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Sony to buy Bungie


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9 minutes ago, THE DARK KNIGHT said:

you could say that about 9/10 of the studios/publishers MS bought, you don't get bought if you're on top, you get bought because you need a life line, Bethesda had financial flops in a row of 6-7 games before MS bought them, Activision's games were shacky at best with probably the worst PR nightmare in this industry yet? in comparison with that, Bungie doesn't look like a shell to me, especially not after seeing the products of 343 with Halo Infinite which at best looks like a free to play Halo 3 xbox 360 game spinoff

 

I agree with this, and I think there is a difference in the approaches here.

 

Microsoft is buying IP primarily - they are buying a back catalogue of existing intellectual property - they aren't as interested in the personnel associated with the companies - after all, Activision was already bleeding talent profusely, as a result of the scandals and the lawsuits, and they bought them anyway - knowing it would not stem that brain-drain, since it could be seen as offering Kotick a life-line.

 

Sony, on the other hand, has IP they are happy with - they are, remember, still on top of the game-sales companies, even after Microsoft's acquisitions, with Tencent in the No.2 spot, and Microsoft in 3rd.

Sony is buying developers - not IP.

My guess is they are securing potential future projects for their system, rather than trying to add to a stable of existing properties.

 

I suspect we will see far more effort on Sony's part, to maintain the current personnel in the companies they acquire, whereas Microsoft will be less interested in keeping the people, and more interested in adding the IP to a portfolio.

 

Just my take on it of course - could be wrong, but that's the way it feels to me right now.

Edited by DrBloodmoney
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I don't mind Sony buying studios but I am not a fan of this one after seeing that $3.6 billion price tag. That's why too much for a mid-prestige studio like Bungie, even despite their revenue generation. They're like the BioWare for FPSs after all the OG devs left pre-Destiny 1 launch so it ain't the same studio which created Halo: Combat Evolved.

 

It would have been more effective to headhunt Jeff Kaplan (the guy that made Overwatch the miracle it was), drop $200 million for capital investment for a new studio and BOOM! There's your live service shooter.

Edited by Eraezr
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12 hours ago, Jamescush147 said:

So...Oni 2 when? 1f601.png

Belongs to Take Two

1 hour ago, Eraezr said:

I don't mind Sony buying studios but I am not a fan of this one after seeing that $3.6 billion price tag. That's why too much for a mid-prestige studio like Bungie, even despite their revenue generation. They're like the BioWare for FPSs after all the OG devs left pre-Destiny 1 launch so it ain't the same studio which created Halo: Combat Evolved.

 

It would have been more effective to headhunt Jeff Kaplan (the guy that made Overwatch the miracle it was), drop $200 million for capital investment for a new studio and BOOM! There's your live service shooter.

Destiny is already built and has a fanbase. No need to head hunt, build a new studio and advertise (which is more often than not more costly than development).

 

Not to mention it's the IP that warranted the price tag, not the studio. Sony has already mentioned media adaptions of Destiny from Sony Pictures. This is beyond gaming

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I would like it known that I know nothing about business, but I've got a potential theory on the idea of this acquisition:

So Bungie worked, basically only with Xbox for ten years, later (regardless of the fact that most of the employees will have changed,) getting bought by the Playstation will make other companies think: "If Bungie didn't like working with Microsoft so badly they'd rather be bought by Sony, then we should ensure that they aren't bought by Microsoft."

Probably wrong, but I saw no other way that Bungie was worth over 10 times the amount of Insomniac. 

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15 hours ago, Zid960 said:

Isn't going to he on pc too... play it there. That all i plan to do for MS games. Xbox died long ago

I find it funny when people suggest just getting a game on PC, like we all have gaming PCs to do that with. 

I only have (and only want) a playstation. I've actually never even owned a computer of any kind that isn't my phone. Unless you wanna count, like, the web browser on Sony consoles.

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5 hours ago, milanbarca82 said:

"Ryan wants to go "beyond" consoles"
I wonder what Ryan meant by "beyond"!  I hope they don't abandon the console scene.

 

It sounds to me exactly like the stuff that Phil Spencer was accused of in a previous exchange of mine: making vague promises that rarely amount to anything.

 

It's clear that MS wants to become a content streamer.  Sony apparently needs to look like they're "in the game, too", so to speak. The problem is that Sony has made its bones with consoles, and have shown themselves to be somewhat...lacking in the streaming business. I don't know how well MS's streaming works. Maybe it's all terrible, across all platforms. But I know the streaming for PSNow is bad. I know it first hand. But even if I didn't, the louder fanboys howl, the weaker the product. Tell a fanboy about some of the problems with Sony's streaming (delay, crashes, etc.), and you're likely to get a response like, "Your internet sucks! You're just poor! Blargie blargie!"

 

Maybe Sony really has a big plan to improve both the content and the execution of PSNow. But until they do, comments like going "beyond" consoles sound like so much fluff.

Edited by starcrunch061
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15 minutes ago, yowzagabowza said:

I find it funny when people suggest just getting a game on PC, like we all have gaming PCs to do that with. 

