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[Rembrandt]

If I was going to drop big monies on any mobile dev it would be SuperCell. King just feels like a Rovio or a Zynga.

Supercell's bubble is bound to burst before King's.

People bring up the similarity between titles, but isn't that a good sign if they can make Candy Crush, Pet Rescue, Farm Heroes, Bubble Witch Saga and all of their sequels insanely popular throughout the years and the constant stream of mobile titles? They've kind of established themselves as the mobile game company with the mobile game franchise(s).

 

[Fine Ham Abounds]

I mean, they had to have haggled, right?

I just can't wrap my brain around this. Rip off a phone game, make enough to hire the hungriest lawyers possible, make more money than god, then sell for twice as much as god's worth.

This is like some monkey paw shit

 

[Jenotron]

This reminds me of when Murdoch bought MySpace. Somewhere theres a bunch of accountants who believe its good business decision because they believe growth will continue forever. No one will ever get tired of playing or that something new can come along tomorrow for people to play instead.

 

[Iced Arcade]

annual sequels till death confirmed

 

[Succinct Verbosity]

This seems like way too much money. I really can't see how Activision are going to make this money back unless they release a shit load of profitable phone titles.

 

[hipbabboom]

I'm sure this makes sense to someone. It's probably not a boondoggle or a rope-a-dope. Still I can't rule-out someone being hoodwinked here. Seems like one of those cases where someone grants someone a presidential payday as they jump out the plane in their golden parachute. I'm being to negative. This company is solid and should workout real well for EA like Zanga did.

 

[univariate]

My GF will be upset about this.

Why, was she going to buy them?

 

[I-hate-u]

That's a lot of candy.

 

[dity]

Did not see this coming at all.

 

[Nirolak]

So after the inevitable Candy Crush Saga bubble burst i have already found Blizzcon 2016's venue.

But seriously, does KING have the recipe to turn Tony Hawk/Guitar Hero copies into gold?

5.9B! Are you out of your fucking mind for a 1 hit wonder.

1.) Candy Crush Saga
2.) Candy Crush Soda Saga
3.) Farm Heroes Saga
4.) Pet Rescue Saga
5.) Bubble Witch 2 Saga
6.) Paradise Bay

It's a few more than one.

 

[lordfuzzybutt]

Zombie crush saga confirmed.

 

[Nirolak]

Is their earnings call soon?

Tomorrow.

 

[Lionel Richie]

They couldn't even bargain like 10% of this in order to make THPS5 the game the franchise deserves?

I know it doesn't work like that but it fucking should.

 

[Renekton]

Seems like a bad buy imo.

With the recent Zynga and Rovio news, admittedly I am already predisposed to regard mobile acquisitions as buying bubbles at peak IP value.

 

[Chaos2Frozen]

Minecraft was 'only' $2.5 billion 0_o

 

[JeremyEtcetera]

There's always a bigger fish.

 

[FTF]

Holy fucking shit.

Disney bought fucking Star Wars for 4 billions, guys.

Greatest value ever...between merchandise, theater run and digital/blu-ray/dvd sales, they'll make close to $4b off TFA alone.

 

[BlackBuzzard]

1.) Candy Crush Saga
2.) Candy Crush Soda Saga
3.) Farm Heroes Saga
4.) Pet Rescue Saga
5.) Bubble Witch 2 Saga
6.) Paradise Bay

It's a few more than one.

Isn't Candy Crush like by far their biggest game tho and the rest is like small in comparison.

 

[Newtype-001]

king made bank.

 

[_woLf]

So Activision now owns a ton of properties that are blatant ripoffs of original ideas. Neat.

 

[Crayolan]

Candy Crush worth 3x more than Minecraft.

Mobile is too damn big.

 

[Nirolak]

Isn't Candy Crush like by far their biggest game tho and the rest is like small in comparison.

