. They've been very close with Sony for years, and from what I've learned online Sony helped them out financially in the early 2000's when they really needed it, then Sony sold the ~18% they owned in SE back in 2014 when Sony as a whole was still in recovery mode. Sony's in a far better financial situation now, so I guess anything's possible?

But in the end, it's still just a guess pulled from my ass mostly cause SE took Sony's E3 conference spot, lol.
Oh ok. That's cool. Interesting view on things.

I doubt Sony could buy SE as they have their hands on too many 3rd party titles plus I dont personally think they are a good fit. Not because of their games but because they would disrupt the marketplace too much. Kojipro on the other hand is new and seems like it has a good partnership. I could see both going far together.
 

vivftp

Member
Oct 29, 2017
19,744
Oh ok. That's cool. Interesting view on things.

I doubt Sony could buy SE as they have their hands on too many 3rd party titles plus I dont personally think they are a good fit. Not because of their games but because they would disrupt the marketplace too much. Kojipro on the other hand is new and seems like it has a good partnership. I could see both going far together.

I edited my post cause I didn't originally answer your question, lol.
 
Oct 25, 2017
9,205
Combine this post with mine on what this job posting actually means. Temp job to integrate.

You don't hire an excel junky on contract (no reason to stay silent) for a massive acquisition.

They have explicitly stated their interest in acquiring more devs so that stands true whether this is related or not.

So was a lot of no -exclusive games...

The pool of multiplatform games dwarfs exclusives. The fact that it is close in awards shows how strong exclusives have been.
 

DeathyG

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,883
NW Indiana
Housemarque would thrive again under Sony management. Hope they are a prime target.

I don't see the usual suspects like KojiPro, Insomniac, Bluepoint, Supermassive, etc getting acquired as I think they will keep partnering with Sony in the future anyways.
 

HStallion

Member
Oct 25, 2017
62,197
Isn't Kojima independent? He's a Sony fanboy so it wouldn't be shocking for him to fully join WWS...

He's independent but he's got a looong history with Sony and they basically gave him the rockstar treatment when courting him along with Guerrilla Games giving him their entire engine on the spot.
 

Inuhanyou

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
14,214
New Jersey
This trend is not a good one.

Sony should just create new studios and hire more talent. I dont like the idea of monopolization of teams, which a single higher up can decide the fate of. What happend to Evolution studios was just too cruel, and then portions of that team going over the codemasters and having that failure hang over their heads...its just sad.

I really wish MS had not started this whole acquisition rush cause they didnt have enough resources they should have been doing something about years ago...like paid online, its not good for consumers
 
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Oct 25, 2017
9,205
No you moved the goal post by bringing the "more pool of multi platform games" when that context wasn't stated in your original post. I was just comparing numbers for numbers regardless of that extra context you brought up...

Either my memory is bad or you have me confused with someone else. My comment about the quantity of games is all I recall saying about exclusives and GOTY awards.
 

Sonicfan059

Member
Mar 4, 2018
3,024
This trend is not a good one.

Sony should just create new studios and hire more talent. I dont like the idea of monopolization of teams, which a single higher up can decide the fate of. What happend to Evolution studios was just too cruel, and then portions of that team going over the codemasters and having that failure hang over their heads...its just sad.
Creating new studios will take talent from existing studios you know....

As far as Evolution goes, it wasn't cruel giving them chances to make more games after several games flopped? If they hadn't had Sony backing them they probably wouldn't have made it past Pacific Rift and certainly would have been bankrupt after Apocalypse.
 

Inuhanyou

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
14,214
New Jersey
Creating new studios will take talent from existing studios you know....

As far as Evolution goes, it wasn't cruel giving them chances to make more games after several games flopped? If they hadn't had Sony backing them they probably wouldn't have made it past Pacific Rift and certainly would have been bankrupt after Apocalypse.

Atleast those teams go on you know and can be replaced. We're talking about swallowing up entire development houses here, which is completely different
 

cmdrshepard

The Fallen
Oct 30, 2017
1,557
Agree with many here that I don't like to see studio acquisitions generally but to be honest quite a number of the recent MS ones have been studios known to or suspected to be in trouble.

If a third party studio/developer is in trouble I would rather see them acquired with most jobs saved and their output made exclusive rather the studio shuttering entirely.

Given the net result, what's the difference, really?

We more then likely would never have gotten the wonderful Sunset Overdrive.
 

Rosebud

Two Pieces
Member
Apr 16, 2018
43,460
What reason does a consumer have to care about whether Sony supports PC, outside of fanboy console war muh exclusives bullshit?

They are just explaining why it's not good to Sony, not to them.

