Sony's future and possible studio/publisher acquisitions

[Dabaus]

Is it true that in one of Sonys most recent financials that they still have 10 billion dollars to announce what they’re spending it on? I remember that being a thing.

 

[Yurinka]

Is it true that in one of Sonys most recent financials that they still have 10 billion dollars to announce what they’re spending it on? I remember that being a thing.

No, they had under $10B but later they revised it and increased it a handful months ago to $30B

 

[ksdixon]

No, they had under $10B but later they revised it and increased it a handful months ago to $30B

Is all of that 30B specifically for spending on game assets? Marketing/Acquisitions. Or is that amout shared with the rest of Sony?

 

[Dabaus]

Is all of that 30B specifically for spending on game assets? Marketing/Acquisitions. Or is that amout shared with the rest of Sony?

All of Sony but they really cant do much in the music industry because they already have much market share and there are not alot of independent movie studios to acquire that would be that expensive. Maybe the sensors and imaging department gets a good portion of it. What im trying to say is sonys kind of limited on where they can spend the money so gaming and imaging and sensors will probably get the bulk of it, I assume lol.

 

[Eternal_Wings]

All of Sony but they really cant do much in the music industry because they already have much market share and there are not alot of independent movie studios to acquire that would be that expensive. Maybe the sensors and imaging department gets a good portion of it. What im trying to say is sonys kind of limited on where they can spend the money so gaming and imaging and sensors will probably get the bulk of it, I assume lol.

SIE is their biggest cow. I could see SIE get’s half of the budget. This a budget calculated for 3 years. But even if they would need more, they could easily sell stocks or getting a credit to do so. As I said before I think Sony will do one big purchase in Japan, which is imo Square Enix. And then buying smaller fishes: Arc System, Arrow Head, Deviation Games etc.

 

[Alabtrosmyster]

Sony is dead, their consoles are too expensive, their games are too expensive, they don't allow Gamepass on PS systems, the list goes on and on, the company is a zombie.

 

[Shmunter]

Sony is dead, their consoles are too expensive, their games are too expensive, they don't allow Gamepass on PS systems, the list goes on and on, the company is a zombie.

 

[Yurinka]

Is all of that 30B specifically for spending on game assets? Marketing/Acquisitions. Or is that amout shared with the rest of Sony?

$30B for the whole Sony, not only gaming. It's the same budget of the 'under $10B': for acquisitions, investments and Sony stocks repurchases. Not marketing.

They didn't specify which part will be spent on acquisitions, and which part will be spent in gaming. Pretty likely because they exactly don't know it since some negotiations can take longer than expected, other ones can stop for many reasons and other ones still didn't even start or maybe have a part for potential opportunities that may arise.

As reference, in the past they spent around 40% of it in gaming. In the future can be a similar number or not, nobody knows it. Probably even themselves don't know it.

 

[Kokoloko]

They don't allow Gamepass on PS systems.

Im sure Playstation or Nintendo won’t mind a 1st party version of gamepass on their systems lol

 

[Yurinka]

Sony is dead, their consoles are too expensive, their games are too expensive, they don't allow Gamepass on PS systems, the list goes on and on, the company is a zombie.

Facts say Sony is more successful than they or any other console maker ever has been. That their consoles have the biggest userbase and are the ones that sell more games. That their exclusives sell more than ever have been. That even the Xbox and PS5 $70 AAA games are cheaper than in any other previous generation when adjusting prices with inflation. That PS Plus is twice as big as GP and that since doesn't need to sacrifice millions of games sales or to moneyhat people to put their games there day one it's way more profitable business. That Sony is the console market leader, which means players support it more than the other ones.

 

[Kokoloko]

$30B for the whole Sony, not only gaming. It's the same budget of the 'under $10B': for acquisitions, investments and Sony stocks repurchases. Not marketing.

They didn't specify which part will be spent on acquisitions, and which part will be spent in gaming. Pretty likely because they exactly don't know it since some negotiations can take longer than expected, other ones can stop for many reasons and other ones still didn't even start or maybe have a part for potential opportunities that may arise.

As reference, in the past they spent around 40% of it in gaming. In the future can be a similar number or not, nobody knows it. Probably even themselves don't know it.

Hmmm, they can do alot with 10-15billion. Lets hope they get a move on with it.

Theres some IP’s, studios and publishers worth investing in so they stay on Playstation consoles etc. Before someone else buys them and makes them exclusive to their platform

 

[alphachino]

Sony are gradually investing more into the PC space, with the ports of all of their most successful franchises. Sony have recently showed that they are beginning to invest in the PC peripherals space too with the InZone range of monitors and gaming headsets. There is evidence that they are working on their own PC launcher. Their consoles since the PS4 are X86-based, which makes them more like PCs than ever before. Then we have the Steam Deck, probably the most console-like PC ever to have existed.

Sony don't have a finger in the gaming handheld pie anymore. Within a few years, I can see them trying to purchase Valve. I'd argue that they should try to do it now if it's at all possible.