I only have (and only want) a playstation. I've actually never even owned a computer of any kind that isn't my phone. Unless you wanna count, like, the web browser on Sony consoles.

 we actually haven't had a computer in our house for years either for the same reason

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7 minutes ago, starcrunch061 said:

 

It sounds to me exactly like the stuff that Phil Specter was accused of in a previous exchange of mine: making vague promises that rarely amount to anything.


Yeah, totally - I remember when he made that vague promise that he didn’t shoot Lana Clarkson.

 

That didn’t amount to anything either :awesome:

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5 hours ago, milanbarca82 said:


"Ryan wants to go "beyond" consoles"
I wonder what Ryan meant by "beyond"!  I hope they don't abandon the console scene.


You shouldn't forget Playstation Productions. The movies of Uncharted and Ghost of Tsushima, the series of The Last of Us and Twisted Metal, are all under their umbrella. A Destiny adaptation, to make an example, wouldn't surprise me at all. And obviously, releasing games on PC it's going great for them, so that could be another reading.

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3 minutes ago, starcrunch061 said:

 

Did I post Phil Specter? And then...did I spell it wrong? Well, shit.


? dude - I read it and for a moment, I was like “wait…did those guys have the same name?” :hmm:

 

The sensibleness of the rest of the post had me doubting what Phil Spencer’s real name actually was! ?

Edited by DrBloodmoney
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8 minutes ago, matigrosso91 said:

You shouldn't forget Playstation Productions. The movies of Uncharted and Ghost of Tsushima, the series of The Last of Us and Twisted Metal, are all under their umbrella. A Destiny adaptation, to make an example, wouldn't surprise me at all. And obviously, releasing games on PC it's going great for them, so that could be another reading.

 

Hmmm. That's a good point. Can't let my anti-Jim Ryan (or was it Jack Ryan?) bias color my thoughts too much.

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I like Sony's approach here.  Who knows how this will all turn out but acquiring studios/publishers is necessary to secure IP on Sony's consoles.  I'm not a huge fan of the acquisition war going on but it's eat or be eaten right now.  If Sony sits back and continues 'business as usual' they will fall behind and lose critical sales to Microsoft (and maybe others).  They still need to organically grow their studios but do it in parallel with creative acquisitions to stay relevant.  They need to do more based on the current environment.  Microsoft has proven that it will buy any company for their IP, Sony has to respond or over time, Sony won't have the big names on their console.  Again, not everyone cares about those big titles (i.e. CoD, Fallout, Elder Scrolls) but it draws in tens of millions of customers and Sony has to pay attention and respond to it.

 

As much as I dislike the consolidation going on with the industry, I hope Sony continues to think strategically for our Playstation future.  They need to continue acquiring long-term relationship studios like they have with HouseMarque, BluePoint, or even Insomniac.  Studios like Supermassive Games, From Software, and maybe even Ember Lab as examples but they need to continue to think bigger picture too, like a Sega, Capcom, Square Enix, Konami gaming division (i.e. IP, like Silent Hill and MGS), or maybe even a Ubisoft.  I think Take-two and EA are probably out of Sony's financial grasp, at least from a risk standpoint.

 

For our Playstation future, keep buying Sony!

Edited by Paperclip1776
grammar update
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Jesus, stop throwing SEGA in here. From a business point of view this is just complete nonsense, the company is worth roughly 4 billion $ and the only real moneybringers are Persona, Yakuza and maybe Total War to some extent.

 

Yes there is a catalogue of dormant IPs that would please a niche audience and that's all good and nice but you need studios to develop games and that would mean outsourcing like SEGA did with Streets of Rage or Sonic Mania because Sony sure as hell won't put up one of its triple A Studios to develop the next Golden Axe game.

 

It's not worth it, Sony will not spend 4B$ (that is if SEGA sells for that amount, what they probably won't) to acquire 2 or 3 potentially good IPs and a double dozen of hibernating ones that would take 50 years to break even if they ever do.

 

That's just not happening.

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9 minutes ago, Fleks_Mhteam said:

Jesus, stop throwing SEGA in here. From a business point of view this is just complete nonsense, the company is worth roughly 4 billion $ and the only real moneybringers are Persona, Yakuza and maybe Total War to some extent.

 

Yes there is a catalogue of dormant IPs that would please a niche audience and that's all good and nice but you need studios to develop games and that would mean outsourcing like SEGA did with Streets of Rage or Sonic Mania because Sony sure as hell won't put up one of its triple A Studios to develop the next Golden Axe game.

 

It's not worth it, Sony will not spend 4B$ (that is if SEGA sells for that amount, what they probably won't) to acquire 2 or 3 potentially good IPs and a double dozen of hibernating ones that would take 50 years to break even if they ever do.

 

That's just not happening.

That is a passionate and confident response.  