I know that I wouldn't buy a PS if I could play on PC, like MS games. But Sony is not the owner of Windows and don't have a PC storefront to have a big profit. Maybe it can happen next gen, who knows.
 

rusty chrome

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
8,640
Just because Microsoft is acquiring studios, doesn't mean Sony needs to acquire studios. Even if Microsoft wasn't pursuing Game Pass and xCloud, I still think they'd be making these acquisitions. The division was simply mismanaged and squeezed for cash for so long, that their internal studio bandwidth was severely lacking. Microsoft is playing catch-up, while Sony is already sitting on a collection of studios that's world class.
Maybe that's not what it means for you, but that might be exactly what it means for Sony. Competition is real.

Sony closed Evolution, they do not own Insomniac (a studio that made some of their biggest franchises ever), they don't own Bluepoint (@ people suggesting they should buy Bluepoint, what big games has Bluepoint made that are actually new IPs instead of remakes? I wouldn't mind Sony having having a studio dedicated to remasters since Bluepoint is really amazing at that, Bloodborne pls), they don't own Kojima Productions, they don't own Quantic Dream, and they don't own Ready At Dawn.

Kojima Productions is an acquisition that sounds like it makes sense considering Kojima's relationship with Sony, but I don't think he wants to be acquired by anyone either.

Of course Sony has Naughty Dog, Santa Monica Studio, Guerrilla, Sucker Punch, Bend, and some others, but considering how long games development takes these days, and also considering the genre those studios specialize in, for Sony, those might not be enough, and they might be looking to expand their horizons.

I would love it if Sony could have their own genre-defining FPS, a crazy arcade racer, and also if they took fighting games more seriously. They'll need new studios for this especially since Guerrilla seems to be done with the FPS genre. Maybe they've noticed that the FPS genre has been suffering though. Bethesda has published some amazing SP FPS like Prey and Wolfenstein and they seem to underperform despite their amazing quality and multiplatform status.

And for those you suggesting that Sony doesn't need to buy anyone else because they could just hire that team for an exclusive and remain independent, you can say that about every single one of the studios Microsoft acquired recently, just like Sony got Ninja Theory to make Heavenly Sword for them and Sony didn't buy them, but Microsoft ended up buying them.
 
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Jar0d

Banned
Jun 11, 2019
47
Housemarque would thrive again under Sony management. Hope they are a prime target.

I don't see the usual suspects like KojiPro, Insomniac, Bluepoint, Supermassive, etc getting acquired as I think they will keep partnering with Sony in the future anyways.

I see them getting acquired. Microsoft has a lot of money to spend and they understand the value of video-games now. Sony can't let them going in another acquisition spree.

Bluepoint, KojiPro Insomniac are the bare minimum. They could also afford Capcom and buying Atlus from Sega.

Sony is making solid money with video-games. They'll put every chances they have to keep that solid PS4 momentum going for them, even if that means spending billions on acquisition. They bought Gaikai for 1 billion $, only to be relegated to PS NOW 700 000 subscribers. Those aquisitions could bring them or help them keep ten time the numbers of players to Playstation.
 

rusty chrome

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
8,640
Lol I suggested Xbox could do this yesterday and got like 20 angry quotes
Because From Software is already owned by another large company and you were suggesting Microsoft buying a developer known for making multiplatform games instead of suggesting a simple one game exclusive deal like Sony did with Bloodborne? You know you posted that for the reactions, don't act surprised now.
 
Oct 25, 2017
9,205
This trend is not a good one.

Sony should just create new studios and hire more talent. I dont like the idea of monopolization of teams, which a single higher up can decide the fate of. What happend to Evolution studios was just too cruel, and then portions of that team going over the codemasters and having that failure hang over their heads...its just sad.

I really wish MS had not started this whole acquisition rush cause they didnt have enough resources they should have been doing something about years ago...like paid online, its not good for consumers

What about what is good for studio?

Maybe that's not what it means for you, but that might be exactly what it means for Sony. Competition is real.

Sony closed Evolution, and they do not own Insomniac (a studio that made some of their biggest franchises ever), they don't own Bluepoint (@ people suggesting they should buy Bluepoint, what big games has Bluepoint made that are actually new IPs instead of remakes? I wouldn't mind Sony having having a studio dedicated to remasters since Bluepoint is really amazing at that, Bloodborne pls), they don't own Kojima Productions, they don't own Quantic Dream, and they don't own Ready At Dawn.

Kojima Productions is an acquisition that sounds like it makes sense considering Kojima's relationship with Sony, but I don't think he wants to be acquired by anyone either.

Of course Sony has Naughty Dog, Santa Monica Studio, Guerrilla, Sucker Punch, Bend, and some others, but considering how long games development takes these days, and also considering the genre those studios specialize in, for Sony, those might not be enough, and they might be looking to expand their horizons.

