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[Draugoth]

Trademark Status & Document Retrieval

https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase

https://tsdr.uspto.gov/caseviewer/assignments?caseId=88473317&docIndex=0&searchprefix=sn#docIndex=0

 

[Danjin44]

I thought that was always the case, didn't FROM themselves publish most of their games in Japan?

 

[LectureMaster]

 

[nial]

I thought that was always the case, didn't FROM themselves publish most of their games in Japan?

Yeah, weird case. Maybe that was part of their deal?

 

[semiconscious]

umbasa!...

 

[bender]

Good guy Sony and good guy Tencent walk into a bar with an Elden Ring under their arm....

 

[NikuNashi]

I thought that was always the case, didn't FROM themselves publish most of their games in Japan?

Isnt it Bandai Namco?

 

[a multicultural team of v]

Would really be interested to know just how much the ownership of an IP selling 20 million costs.

 

[Danjin44]

Isnt it Bandai Namco?

Bandai Namco publish their games for west like Activion did for Sekiro but FROM themselves publish their games in Japan.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

If this isn't a sign that Sony is going to buyout Kadokawa/FromSoftware, I don't know what is. We'll see if they're going to buy Dark Souls as well.

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

I thought that was always the case, didn't FROM themselves publish most of their games in Japan?

Yup! They needed Bandai Namco, respectively Activision to help them publish outside of Japan.

Now that they have investment from both Sony and Tencent they'll begin to self publish in every region.

The company plans to use the funds raised (36.4 billion yen or $262 million) to strengthen its relationship with Sony, create new IP and expand its ability to publish globally.

Sony and Tencent now own almost a third of ‘Elden Ring’ studio FromSoftware

Sony has joined forces with Tencent to purchase a 30.33 percent share of FromSoftware, the developer behind titles like Elden Ring and Dark Souls 3.

www.engadget.com

 

[skneogaf]

Bloodborne remake confirmed

 

[Euler007]

If this isn't a sign that Sony is going to buyout Kadokawa/FromSoftware, I don't know what is. We'll see if they're going to buy Dark Souls as well.

If this is what it takes to get Bloodborne at 60fps, do it.

 

[Luigi Mario]

Isn't it Bandai Namco?

In the West and sometimes other Asian markets, just like Activision for Sekiro.
Most of From Software’s output is self-published in Japan.

 

[killatopak]

 

[Fake]

To the DLC please.

 

[Portugeezer]

Quick Phil, buy Elden Ring!

 

[Alexios]

Tencent & Sony bought additional shares (total ~16% & ~14% respectively) in 2022, why would they have much to do with it vs From Software itself asking/buying it/having a previous agreement with Bamco regardless of who the last investors wanting to benefit more from their great success are?

 

[Hudo]

Well, if Tencent and Sony are about to go on a bidding war to buy From/Kodokawa, then Tencent is more likely to win that. So let's hope that no one buys them so that they're able to do whatever the fuck they want.

 

[Codes 208]

Bloodborne remake confirmed

Bloodborne remake debunked! Knack 2 PC port instead!

 

[Thief1987]

They

If this is what it takes to get Bloodborne at 60fps, do it.

They don't need fromsoftware for this.

 

[near]

Bandai Namco publish their games for west like Activion did for Sekiro but FROM themselves publish their games in Japan.

Their publishing agreements haven't really been indicative of any sort of ownership of the IPs that they've worked on. Bandai Namco hold the rights to Dark Souls, while FromSoftware hold the rights to Sekiro. I've always been under the impression that Elden Ring was a co-ownership between Bandai Namco and FromSoftware, and perhaps that was the case up until now. You can normally tell based on the copyright on the title screen of their games, or at the bottom of the website homepage, without having to look it up on trademark/copyright database.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Well, if Tencent and Sony are about to go on a bidding war to buy From/Kodokawa, then Tencent is more likely to win that. So let's hope that no one buys them so that they're able to do whatever the fuck they want.

It's not always who has the most money. There are a lot of reasons you wouldn't want to be bought out by Tencent especially.

 

[Hudo]

It's not always who has the most money. There are a lot of reasons you wouldn't want to be bought out by Tencent especially.

