2K is basically NBA, which would stay 3rd party, GTA which is basically a once-in-a-generation game release, then either Firaxis strategy games or some weird offshot by Private Division or maybe the Mafia people.
GTA and NBA keeps 2K alive because of their miniscule output.
Exactly, Rockstar is the big money maker for Take Two, followed by a very distant second Visual Concepts on NBA, and there’s everything else. Imagine that Rockstar is like the 55%, Visual Concepts at 25% and, Firaxis, 2K publishing and Private division at the remaining 20%.
Take Two own output is much smaller.
No acquisition, I’d pay whatever it takes to get GTA VI exclusive… No need for anything else, just that alone is all that’ll matter.
Hell, you might be able to get SEGA+Sqaure+Capcom for the price of Take Two
Yeah, and the amount of games and value in IP would be absurd, insanity.
Xbox might even be the only platform at that point lol.
I would not be mad at a Take Two acquisition, but it is not where I would use my fantasy Xbucks
I still think it’s too early for a splash that big among japanese devs/pubs, Xbox can’t even get meaningful exclusives, an entire publishers is a huge stretch as of now, there’s not enough relationship there, they are building it with SEGA (there are big signals since 2019), Bandai Namco (great partnership, but not enough for exclusives or key marketing rights), Capcom (some wins, some losses, no SFV is still a huge miss), Square Enix (I really need to say something? XD) and even Koei Tecmo (little signals also here), but it’s too early and they know it, Xbox is still not credible enough in Asia overall, they need to restablish at least a 360-level presence.
Take Two owns several big names across both console and pc: Bioshock, Borderlands, Civilization, GTA, Mafia, Max Payne, NBA 2K, PGA Tour 2K, Red Dead, WWE 2K, XCOM and I’m naming only the most famous. 2K sports games can be let multiplatform but GP day one, while the others with a “Bethesda treatment” (aka all back catalogue on GP and day one for new releases plus console exclusivity), could significantly boost Xbox AND cripple PS. Instant win-win, while any japanese acquisition would be far more complicated, cause of controversies and the results could be far away in the future and even uncertain in some situations. A huge western publisher could be folded immediately within Xbox strategy like we are seeing with Bethesda.
If you can’t get enough traction in the east in a short time, like they can’t if you think it realistically after 20 years of troubled history, the only solution is to make your platform literally unavoidable in the west, which was 360 strategy.
If they could bring back some dormant Rockstar franchises, that would be cool.
They’re at abut 3-6 games per year now. They’re definitely moving to increase it. They tried to acquire codemasters, they did acquire a few small bits and pieces for private division. They set up a new outlet for Ken Levine (with the 5 people left in the industry who can stand to work with him), they set up a bioshock studio, and theres like 2 other studios they established in the last 3 years that haven’t released anything yet.
The star of the show is really just Rockstar. The definitive edition is a shitfight but GTA and Red Dead are juggernauts (the former especially). If GTA 5 alone was a company it would be worth billions with no other assets attached.
Take Two isn’t significantly overvalued compared to other game companies, but I still wouldn’t recommend it. I think it’s too big to be a sensible buy. Even the 10 billion range is something I’m kinda iffy on whether it’s worthwhile right now.
I think the idea is that they might be depreciated assets - but the thing is, nobody is going to sell a company at a significantly depreciated price based on a temporary hump that’s going to resolve itself within the next few weeks when Kotick resigns and Rockstar promises to fix the shitty release they just farted out.
XboxEra: “Xbox need to secure another publisher(s) if they are really that serious reaching 2 billion gamers out there!”
Me: “That’s nice. The GTA publisher will do wonder to the brand surely.”
Xboxera:
We not getting GTA 6 until like 2025 the earliest so RDR 3 is like 2028-2030 lol why even bother gamepass will be totally different by than
This would be mostly just Private Division and Take 2 publishing.
What is the backstory there?
Yep and I’m not sure how many of those will end up leading to acquisitions. Hoping not many after the whole Kerbal thing lol.
If peoplle want Take2 for Rockstar - there is a much cheaper alternative too- Absurd Ventures. Dan Hauser’s new creation.
Literally just build up Yakuza.
Or hell, build up Sleeping Dogs.
Rockstar games play like garbage imo. It’s like going back to Shenmue, but with online.
Focus Interactive, Behaviour and Bohemian should all be targets
Agree with your points- but I don’t dispute his talent.
There is something about using 10 studios 3000 employees to make 1 game in 7 years that seems to be the exact opposite of the Gravity Well and Ninja Theory studios of the world who are trying to make AAA in a much more efficient manner.
Brass Tokens - who have the makers of Sleeping Dogs are still private and independent btw.
Not sure what you see in Bohemia. Their games are pretty janky, and Tencent already owns a minority stake in them. Better off getting GP deals, I’d say.