Reuters: Sony in talks to buy media powerhouse behind 'Elden Ring', sources say

FatKaz

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PC gamers will just wait till games port to PC one way or another. This is how it's always been. We'll complain about not being able to play day 1, but we can wait six months to a year.

Not out of spite, just inconvenience and an unwillingness to expand beyond the digital libraries locked on PC.
I was reffering to the psn requirement.
 

DarkLordOtaku

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I was reffering to the psn requirement.
Ah. PSN will continue to be something people complain about, like the Ubisoft and EA launchers.

It doesn't seriously effect sales numbers, but people will keep flame reviewing on Steam about it.

Honestly, I don't mind if PSN is just to help them justify MAU growth to continue porting to PC. Longterm, I'd appreciate if they just remove the requirement, due to inconvenience.
 
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24 Jun 2022
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Hoeg's Law is a dumbass and Microsoft shill. IIRC he also has family who work at Microsoft.

Kinda like Judge Corley. And like her I'm 100% sure such a fact doesn't impact Hoeg's analysis or judgement against perceived competitors of their $3 trillion mega-conglomerate whatsoever.

I'm obviously being sarcastic
 
24 Jun 2022
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People just need to chill out with the over praising of people in japan and the demonization of people in the west.

Leadership across the globe make good moves and bad moves and people should be judged the merits.

Massive W for Hermen here if he can 1. Get it across the finish line 2. Manage the assets appropriately.

Hermen has a lot of work to do over the next 5 or so years. He has to manage Bungie and potentially FromSoftware both are in the same vein as Naughty Dog. Purchasing both within the same generation is actually bonkers. These are industry leaders. The only studios left of this magnitude are CDPR and MAYBE Larian if their next game is successful.

But people want to hate on Hermen and Jim Ryan because a start up studio's first ever game wasn't successful? I think Firesprite was a bigger miss than Firewalk, but no one really wants to talk about them.

I don't think Herman is steering the ship on this M&A; after all it's Sony Corp making the move, not SIE. So I'd say Totoki is probably the one headlining things, and other head members of Sony Japan like Kenichiro Yoshida.

Which would make sense, considering Kadokawa's a Japanese company. I do think there's the obvious benefit of From Software for SIE in this, but I don't think they're going to be managed under Herman Hulst. They'll let From Software operate independently like how Bungie was supposed to (before Pete Parsons and the BOD screwed everything up), and if anything SIE become funder & publisher of From Software games.

Otherwise, let From Software and Miyazaki operate as they always have, keep the current multiplat strategy going with FromSoft games and maybe introduce Switch 2 as another platform of expansion depending on the title. Have some SIE studio technical experts help with From Software engine optimizations, lend some tech and if able provide suitable people for extra content production. But otherwise, From Software need to retain complete creative freedom they already have, which also means Hulst needs to step back and just be Miyazaki's Yes-man.

That's the best outcome for all parties in this, I'd say.
 

peter42O

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This rumor again. lol

Hasn't anyone besides me noticed that every single acquisition from Sony/Microsoft/Embracer/etc. since E3 2018 hasn't had any rumors and when a deal was reached, was simply announced. The only one that leaked was Microsoft acquiring Playground Games ahead of E3 2018 but all other acquisitions were simply announced. Microsoft and Bethesda took almost two years to finalize a deal and there wasn't a single rumor about it. You woke up one day in September 2020 to see that Microsoft announce that they had reached a deal to acquire Bethesda. It's hilarious to me how all the rumored acquisitions regardless of who was buying/selling has been all bullshit while the acquisitions that were never rumored are those that actually happened.

Luckily for me, like with a lot of Sony/Microsoft acquisitions, this one does nothing for me as I don't give two shits about souls games or From Software. On a related note, I kinda want to see this happen because it would be hilarious to then see Bloodborne still NOT get remastered and still NOT get a sequel. LMAO
 

Evilnemesis8

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Luckily for me, like with a lot of Sony/Microsoft acquisitions, this one does nothing for me as I don't give two shits about souls games or From Software. On a related note, I kinda want to see this happen because it would be hilarious to then see Bloodborne still NOT get remastered and still NOT get a sequel. LMAO

People: We want Bloodborne PC/Remastered/Remake/Bloodborne Kart/Anything please...
Sony: Bloodborne anime you say? We'll get right on it.
 

Gediminas

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This rumor again. lol

Hasn't anyone besides me noticed that every single acquisition from Sony/Microsoft/Embracer/etc. since E3 2018 hasn't had any rumors and when a deal was reached, was simply announced. The only one that leaked was Microsoft acquiring Playground Games ahead of E3 2018 but all other acquisitions were simply announced. Microsoft and Bethesda took almost two years to finalize a deal and there wasn't a single rumor about it. You woke up one day in September 2020 to see that Microsoft announce that they had reached a deal to acquire Bethesda. It's hilarious to me how all the rumored acquisitions regardless of who was buying/selling has been all bullshit while the acquisitions that were never rumored are those that actually happened.

Luckily for me, like with a lot of Sony/Microsoft acquisitions, this one does nothing for me as I don't give two shits about souls games or From Software. On a related note, I kinda want to see this happen because it would be hilarious to then see Bloodborne still NOT get remastered and still NOT get a sequel. LMAO
WTF is wrong with you?

it isn't a rumor.

Jake Gyllenhaal Pain GIF by First We Feast
 
24 Jun 2022
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This rumor again. lol

Hasn't anyone besides me noticed that every single acquisition from Sony/Microsoft/Embracer/etc. since E3 2018 hasn't had any rumors and when a deal was reached, was simply announced. The only one that leaked was Microsoft acquiring Playground Games ahead of E3 2018 but all other acquisitions were simply announced. Microsoft and Bethesda took almost two years to finalize a deal and there wasn't a single rumor about it. You woke up one day in September 2020 to see that Microsoft announce that they had reached a deal to acquire Bethesda. It's hilarious to me how all the rumored acquisitions regardless of who was buying/selling has been all bullshit while the acquisitions that were never rumored are those that actually happened.

