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[ArcaneNLSC]

HYPOTHETICAL Question/Scenario

The reason I propose this question is they seem like a triple threat studio from developing:

• Animated movies/shorts
• CG visuals for movies
• Video Games

This studio could produce more than just video games but also use their abilities in other departments Sony has investment in to bolster their portfolio.

Seems like it could be a smart investment given their potential range and scope of abilities and not just be a small 1 trick pony. This studio could produce more than just video games but also use their abilities in other departments Sony has investment in

During Sony's recent shareholder documents it stated it was interested in and I quote:

Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) continues to invest in, or acquire, firms with abundant creativity and cutting-edge technologies to build up Worldwide Studios (WWS), an association of first-party title production studios.

A few videos of Ember Lab's work

Hisense 4K ULED at CES 2015 | emberlab

www.emberlab.com

Dust | emberlab

www.emberlab.com

 

[Yoboman]

Who says they want to be bought?

 

[Matsuchezz]

Let us wait for the final product to be released before jumping into Crazy talk.

 

[BattleScar]

They don't really need to.
Sony have enough financial muscle and allure in the gaming industry to build any studio it likes.

 

[bender]

Blue Point is the only studio I'd be interested in Sony acquiring apart from the pipe dream of From Software. Blue Point works well with Sony IP and maybe they could help Sony develop a backward compatibility solution that catches up to what Microsoft has been offering.

 

[ArcaneNLSC]

Who says they want to be bought?

This is just a hypothetical

Let us wait for the final product to be released before jumping into Crazy talk.

And yes I agree I do think it could depend on the results of Kena which is why I state if it is a success

I think Ember Lab is an interesting option and could work with Sony for:

• Gaming as a small world wide studio on new era crash, spyro, rachet and that type games
• Sony Animation studios for either small animated shorts like Hair Day or big features like Spider-Man in to the multi-verse type films given these guys are Pixar quality animators
• Sony Pictures as a VFX team

 

[Danjin44]

I'm highly excited for Kena but I need Sony to bring out more first party Japanese games.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

No.

Sony has a multiplayer hole in their portfolio. They don't need more linear cinematic games like Kena.

 

[bender]

I'm highly excited for Kena but I need Sony to bring out more first party Japanese games.

Relax, Everybody's Golf is coming.

 

[Oddvintagechap]

Blue Point is the only studio I'd be interested in Sony acquiring apart from the pipe dream of From Software. Blue Point works well with Sony IP and maybe they could help Sony develop a backward compatibility solution that catches up to what Microsoft has been offering.

This is the most pointless buy. They are literally the perfect 2nd party studio. Any other studio someome mentions in this thread would be a better choice. Just like the WB studios buy would also be a tragic mistake.

 

[Danjin44]

Relax, Everybody's Golf is coming.

If Nintendo can have dedicated studio making JRPG for them like Monolith Soft, so can Sony. I want to see Sony give me first party JRPG like they used to like they did with Dark Could and Folklore.

 

[Slings and Arrows]

Sony should buy Bungie

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Who says they want to be bought?

1st post gets it.

 

[bender]

If Nintendo can have dedicated studio making JRPG for them like Monolith Soft, so can Sony. I want to see Sony give me first party JRPG like they used to like they did with Dark Could and Folklore.

Golf first.

 

[Bryank75]

Yes, they wouldn't cost much. Just offer great salaries and positions to the two main brothers along with a lump sum. Then build a nice team around them.... it would be fantastic. They need a cartoon / Zelda style open-world game with mass appeal.

This would reach all ages with good marketing. As long as Kena delivers first...

Right now, the most essential buy for Sony is a large publisher that significantly changes the gaming landscape... I think Bethesda / Capcom / Kadokawa (From) or Square are good picks. But if they want one smaller studio...this would be ideal.

 

[bender]

This is the most pointless buy. They are literally the perfect 2nd party studio. Any other studio someome mentions in this thread would be a better choice. Just like the WB studios buy would also be a tragic mistake.

Hard disagree. I'm not a fan of studio acquisitions in general, but if you want more pointless look back to the subject of this thread. A tiny studio with no track record making games. I'll take an investment over a lottery ticket.

 

[Aion002]

No.

Sony has a multiplayer hole in their portfolio. They don't need more linear cinematic games like Kena.

Nope.

Sony don't have issues with mp.

The biggest MP games are multi-platform.

Games like Apex, Destiny, Fifa, CoD and Fortnite.

Playstation doesn't need to create competition for third party developers, they need to make different things from those MP games that are already on the console, that has been the Playstation strength since the PS3.

