Is Fromsoftware the best purchase for Sony currently? If not, which developer takes the number 1 spot?

[GoombaGalaxy]

I was going to include Rockstar but that is just not realistic.

 

[TrishaCat]

None because game companies are at their most creative and free when they're independent

 

[Entropi]

FromSoftware and Playstation were made for each other.

 

[mibu no ookami]

I was going to include Rockstar but that is just not realistic.

It's not unrealistic, it's just more complicated.

Sony has largely two options when it comes to T2.

Option A. Raise as much money as you can within the next 5-10 years and try to do a cash offer, knowing that T2's value will continue to rise over the next 5-10 years.

Option B. Do a mixed offer with some level of cash and some level of stock swap (maybe some level of financing too).
Ex. Take2 has a market cap of 32.58 billion dollars. Sony could look to pay half of that in cash/financing for a total of 16.29 billion dollars. Now understand, that doesn't necessarily buy half the company, if you assume a premium of 50% you're looking at 10.86 billion dollars worth of the stock, which would account for exactly a 3rd of the company.

This leaves 21.72 billion in stock swaps.

Sony's market cap at 118.52 billion. They would have to receive at a minimum 21.72 billion worth in Sony, but probably more something along the lines of 27.15 billion.

The total deal would be worth 43.44 billion dollars.

The problem with that is it would almost certainly make T2's shareholders the largest stakeholders in Sony. You'd especially have to look out for Blackrock.

I actually think the real answer here is Option C. Which is a combination of Options A and B. Which is to generate as much revenue and operating income as you can so that you can finance/cash offer as much as you can as quickly as you can and give up as little as you have to in stock swaps.

I'm convinced this would be Sony's long term plan. As it secures their future as a platform holder, giving you GTA, GTA Online, Red Dead Redemption, Red Dead Redemption Online, NBA 2K, TopSpin, PGA Tour 2K, Mafia, Borderlands, and Bioshock. Also gives you great opportunity to get into FIFA 2K, NCAA March Madness 2K. And personally I would buy ClapHanz and give them the PGA Tour 2K franchise and maybe have HB Studios focus on trying to put together a soccer game for FIFA.

Arrowhead obviously makes sense but wants to be independent.

 

[Danja]

Capcom but unfortunately the time for this passed late PS3 era when Capcom was in financial turmoil

CD Project Red - would be a good get

 

[mibu no ookami]

None because game companies are at their most creative and free when they're independent

This is a misnomer.

You look at all of Sony's successful studios and they're all FAR more successful since becoming a part of Sony than they ever were before.

Naughty Dog
Insomniac
Guerrilla Games
Sucker Punch

These studios are prime examples of what you can accomplish with Sony's backing.

 

[Petekilla]

None because game companies are at their most creative and free when they're independent

False. ND, Guerilla, SP, and Insomniac were better under Sony.

 

[GoombaGalaxy]

It's not unrealistic, it's just more complicated.

Sony has largely two options when it comes to T2.

Option A. Raise as much money as you can within the next 5-10 years and try to do a cash offer, knowing that T2's value will continue to rise over the next 5-10 years.

Option B. Do a mixed offer with some level of cash and some level of stock swap (maybe some level of financing too).
Ex. Take2 has a market cap of 32.58 billion dollars. Sony could look to pay half of that in cash/financing for a total of 16.29 billion dollars. Now understand, that doesn't necessarily buy half the company, if you assume a premium of 50% you're looking at 10.86 billion dollars worth of the stock, which would account for exactly a 3rd of the company.

This leaves 21.72 billion in stock swaps.

Sony's market cap at 118.52 billion. They would have to receive at a minimum 21.72 billion worth in Sony, but probably more something along the lines of 27.15 billion.

The total deal would be worth 43.44 billion dollars.

The problem with that is it would almost certainly make T2's shareholders the largest stakeholders in Sony. You'd especially have to look out for Blackrock.

I actually think the real answer here is Option C. Which is a combination of Options A and B. Which is to generate as much revenue and operating income as you can so that you can finance/cash offer as much as you can as quickly as you can and give up as little as you have to in stock swaps.

I'm convinced this would be Sony's long term plan. As it secures their future as a platform holder, giving you GTA, GTA Online, Red Dead Redemption, Red Dead Redemption Online, NBA 2K, TopSpin, PGA Tour 2K, Mafia, Borderlands, and Bioshock. Also gives you great opportunity to get into FIFA 2K, NCAA March Madness 2K. And personally I would buy ClapHanz and give them the PGA Tour 2K franchise and maybe have HB Studios focus on trying to put together a soccer game for FIFA.

