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Microsoft Expresses Interest in Acquiring Warner Game Unit
- Thread starter haxan7
- Start date
JLB
Banned
Ill never understand that logic. I mean, I understand that you may not be interest on GP at all, but why to impose that to the whole community?
Im pretty sure that millons of playstation users would be more than interested to pay 10 bucks a month to get a 170+ full games library.
I'd love to play Halo and Forza with my PS only friends. And I can care less of exclusivity.
JLB
Banned
I think I completely misunderstood your message. I thought that when you said "As a Sony fan I hope this doesn't happen." you were referring to the case of GP on PS ecosystem.
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Genx3
Member
Which will mean that ATT will likely have to include the IP's with the Dev Studios in order to increase the value of the sale.
They could make 1 big deal including the IP or a bunch of smaller deals taking much longer.
Who knows how long it'll be before they get paid on those deals?
It would be a smart business decision to include the IP's if for example it means getting $4 billion up front vs $1 or $2 billion and waiting years before they license out their IP.
01011001
Banned
again, like I said, Warframe is currently in a phase where literally the whole game is getting pretty much remade and remastered, this is so it is more future proof.
This game is going nowhere, and if Sony would shut it down/stop supporting it, even if it would be 3 years from now, the Playerbase would be furious.
buying that Studio also means buying the responsibility to support this game indefinitely, on 4 systems already, which will grow to 6 systems once the next generation releases.
and Digital Extremes would actually meed more personnel in order to properly support the game, they already seem to be extremely overwhelmed with the work they're doing. so that studio would be useless for Sony other than creating some income through Warframe's monetisation.
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GlassAwful
Member
If MS were to get them, I think this would be an improvement in management over WB. So in that way I would see this transition as a positive, though maybe not for Sony only players.
If MS were to retain the employees it would be a huge boon to their first party to finally rival Sony's. Rocksteady, Monolith, Netherrealm, WB montreal, Avalanche, Mortal Kombat IP, other studios... that's quite an improvement over their current studios.
If MS were to retain the employees it would be a huge boon to their first party to finally rival Sony's. Rocksteady, Monolith, Netherrealm, WB montreal, Avalanche, Mortal Kombat IP, other studios... that's quite an improvement over their current studios.
oldergamer
Member
i called this. it does hinge on a extended DC universe license.
theclaw135
Banned
*sob* No One Lives Forever is entangled between WB and Disney. Activision I think. *sob*
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01011001
Banned
if someone would actually want to make a new one, the issues with this IP would have been solved by now.
I think the reality is that until now, noone actually was in any way seriously interested in bringing it back.
Microsoft might be that one to finally revive it, but honestly... they already have an IP that's very similar (Perfect Dark) so I don't see this IP to ever really resurface... I just think noone thinks it would have a serious draw
theclaw135
Banned
Huh, Monolith might not be a bad fit for Perfect Dark. They did work on Tron 2.0.
oldergamer
Member
Exactly. If warners parent company wants to make money back, selling a license to WB properties with the studio making the best games using those properties, is a damn fine idea. Not only that but Ms could offer them a deal for video content too.
Genx3
Member
It absolutely can happen. WB Games is actually up for bidding. EA never was.
MS so far has the most purchasing power out of any of the companies that have shown interest.
$4 billion will help with tax write offs for MS. No big deal for them.
Which will all be available on PlayStation with the exception of stuff Like Halo that I don’t play so ... yea, still wouldn’t buy an Xbox for one game.
Please don't throw the "MS war chest" crap at me. You people think MS actually has unlimited spending money. Most of a corporations capital is not available to freely spend.
EA wasn't up for bidding but the rumor was MS wanted to buy them. Point is these things don't always come to fruition.
MS is not spending 4 billion on WB.
Genx3
Member
Coin toss on whether your right or wrong.
MS can absolutely spend $4 billion on WB just like they spent $2 billion on just Mine Craft.
Will they do it? No one outside of MS knows.
bitbydeath
Member
If this means the death of lego games then I’m all for it.
eastwood333
Banned
Playgrounds new Fable is going to be on PS?
Obsidians new AAA rpg is going to be on PS?
Hellblade2 is going to be on PS?
Forza is going to be on PS?
The Initiatives new game will be on PS?
Everwild is going to be on PS?
InXile's new AAA game is going to be PS?
The point i'm getting at is Xbox has a lot of studios and games announced and unannounced that will be released through out the entire generation beside Halo.