 

In my response above, I'm not saying they will buy Sega, or should buy Sega, but I'm suggesting that Sony needs to be considering acquisitions on the scale of a Sega, or other publishers, not just studios with long-standing relationships.  I agree that a Sega would seem weird (and maybe not the right fit) but two days ago I thought Bungie wouldn't have been a Sony studio either so there you go.

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3 minutes ago, Paperclip1776 said:

That is a passionate and confident response.  

 

In my response above, I'm not saying they will buy Sega, or should buy Sega, but I'm suggesting that Sony needs to be considering acquisitions on the scale of a Sega, or other publishers, not just studios with long-standing relationships.  I agree that a Sega would seem weird (and maybe not the right fit) but two days ago I thought Bungie wouldn't have been a Sony studio either so there you go.

 

I was actually writing this before your message went out so I wasn't responding and now I feel like I was rude to you.

I suppose very few people expected Sony to buy Bungie but it makes sense from a business perspective, Jim Ryan may have the charisma of an oyster but he knows what he does when it comes to money. After M$ bought Bethesda they had 2 out of the 5 big FPS developing studios at their hand and while Sony may lack the funds to buy Activision or EA they had enough liquidity to acquire Bungie and secure an FPS developer that generates enough revenue to justify the 3,6B$ buying tag.

 

SEGA is making money sure, but it's not the kind of money that is worth 4B$.

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20 minutes ago, Paperclip1776 said:

That is a passionate and confident response.  

 

In my response above, I'm not saying they will buy Sega, or should buy Sega, but I'm suggesting that Sony needs to be considering acquisitions on the scale of a Sega, or other publishers, not just studios with long-standing relationships.  I agree that a Sega would seem weird (and maybe not the right fit) but two days ago I thought Bungie wouldn't have been a Sony studio either so there you go.

Sammy is the big decider here and people may not know it but SammySega is more than just gaming. They've recently started getting into real estate as well as other ventures.

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36 minutes ago, Rally-Vincent--- said:

For 3.6 Billion, Sony could have built a chip factory, ending their shortage and actually making their consoles available in shops.

Interestingly enough, Sony is investing in a chip factory in Taiwan.  Here's the article from November 2021: https://www.business-standard.com/article/international/tsmc-sony-partner-for-new-7-billion-chip-factory-in-japan-121111000840_1.html#:~:text=Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC,the companies have announced jointly.

 

Looks like they took your advice.  The chip factory will be up and running by "the end of 2024".

 

$3.6 billion dollars is the market value for Bungie.  Of course Sony overpaid to some degree, that's what you do when you knock on a company door and tell them you're interested in buying them.  But, Microsoft or Tencent or anybody else would've paid the same.  Example: Sony is worth about $157 billion dollars.  For a company to come in and buy Sony, the selling price would likely be north of $200 billion dollars.  Those selfish shareholders want the most out of their stock investments.  The nerve.

 

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5 hours ago, yowzagabowza said:

I find it funny when people suggest just getting a game on PC, like we all have gaming PCs to do that with. 

I only have (and only want) a playstation. I've actually never even owned a computer of any kind that isn't my phone. Unless you wanna count, like, the web browser on Sony consoles.

I didn't mean it like that. Most people have some PC available in the home. And youd be amazed at what can run at low specs. Or in some cases they have a good setup but just need a newer graphic card run things.

 

I know as have a 6 year non gaming rig. It runs most things fine. And the few games that have been given me issue is just old card. He its tell me that. 

 

You don't need a gameing rig for everything. Just high end stuff. And i was more alluding to fact if someone is going to drop 500$ on a xbox may as well spend a little more and get whole other PC Library on top of it. Which just going 10x bigger then MS Library. Not to mention or free stuff like mods....

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2 hours ago, Zid960 said:

I didn't mean it like that. Most people have some PC available in the home. And youd be amazed at what can run at low specs. Or in some cases they have a good setup but just need a newer graphic card run things.

 

I know as have a 6 year non gaming rig. It runs most things fine. And the few games that have been given me issue is just old card. He its tell me that. 

 

You don't need a gameing rig for everything. Just high end stuff. And i was more alluding to fact if someone is going to drop 500$ on a xbox may as well spend a little more and get whole other PC Library on top of it. Which just going 10x bigger then MS Library. Not to mention or free stuff like mods....

All good buddy, no offense taken or anything like that : )

Computers have never been my thing. I know next to nothing about them, I'd be lost trying to even figure out how to get a game on one. I'm assuming I could connect a controller somehow so I wouldn't have to use a keyboard, at least.

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https://www.tweaktown.com/news/84365/sony-offers-bungie-employees-1-2-billion-retention-incentive-plan/index.html#:~:text=Sony is offering Bungie employees,the company following the buyout.&text=Sony will pay the remainder,staff intact after the acquisition.

 

It seems this is the explanation for the "overpayment". Sony it seems offered what Microsoft did but added this retention plan on top that should mean some serious bonus money for Bungie's employees. Good stuff. People at Bungie get paid extra while Sony gets to keep the talent which they've paid for, as zero point in buying a company if much of the talent then just leaves. 

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