 

[Fuz]

 

[Knitted Knight]

Sony should buy Bungie

The asking price and the management shenanigans would be a problem. Bungie heads have huge egos.

Agree with the OP. With Media Molecule making Dreams and frowning from doing LittleBigPlanet, it's time Sony had a highly creative, relatively small studio creating traditional platformers and games for casuals. Nintendo running away with those casual cash cows.

 

[Slings and Arrows]

The asking price and the management shenanigans would be a problem. Bungie heads have huge egos.

I don't think it would be a problem. Sony seem to be largely hands off, management wise.

Druckman calls the shots at ND
Balrog changed the winning formula of GoW to a Cinematic game. They allowed a spiderman game to be made by their studios, a massive part of the wider Sony brand. Sony trust PlayStation who trust their bands.

Compare that to bungie asking to do a Halo MMO (before they were cool), MS said no, so Bungie made the game without the iconic Halo setting and still made a Billion dollars.

 

[Knitted Knight]

Evan Wells calls the shots at ND
Yumi Yang calls the shot at Santa Monica.

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

If the game is good and the studio isn’t in financial straits, why would gamers want them to be bought?

 

[MrFunSocks]

We going to have these threads every time a third party dev releases a playstation exclusive?

 

[CamHostage]

Ember Lab, I guess they could fit? I'd be careful about using their triple-threat production as a value; in a big corporation, multitaskers rarely get to escape their one desk. So I think for Ember's sake, they're best where they are. But Kena looks fun (super pretty, but I also like some of the play mechanics they've showcased.) I keep seeing the next Jak&Daxter when I see some of what they're doing in Ember (albeit a lot of that is a surface-level reaction on my part,) but then again, I'd be worried that the first thing Sony would think of a new studio acquisition is how to take a creative team and jam them into a pre-existing formula...

I don't know? I've been pretty happy with Sony's ability to build lasting relations with a company without owning them, and Sony is seemingly pretty good on its engine support with Decima as its strongest potential plus probably some Phyre Tools or other support products as well, (and I'm not sure what GoW or TLoU2 or Ghost of Tsushima could be considered as far as engine names but there is sharing across many of the Sony families.) If it were to work out with Ember, I'd see little to complain about for me and my PlayStation systems (and like the OP said, there could be some things they could bring to the team that the big studios aren't focused on right now, although Sony does have small Japanese studios plus Pixelopus in its stable,) but I'm in no rush to see anybody locked down and bought up if things are working fine the way they are.

Blue Point is the only studio I'd be interested in Sony acquiring apart from the pipe dream of From Software. Blue Point works well with Sony IP and maybe they could help Sony develop a backward compatibility solution that catches up to what Microsoft has been offering.

Sorry, but count another against for them buying Bluepoint. Sony has a great, longstanding relationship with them that is allowing them to do first-party quality work with key titles, but Bluepoint is also doing work for other companies that is necessary at the quality and performance level they produce, and they should remain open to other projects if something as compelling as what Sony has been hiring them to do comes along. It's been a win-win situation since 2006, and unless there was a desperate need for Bluepoint to be acquired, I'm good with the way things are.

 

[MrS]

No because they can prolly get away with paying them a relative pittance for console exclusivity. Should focus on bigger fish with proven track records.

 

[bitbydeath]

but Bluepoint is also doing work for other companies that is necessary at the quality and performance level they produce

What have they made in the last 5 or so years that wasn’t on Playstation?

 

[DeltaPolarBear]

No.

Sony has a multiplayer hole in their portfolio. They don't need more linear cinematic games like Kena.

What hole? You mean the multiplayer fps shooter genre, that is so saturated that multiple big budget games have failed in the last few years? Or the MMO genre, which had been saturated for a decade now?

Multiplayer games is NOT an under-served market. If you say you have no new multiplayer games to play on Playstation, I would say you are lying.

 

[GHG]

Whats with the sudden obsession with smaller studios being bought out?

As long as it's financially viable then let these studios be free.

No.

Sony has a multiplayer hole in their portfolio. They don't need more linear cinematic games like Kena.

Well good thing for you 3rd party devs more than fill in the gaping hole that is the GAAS multiplayer "genre".

 

[diffusionx]

Half-Life Alyx was pretty good, Sony should buy Valve. They need some good PSVR2 games.

 

[CamHostage]

What have they made in the last 5 or so years that wasn’t on Playstation?

Bluepoint is only credited on two products that aren't PlayStation titles: MGS HD Collection and TitanFall 360. (I'm not sure if they're the type of studio to take private subcontract work?) So, two great titles there, but no, nothing in the last 5 years.

