The games industry in Japan is very traditional and I believe is the opposite of MS aims in terms of acquiring.
No idea how you take my post any other way.
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Ubisoft are looking to partner with an investor, well they are not happening then.
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Ok bud.
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I don’t think this necessarily means anything at all.
As a gamer it is disappointing they didn’t get talented studios with IP like this but clearly from a business perspective they didn’t see it as worthwhile. I’m sure many publishers including Sony, EA, TakeTwo etc were aware but didn’t get them either.
I’m sure if there is something they see as ‘essential’ they will still bid.
Exactly. There is more to this transaction that is not public, MS, Sony, Tencent saw it and didn’t believe it made sense. We are not privy to the full costs, the cash was $300 million, but there’s also the $400 m debt, $500 m bank loans. It’s excess of $1billion.
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This post got me thinking. Do you think Microsoft would ever buy 49% or some other lesser but a large percentage of a studio or publisher and just put in the stipulation into the agreement that they have the right to match any takeover offer.
As its my understanding, if they owned non-controlling interest they wouldn’t have to go through the same amount of regulatory hurdles. However, could easily mean hey you don’t need to worry about takeover attempts or anything. Oh and by the way why don’t you release your stuff day and date on gamepass. We don’t care if its released on other platforms.
Microsoft and other tech giants very very rarely do that.
So… What have i missed?
They never had a reason to prior. However, the stronger regulations and harder looks can dictate changes in how one does business.
I very much doubt they would.
The one and only exception IMO would be if Tencent were forced to sell there 40% in Epic Games. Only then because a big chunk of the Xbox studios use Unreal Engine.
I have an idea! How about, any time someone mentions the Japanese market (or any other that isn’t your national origin), we avoid making ethnocentric generalizations hmmm? I could poke a thousand holes in the description that was being attributed just yesterday.
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I’ve in the past thought MS might want to buy all of Epic and with this news, I’m curious if that is more likely to happen.
I understand Tencent owns a good amount of Epic, but if offered the right number, I could see Tencent selling their shares.
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Epic & Microsoft are in cahoots regarding Apple’s walled garden and co. I don’t see Microsoft - or anybody - to buy Epic unless Tim Epic decides to sell.
This cloud stuff is really cool idea though which my encourage devs to port games to Xbox. Ironically if FF14 was on Xbox platform (considering its adapted gamepad controls) they could probably leverage something like this, but alas 
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Tim Epic lol
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It would have happened by now. I dont think theyll ever acquire a japanese publisher. Not even mofe devs
All these studios and MS own judt 1 japanese dev studio. Thats ridiculous.
I agree, while Epic would have some perks as an acquisition (unreal as a first party engine, and they’ve built quite a support network around fortnite that could be beneficial) they don’t really make sense as a games studio acquisition. I mean, I’m sure it’d be a solid investment financially but a free to play title they wouldn’t make exclusive doesn’t add much to xbox.
There haven’t been any acquisitions of Japanese publishers, perhaps it’s less Microsoft not trying and more none of them wanting to sell?
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I agree with @Hindle 's assessment of this as a reason why that’s been the case so far. I think Japanese publishers overall mostly don’t have the the type of games that make them priority acquisition targets for western/tech giants worth paying $billions for, the live service games with large MAUs, social aspects, and constant revenue streams.
That said, I still think there’s great value for MS in a Japanese publisher, it would be a mutual benefit to both, help MS get ground in Japan, and help the publisher grow and adapt to the future as well (technology, cloud, live service modeling, etc).
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Phil must make an offer to Capcom in that case
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Capcom do have a Monster Hunter as a game with longevity and live service model. Plus, they are really a Western leaning Japanese publisher.
However, I really believe Capcom don’t want to sell. And if they do, it’s on their terms (remain multiplatform, no creative interference, etc)
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