According to Bloomberg in May of 2022, Valve are valued at approx. $7.7 Billion which seems absolutely reasonable considering the price of the acquisitions of Bethesda, Bungie and Activision and could easily fit into the rumored $30 Billion budget Sony have remaining for acquisitions and mergers.

Of course, Valve would have to want to sell, and I personally doubt it could be bought for less than $12-15B, but it would be an amazing acquisition.

I've seen this potential acquisition/merger of Sony + Valve mentioned in other places before, but it really makes so much sense to me if it could be pulled off. PlayStation + Valve seem like a very good fit with not a huge amount of overlap, but massive amounts of complimentary attributes between both sides.

For example, they could combine their R&D in VR and solidify themselves as the primary VR platform.
Sony could provide unlimited developer resources to finally get Half-Life 3 out the door and maybe Portal 3 too.
Valve would have their "Steam Machine" in the form of the fucking PlayStation.
Sony wouldn't have to develop their own PC launcher at all because they'd have fucking STEAM.
Sony would have what is touted as the best handheld gaming machine in existence in the Steam Deck and be back in the handheld business, but this time with a strategy that is actually sustainable.
Competition watchdogs probably wouldn't have any issues with this merger due to both companies being in different markets.

I really love Steam, my Steam Deck and Portal is my favourite game of all time, but PlayStation is really my first love. However, the completely closed nature of PlayStation and consoles in general has made my passion for PlayStation and consoles wane over the last couple of years and I am now primarily a PC gamer. I still have a Switch, and PS5, but the open nature of PC, (not to mention cheaper games) has really drawn me toward the PC platform and I don't see myself ever going back.

Does anyone else think an acquisition of Valve is remotely possible and would it even make sense if it were to happen?

or are the business models of Valve, with their open-source, Linux-based foundation, and Sony's proprietary ecosystem too diametrically opposed to ever be a good fit and be doomed to failure?

Also, what are the chances of Gaben ever selling to Sony?

 

[Kokoloko]

Also, what are the chances of Gaben ever selling to Sony?

1%
Gabe will sell it all to MS in the future. Bookmark this lol

 

[Yurinka]

According to Bloomberg in May of 2022, Valve are valued at approx. $7.7 Billion which seems absolutely reasonable

This guess doesn't make sense at all, it's totally wrong.

Steam generates way more than that per year and has a market share of above 80% of the PC market, which generates $35-40B/year according to Newzoo. Let's say it's $37.5B, that Steam has a 80% market share of PC gaming and that Valve gets a 30% of the Steam revenue. This would mean Valve gets around $9B/year from Steam.

Plus they have their game IPs and game projects that also make money, their VR stuff and their Steamdeck stuff. The value of acquiring Valve would be like the Activision Blizzard one or above it.

Does anyone else think an acquisition of Valve is remotely possible and would it even make sense if it were to happen?

Gaben said he doesn't want to sell and wants to keep independent. As people like Bungie, Double Fine, Ninja Theory or Activision said before they sold their companies. He specially hates MS.

But Gabe is 59 years old and I assume some day may want to retire so maybe he sells it before retiring.

 

[Eternal_Wings]

@Dabaus
I made a pie chart, which correlates the shareholders between Sony and Square Enix. This so far unique, first time I saw two companies sharing the majority of shareholders.

 

[Bryank75]

@Dabaus
I made a pie chart, which correlates the shareholders between Sony and Square Enix. This so far unique, first time I saw two companies sharing the majority of shareholders.

Now look at MSFT and Activision

 

[IntentionalPun]

@Eternal_Wings : I don't know why you think that is so significant... big banks are the top investors in just about any company. I don't know why you think these companies would automatically take some stock transaction all at once, or why that would even be a situation where Sony would somehow own Square. That's like 25% of the ownership of Square... not enough to take over the company.

Also you making pie charts that don't add up to 100% is breaking my brain.

 

[Eternal_Wings]

@Eternal_Wings : I don't know why you think that is so significant... big banks are the top investors in just about any company. I don't know why you think these companies would automatically take some stock transaction all at once, or why that would even be a situation where Sony would somehow own Square. That's like 25% of the ownership of Square... not enough to take over the company.

Also you making pie charts that don't add up to 100% is breaking my brain.

I didn’t say it’s key factor, but it will definitely make the acquisition much less complicated for Sony. There is a history of hints and statements which will lead to this acquisition. Just wait until November 2022^^

 

[IntentionalPun]

I didn’t say it’s key factor, but it will definitely make the acquisition much less complicated for Sony. There is a history of hints and statements which will lead to this acquisition. Just wait until November 2022^^

Explain why though?

What does these companies owning lots of Sony stock already somehow mean they'd have some easier time buying Square? Why would they be more likely to sell, and why would they somehow want a stock trade more than anyone else selling?

Honestly curious because I'm not seeing the logic here.

 

[SSfox]

Sony is dead, their consoles are too expensive, their games are too expensive, they don't allow Gamepass on PS systems, the list goes on and on, the company is a zombie.

The day they allow Gamepass is the day i sell my Playstation.