That said, If they were the studio approached to remaster something like Metroid Prime Trilogy or the Legacy of Kain series, I would like Bluepoint to be the top-tier studio to handle those important projects. And it doesn't seem like Sony is in any rush to get Killzone Mercenary or Uncharted Golden Abyss or Puppeteer back up and out again (Gravity Rush was a rare miracle rescue,) so I'm sure there are possibilities but the perfect project for Bluepoint after Demon's Souls isn't coming to mind....

Bluepoint are credited as "Masters of the Remaster", and even though they are quite picky with who they work with and have strong ties with Sony, it feels like craftsmen of this caliber should have full range of possible projects to pick from.

 

[Kdad]

Do a 3 game deal like they did with That Gaming Company...darlings of the PS3 era....after that we can talk.

 

[Kdad]

Whats with the sudden obsession with smaller studios being bought out?

As long as it's financially viable then let these studios be free.



Well good thing for you 3rd party devs more than fill in the gaping hole that is the GAAS multiplayer "genre".

Dont disagree, and i don't play multiplayer...but SOCOM needs to return.

 

[Illo]

No.

Sony has a multiplayer hole in their portfolio. They don't need more linear cinematic games like Kena.

While I do agree Sony needs more first party multi-player games. With the financial opportunities available to a newly purchased or existing Sony first party studio, whose to say a company that has only released a few linear cinematic games can't make a online multi-player game?

 

[bitbydeath]

Dont disagree, and i don't play multiplayer...but SOCOM needs to return.

I don’t blame Sony for taking a break. Last gen Sony produced some of the best ever shooter games the world has ever seen like:

• Warhawk
• Killzone 2
• Warhawk
• Resistance FoM
• And of course Warhawk
• MAG
• And let’s not forget Warhawk

And they still sold poorly compared to a zero effort COD title.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

What hole? You mean the multiplayer fps shooter genre, that is so saturated that multiple big budget games have failed in the last few years? Or the MMO genre, which had been saturated for a decade now?

Multiplayer games is NOT an under-served market. If you say you have no new multiplayer games to play on Playstation, I would say you are lying.

There's absolutely no way to look at the industry trends over the last five years and reasonably think multiplayer is saturated.

Fortnite, PUBG, Rocket League, Siege etc...all started out with relatively modest budgets compared to The Last of Us II, Witcher III, RDR2 etc...and they all lapped those single player offerings many times over in terms of revenue.

Plus, Sony attracts exactly zero new customers with an Ember Lab aquisition. The gamer that appreciates linear, cinematic, single player games is locked to the PS5 already. Sony attracts an entirely new audience if they get some industry leading multiplayer exclusives up and running.

 

[Rean no Kiseki]

The game's not even out yet!

 

[Elder Legend]

Why would Sony be the ones to buy them? Why wouldn't Microsoft buy them instead and have them make a remake of Conker if Ember Labs proves to ne capable after Kena? Lol the PS bias is insane. Sony already has Insomniac that can make Platformers for them

 

[Bryank75]

Why would Sony be the ones to buy them? Why wouldn't Microsoft buy them instead and have them make a remake of Conker if Ember Labs proves to ne capable after Kena? Lol the PS bias is insane. Sony already has Insomniac that can make Platformers for them

They're making a zelda inspired adventure game...

Since it is PlayStation exclusive, I think people are hoping the game succeeds and that it makes sense to develop the relationship.

 

[ArcaneNLSC]

Why would Sony be the ones to buy them? Why wouldn't Microsoft buy them instead and have them make a remake of Conker if Ember Labs proves to ne capable after Kena? Lol the PS bias is insane. Sony already has Insomniac that can make Platformers for them

Why I thought Sony was because Ember do more than video games and so does Sony with its movie and animation studios, where as Microsoft focus on games and software.

I was looking at a bigger picture than just games here and why I felt this studio was interesting because it could do more than 1 creative thing.

It could be an opportunity now of small risk high reward given they can do multiple fields of work so they could potentially be always working on new a varied projects and not just dumped in to working on the same project like what Microsoft has with a few of their studios.

 

[Warnen]

you should all watch this and see how Sony throws an indie dev under the bus. Just enjoy the game and not try to hype it into the stratosphere. It’s an animations studio’s 1st game.

 

[Dr Bass]

Why would Sony be the ones to buy them? Why wouldn't Microsoft buy them instead and have them make a remake of Conker if Ember Labs proves to ne capable after Kena? Lol the PS bias is insane. Sony already has Insomniac that can make Platformers for them

Uh, because the idea is that they have a successful partnership going, so they would make it permanent. You don't marry a complete stranger after successfully dating someone in which you're actually interested.

