Xbox Acquisition |OT| - So We’re Back to Making Lists, Huh?

[Hindle]

@NierlyCrazy

Arrogance?

You do realize that console sales in Japan in general are going down, right?

If we’re going to resort to name calling, then I’m out. This isn’t a discussion anymore.

Yea I think I am as well after what you came out with.

[Hindle]

@StrikeFirst117

…isions away from each other, I won’t say its impossible though, at this point after Zenimax nothing is certain anymore how far they will go to acquiring publishers. Personally though out of all the publishers Sega ticks all the boxes that they are looking for apart from a fighting game studio. Though yes it’ll be the most difficult to negotiate for. Though this isn’t about selling consoles anymore, Asia really really love their Switches/Mobile phones and other portable devices this is about xcloud more than anything else especially for that region of the world. As to how the impact of something like this were to happen, so people still refusing to try the xbox ecosystem still its really uncertain. This is much more of a gamble imo but then again so was everything from 2017 leading up to now.

Everything MS want in the PC space can be achieved by getting Paradox. No risk, easier to manage, etc. The whole thing with Sega is just a disaster waiting to happen and I have no idea why anyone would want MS to take it

[BlackheartVinyl]

@Hindle

My main concern is a PR disaster that is bound to happen if MS wade into a market they dont understand as has been proven time and time again.

Oy vey…

[uouit_iyyur]

@Hindle

Everything MS want in the PC space can be achieved by getting Paradox. No risk, easier to manage, etc. The whole thing with Sega is just a disaster waiting to happen and I have no idea why anyone would want MS to take it

What disaster could happen I don’t understand

[BlackheartVinyl]

@uouit_iyyur

What disaster could happen I don’t understand

The disaster of him being unhappy.

[johancruijff]

[dscharles]

@Hindle

After those games bombed they never bothered again. To me buying a dev who has had no success on your eco system is bad news.

For Microsoft, it would be good news. Microsoft wants to increase their market size, and to do so you need to attract people outside your ecosystem, not convince people to not leave. I think it is more troublesome for the dev itself, why would anybody sell their company to an outsider with low presence in your market? We would be looking at companies that are struggling to make a hit on a global market, and need a strong partner to work with.

@Hindle

My main concern is a PR disaster that is bound to happen if MS wade into a market they dont understand as has been proven time and time again.

Albeit I don’t think we will see a big japenese acquisition in the foreseable future, I don’t agree with you on “culture difference / market they don’t understand” is the problem. If they make a big acquisition, they do get their management team which understands japanese culture and market, and already have an established management structure with their studios / teams. On the contrary, if culture difference is the problem, I think it is way riskier to just rely on small devs / investments as decision-making would still be located on the US.

[Hindle]

@uouit_iyyur

What disaster could happen I don’t understand

Game shops closing, studio closures, pissing off an entire country, Japanese devs never trusting MS again etc. Just too much at risk

[Hindle]

Just my thoughts anyway. MS can acquire whoever they want, in NA and Europe. But I’d prefer they stay far far away from Japan

[pg2g]

@Hindle

They save themselves considerable amount of money and risk if they contract those devs to long term exclusivity agreements. Best of both worlds and none of the issues that come with an acquisition

If Microsoft is going to try and grow Game Pass lpng term, they are better off owning the content than “leasing” it. Why enter a situation where you could see a ton of your content up and disappear?

An exclusivity agreement could cost more long term (over say 10 years) than purchasing the company outright.

It is kinda weird how focused you are on “how difficult it is to manage a company in Japan”. I don’t think that will be a driving factor in their decision making. They can hire people with that expertise if they need to.

[pg2g]

@Hindle

Game shops closing, studio closures, pissing off an entire country, Japanese devs never trusting MS again etc. Just too much at risk

What is your concern? They will fail and shut them down?

[uouit_iyyur]

@Hindle

Game shops closing, studio closures, pissing off an entire country, Japanese devs never trusting MS again etc. Just too much at risk

wtf ?

what game shop is going to close because Persona and Yakuza are not on PS anymore ? Why MS would close studio ? How MS can pissing off an entire country by buying a publisher which is founded by american and which make game only for 5% of gamers in Japan (PS gamers) ?

I want to understand your reasoning because I think Japanese would be more happy if they have mobile version for Persona/Yakuza and Sonic

[ChuckeRearmed]

@Ruthwik_Rao

There’s a reason why the latest Persona is coming to switch and steam day and date as well. Persona is no longer a playstation franchise, that era is over. Both Sega and Atlus somehow much to their surprise learned how much fucking money they were leaving on the table after P4G success on steam.

I wonder if we get Persona collection on GamePass in the future though. Would be neat.

@StrikeFirst117

Personally though out of all the publishers Sega ticks all the boxes that they are looking for apart from a fighting game studio. Though yes it’ll be the most difficult to negotiate for.

Virtua Fighter

@uouit_iyyur

SEGA was happu about Yakuza perform on gamepass and give us every Yakuza on gamepass (except the 7), Persona did incredibly well on Steam but SEGA japanese can’t live without playstation lol

Didn’t you hear that the games won’t sell if they don’t come to playstation

@Hindle

Game shops closing, studio closures, pissing off an entire country, Japanese devs never trusting MS again etc. Just too much at risk

LMAO. I heard that they whole Atlus resigns if MS purchases Sega…

[OneBadMutha]

@Hindle

Comes with them. MS should focus on managing Tango for the foreseeable future. Actually learn about the market this way instead of wading in and acting aggressive by snapping up big publishers.

Buying a Japanese publisher that keeps its autonomy is a good opportunity to learn about the market. Microsoft is a global company and Azure is already a global brand. I believe establishing an Eastern presence prior to 5G going mainstream is pretty important. They have a few years to do that and I’m not sure how that happens without a power move or two.

[BlackheartVinyl]

I didn’t know World War III was at stake!

[Hindle]

@uouit_iyyur

wtf ?

what game shop is going to close because Persona and Yakuza are not on PS anymore ? Why MS would close studio ? How MS can pissing off an entire country by buying a publisher which is founded by american and which make game only for 5% of gamers in Japan (PS gamers) ?

I want to understand your reasoning because I think Japanese would be more happy if they have mobile version for Persona/Yakuza and Sonic

Japan is a traditionalist country, game shops and physical media remain very popular. Nintendo and Sony are the main consoles there. These stores make money by selling software from both. MS buy a major Japanese publisher, means that money is not been made. As Japanese gamers give no fucks about Xbox, XGP, Xcloud. People lose thier jobs due to this, which would piss of the industry.

There is a lot to this then people think

[Hindle]

@BlackheartVinyl

I didn’t know World War III was at stake!

Thanks for the contribution

[pg2g]

FWIW, if MS bought Sega I believe best course of action would be to continue along with Switch support (at least in Japan).

[StrikeFirst117]

@Hindle

Everything MS want in the PC space can be achieved by getting Paradox. No risk, easier to manage, etc. The whole thing with Sega is just a disaster waiting to happen and I have no idea why anyone would want MS to take it

That is why I stated it as being a massive gamble if it somehow happens. I don’t want more publishers to get bought full stop but at this point we are well past the point of no return.

The only reason I keep saying Sega is from a business standpoint it does the most for gamepass which is their platform.

[Hindle]

@OneBadMutha

Buying a Japanese publisher that keeps its autonomy is a good opportunity to learn about the market. Microsoft is a global company and Azure is already a global brand. I believe establishing an Eastern presence prior to 5G going mainstream is pretty important. They have a few years to do that and I’m not sure how that happens without a power move or two.

I think they see Eastern Europe as the next big money maker. I’m expecting them to go there instead