Luckily for me, like with a lot of Sony/Microsoft acquisitions, this one does nothing for me as I don't give two shits about souls games or From Software. On a related note, I kinda want to see this happen because it would be hilarious to then see Bloodborne still NOT get remastered and still NOT get a sequel. LMAO

Don't do this, pete 😂

Outlets like Reuters and Nikkei Asia weren't reporting on this the other times. The latter in particular, lends a pretty good credence something might be happening. There's a chance this one might have leaked due to some insider trading and, well, I hope they're ready for whatever criminal charges they face if caught.

Also Zenimax was a privately owned company so there was no risk of a leak. Also while Kadokawa is public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, I don't know if rules pertaining to M&A leaks between Japanese companies is the same as with American ones. I.e it might be more likely of word getting out ahead of time without insider trading.

In fact...I'm 100% sure that's the case here. Because way back in the '90s, there were extensive talks in gaming magazines about SEGA buying Bandai, a deal that was actually happening behind closed doors, before it eventually fell apart in '97. Plenty of Western gaming outlets like Next Generation talked about the ongoing talks, so it seems rather normal that when M&As are happening between two Japanese companies, outlets pick up on it ahead of time of any official agreement being reached.

All of that to say, using MS & ABK (or MS & Zenimax) to downplay the rumor here is ill-advised. It doesn't work like that with Japanese companies.
 

peter42O

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WTF is wrong with you?

it isn't a rumor.

Sony acquiring Kadokawa has been rumored every year for the last three years. You can find posts and links on Reddit and other places. Acquisitions don't get out there which is apparent because no one say Microsoft acquiring 3 other studios at E3 2018 (only Playground leaked a few days before), Sony acquiring any of the studios they've gotten since Insomniac, no rumors from Microsoft about Bethesda or ABK until they announced that a deal was reached. This shit happens every year and every year, it never actually happens. Until it gets officially announced, it's a rumor.

As for me being in "pain", why exactly would I be in "pain"? First, you already know im all for Microsoft/Sony/Nintendo acquiring publishers/studios. Second, From Software would remain multi-platform so you're not gaining or losing anything (same applies to the Xbox side) and third, in all honesty, I don't give two shits about souls games or From Software. As much as you and others here want Xbox to die, I want souls games to die a hell of a lot more because they influence too much shit, they never have a good story, the gameplay is clunky and technically a disaster every time and yet people praise them for some odd reason. But sure, keep believing that im in pain. LMAO

But hey, if it happens, it happens. Microsoft could acquire them and I would say the exact same shit that I just said. When it comes to acquisitions, I want them all to acquire the companies that I WANT. Sadly, it's rarely happened though because what I want isn't guaranteed to improve Microsoft's/Sony's business but I don't care about that. I care about them acquiring studios that makes games that I want because that benefits me. :)
 

Dabaus

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This isn't the stop. This is just the beginning. Wait until PlayStation gets their phase for doing M+A moves. Totoki has accented that he wants to acquire IPs for entertainment and gaming more than several times. Current rumours say Falcom, JP GAMES and NeoWiz. This three in 2025 and Sony is bsck im the game.

1.8 Trillion yen budget until (or through) 2027 is only around 11 billion dollars USD, which isnt alot to be honest. Say this is 4-5 billion. Thats a big chuck of budget gone already with like 3 years to go.
 
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Bryank75

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I see a lot of doom around PC from games. PC ports of their games will 100% continue, could be day 1 or timed. The only platform that will miss out going forward is Xbox...
I see a few different angles.

Either they want to drive PlayStation growth as a console.... Seems the least likely now.

Or they see the challenges on pc with low sales and PSN backlash and want to wield kadokawa like a weapon to blow the doors off that and force people to accept PSN.

Or it's just a company wide expansion in all directions with multiple IPS
 
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peter42O

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All of that to say, using MS & ABK (or MS & Zenimax) to downplay the rumor here is ill-advised. It doesn't work like that with Japanese companies.

The only problem is that this rumor has been "reported" every year since Elden Ring released and it still hasn't happened. If/when it gets officially announced, then okay but until that day, I see it as nothing more than a rumor because acquisitions simply don't get out because it affects shit and could end up screwing up the negotiations. But hey, if Sony gets them, they get them. The only From Software game I have ever played was Bloodborne for about 10 hours and nothing since. This acquisition would do nothing for me personally. MEH.
 

Johnic

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1.8 Trillion yen budget until (or through) 2027 is only around 11 billion dollars USD, which isnt alot to be honest. Say this is 4-5 billion. Thats a big chuck of budget gone already with like 3 years to go.
That budget can fluctuate. It can be changed tomorrow, if they need it.
 
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Kokoloko

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This isn't the stop. This is just the beginning. Wait until PlayStation gets their phase for doing M+A moves. Totoki has accented that he wants to acquire IPs for entertainment and gaming more than several times. Current rumours say Falcom, JP GAMES and NeoWiz. This three in 2025 and Sony is bsck im the game.

JP GAMES as in the card games? Nihon Falcon would be fantastic.

They’re not gonna go for something like Square, Sega, Konami ip etc. I’d wish. But Kadokawa and something like Nihon Falcon/Level 5 would be the best thing they can afford and would do.
 

Dabaus

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I feel like SE seems like an obvious choice for them. Wonder if the new CEO's multiplatfrom push has given them pause? Or hes pushing so strong because a deal fell through?
 
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