 

[Elder Legend]

Uh, because the idea is that they have a successful partnership going, so they would make it permanent. You don't marry a complete stranger after successfully dating someone in which you're actually interested.

If we go by that logic then Microsoft should of bought Insomniac after Sunset Overdirve but its Microsoft so its not allowed. Understood.

 

[Aion002]

If we go by that logic then Microsoft should of bought Insomniac after Sunset Overdirve but its Microsoft so its not allowed. Understood.

Following this logic... Well, Insomniac lived with Sony for quite some time, then decided to see how it was getting on a relationship with someone else... And after one try went running back to Sony and decided to never leave again.

 

[Vawn]

I don't think anyone here could possibly know enough to make an informed business decision on behalf of Sony.

 

[DeltaPolarBear]

There's absolutely no way to look at the industry trends over the last five years and reasonably think multiplayer is saturated.

Fortnite, PUBG, Rocket League, Siege etc...all started out with relatively modest budgets compared to The Last of Us II, Witcher III, RDR2 etc...and they all lapped those single player offerings many times over in terms of revenue.

Plus, Sony attracts exactly zero new customers with an Ember Lab aquisition. The gamer that appreciates linear, cinematic, single player games is locked to the PS5 already. Sony attracts an entirely new audience if they get some industry leading multiplayer exclusives up and running.

Here you go again... Thinking "other people are making so much money, we should try it ourselves too!"
You don't realize that Fortnite, PUBG and Rocket League all pay 30% revenue to Sony, if purchases are made on a Playstation. This is basically FREE MONEY, and the actual reason to own a console platform.

Making a game of their own to competing with these games, basically is a waste of time and is the equivalent of robbing yourself. Sony is getting paid for these games while doing nothing, so any attempt to spend money to compete with them is a losing proposition.

This is actually why Playstation is making more Profit in a Quarter than Xbox makes in Revenue; Sony knows where the money is.

 

[Hunnybun]

I'm not sure about Ember Lab specifically, because beyond a pretty trailer we really have no idea how good Kena will be, but I do think buying up a few smaller, promising, teams could be a good strategy for them.

They'd diversify their exclusives straight away while having the potential to grow them into AAA studios, at a relatively low price.

But then, I never understood why they closed the Cambridge team, because they seemed to produce consistently good games and had the potential to grow. So maybe that's not what they're after.

 

[Orta]

We going to have these threads every time a third party dev releases a playstation exclusive?

More than likely. If there is one thing this place needs, its more PS5 threads.

 

[Bitmap Frogs]

Let us wait for the final product to be released before jumping into Crazy talk.

But muh hype train?!

 

[MMNervous]

They're making a zelda inspired adventure game...

Since it is PlayStation exclusive, I think people are hoping the game succeeds and that it makes sense to develop the relationship.

Releasing on PC too, don't know how that makes it an exclusive

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Here you go again... Thinking "other people are making so much money, we should try it ourselves too!"
You don't realize that Fortnite, PUBG and Rocket League all pay 30% revenue to Sony, if purchases are made on a Playstation. This is basically FREE MONEY, and the actual reason to own a console platform.

Making a game of their own to competing with these games, basically is a waste of time and is the equivalent of robbing yourself. Sony is getting paid for these games while doing nothing, so any attempt to spend money to compete with them is a losing proposition.

This is actually why Playstation is making more Profit in a Quarter than Xbox makes in Revenue; Sony knows where the money is.

You're all over the place here.

Let's get this out of the way first. Sony makes more profit in a quarter than XBox makes in revenue because the XBox division has been grossly mishandled and underfunded since the end of the 360 generation. Suggesting it's due to multiplayer vs single player games philosophy is blatantly dishonest on your part.

As for the rest of your post, I ask you this...

Why did Sony stick a mic in every PS5 players hands?

Why did Sony spin off Factions Mode into a standalone, more ambitious game?

Why is Guerilla Games working on a multiplayer project after Zero Dawn?

Why did Sony restructure leadership to a more global focus from it's more Japanese oriented beginning?

Sony is about strengthening it's brand. Buying up a studio making another linear, cinematic, single player game doesn't attract you any new gamers and it's potential to expand the brand is limited.

More people need to realize this...

There's no better way to sell your console than to have friends come to the lunch table talking about what they did, and what they plan to do in the latest GAAS multiplayer exclusive. The stories, the strategies, the events your friends talk about are 1,000x more effective "commercials" than any The Last of Us II adverts that come and go in a couple of weeks.