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PlayStation Acquisitions incoming

Bryank75

Banned
A new job has been posted, looking for an M&A program manager to oversee integration over a 6 to 9 month period.


So, who do you think is about to get bought?

NOTE: Sony have 15 Billion cash on hand plus other cash and liquid equivalents to add to that. Plus they can loan the same amount again and keep their D/E ratio the same as it is....
 

Aintitcool

Banned
Would be smart to get blue point and ready at dawn but give them gameplay designers please. (Game was rushed in all parts except art as they were writing all the papers about physics based rendering first on real nextgen hardware. They are a private company with endless potential who always delivered on time. games without needing to patch them endlessly,
 

FranXico

Member
Rumours are Square Enix on Twitter.

Edit: You wouldn't need an M&A manager for a studio, this will be big.

That doesn't make much sense. Didn't they, in fact, even sell the stock they had on Square Enix recently? Doesn't sound like someone looking to take over.

Nah, Sony should look into acquiring small to medium size studios that they have a good working relationship with.
 
To be honest I can't even come up with a studio I'd like for them to buy, lol. Just somet with japanese (or non-western) roots would be good I guess


Off-topic but

"Sony is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All persons will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, legally protected physical or mental disability, covered veteran status, status in the U.S. uniformed services, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, genetic information or membership in any other legally protected category.

We strive to create an inclusive environment, empower employees and embrace diversity. We encourage everyone to respond. "


Is this shit really needed? Or is it standard in every US corporate job offer?
 

brap

Banned
Maybe the 3rdPersonStation can diversify its genres some. They have great 3rd person games, but an FPS revival would be nice.
Yeah seriously. I'd rather play Halo 8, Gears 5 and Forza 28 than play another game in the same perspective.
 

Shin

Banned
They are bound to change or take it down so here.

324fd53989.jpg
 

FranXico

Member
Off-topic but

"Sony is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All persons will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, legally protected physical or mental disability, covered veteran status, status in the U.S. uniformed services, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, genetic information or membership in any other legally protected category.

We strive to create an inclusive environment, empower employees and embrace diversity. We encourage everyone to respond. "


Is this shit really needed? Or is it standard in every US corporate job offer?
The "equal opportunity" talk is becoming standard, yep. And not just in the US.
A lot of this talk in recent years about being inclusive, environment aware, etc., is about Corporate Social Responsibility. It is becoming a big thing for large companies.
 

ksdixon

Member
Can they not "buy" Telltale from bankruptcy courts and re-release their games on PSN/bolster PSNow's catalogue.

I'm somewhat concerned that the developers of many PS experiences (until dawn/david cage games) are going multiplatform. I think that will have an effect next gen because it takes some exclusives away. I don't get why they haven't been brought under the umbrella.
 

Jigsaah

Gold Member
I like the idea of blue point. Sony has a lot of franchises that could use their type of care. I never played SOTC but when I saw what blue point did with it? I was really tempted to buy it. World was a bit empty for my tastes though.
 

Fox Mulder

Member
This could be nothing really.

I don't like how buying studios has become a sport. I wouldn't want MS or Sony to buy a successful studio for exclusives. But a company like Google might be coming wanting to buy big.

Wouldn't be shocked at Kojima Productions though. He's been an icon for Sony platforms and Death Stranding is already using the Decima Engine.
 

DanielsM

Banned
Non-Public
- BluePoint
- Insomniac
- FromSoftware
- First Contact
- Kojima Productions
- Ready at Dawn

Public
- Koei Tecmo
- Square Enix
- Take Two (unlikely)
 
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Abriael_GN

RSI Employee of the Year
People, all large companies have acquisition managers. They don't exist just to buy studios.

The fact that they're hiring one (quite possible to either replace one they had before or to simply add one to an existing team) is not actual evidence that acquisitions are "incoming."

They may very well even get to work on already finalized acquisitions like Audiokinetic.

Should never read too much into career opp. ads.
 
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Hopefully no one I care about, I'd rather play their games on PC.
Hope it's someone that already makes third-party exclusives.

The point and only asset of Sony's Playstation for the future, is specifically that it's not on PC, and it's way better that way for a number of reasons:

1. No PC games looks like AAA Playstation productions (Uncharted 4, Horizon, Detroit, Spider-Man, Deathstranding....)
2. The living-room console couch experience, is not like the bedroom PC desk experience
3. In fact playing on a console is completely different from playing on a PC, and that's part of what makes the game in their context different.
4. To add to the first point, Sony has a curation and exigence (a bit like Nintendo but recently clearly more) that you cannot find on any PC platform wether it's proprietary like Uplay or Origin, and let's not talk about those Steam or Epic crap.

