I feel like its disingenuous that you tend to exclusively focus on one side of the coin when it comes to acquisitions.
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Phil Spencer confirms that they are still looking for Studio Acquisitions (especially in Asia)
- Thread starter jbug617
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That's not the point you're making. LOL You created even more made up scenarios that would happen if this hypothetical scenario of MS trying to acquire From, which we both acknowledge wouldn't happen in the first place.
Sounds like Microsoft is planning on bringing the fight next gen.. fingers crossed! Japanese devs have always been tricky for Microsoft.
There is just one scenario i painted that would happen if MS tried to acquire From: Sony would outbid them. I mean, just read it and tell me which other scenarios i created:
Honestly, i can't imagine Microsoft going for Platinum.
Also, the whole buying FS is a meme at this point, they are part of a massive media conglomerate, i doubt Kadokawa would even consider an offer for his most succesful studio.
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There is nothing for you to think Sony would outbid them, or that there would be a bidding process to begin with or that MS wouldn't give Xbox enough budget to purchase them. It's like you keep making up stuff based off nothing in this made up scenario. LOL That's what I take issue with.
Fair enough, but why would you not expect a bidding process in that scenario?
Do you believe that Kadokawa would agree on the first offer they get from Microsoft rather than tell Sony or other publishers about that offer and ask for a better offer?
It's a logical thing to do and something that usally happens when companies try to buy subsidiaries from other companies.
Great get or the devs behind Stranger of Sword City: Experience.
Man I would really like for them to pick up Experience, Stranger of Sword City was a really great game and would love to see what they could pump out with a proper budget and no time restraints. Given how they want to make another Visual Novel but said it needs to be crowd funded, it's pretty clear that they're facing some financial burdens.
No. These companies aren't on auction where the highest bidder bids on them and wins. If MS and Sony were both interested in purchasing the same company, and that's a big IF that you created for some reason, and that company was interested in being bought, all that would matter is who the company wants to be bought by and if they offered enough for them to be satisfied getting purchased.
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No, that's where you are wrong. Why would Kadokawa care which company buys their subsidiary?
The only thing that would matter to them is who pays more.
Kadokawa is the majority shareholder of From Software, therefore they alone get to decide who to sell to. If both, Sony and Microsoft were interessted in buying From Software, it wouldn't be From Software who gets to decide which company they will join.
Yes, but you're making up the whole bidding scenario between Sony and MS which you created as a defense of people wanting MS buying From, which we both know isn't happening.
Platinum being acquired would likely destroy any chance of Astral Chain becoming a franchise, as both Nintendo and Platinum have co-ownership.
Nintendo isn't going to invest development and localization resources into a game that would release and look better on a competitor platform.
Though I can't see it happening. All of the MS acquisitions so far have been devs who have a close relationship with them or where most of their upcoming releases are on Xbox. Bayonetta 3 and (presumably) Babylon's Fall are still in development and I wouldn't be surprised if they have another Nintendo collaboration planned.
There are many, many considerations about who someone would choose to get bought by which go beyond price.
MS said Asian, not Japan. I think it will be some company from South Korea. They recently collab with some studios from there: Smilegate, Nexon.
I didn't say "nobody wants Falcom". Go read my posts. I said nobody wants Falcom to be stuck on Xbox! And I don't, shit.. I love their games. They can make games for Xbox without being bought.
I specifically point out Ys, because without that you're left with Trails. Nothing else is worth modernizing when you can just make a new ip.
I see no reason why MS, of all publishers, would wanna buy Falcom when they don't even have a big toe in Japanese territory as it is. I'm not hating on MS, (I just bought 2 Xbox games today) I just don't want their hands on Falcom.
MS also collaborated with Bluehole in bringing PUBG to console.
I'm so hopeful that XGS will publish a premium version of Lost Ark (Smilegate) in the west.
User Warned: Trolling
I really, really enjoy it when stuff happens that sends gamers crazy, I just find it all hilarious.
So here is me as a PS4 owner and not really into Xbox at all....but I'd love to see MS buy FROM and Kojima productions just to watch the chaos.
So here is me as a PS4 owner and not really into Xbox at all....but I'd love to see MS buy FROM and Kojima productions just to watch the chaos.
As a defense of what?
Someone said Microsoft should buy From. I said that would end up in a bidding war and therefore it is not happening.
I just laid out the reasoning for my statment, that Microsoft will rather look for other studios than FROM.
Obviously an acquisitions is a complex process, but we are talking about the acquisition of a subsidiary. And the subsidiary has no say in that decision. So yeah, the price is basically the only thing that matters for the parent company when they choose to sell the subsidiary.