Candy Crush is only 38% of their revenue: http://venturebeat.com/2015/05/14/candy-crush-saga-maker-king-beats-wall-streets-expectations/

King said that non-Candy Crush Saga revenue was $375 million, or 62 percent of total gross bookings of $604.5 million. Three King games were in the top 10-grossing games list on both Android and Apple. It also launched localized versions of Candy Crush Soda Saga in Japan, South Korea, and China during the quarter. King also launched its first word game, AlphaBetty Saga, in nine languages during April.

 

[Rembrandt]

Candy Crush is only 38% of their revenue: http://venturebeat.com/2015/05/14/candy-crush-saga-maker-king-beats-wall-streets-expectations/

To have three games in the top ten is nuts and they seem to consistently stay there. they've mastered the mobile market.

 

[jimbobsmells]

King have a very advanced data analytics platform which tracks an insane amount user interaction and choice (billions of data points a day). It allows them to fine tweak their games to maximise revenue (Identify users who stopped playing for a couple of weeks and offer them discounts on IAPs is a very basic example).
I'm sure Activistion would love to get their head around that level of market intelligence.

 

[post-S]

Supercell's bubble is bound to burst before King's.

People bring up the similarity between titles, but isn't that a good sign if they can make Candy Crush, Pet Rescue, Farm Heroes, Bubble Witch Saga and all of their sequels insanely popular throughout the years and the constant stream of mobile titles? They've kind of established themselves as the mobile game company with the mobile game franchise(s).

Can you explain why? I feel like each Supercell game is actually different and is catering a different demographic while King's output are simply candy crush with different theme.( didn't really pay much attention for their output for a few years tho, so correct me if I'm wrong)
I think they are gong to fall the way Rovio did once series fatigue has caught up

 

[xenist]

King have a very advanced data analytics platform which tracks an insane amount user interaction and choice (billions of data points a day). It allows them to fine tweak their games to maximise revenue (Identify users who stopped playing for a couple of weeks and offer them discounts on IAPs is a very basic example).
I'm sure Activistion would love to get their head around that level of market intelligence.

Yeah, I bet that something like that played a huge part in the deal.

Otherwise I cannot fathom how Activision could expect an actual return from such a huge investment.

 

[Mashin Haters]

You mean Draw Something.

Zynga bought OMGPOP, just before OMGPOP went bankrupt (and didn't tell anyone), and then no one fucking played the game and it's now dead.

yea it was draw something.

 

[xch1n]

I'm genuinely surprised that BusinessGAF took 9 pages to explain that this acquisition is not about IP or a single or handful of games - but ongoing, paying users. Activision didn't just buy games, it bought eyeballs. Eyeballs it didn't have before. And to large corporations, those are very, very valuable.

 

[Mashin Haters]

King have a very advanced data analytics platform which tracks an insane amount user interaction and choice (billions of data points a day). It allows them to fine tweak their games to maximise revenue (Identify users who stopped playing for a couple of weeks and offer them discounts on IAPs is a very basic example).
I'm sure Activistion would love to get their head around that level of market intelligence.

hmm this is very interesting. I guess Acti wants to implement this system for probably all their games including consoles and PC. Would be interesting none the less.

 

[AbandonedTrolley]

Just wait till Activision start adding those micro transactions.....

 

[Rembrandt]

Can you explain why? I feel like each Supercell game is actually different and is catering a different demographic while King's output are simply candy crush with different theme.( didn't really pay much attention for their output for a few years tho, so correct me if I'm wrong)
I think they are gong to fall the way Rovio did once series fatigue has caught up

King's output varies some. Bubble Witch Saga isn't similar to Candy Crush. Pet Rescue Saga has different mechanics to separate itself as does Farm Heroes Saga. They're different while still be similar enough to attract fans of one title, imo. I honestly don't think they'll reach series fatigue anytime soon. Their games are too simple, too easy to pick up to play and too mindless. the way they generate money is different than supercell's stuff; they're not trying to be deep with their games. while supercell's stuff will appeal to people looking for something deeper in mobile and will attract people that will drop lots of money at once, they're not going to attract a casual, consistent fanbase like king.

the people that are playing candy crush aren't worried about series fatigue, if they were, king wouldn't put out tons of new levels consistently for three years (there's 1000+ levels currently).