Arrowhead obviously makes sense but wants to be independent.

I think regulators would step in if Sony were to try and acquire T2. You have to remember this isn't Microsoft. Microsoft can buy and bribe many people and has a level of control over governments such as the U.S. Sony does not have that kind of reach. I'm not confident but hey, you could be right.

 

[ghostdog]

FROM is by far the #1, the best SONY can acquire.

It’s the top studio of the last 15 years. Expertise in single-player games, price is not exuberant, the cost of running the studio is right, their production is insane, and of course quality-wise is the pearl of the medium. The peak.

2. HoYoverse

3. Shift-Up

4. Square-Enix

5. Arrowhead

Edit: Capcom ideally would be #2, however it’s an impossible scenario cause it belongs to a family.

 

[Sircaw]

FROM is by far the #1, the best SONY can acquire.

It’s the top studio of the last 15 years. Expertise in single-player games, price is not exuberant, the cost of running the studio is right, their production is insane, and of course quality-wise is the pearl of the medium. The peak.

2. HoYoverse

3. Shift-Up

4. Square-Enix

5. Arrowhead

Edit: Capcom ideally would be #2, however it’s an impossible scenario cause it belongs to a family.

Shift up would be a great buy,

 

[lucasthebeast19]

Fromsoftware and Sony are made for each other both have expertise in single player games Sony going to be juggernaut with these single player cinematic experience type games now since they're have large majority of fromsoftware

 

[lucasthebeast19]

I think regulators would step in if Sony were to try and acquire T2. You have to remember this isn't Microsoft. Microsoft can buy and bribe many people and has a level of control over governments such as the U.S. Sony does not have that kind of reach. I'm not confident but hey, you could be right.

Sony already have a good relationship with T2 and I don't think T2 isn't interested in being acquired since GTA is there big money maker they even scoffed at gamepass

 

[Yurinka]

Top 1 Capcom
Top 2 From Software
Top 3 Arrowhead
Top 4 ARC System Works
Top 5 Remedy
Top 6 Hoyoverse
Top 7 Shift Up
Top 8 Sloclap
Top 9 BlueTwelve
Top 10 Bandai Namco (not very realistic but in terms of business and synergies would be more important than Take 2 or EA)

 

[peter42O]

Voted for and would prefer Shift Up because there's a far greater chance that I will actually play their games. Publisher wise, I would prefer Square Enix.

 

[Shmunter]

I couldn't really care, All these games would exist irrespective who owns the studio. Would much prefer Legendary grassroots Sony IP's

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Kind of a crazy question considering we don't know the price.

Epic Games, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft etc...would be better gets for PlayStation.

 

[DarkLordOtaku]

They should increase their share buyback allocation.

 

[mibu no ookami]

I think regulators would step in if Sony were to try and acquire T2. You have to remember this isn't Microsoft. Microsoft can buy and bribe many people and has a level of control over governments such as the U.S. Sony does not have that kind of reach. I'm not confident but hey, you could be right.

There isn't really an argument for regulators to block Sony from buying T2.

I think people just assume regulators will block all M&A, but that's simply not the case.

First you have to look at foreclosure. Sony isn't likely to foreclose on PC anymore than Take2 already does by releasing on console first. So then you look at the console market and sales data will show regulators that 75 percent or whatever of consumers of GTA6 are already on PlayStation so the number of consumers impacted is small. The same is true of Red Dead.

Then you look at games like NBA 2K, PGA Tour 2K, and WWE 2K and then you point to the fact that Sony already has MLB The Show on Xbox, meaning those aren't likely to be foreclosed.

So you have minimal impact on PC, no impact on Nintendo, and not a significant impact on Xbox which has already declined.

You could then make the argument that it will create barriers of entry, but that doesn't really fly either. You already have significant barriers of entry to the point where Microsoft was unable to compete with Sony. This doesn't change that.

Then you could look at nacent markets like Cloud, but GTA and Red Dead don't release often enough to have significant impact on the cloud market and as we already discussed will still be released on PC.

 

[Yobo]

Yes they have an existing successful publisher relationship with them

Square Enix is too big and unwieldy.
CD Project have been actively antagonistic to Playstation in the past
Level 5 is a joke
Shift Up are too expensive for their lack of IP
Arrowhead they should also buy

Outside of those only Larian would make sense if they wanted to sell

 

[quest4441]

Back to the roots purchase would be Squeenix and Level 5, The money from Sony will make an actual difference for Level 5 and let them release games on time without delays.

But on the other hand From Software is a studio they already worked so integration would not be hard. I hope the deal goes through as PS fans deserve a win and maybe we can get Miyazaki to run worldwide studios in the future