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Bryank75
Banned
The thing that really annoys me is that people are saying 'oh yeah, EA and Activision are loaded...they could easily buy WB'
They actually only have about 5 billion each in cash on hand, this would nearly wipe out their cash, it would completely empty TakeTwo who only have 2.5
Yet there are people saying Sony would be tight to buy it..... yeah, okay.... they have nearly 31 Billion in cash on hand. For comparison, Amazon has 43 Billion.
They actually only have about 5 billion each in cash on hand, this would nearly wipe out their cash, it would completely empty TakeTwo who only have 2.5
Yet there are people saying Sony would be tight to buy it..... yeah, okay.... they have nearly 31 Billion in cash on hand. For comparison, Amazon has 43 Billion.
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Under EA or Activision? No thanks.
eastwood333
Banned
Building up studios of the likes of a Rocksteady are highly unlikely. What are they going to do, pouch every key dev from Rocksteady? Studios like that take several years to build and develop culture.
A major deal like this would obviously include some kind of license rights.
Gavon West
Spread's Cheeks for Intrusive Ads
Microsoft literally has 172 billion rainy day money. If they want it, they could have it easily. Just a matter of if they want it.
Gavon West
Spread's Cheeks for Intrusive Ads
Lego, perhaps. But if Batman or MK came with the deal, we would see a HUGE BOON in Gamepass subs. No way they would publish those games for competing platforms if they were to acquire this deal.
4 billion is not 2 billion, there are limits. Mine craft at 2 billion is an easier and better investment since the franchise is basically a household name and multiplatform. Pretty sure MS got their investment back already.
4 billion for WB with no guarantee of keeping all the licenses, and company talent potentially leaving, is not something you go out and buy for your platform. They can show interest but I don’t think it’s going to amount to anything.
Gavon West
Spread's Cheeks for Intrusive Ads
All the studios linked to the deal arent worth 4 billion. Not unless licenses come with the deal.
Gavon West
Spread's Cheeks for Intrusive Ads
Youre trying a little too hard not to see the big picture here, bud. Microsoft absolutely has the money to do a deal like this. If they didnt, they wouldnt be part of the bidding brigade to begin with. They have $172 billion - just sitting on it. You ask me; $172 billion is pretty much unlimited spending money. You couldnt spend that much money in five life times.
If licenses are included with the acquisitions, it would absolutely be worth it. And MS could definitely pay that $4 billion in cash if they needed to. Whats happening now has alot of potential of happening as WB is actually up for bid. This is no rumor. Literally the only reason MS wont get it (if they choose) is if they just simply didnt find it worth the investment once all the details were laid out. But they can do it. No doubt. Easily.
Again, all games that I have no interest in. Not sure if you are picking up what I’m putting down here, but Xbox has never had exclusives suited to my taste. It’s not a knock on Xbox or Microsoft, it’s just a gaming preference. I own an Xbox One (bought for my kid as a Christmas present). She used it to basically watch Netflix so I gave her a fire stick and put the Xbox in my room. Had a free month of game pass, tried the Halos and Gears of War and other Microsoft first party games and the on game I fell in love with on game pass is a game that is on switch and playstation.
I have thousands of dollars wrapped up in my PSN library so I’m not going to be switching to Xbox when the new consoles come out.
so again, Mortal Kombat, my most hyped, loved, fanboy franchise of all time, I will sadly miss out on if it becomes Xbox exclusive, because I won’t buy a console for one game.
Nerd Strangler
Banned
Credit is dirt cheap, anyone can buy anything.
But for 1st parties like Sony and Microsoft the cost equation is completely different assuming they plan to make those those titles exclusive. Because if the question is can you afford to invest 4 billion, the answer is easily yes. But thats not the question facing Sony, the question facing Sony is can you afford to throw $2 billion in the trash? Since they have to pay for future revenue that won't exist. And you gotta be pretty loaded to be willing to throw away $2 billion.
Frankly, I don't even think Microsoft is rich/desperate enough to throw away $2 billion.
Thirty7ven
Banned
Under MS? Ugh no.
Bryank75
Banned
Well there are many considerations.... they could piss off EA, Activision or Take Two by buying WB from under them.
It could also push Disney toward PlayStation more or result in Sony making more aggressive deals and acquisitions.