 

[kiuo]

Woah, didn't expect this. That's more than what Microsoft bought mine craft for...didnt think candy crush is still that popular

 

[viHuGi]

Can't wait for the inevitable Candy Crush Console Edition.

 

[AHA-Lambda]

Sweet Jesus :-/

 

[Fantastapotamus]

Finally Activision owns the word "Saga". Worth it.

 

[Wuthering_Heights]

I'm genuinely surprised that BusinessGAF took 9 pages to explain that this acquisition is not about IP or a single or handful of games - but ongoing, paying users. Activision didn't just buy games, it bought eyeballs. Eyeballs it didn't have before. And to large corporations, those are very, very valuable.

You'd think with how many financial analysts and top-tier business people that are apparently in this thread, more people would understand this.

I wonder why not...

 

[XiaNaphryz]

George Lucas am cry

wat

He intentionally sold it for a lot less than he could have.

Besides, he's still making money from Disney. He sold them the companies/IP but kept all the land and real estate - so Disney's leasing office space from him for the companies they bought.

 

[Auto_aim1]

As per King's latest earning report, they have 500 million active users. This is what Activision was after.

 

[SprachBrooks]

I'm happy with this deal because we'll look back and enjoy sweet schadenfreude when they eventually go bust lol.

 

[KingBroly]

wat

He intentionally sold it for a lot less than he could have.

Besides, he's still making money from Disney. He sold them the companies/IP but kept all the land and real estate - so Disney's leasing office space from him for the companies they bought.

He gave all of the money to charity and I think got a spot on Disney's BoD.

 

[kadotsu]

As per King's latest earning report, they have 500 million active users. This is what Activision was after.

What is the price per user compared to the last big social acquisitions (Whatsapp, Instagramm).

 

[Alo0oy]

Maybe a sign that the Call of Duty bubble is seriously about to burst.

That huge flow of money has to come from somewhere. COD might be on its last leg when it comes to being Activision's workhorse.

King's games could easily replace that revenue.

CoD is still the biggest earner annually in entertainment, they just want to expand further.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

He gave all of the money to charity and I think got a spot on Disney's BoD.

A small % went to employee bonuses shortly after the sale announcement.

 

[OléGunner]

You'd think with how many financial analysts and top-tier business people that are apparently in this thread, more people would understand this.

I wonder why not...

I think the sticker price is initally so shocking. People immediately equate the sales with Star Wars and Minecraft and see no value.

But yeah the more you analyse it, it makes sense for Activision to get into the mobile space riding off Kings properties that have hundreds of millions of views and players every single day. That's a massive additional revenue stream and opportunity for growth.

 

[Leafhopper]

So, does this officially make Activision the world's biggest whale?

.

 

[Odrion]

I'm happy with this deal because we'll look back and enjoy sweet schadenfreude when they eventually go bust lol.

Nah, Activision is one of the smarter companies in the industry. For an acquisition this big they must be extremely confident ie know more than we do.

 

[The Dutch Slayer]

Why?

The hype is already over unless they saw something that would be bigger then CCS in the future I don't get the value for it :O

CCS is doing well but not as well has it has been just angry birds etc.

 

[AAMARMO]

Candy Crush

Spoiler

crash bandicoot

here we go

 

[witchedwiz]

Holy fucking shit.

Disney bought fucking Star Wars for 4 billions, guys.

this over and over..
I can't really understand this takeover...

 

[dickroach]

That's a lot of money for one developer. Perhaps Activision knows something that we don't.

I honestly think they're just banking on Candy Crush sustaining it's popularity for the next ~4+ years, which I think is insane and will literally ruin Activision.
I dunno, we'll see.