I would love it if Sony could have their own genre-defining FPS, a crazy arcade racer, and also if they took fighting games more seriously. They'll need new studios for this especially since Guerrilla seems to be done with the FPS genre. Maybe they've noticed that the FPS genre has been suffering though. Bethesda has published some amazing SP FPS like Prey and Wolfenstein and they seem to underperform despite their amazing quality and multiplatform status.

And for those you suggesting that Sony doesn't need to buy anyone else because they could just hire that team for an exclusive and remain independent, you can say that about every single one of the studios Microsoft acquired recently, just like Sony got Ninja Theory to make Heavenly Sword for them and Sony didn't buy them, but Microsoft ended up buying them.

Yeah some pretty idealistic takes here. If they want to secure work with a studio long term acquisition is the only way.
 

Viceratops

Banned
Jun 29, 2018
2,570
Since everyone is okay with Microsoft acquiring studios and wishing for "20 by 2020" I have changed my mind and think it is now okay for Sony to acquire studios and make their games exclusive too.
 

Betelgeuse

Member
Nov 2, 2017
2,941
Don't snatch up financially solvent third party devs and publishers. Do build studios from the ground up. Do expand existing studios.

Beyond that, I'd love to see something totally out of left field, like Sony "rebuilding" a dead studio (I dunno, somebody crazy like Westwood), or purchasing/reviving a dead or dormant IP (Deus Ex seems to be the latter).
 

rusty chrome

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
8,640
Since everyone is okay with Microsoft acquiring studios and wishing for "20 by 2020" I have changed my mind and think it is now okay for Sony to acquire studios and make their games exclusive too.
Yeah I've noticed people around here only looking forward to E3 just to see what studios Microsoft acquired for the megatons, but those same people write "arrogant Sony" posts if Sony does this.
 

Pargon

Member
Oct 27, 2017
11,967
Oh no.

Never is a strong word.
Lots of GOTY of last 10 years were exclusive games.
And they would all be better games if they were not exclusive.

Exclusive are a good thing.
Only if you are a platform-holder or a console-warring fanboy.

Differientiate fucking platforms. Ever since the7th gen, people can't tell the difference between 360 or PS3 and now PS4 and Xbox one.
That's a good thing. Most people do not buy all systems every generation. They buy one.
You don't have to buy different DVD players to watch movies from every studio. You buy the DVD player which meets your budget and has the features that you want, and you can watch all DVDs.
 
Oct 25, 2017
9,205
Oh no.


And they would all be better games if they were not exclusive.


Only if you are a platform-holder or a console-warring fanboy.


That's a good thing. Most people do not buy all systems every generation. They buy one.
You don't have to buy different DVD players to watch movies from every studio. You buy the DVD player which meets your budget and has the features that you want, and you can watch all DVDs.

Bullshit. A lot those games wouldn't exist at all.
 

Isayas

Banned
Jun 10, 2018
2,729
Oh no.


And they would all be better games if they were not exclusive.


Only if you are a platform-holder or a console-warring fanboy.


That's a good thing. Most people do not buy all systems every generation. They buy one.
You don't have to buy different DVD players to watch movies from every studio. You buy the DVD player which meets your budget and has the features that you want, and you can watch all DVDs.

Not a fanboy at all. There must be an incentive to owning whatever platform.
 

Pargon

Member
Oct 27, 2017
11,967
Bullshit. They wouldn't exist at all.
That's a different argument from me saying that every game is better if it's available on more than one platform.

Just look at how Sony have handled backwards compatibility this generation vs Microsoft.
Anything which was PS3 exclusive requires you to own a PS3 to play it. Multi-platform games from that generation can still be played today on Xbox One via backwards compatibility, or on PC. The games often look and run better than they originally did too.

Games like Demon's Souls would be better if they were not exclusives.

Not a fanboy at all. There must be an incentive to owning whatever platform.
Without exclusives, the main differentiator between platforms is the features and performance/value that the platform offers.
Look at how much Microsoft has improved the Xbox as a platform this generation, vs Sony letting the PlayStation languish and digging in their heels to prevent features like cross-save progression and cross-play until very recently.

If you are going to have exclusives -and every platform will to some degree- at least creating new studios adds more games to the market, rather than buying up studios and locking their output to a single platform.
That doesn't add anything, it's done to deprive their competitors of games.
 

Viceratops

Banned
Jun 29, 2018
2,570
Without exclusives, the main differentiator between platforms is the features and performance/value that the platform offers.
Look at how much Microsoft has improved the Xbox as a platform this generation, vs Sony letting the PlayStation languish and digging in their heels to prevent features like cross-save progression and cross-play until very recently.
If games didn't matter, Microsoft would totally be owning Sony, guys.
 

