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Sony Buys Bluepoint Games and Housemarque


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10 minutes ago, turniplord said:

They've also bought Bluepoint Games - PS Japan accidentally published the picture welcoming them to the 'family' instead of the Housemarque one...

 

Yep, here's the tweet.

 

 

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Buying Housemarque and Bluepoint (not certain, I know) is a great move. Sony does not have the buying potential that Microsoft has, but needs to assure players that they want to continue what they have been doing: have the best first-party games for its audience. Sony does not need to spend everything it has to buy Square Enix (or something on the same level) to continue its growth however it must not stop. 
Returnal and Resogun were well received and Bluepoint has been nailing the remakes. Solid and "affordable" studios. This makes sense.

I'm not fanboying here (MS having Bethesda is a master move and I respect it) but Sony is playing it nicely. As always, only hope great games and people being respected.

 

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2 minutes ago, DrBloodmoney said:

 

 

I think this is certainly true - but I wouldn't count out the idea that Sony is looking at doing a Moneyball here.

 

They aren't likely in a position to buy one massive multi-studio conglomerate like Zenimax (they don't necessarily have the same liquid funds Microsoft do, and let's face it, there aren't many of those up for sale to pick from), however, this could be the start of a "make up for it in the aggregate" type of scenario.

 

If Sony were to follow these acquisitions up with a few more smaller, but well regarded developers, and 'boutique' indie-type developers, (say, for example, and this is just speculation at best (and dreaming!,) of course, but the likes of FROM software / Supergiant / Supermassive etc.), they could theoretically make up for the big time loss of Bethesda and Arkane and id, by positioning themselves as the "home of quality not quantity", and play further into the whole Playstation is for Gamers type stuff they have traditionally held to.

A sort of HBO vs Network Television type marketing strategy?

Yeah, when I think Fallout and Elder Scrolls I don't think about them being games that people that like to play video games would like to play...

 

Like someone else said, these acquisitions are just to save them money in the long run and this is not a foreshadowing lead up "of things to come". They got House to lock up Returnal exclusivity and all their future titles without the need to money hat exclusivity. Bluepoint while they paid more to get them now, they don't have to give them a commission fee for each new project in the future.

Sony is most likely not getting From and nothing Sony does will come anywhere close to what the Zenimax aq was.

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8 minutes ago, mcnichoj said:

Yeah, when I think Fallout and Elder Scrolls I don't think about them being games that people that like to play video games would like to play..

Like someone else said, these acquisitions are just to save them money in the long run and this is not a foreshadowing lead up "of things to come". They got House to lock up Returnal exclusivity and all their future titles without the need to money hat exclusivity. Bluepoint while they paid more to get them now, they don't have to give them a commission fee for each new project in the future.

Sony is most likely not getting From and nothing Sony does will come anywhere close to what the Zenimax aq was.

 

Well, yes, of course, no one is disupting that Zenimax games are good - but you can only piss with the cock you've got, and Microsoft has locked that one in it's own bathroom.

 

I'm just speculating on what Sony are looking at long term in order to counter any fallout from it - they don't have the capital for a massive acquisition of that nature, but do have the relationships that might allow for more of a "bigger than the sum of their parts" type multi-acquisition broad spectrum to stave off potential bleeding of user base. - remember, despite the big play by Microsoft, they did start off from more of a position of strength, given the broader spectrum of exclusives they already had.

Edited by DrBloodmoney
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The funny thing is, this may actually make it more likely that we see games like Demon's Souls remake and Returnal ported to PC.  If Sony is the mastermind behind the recent wave of PC ports... they may also be the mastermind behind funding it.  Which I'm sure they're more likely to do for a Playstation Studio studio than a team they just have a good relationship with.

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1 hour ago, Sergen said:

Microsoft: Bethesda

Sony: Housemarque

 

Is this going to appease the people who begged Sony to buy a powerful game studio in retaliation to Microsoft buying Bethesda? We shall see :D

 

Something comparable to Bethesda in terms of IP's and scale would be Square Enix.  Of course, that'll never happen.

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This seems like it was likely to happen naturally at one point anyway based on the publishing history of these two studios. People may try to frame this as a PlayStation reaction to Microsoft's previous purchase, but if the viewpoint is to be over-simplified and framed as a tit-for-tat, it seems more like PlayStation had a bunch of strong first party studios and Microsoft made purchases in reaction to trying to match PlayStation. This move brings two well-established AA developers into PlayStation Studios and bolsters their strengths, rather than one-upping another company.

 

I'm hoping neither studio goes full AAA route and keeps making quality AA titles and sets an example for other aspiring developers out there. The more AA studios we have, the more we all win. I would much rather these studios stay independent and choose on their own to developer for the platforms they choose, but if they're able to get better support and more opportunities by being a first party studio, then good for them.

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3 minutes ago, DaivRules said:

 People may try to frame this as a PlayStation reaction to Microsoft's previous purchase, but if the viewpoint is to be over-simplified and framed as a tit-for-tat, it seems more like PlayStation had a bunch of strong first party studios and Microsoft made purchases in reaction to trying to match PlayStation.

 

I agree that seeing this as a 1 to 1, blow for blow reaction to Microsoft is likely not the only thing behind it, and that both studios would likely have gone this route eventually, but I think it is wrong to discount the impact of Microsoft's acquisition of Zenimax entirely.

 

Sure, these might have happened eventually, but to think that anything happening of this nature in the current climate is not in some way influenced by the massive impact on the console landscape that Microsoft's move had is borderline naive.

The idea that a play of that magnitude, and the shockwaves it sent, that will be felt for years to come, are not directly influencing corporate decision making at Sony is foolhardy - and if it was the case, it would border on corporate negligence on Sony's part.

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