Sure. But there are also a lot of reasons why one wouldn't want to be bought out by Sony as well. Both Tencent and Sony have their upsides and downsides, depending on the path of business growth you aim for.

 

[Mr Moose]

Well, if Tencent and Sony are about to go on a bidding war to buy From/Kodokawa, then Tencent is more likely to win that. So let's hope that no one buys them so that they're able to do whatever the fuck they want.

Are From/their owner company on the protected list? Can a Chinese company own more than 10% of them?

 

[Slimboy Fat]

It's not the Elden Ring IP that is valuable. Nor is it George RR Martin's "writing" (lol). From Software has increasing success because they are legitimately one of, if not the, best game developer of all time. They should have more confidence in themselves without letting it go to their head.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Sure. But there are also a lot of reasons why one wouldn't want to be bought out by Sony as well. Both Tencent and Sony have their upsides and downsides, depending on the path of business growth you aim for.

Most studios flourish under Sony. With game development continuing to become more and more expensive, there's a lot of risk there for studios like FromSoftware and thus for Kadokawa. Foreclosing on Xbox isn't really a problem for them either, so Sony is just about as good an option as any other publisher.

If you want to maintain working for a Japanese company and having some level of autonomy, can you tell me a company that could afford Kadokawa/FromSoftware that makes sense?

It would have been Namco Bandai if anyone, and this move suggests it isn't going to be them.

 

[Gideon]

Nice, hopefully dlc comes out this month! ( it won't )

 

[near]

It's not the Elden Ring IP that is valuable. Nor is it George RR Martin's "writing" (lol). From Software has increasing success because they are legitimately one of, if not the, best game developer of all time. They should have more confidence in themselves without letting it go to their head.

You wouldn't be saying that if you played their games pre-Demon's Souls. They produced wank jank that was borderline taking the piss. They had a lot of cool ideas though.

 

[Slimboy Fat]

You wouldn't be saying that if you played their games pre-Demon's Souls. They produced wank jank that was borderline taking the piss. They had a lot of cool ideas though.

Ok but that was more than a decade ago their games have improved with every new release since then (except perhaps DS2)

 

[Hudo]

Are From/their owner company on the protected list? Can a Chinese company own more than 10% of them?

I dunno. Probably not? I don't even think Square Enix are on the protected list and they are usually the ones getting the license for Dragon Quest games (and bankrolling their development).

 

[Hudo]

You wouldn't be saying that if you played their games pre-Demon's Souls. They produced wank jank that was borderline taking the piss. They had a lot of cool ideas though.

Fun fact: Shuhei Yoshida thought that Demon's Souls was trash and didn't want to bring it over at first.

 

[Luigi Mario]

You wouldn't be saying that if you played their games pre-Demon's Souls. They produced wank jank that was borderline taking the piss. They had a lot of cool ideas though.

Otogi slander will not be tolerated.

 

[Mr Moose]

I dunno. Probably not? I don't even think Square Enix are on the protected list and they are usually the ones getting the license for Dragon Quest games (and bankrolling their development).

Yup, looks like they aren't.

https://ssl4.eir-parts.net/doc/9468/ir_material7/189997/00.pdf

KADOKAWA CORPORATION 69.66%
Sixjoy Hong Kong Limited 16.25%
Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. 14.09

 

[Hudo]

Most studios flourish under Sony. With game development continuing to become more and more expensive, there's a lot of risk there for studios like FromSoftware and thus for Kadokawa. Foreclosing on Xbox isn't really a problem for them either, so Sony is just about as good an option as any other publisher.

If you want to maintain working for a Japanese company and having some level of autonomy, can you tell me a company that could afford Kadokawa/FromSoftware that makes sense?

It would have been Namco Bandai if anyone, and this move suggests it isn't going to be them.

I think with how Kadokawa are going right now, they don't really look at selling to anyone. Ideally, they'd want to get up into the big leagues themselves.

 

[near]

Ok but that was more than a decade ago their games have improved with every new release since then (except perhaps DS2)

Most of their portfolio is from that period. I agree they have improved substantially, but I won't forget the games that came before the success. lol

 

[SEGAvangelist]

Thank you, China. Can you leave us alone now?