In fact chances are that in the future, the whole 25 years of Playstation exclusive library will be accessible first from a PS5 only with games that will make more and more of their difference, then...you will eventually be able to access a Playstation platform with their exclusive game on any streaming terminal (therefor PC or whatever).
 
They've made too many dumb degenerate mistakes recently, besides not having anything for E3, or fragmenting their console line, it's discontinuing or selling their rights and studios like Quantic Dream, Cambridge, Liverpool, Evolution, Supermassive etc...

Hopefully they changed tuned and don't listen to their disgusting "financial strategist" scum and get some sense into buying Quantic Dream and Insomniac back.
 

Clear

CliffyB's Cock Holster
Will be really interesting to see if people are as down on Sony acquiring developers as people were when MS went on their little buying spree.

giphy.gif

Of course not, because it wasn't them that opened this particular pandora's box. If you see a competitor basically snapping up cash-strapped developers with decent pedigrees, it makes sense to get in on that action if only to prevent them from strip-mining the whole industry.
 

ethomaz

Banned
They've made too many dumb degenerate mistakes recently, besides not having anything for E3, or fragmenting their console line, it's discontinuing or selling their rights and studios like Quantic Dream, Cambridge, Liverpool, Evolution, Supermassive etc...

Hopefully they changed tuned and don't listen to their disgusting "financial strategist" scum and get some sense into buying Quantic Dream and Insomniac back.
Quantic Dream and Insomniac was never Sony properties so they can’t buy back something they never owned lol
 

ethomaz

Banned
Will be really interesting to see if people are as down on Sony acquiring developers as people were when MS went on their little buying spree.

giphy.gif
I thought the criticism was about the quality of the studios not the puschase.

MS did well buying more first-party studios to make games. Everybody knew they needed more studios.
 
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Bryank75

Banned
People, all large company have acquisition managers. They don't exist just to buy studios.

The fact that they're hiring one (quite possible to either replace one they had before or to simply add one to an existing team) is not actual evidence that acquisitions are "incoming."

They may very well even get to work on already finalized acquisitions like Audiokinetic.

Should never read too much into career opp. ads.
I hear you loud and clear! So, who do you think they're buying? Ha
 

FranXico

Member
I thought the criticism was about the quality of the studios not the puschase.

MS did well buying more first-party studios to make games.
There was criticism on both things, mostly when it concerned studios with a history in multi-platform games development.
But for sure, acquisitions of studios such as Turn10 were met with an unanimous positive response.
 
I thought the criticism was about the quality of the studios not the puschase.

MS did well buying more first-party studios to make games.

No, there were a lot of people basically trying to insinuate that MS would destroy the industry by buying up independent developers in this last spree of buying up historically multi-plat devs.

You are right, it was the only logical move for MS with their first party output being what it has become. Acquisitions make sense for everyone - Sony would be foolish to not make acquisitions when they make sense. They certainly are not in the same situation MS was in, so they shouldn't (and won't likely) run around just buying up people just to do so.
 
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Abriael_GN

RSI Employee of the Year
I hear you loud and clear! So, who do you think they're buying? Ha

I have no idea. Sony isn't exactly lacking studios. Lots of people believe they should respond to Microsoft's acquisitions, but they simply don't need to.

Now, if an opportunity arises, they might, that's why (like all big companies) they have an M&A team.
 

DanielsM

Banned
They've made too many dumb degenerate mistakes recently, besides not having anything for E3, or fragmenting their console line, it's discontinuing or selling their rights and studios like Quantic Dream, Cambridge, Liverpool, Evolution, Supermassive etc...

Hopefully they changed tuned and don't listen to their disgusting "financial strategist" scum and get some sense into buying Quantic Dream and Insomniac back.

Insomniac is a third party studios and was never owned by Sony.
Quantum Dream is a third party studio and was never owned by Sony.
Supermassive is a third party studio and was never owned by Sony.
Liverpool only did Wipeout and Forumla One but was closed, I don't have any info on that.
Cambridge was closed and if I remember correctly many of those people moved over to Guerilla Games which has been increasing headcount in Holland.

Just because someone wants to buy, doesn't mean there is a motivated seller on the other side. You're assuming quite a lot in your post.
 

Pallas

Member
I doubt it would be Square-Enix and I see the Take 2 dream just won’t die, I just don’t see it happening such in the same way I don’t see Microsoft ever buying EA.

Bluepointe would be a good fit for them though but I agree with others, having a spot open for mergers & acquisitions isn’t an indicator they want to buy, every big company has a team for that, the same rumor happened not long ago with Take 2 and it was just that, a rumor. Nothing materialized.
 
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