MS can easily make a deal for From if they wanted to. You have to understand that Microsoft has more money IN CASH than Sony is worth total. Period. Full stop. In fact, MS has TWICE as much CASH as Sony is worth - every single asset, studio, IP, movie, music, camera lenses, patent etc. etc. Do I think MS wants to buy From? No, I don't. But you're kidding yourself if you think MS couldn't make an offer that Kadokawa won't refuse. Heck Kadokawa's entire market valuation is $13B. You're kidding yourself even harder if you think Sony could outbid MS. Again, Sony Cash on Hand: $25 Billion. Sony Market valuation: $70B. Microsoft Cash on Hand: $136B. Microsoft total valuation: $1,140B. You know?
While I understand people thinking this.. we're conveniently forgetting that PUBG, Smilegate, and Nexon are all worth more than almost any Western studio. Smilegate made $240M IN PROFITS in 2016. It made its founder/owner the richest self-made billionaire in Korea (and hence, we have no idea how many Billions the company is worth). Nexon is valued at over $12B. Even newcomer PUBG is valued at over $4B. MS is not purchasing any of them. Japanese studios are a damn bargain. Heck, Sega and Capcom would be damn bargains.
Yes, making up shit with a weird predetermined outcome that Sony would outbid them from some reason. JUST STOP. We know MS aren't going to buy From because they're owned by a media conglomerate. There's no reason to create even more hypotheticals on top of hypotheticals and making up things based on nothing.
What kind of response is this?
If you don't intend to have a genuine discussion about this why respond at all?
Clearly I'm talking about the benefits that acquisitions can have on game studios as oppossed to exclusively focusing on all the negatives.
There's pros/cons, negatives/positives to everything in life.
Because I have no interest in promoting the benefits of a practice I consider bad for both this industry and the consumer.
I'm sorry but you don't speak for me.
Insomniac working exclusively with Sony gives us quality titles like we've seen in the past. As much as I love Sunset it pales In comparison to prior Insomniac games. And don't get me started on Fuse...
Getting more games like that is pretty okay with me.
I never claimed to speak for you.
I don't view Insomniac's ownership by Sony as an essential element of them creating amazing games, considering they have been doing that for many, many years.
Not...really. It, as you noted, is complex, and the owner of a subsidiary will pay attention to some of these complexities in addition to the price, which is not ever the only thing that matters. Not even in the basically sense.
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You're kind of entirely ignoring the point I was trying to make in my last post. Compare the quality of titles between Sony's collaboration with insomniac and anything else.
Clearly there's a benefit to that marriage
To them working together, sure.
But Sony doesn't need to own them to work with them.
Thats definitely true. What about smaller companies who benefit from the influx of cash and recruiting? Surely something good comes from these dealings.
Individually, every company needs to make the best decisions for their staff and their shareholders. Sony is not doing anything wrong buying a studio, and Insominiac isn't doing anything wrong selling.
In a larger sense, every studio acquisition is consolidating control of this industry in fewer hands. That's why it's not something anyone should be cheering on.
Can we please stop trying to create a false narrative? It's like ya'll can't comprehend that studio's have multiple teams making games and MS funds and creative freedom allows them to try new things as well what they specialize in.
Rather than buying a asian or japanese studio, just moneyhat Sugiyama, Gooch, itagaki, etc to lead a MS Studio. If MS wants a JRPG they would get bang for there buck. They want a Ninja Gaiden-esque game, well Itagaki fits the bill. It'll be too much red tape to go after some Asian studios, I reckon rather than build one from the Ground up.
There are no laws saying foreign companies can't acquire Japanese ones.
Sony is not buying From, come on now.
And I'm glad they didn't when they had the chance, because we most certainly wouldn't have gotten as many games as we did if that was the case.
The same scenario applies now.
Other than giving fanboys an erection an acquisition by any big publisher would do more harm than good.
From is in a good place right now and budget isn't an issue, so why don't we just leave it at that?
Of course they are, Foxconn took over Sharp a couple of years ago for eg. Its just very difficult to do hostile takeovers. If they don't want to be bought, they can tell you to keep your trillion dollars in your pocket and go home.
after what happen with ScaleBound, believe me it's never going to happen.
People genuinely suggesting the likes of Konami, Square Enix and SEGA are entirely nuts, clueless or both. They all have far too many businesses NOT related to gaming that Microsoft would absolutely have zero interest in. Beyond that, Microsoft is acquiring devs the size of Compulsion, not former platform holders.
Realistically it is going to be a small studio like White Owls or a startup with poor funding. The most genuinely shocking purchase I could see them being interested in is maaaybe Ys Net, but even that seems too unlikely.
Instead of buying studios just build one for Itagaki.
Realistically it is going to be a small studio like White Owls or a startup with poor funding. The most genuinely shocking purchase I could see them being interested in is maaaybe Ys Net, but even that seems too unlikely.
Instead of buying studios just build one for Itagaki.
Several people involved have said there is no negativity between Microsoft and Platinum.
