Xbox Acquisition |OT6| If this is about competition, let us have competition

Tech industry is down

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Yes, but there is no reason to sell a company at the worst evaluation in the past half decade unless the place is on fire. If they hold out for another few years they’ll likely get 3x.

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Yeah, I agree with that, particularly if they don’t have shareholder pressure.

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I personally find it interesting the way Phil talks about the tv and movie side of videogames. And WB is expected to able to be sold off by 2024 of q2 :thinking:.

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Platinum games, level 5, and rabbit and bear. Form a Japanese games division. One which Sony abandoned.

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I think we’ll see further investment from both sides in that area.

Sony has pretty clearly shown they’re willing to pick up familiar talent. Phil has made it pretty clear Japan is culturally important to gaming.

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Maybe, I don’t see Sony making that much investments in Japan tbh, they closed down their own Japan studio. I think they only care about final fantasy tbh.

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People have to remember that Japan studio was a management disaster.

I think people are jumping the gun a little too soon, especially when you look at some of the trends of Sony’s acquisitions.

I still believe both sides are further investing into the region (which will probably lead to acquisitions).

Edit: Also a friendly reminder, Team Asobi (whats left of Japan Studio) still very much exists.

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WB is a huge risk to take on due to taking on debt and sorting out it’s awful management. If Microsoft going to acquire an entertainment company I feel it would be Netflix since it will be easier to integrate Microsoft and Xbox service to Netflix than wb. A major issue with wb is their streaming service is not global and a lot of tv contracts with telecom in major markets which could make things tricky

After ABK I really feel they will acquire a handful of studios, then sega, then individual studios. After that i think they will be pretty much done for awhile

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not saying MS should buy WB but all of these tv contracts are ending in early 2024. This is why WBD said that their new streaming app will be available in most markets from 2024.

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I know in the UK their deal with Sky ends in 2024 but unsure if there’s a renew clause. Then I know in Canada they have a long term deal with Bell media. Unsure how it is in other markets, but I do agree becomes more attractive they can clear that up, but I hear the app needs a major overhaul

yea they said its a new app because the previous one was causing too many problems.

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I’d add one more, Sega and have all those companies now be under the Sega banner.

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Honestly, Capcom would be as beneficial to Xbox as Bethesda is right now (from my point of view, Capcom is clearly the Japanese Bethesda on many criteria). Capcom has reached such a level of quality in recent years. It would be an incredible acquisition for Microsoft.

BUT, SEGA would also be a great acquisition for Microsoft. RGG and Atlus would be great for Xbox, then you have Sonic, and all the western studios doing great work on PC. If I had to choose 2 Japanese studios to grow SEGA I would choose Platinum Games (which would bring Project GG / The Wonderful 101, and could work on Bayonetta / Vanquish / Scalebound / Phantom Dust…) and ARC System Work (which would bring Guilty Gear / BlazBlue, and could work on Killer Instinct / Persona Arena / Virtua Fighter…). We would already have something very solid for the Japanese part with very varied games.

It is also interesting to note Phil Spencer’s reference to Jet Set Radio (and his regret at not having been able to add it to the backwards compatibility program) in his interview with IGN (when he talks about Hi-Fi Rush).

Between Capcom and SEGA my heart swings. I wish it was both, but to have one of those two already would be amazing for Xbox.

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I don’t think capcom is for sale since they turned around every franchise.

I feel sega is the most possible of the Japanese publishers

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The Sky TV deal with HBO actually seems to end in 2025. So for some places in the world, the wait for HBO to launch their own streaming service in those places, will be even longer.

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Yeah , I think with existing deals like that in major markets can slow down plans. I feel if Microsoft goes entertainment route they want an app that’s in every home and then provide xcloud on it

My gut says Sega. Before Bethesda they were my top pick then they got bought out. I would say relationship and company wise sega shares the most similar framework as Bethesda

Indeed, SEGA is the most likely option, but we might be surprised. I don’t think he has a Japanese publisher who really needs to sell. But the games are more and more expensive to produce (SEGA complained about it some time ago) and these two publishers (Capcom and SEGA) do not generate indecent income (SEGA places a lot of [financial] hope on Hyenas ), so who knows what might happen.

Yes, I agree, in terms of a long-term relationship with Microsoft, SEGA is the publisher that comes closest to acquiring Bethesda. And it would be great news if SEGA joined the Xbox family. The acquisition of SEGA would provoke less reaction than that of Capcom (or Bethesda/ABK), but the catalog of games added to the Xbox universe would still be of very high quality.