Pargon

Member
Oct 27, 2017
11,967
So you think Zelda would be better if it was multiplatform? Better how?
It doesn't make me extremely motion sick to play Breath of the Wild at 60 FPS on PC for one thing.
The VR experience would be significantly improved if it was available on PS4/PC rather than Labo VR.
There's no way to play classic Zelda games on the Switch due to Nintendo's abandonment of the Virtual Console.

If games didn't matter, Microsoft would totally be owning Sony, guys.
Sure, just hand-wave away all the things Sony have done in their own interests rather than in the player's interests, while Microsoft have been focusing on making the Xbox a much better platform than it was and pushing for things like cross-play in games.
 

Viceratops

Banned
Jun 29, 2018
2,570
Sure, just hand-wave away all the things Sony have done in their own interests rather than in the player's interests, while Microsoft have been focusing on making the Xbox a much better platform than it was and pushing for things like cross-play in games.
Microsoft tried to make money while offering no vision for gaming experiences whatsoever. Everything they have done has been to make them more money, not to offer an experience that isn't being offered. I can't say that about Sony or Nintendo.

Cool, $10 a month for a bunch of old games, but now you don't have any ownership over those games. Such a great service.
 

rusty chrome

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
8,640
That doesn't add anything, it's done to deprive their competitors of games.
Yes, they're literally called system sellers, because that is what they do. I know people that purchased a PS4 only when God of War and Spider-Man launched. Kids where I used to work were asking their parents for PS4s for Christmas because they knew Spider-Man was PS4 only. Games sell consoles. If people really cared about backward compatibility as much as you think they did, PS4 wouldn't have won this gen. Exclusive games played a big part in its success.

It doesn't make me extremely motion sick to play Breath of the Wild at 60 FPS on PC for one thing.
Nintendo doesn't really owe it to anyone to make Zelda multiplatform though. It is a Nintendo IP, and every generation, millions of people buy Nintendo consoles to play the Nintendo franchises they can expect from the platform. If people could just buy Zelda on PC, there wouldn't really be much reason to buy it on a Nintendo console, and PC elitists would just start waving their specs around kinda like how you just did with your 60fps stuff. Even on forums you'll start seeing obnoxious posters saying, "lol 30fps Zelda? I'll buy it on PC for 60fps", which gives a big fuck you to the Nintendo console. It is a Nintendo game and that's where it should stay, so it can sell Nintendo consoles. That's Nintendo's future you're toying with.
 
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Pargon

Member
Oct 27, 2017
11,967
Yes, they're literally called system sellers, because that is what they do. I know people that purchased a PS4 only when God of War and Spider-Man launched. Kids where I used to work were asking their parents for PS4s for Christmas because they knew Spider-Man was PS4 only. Games sell consoles. If people really cared about backward compatibility as much as you think they did, PS4 wouldn't have won this gen. Exclusive games played a big part in its success.
I know why it's done. I'm saying that I don't support the practice of buying up studios to deprive other platforms of their output.
It's a different situation entirely if the platform holder decides to create a new studio and develop their own games. If I'm not mistaken, Santa Monica Studio was created by Sony rather than acquired.
Spider-Man appears to have been work for hire, rather than Sony buying up the studio, or paying for exclusivity of a game which was already in development.
 
Oct 25, 2017
9,205
They should target Nintendo and/or MS, if they have spare they can also acquire Apple

In know you aren't serious, but it always surprises when people think Capcom, SE, Take Two or something else unrealistic as opposed say a Bluepoint or Housemarque. I don't see any major publishers getting bought out unless Google or Amazon do something desperate and stupid. It won't be Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo.

I swear Sony, you leave Housemarque to die I'm gonna be pissed.

Shu was just at Housemarque a while back probably checking on their next project. I think they are fine for now.
 

Pyccko

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,868
I'm still salty about MS picking up Double Fine, but I don't want this to be the new arms race. Too much salt isn't good for the populace
 

noyram23

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
9,372
In know you aren't serious, but it always surprises when people think Capcom, SE, Take Two or something else unrealistic as opposed say a Bluepoint or Housemarque. I don't see any major publishers getting bought out unless Google or Amazon do something desperate and stupid. It won't be Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo.
Yeah the first 3 you mention aren't just worth the money because first most of their games sold a lot due to being multiplatform, second they're too expensive, and finally they have a lot of employees which is a headache on any acquisition. Of course they Sony and MS could theoretically buy any of these 3 (T2 is very hard tho) but it's just too little ROI short term. From Software is another fanboy dream which doesn't make sense to acquire, while a very talented studio, they are own by Kadokawa and Souls franchise are still relatively niche compared to your big IP like GTA, NBA, FF etc.

Platinum are just bomba makers and honestly not worth it unless they're very cheap. Bluepoint and Housemarque are good get depending on the price, they also need to add more people to both studio