 

[Mibu no ookami]

I think with how Kadokawa are going right now, they don't really look at selling to anyone. Ideally, they'd want to get up into the big leagues themselves.

That's easier said than done.

 

[near]

Most studios flourish under Sony. With game development continuing to become more and more expensive, there's a lot of risk there for studios like FromSoftware and thus for Kadokawa. Foreclosing on Xbox isn't really a problem for them either, so Sony is just about as good an option as any other publisher.

You are aware that Sony literally sent vanilla Demon's Souls to die when they lost all confidence in the game and opted out of publishing it outside of Japan? We probably wouldn't even have Dark Souls today if Sony owned FromSoftware back then. Sony kill studios and they also kill creativity. Yeah, sure, they've produced commercial studios, but they're definitely no saving grace.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

You are aware that Sony literally sent vanilla Demon's Souls to die when they lost all confidence in the game and opted out of publishing it outside of Japan? We probably wouldn't even have Dark Souls today if Sony owned FromSoftware back then. Sony kill studios and they also kill creativity. Yeah, sure, they've produced commercial studios, but they're definitely no saving grace.

You realize that Sony also published Bloodborne right? And Deracine?

Sony kills studios that are failing, but their successful studios thrive.

 

[near]

You realize that Sony also published Bloodborne right? And Deracine?

Sony kills studios that are failing, but their successful studios thrive.

Post Dark Souls success. They gave up on an IP produced by their very own Japan Studio, and decided not to publish it worldwide. It became a cult classic, got picked up by Bandai Namco and Atlus which then paved the way for Dark Souls to be created. The point being, "Most studios flourish under Sony." is probably the worst form of reasoning to support Sony purchasing FromSoftware. In fact, it is a bit absurd considering their initial history.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Post Dark Souls success. They gave up on an IP produced by their very own Japan Studio, and decided not to publish it worldwide. It became a cult classic, got picked up by Bandai Namco and Atlus which then paved the way for Dark Souls to be created. The point being, "Most studios flourish under Sony." is probably the worst form of reasoning to support Sony purchasing FromSoftware. In fact, it is a bit absurd considering their initial history.

Their relationship is still really strong was my point, a point you obviously want to ignore because you have an agenda. It seems you have hurt feelings, but clearly FromSoftware doesn't.

 

[near]

Their relationship is still really strong was my point, a point you obviously want to ignore because you have an agenda. It seems you have hurt feelings, but clearly FromSoftware doesn't.

An ad hominem response. How is their relationship still strong? You mean as a publisher/developer relationship? That died with Japan Studio when the core producers for Demon's Souls, Bloodborne, and Deracine got booted.

 

[Kurotri]

Any win for From is a win for gaming.

 

[GermanZepp]

Ohhhh 3lden riiiing

 

[Mibu no ookami]

An ad hominem response. How is their relationship still strong? You mean as a publisher/developer relationship? That died with Japan Studio when the core producers for Demon's Souls, Bloodborne, and Deracine got booted.

Another assumption.

Xdev still exists, Shuhei is still there and is still close to the people at FromSoftware.

I love how people try to create their own little narrative based on no facts.

FromSoftware was just praised in a developer blog on the Sony site earlier last year.

 

[NeverYouMind]

Ok but that was more than a decade ago their games have improved with every new release since then (except perhaps DS2)

Dark Souls 2 had over a hundred improvements from Dark Souls 1. In fact, Dark Souls 3 went backwards in many categories.

 

[GrayChild]

Praise the sun!

Still, I kinda feel a bit sad for Namco Bandai, as their golden goose has slipped away. If not else, they kinda "saved" the genre by releasing Demon's Souls along with Atlus after Sony threw them under the bus.

 

[Dorago]

Is this why they haven't released the damn DLC yet?

Was having Neo-Namcot your boss man that bad?

 

[near]

Xdev still exists, Shuhei is still there and is still close to the people at FromSoftware.

So Sony's relationship with FromSoftware is strong because they have Shuhei Yoshida, the head of indie development, and XDev who have never worked with FromSoftware. This makes so much sense! Sony should buy FromSoftware so they can flourish! lololol

I love how people try to create their own little narrative based on no facts.

To be honest, I thought we were going to have a reasonable discussion. But it turns out I was creating better counterarguments to myself than you have here.