My only hope is that Sony doesn’t acquire Capcom, that would be a nightmare for me…
But the Square-enix speculations here are pretty good, let’s see what MS has in store for us.
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I’m just waiting for Microsoft to buy out Tamagachi, Neopets, and Club Penguin.
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Neopets would just destroy pokemon, it wouldn’t be even fair…
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With SE, I think MS are doing everything they can to stop those games that are always default PS exclusuve. You know DQ, Nier, they need to make sure those games are on XGP day one.
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You’re right.
They’ll go for Nexomon then. A game I’ve actually played. Lol
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Why’s that? Is Capcom your favorite publisher/developer?
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Since we are just throwing stuff out there I would like to out out in the world for microsoft to buy mane6 and rebrand them into a killer instinct studio. They managed to make a pony fighting game actually fun. They could do anything
I dont know if Sega has quite the relationship that MS has with Bethesda but this photo with Bill Gates and Sega executives and game creators kind of speaks for itself.
The late Sega Chairman Isao Okawa had a close relationship with Bill Gates since the Dreamcast days. When MS first entered the console space and launched Xbox in Japan they were like the new kid at school sitting all alone at the lunch table. Sega was one of the few major Japanese publishers(Tecmo being the other one) that would sit at the same table. and MS helped Sega too. Sega was hurting for cash after the losses of the Dreamcast and that exclusive game deal they made with MS must of been a nice infusion of cash that helped keep Sega afloat. That history and loyalty is just an example of why I love the idea of Sega and MS together or an acquisition. then there is more
Fast forward to the Xbox 360 era. Sega is there at launch day supporting Xbox with Condemned. Sega ends up bringing many classic/legacy titles to the Xbox 360 store. I just love that some Saturn classics like Guardian Heroes actually came to 360 
Then during the Xbox One era and first 3 months of this new generation
- Sega makes a Halo game
- PSO2 western console exclusive to Xbox
- Football Manager Console exclusive to Xbox
- Sega is confirmed to be developing an Age of Empires game
- Yakuza Like a Dragon is a timed next Gen exclusive
- Streets of Rage 4 is a day and date release on gamepass
- All the games Sega brought to Gamepass. Hell the entire mainline Yakuza Kiryu saga is on Gamepass.
- Rumors of Persona coming
Sega and MS have always had a close business relationship that seems to have grown even stronger since Phil Spencer took over.
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Looks like nobody is buying bloober. At best they are considering deals like xbox game pass or epic store exclusives.
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Imagine Phil reading this OT
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I’d rather see xbox buy and grow small independent studios in Japan rather than publishers because we would get more creative games. Look at death stranding and 13 sentinels.
What’s the point to appeal to age?
Sony won’t do that. I am pretty sure of that. If you look from the point of view of the publisher - what can Sony give to Capcom? Lock on PC and Playstation? Not worth it.
But I expect some form of cooperation between MS and Nintendo and Capcom will be interested in that for sure.
It will happen in time. But for MS’ vision they need to invest a lot at once. You can’t achieve that without swallowing publishers.
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With the XGS overloaded. Do you believe that Microsoft could buy a publisher, even if it has few studios or no studios just to manage new studios?
One example - Focus Home that has only Deck 13 but Microsoft could buy European studios like Asobo and put it in their domain.
MS would love to buy a publisher that could get on with it without MS having to manage them so much. Like you said XGS is overloaded for just 1 person to manage and that being Booty. I’d argue that MS probably wouldn’t really want to buy someone who has awful management where they will need to go in and change everything up. This is why Bethesda was a great fit, MS didn’t need to do anything.
Whoever has been successful and has a stable and great managers on board will be in the crosshairs for MS, though I wouldn’t rule out completely that they could go for a publisher that has been so so if they had good IP.
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I do somewhat agree with some of the concerns of people doubting a Japanese publisher acquisition.
Any such acquisition would be motivated by Game Pass. I think Xbox see Game Pass + Xcloud as a second chance in Japan, but I doubt they will jump in fully before testing the waters and seeing how much interest and demand there is for the service.
Partnerships and bringing content relevant to the Japanese audience is likely the first step to test response. If the demand is there I could easily see them interested in acquiring more Japanese companies if possible.
The reason I think Sega could possibly happen despite Game Pass demand in Japan is that Sega does not exclusively consist of Japanese game creators, infact Sega Europe is arguably their largest division and produces more games.
You basically have:
Sega Japan
CS1 R&D (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio) - Primarily makes the Yakuza franchise which while popular in Japan has also developed a strong western fanbase.
CS2 R&D (Includes Sonic Team) - Makes Sonic games that have a worldwide audience, JRPG games like Sakura Wars, and Puzzle Games like Puyo Puyo Tetris that also have worldwide appeal.
Online R&D - Makes Phantasy Star Online 2.
Atlus Japanese subsidiary, primarily develops JRPGs based on 5heir popular IP like Persona, Shin Megami Tensai and Etrian Odyssey, also occasionally publishes Japanese games such as 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. Primarily popular in Japan but with a strong growing audience in the west.
Sega Europe
Creative Assembly - PC focused, develops the Total War strategy game series which has a large PC fanbase primarily in the west. Also developing a AAA multiplatform game.
Amplitude Games - PC focused, primarily develops 4X strategy games like Endless Legend and the upcoming Humankind, primarily popular in the west.
Sports Interactive - PC focused, develops the Football Manager series, an annual franchise with a large consistent audience, primarily popular in Europe
Relic Entertainment - PC focused, develops RTS games, primarily known for Company of Heroes and Dawn of War, currently co developing Age of Empire IV with Xbox.
Two Point Studios - Stong PC focus also develops on console, Makes games in the sim genre, made up of ex Lionhead and Bullfrog staff, recently released Two Point Hospital, primarily popular in the west.
Hardlight - Develops mobile games based on Sega IP.
So based on what they make, primarily games that have a strong audience in markets Xbox are already established in and are committed to growing in, Sega is much less of a risk than say someone like Bandai Namco who’s games primarily appeal to Japanese audiences. It would strengthen their first party in Europe and also bolster their Game Pass PC offering, while also giving them a foothold in Japan with potential to grow there if Game Pass + Xcloud pans out in Japan eventually.
It also would give them a MASSIVE catalogue of IP with a lot of potential.
So it gives them the opportunity to grow in Japan if they want in the future, but if worst case scenario things don’t work out in Japan they can still get other things out of it and could still leverage the Japanese games in the west while continuing to sell those games on other platforms in Japan.
All of that is basically to say, I don’t think they are necessarily 100% going to buy a Japanese publisher in the very near future. But Sega is likely high on the list if they do decide to buy one based on these points.
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Damn. Anything but Epic Store deals.
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Yep, almost all my favorite games are from them.
But that is the thing - you cannot get interest without trying. You literally need to break into the market and shuffle the deck.
Xbox 360 had all the chances but MS pulled the plug at the end and completely dropped it in Xbox one era. They literally was not there for 10 years.
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I think this thread should work under the assumption that until Xbox shows desire to acquire a publicly-traded publisher/developer that acquisition talk around public companies is a non-starter.
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