The purchase itself is of unknown value due to the IP's being an unknown... how long would those IP's be licensed for? etc
Sony also has Spider-man which sells more than Batman
I'd say Netherrealm is the real get there.
Rocksteady is a great studio but the rest are only ok to good.
tryDEATH
Member
WB and Capcom are the only two publishers worth acquiring for the insane IP's. If one of them becomes available you do what ever you can to get your hands on them as this is a once in a generation opportunity.
Having Batman, Superman, and Master Chief as your consoles brand ambassadors would be insane.
I can't even imagine the amount possibilities for games to be pushed with such an extensive IP library, MS could easily have 3 or 4 2nd party studios working on IP's that the 1st party studios can't get to.
Having Batman, Superman, and Master Chief as your consoles brand ambassadors would be insane.
I can't even imagine the amount possibilities for games to be pushed with such an extensive IP library, MS could easily have 3 or 4 2nd party studios working on IP's that the 1st party studios can't get to.
12Dannu123
Member
Sony can't afford to pay 20-30B.
Iced Arcade
Member
Wouldn't be shocked if they came up with a licencing deal for the IPs if they bought the studios. Buy the studios and throw in an additional bill for the licensing of the IPs.
Sony doesn't own spiderman other than movies but they struck a deal with Disney/Marvel to produce Spidey games.
Sony doesn't own spiderman other than movies but they struck a deal with Disney/Marvel to produce Spidey games.
jakinov
Member
They’d get a few IPs from midway (Like gauntlet) and whatever WB created. The deal when first Rumoured also includes a Multi year licensing deal for WB IP which is also itself worth money. Most of the studios aren’t that interesting. But if their strategy is to have a studio or two in every major region this would be a way to do it quickly. But the studios aren’t that great so it’s a risky investment.
Only way I see it happening is if it’s coming from above Xbox. And they do it as an investment and don’t let them force exclusivity.
Xplainin
Banned
I just cant see it happening.
For starters, the value of the company comes from the sales the games get on all platforms. If it becomes exclusive to MS they loose an install base of 100 million PS4 players. Instantly the company has been devalued to 3 Billion from 4 billion.
At at 4 billion, there is way better options.
Sony paid 250 million for Insomniac.
So MS could by 16 studios of Insomniacs quality for the same money.
Imagine the studios they could get in that bundle.
Maybe MS is in the box because a company like Amazon or Google are bidding and MS cant let them get a foothold like that.
For starters, the value of the company comes from the sales the games get on all platforms. If it becomes exclusive to MS they loose an install base of 100 million PS4 players. Instantly the company has been devalued to 3 Billion from 4 billion.
At at 4 billion, there is way better options.
Sony paid 250 million for Insomniac.
So MS could by 16 studios of Insomniacs quality for the same money.
Imagine the studios they could get in that bundle.
Maybe MS is in the box because a company like Amazon or Google are bidding and MS cant let them get a foothold like that.
Fulcizombie
Banned
It is actually a great deal, even without the IPs. You get a ton of great studios and gamepass instantly becomes the Netflix of gaming, just like that. And no it wouldn’t be cheaper to start 10-12 studios and «hire the talent», the WB studios are already set and ready to develop games. This acquisition is perfect for MS’ plans.
Fulcizombie
Banned
The 100 million PlayStation users, which are actually less because we are talking about exclusive PlayStation users (PlayStation users without a pc or an Xbox) is a drop in the ocean compared to the audience MS is aiming at and they would lose very little without these users. Oh and there aren’t 16 studios like Insomniac independent right now anyway, nevermind that I am sure that MS will cut a deal with WB for some valuable IPs as will any potential buyer.
French Major X
Neophyte
Without the licenses Warner is not worth buying
the real question Warner can he really give up selling with are deficit
By imposing barriers to sales
I don't think he is in a position to impose anything
i think microsoft will do its best
I even think that the agreement is already signed
the real question Warner can he really give up selling with are deficit
By imposing barriers to sales
I don't think he is in a position to impose anything
i think microsoft will do its best
I even think that the agreement is already signed
SentientStone
Member
Oh, they don't get the IPs?
Then forget it. I thought this would be the perfect counter to Sony's Spider-man.
AnotherDayAnotherDollar
Banned
Assuming they keep the license, which there's no reason to believe they wouldn't. MS would be wise to throw a shitload of money at it to make a lot of DC based games. Heck they could even license stuff from Marvel for a DC v Marvel multiverse game.
