I would like to know what went wrong with it. Was it developer’s issue, publisher, or they just release an average game because they just did?
Careful Knottian, bringing up the recent purchase of an entire publisher is a trigger for some users here. 
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Made a garbage game . Thats it.
Bungie would benefit Sony a lot
Its not that
We dont gotta bring up Zenimax everytime when discussing third party strategy or game pass games or when some mild constructive criticism is done to xbox by some of us. We all recognize the importance that Zenimax and its studios bring to xbox but thats OT from here.
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let me throw you a curveball
MS should approach Colossal Order (makers of Cities Skylines)
they already showed they can make a city building game for both PC and Consoles without compromising each
CS sold very well (over 6m) and with CS2 they can blow up even more
ah and they’re in Finland, so they could plant a flag there too
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It’s kinda crazy how people have completely forgot how big this was, talk about what have you done for me lately mentality. Microsoft owns Doom, Fallout, Starfield AND Elder Scrolls, I’d argue those games alone are bigger than any moneyhat or time exclusive ever.
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I don’t think anyone has disagreed with this possibility but there are points of context that I think make taking on debt for larger acquisitions less likely.
For starters, and perhaps most importantly, Sony doesn’t need to consider a publisher acquisition unless Microsoft is in the process of purchasing one that would greatly impact their base (though one could argue Zenimax definitely did given the fact that aside from FF14, there’s not a single SE title that’s sold as much as Fallout or Skyrim in decades); their strategy of moneyhatting exclusives and the inherent base (for right or wrong) has made publishers very unlikely to forego releasing content on their platform.
Just as important perhaps is the fact that people don’t ignore the possibility of taking on debt for acquisitions, simply there’s inherent deltas that exist in Microsoft’s ability to do the same in much greater scale, in conjunction to their liquid assets, etc. People are quick to forget that Sony’s worth (market cap, assets, et al) dropped to a tenth of what they were in a matter of years during the PS3 generation (owed in part to the loss of revenue during PS3, but also their TV business and other sectors) and it took more than a decade to restore themselves to that level. As such, Sony no longer has as many assets (not speaking strictly cash) as they once did given sector shuttering and spin-offs, and they’ve had their credit rated as junk numerous times in the last decade. So yes, of course they can take on debt, but the amounts that people are suggesting they do tend to misalign with what creditors might be willing to do so.
Ultimately, it all returns to the initial point though: Sony doesn’t need to do so and, perhaps more importantly, has shown repeatedly that their acquisition strategy is considerably smaller than some bad-faith users would suggest (not you, to be clear). Sony’s focus thus far, even throughout “acquisition season”, has been smaller partners and/or studios that provide PC experience to assist with porting titles.
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Can Sony buy a big company like Square? Yeah.
Will they? In terms, no, because Sony is a smaller company, and even Playstation is like their second biggest division, they have significant participation in other fields and they won’t compromise most of their money into a single one unless it becomes the largest by far, Microsoft hand in cash for Zenimax was like at 1/4 at best of what they had for the year, while they easily spent more than that for other divisions.
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Yep.
Pretty much
No kidding. I’ve got another one then: Xbox started acquisition season.
It’s almost like someone here stated, last January, that we would see a slate of acquisitions that would cause those “concerned” with industry-consolidation to lose it… I wonder who that was. Of course, I think it’s clear by the silence of those voices that there was only ever concern when Xbox was buying.
The reality is this: the entire industry is going through a phase of consolidation only in that publishers/large studios are buying. It doesn’t mean that there’s a cause for concern given that the 6000+ indie developers alone create an industry far more diverse and distributed than it was even a decade ago.
Furthermore, most publisher acquisitions have a net-zero effect on Xbox players (or most players even, in general). Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony acquiring studios is almost always a good thing for the respective studios (and the publisher); the one exception being the history Sony and Microsoft have with closing studios, though it seems those days are largely behind us given that Game Pass has removed the traditional metrics that have condemned studios at Xbox in the past (and the fact that Xbox is the pillar business it is now) and the fact that Playstation is doing considerably better today than when the majority of Sony’s closures occurred. I would strongly advise people grow up and stop viewing things strictly through this FUD-filled console-warring lens… it must be a miserable way to exist.
I also understand that, as it stands right now, Xbox acquisitions are exciting because of the implications they have for Game Pass; I’d argue that as such, Xbox acquisitions are in a unique position to benefit gamers as much as the developer and publisher (in the other scenarios, there’s no net-benefit for gamers). That said, Microsoft/Xbox have given you all ample indications that acquisitions are going to continue, and are in process based on the message, hires, etc. Additionally, Phil just reaffirmed how well Series hardware is selling and the Xbox business is healthier than it’s ever been (rife with a variety of offerings that are unparalleled for its history), making the doomposting surrounding a perceived missed chance and the impending sky-falling for Xbox absolutely ludicrous. So just relax and celebrate the wins for the developers that are acquired by respectful publishers… and question the ones that aren’t 
Edit: the last dig was meant as: question those studios that aren’t bought when they should be and those bought by publishers with problematic histories that would have been better for the developer to be picked up by someone else (ie Activision).
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So, did you hear that MS already bought new studios or Is going to finalize some acquisitions?
Forza could use a support studio 
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Awesome!!! That money can go towards acquiring Ember Lab instead. 
This. Its a important distinction that gets left out in a lot of these discussions. The ability to do something and its practical business sense are completely different worlds.
MS carries 130-140 Billion in cash year over year, which is right on par with Sony’s entire market cap (I think Sony’s market cap is currently around 150). They have the money to do just about anything. But that isn’t how a business operates.
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Wasn’t it reported only a few months ago they were working working on a twisted metal reboot. That’s rough
I wonder who will report the behind the scene gossip first. Who brought it first in the first place? Was it Grubb? I bet he will have a follow-up story.
Sony did try to get Leyou for over a $1billion recently, so they are definitely in the market. Just like all of the big players are.
I just wish folk didn’t treat these business dealings as some sort of game you can win, it’s just business.
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