At the same time, I feel like Sony would have to keep moneyhatting Marvel to not only extend the SM game license (which they do not own unlike the movie license) but also get other Marvel IP licenses for the AAA treatment.
Microsoft buying WB's game division would be the best option for gamers.
massivekettle
Member
You don't need to make an acquisition using cash on hand. Given how low interest rates are right now, I'd argue raising debt is by far a better option.
fermcr
Member
I completely disagree with you. A studio without the IP's isn't worth much. Let's say Microsoft pays $4 billion for Warner studios and the talent decides to leave after that (It's happened before when Microsoft purchased Rare)... Microsoft would keep the studios without the talent, without the IP's, and a $4 billion bill to pay... Is it worth it? In my opinion, absolutely NOT.
Talent comes and goes... but the IP's stay.
A few years ago Microsoft purchased Mojang Studios for $2.5 billion because of the Minecraft IP, not because of the talent in the studio.
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VulcanRaven
Member
I hope not because I would like to play the future Batman games on Playstation.
SaucyJack
Member
Folks need to step back a bit. There's not really any credible intelligence in the business media that suggests that Microsoft are interested, it sounds like forum talk picked up by gaming websites. Of course Microsoft could easily afford it, so could Sony btw, but that doesn't mean it's going to happen.
Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment (the gaming division) is a subsidiary of WarnerMedia which is itself owned by AT&T. AT&T are reported (original report by CNBC) to be seeking a $4 billion sale of this division. The reason for this sale is the debt taken on from the TimeWarner acquisition and a need to reduce that given the current financial climate. The CNBC names Activision, EA, T2 and Ubisoft as being in discussions.
WBIE has 11 subsidiaries, some of which are multiple studios:
From a Xbox/PlayStation perspective this acquisition would basically double the size of their first party studios (and bear in mind that Xbox has basically doubled already in the last couple of years) and that in itself would pretty transformative and there would be many management and logistical issues involved. If either party were to do this then they would really have to keep it as an independent multi-platform publisher or the economics of the deal would be fucked.
At $4 billion it's a big pill to swallow and the pool of potential buyers for such a huge acquisition is understandably small. I think they'll spend a couple of years not getting very far with this and then follow a far more logical course of action IMHO would be for AT&T to sell off the studios individually and gradually wind down WBIE. The pool of buyers for individual studios would be much larger and increase their chances of getting a good price.
Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment (the gaming division) is a subsidiary of WarnerMedia which is itself owned by AT&T. AT&T are reported (original report by CNBC) to be seeking a $4 billion sale of this division. The reason for this sale is the debt taken on from the TimeWarner acquisition and a need to reduce that given the current financial climate. The CNBC names Activision, EA, T2 and Ubisoft as being in discussions.
WBIE has 11 subsidiaries, some of which are multiple studios:
- Avalanche Software
- Monolith Productions
- NetherRealm Studios
- Portkey Games
- Rocksteady Studios
- TT Games
- WB Games Boston
- WB Games Montréal
- WB Games New York
- WB Games San Diego
- WB Games San Francisco
From a Xbox/PlayStation perspective this acquisition would basically double the size of their first party studios (and bear in mind that Xbox has basically doubled already in the last couple of years) and that in itself would pretty transformative and there would be many management and logistical issues involved. If either party were to do this then they would really have to keep it as an independent multi-platform publisher or the economics of the deal would be fucked.
At $4 billion it's a big pill to swallow and the pool of potential buyers for such a huge acquisition is understandably small. I think they'll spend a couple of years not getting very far with this and then follow a far more logical course of action IMHO would be for AT&T to sell off the studios individually and gradually wind down WBIE. The pool of buyers for individual studios would be much larger and increase their chances of getting a good price.
prinz_valium
Member
As a Microsoft shareholder I do not like this at all.
Not for $4bn. $2bn and an all licensing IPs would be okay, tho.
Not for $4bn. $2bn and an all licensing IPs would be okay, tho.
Fulcizombie
Banned
Rare made multi-million selling games after MS bought them, whether it is the Kinect games or SoT. Talent «comes and goes» in every studio (just look how many people from Sony Santa Monica have gone to the initiative) but buying so many studios with ready infrastructures and ready to develop games is a big boost for a company that wants to create the netflix of gaming. Going by that logic why pay 300 million for a studio whose only big success was a licensed game ? (Insomniac)
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