I know it sounds kinda weird, but somehow I feel like ms gonna acquire studios or publisher in Japan next year after seeing all these announcements regarding Japanese games. 
dont think so …
No I would say expanding in general. People focus way to much on Japan but their are tons of markets MS can expand in. Japan is obviously one of them but then you also have places like Korea and India too. The riot stuff confirms we shouldn’t single in on Japan in my opinion (I am not saying MS won’t buy a Japanese publishers)
Its possible but I think you are over think it. I think Microsoft’s is simply making deals with game pass. Think about it, a port probably doesn’t cost much to create and Microsoft is probably paying a decently high amounts for them to go onto game pass so its like they are getting paid to port it so instant profit.
I am not saying they won’t buy a Japanese publisher, a capcom acquisition wouldn’t shock me and if the stuff with Sammy SEGA isn’t as a big of a deal as I think it is SEGA is probably also a likely pick up, same with Koei Tecmo and their other divisions but I wouldn’t bank on the next one being from Japan, escpecially because of that. Just my opinion but I think EA and Take Two are more likely pick ups
Phil has mentioned numerous times how important it is to the fans and Xbox gamers to get Japanese games specifically. This was such a significant effort that Phil came out to literally talk about three different Japanese teams/releases before introducing Todd for Starfield.
Phil even said Tango was the first step in Japan and specifically mentioned he was super excited to meet that team and Mikami, especially after talking for years about wanting first party team(s) in that country.
They’ve literally been doing TGS with new announcements for at least the last couple years.
They’ve introduced multiple franchises for the first time on Xbox through Game Pass and usually treat them as large announcements such as Yakuza, Dragon Quest, Persona, and AI. They even went out of their way to make a big deal about having all the Final Fantasy games coming to Game Pass at one point.
I’m sure some people are sick about hearing Japan mentioned, but it’s not just the fans talking about it, it’s people at Microsoft/Xbox themselves too. And it’s not like if they start buying in Japan they’re suddenly not going to make purchases in other countries.
/end rant
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In term of studio add this one :
11 bit studios
Frostpunk is a incredible game. It’s match the stategy of PC/Console/Mobile strategy.
(I just check the back game, there is on another in the gamepass like Fallout Shelter, look good, I will installed it today lol).
(I just check the price of the studio 273 Millions $, that’s insanely hight for a 8.5 Million in gross income)
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I am not sick about Japan but I am saying Japan isn’t anymore important than it was before. Most of the major publishers are located in Japan or America though and most american content comes to xbox so them hype the Japanese content not to mention it is a big request from the xbox community to get more Japanese support by publishers so them hyping them up makes sense too
But if it’s Japanese content that the Xbox community wants, wouldn’t it make sense to have more first party studios making that content?
Especially when they break the “12 Month” window rule for a partnership announcement with Kojima?
IMO, all signs are pointing to further growth first party-wise in that region. Whether is via publisher acquisition and/or studio acquisition is yet to be seen.
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Yeah obviously it makes sense. I specify this when I said i wasn’t claiming a Japanese acquisition wouldn’t happen, a lot of gaming publishers are located in Japan so it feels like an inevitability that Microsoft would eventually buy someone there. I am just saying it not more likely than it was before
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After Tango Gameworks it is inevitable that they acquire more talent in Japan. With the new Xbox management I would definitely say it’s more likely now then ever.
They aren’t afraid to go out and spend nearly 70 billion on the biggest independent publisher, a few Japanese studios or a 5-10 billion Japanese publisher isn’t going to stop them at all.
They don’t have a special segment for Kojima, Persona and Wo Long if they don’t intend to do more in Japan.
I also wouldn’t be surprised if we see a few more acquisitions in South Korea, Germany, India and the UK as they are also huge gaming markets. China is still the biggest but I don’t think an acquisition there would be possible.
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Obviously they can do all that but if we are talking publishers the question becomes would they priorities capcom over take two for example. As I said it does feel inevitable but I don’t think it would be what they would priorize personally
True, something like GTA will likely sell subs quicker than anything SE, Capcom or SEGA could do. Even EA’s properties would likely sell subscriptions quicker as sports games on day one would be huge…
Unless they ever sell a portable Xbox or Xcloud improves substantially it’s clear the Switch is always going to dominate Japan anyway.
Partnering with Riot Games was smart, they should however bring native Xbox and Cloud versions of their games too IMO! League of Legends on cloud would be stupidly big.
Yeah. In terms of the big gaming companies i think their are 7 (soon to be 6) and those are Microsoft, Tencent, Sony, Nintendo, Activision (about to be purchased by Microsoft), EA and Take Two. Any of those company’s (exept sony) would expand the desire to sub to game pass massively. Other companies like capcom or SEGA or Ubisoft or so on obviously would also achive this like Bethesda did but we know MS is willing to go all in now so I don’t see why they would refuse to pay maybe $45B on take two | Zynga or $50B on EA and T2 is a better buy, like that isnt even a debate, and EA is debatable but I would argue they are better.
Also for the others, Microsoft is already one of them. Tencent is too big to acquire and in bed with the Chinese goverment regardless so yeah, not happening. Sony is big but actually a realistic acquisition for MS to do purely from a cost perspective, but they have tons of shit outside of gaming but if we speaking within gaming solely…they are a pretty bad pick ups. Nintendo is the best pick up by far but not getting into that. Both EA and T2 are easily doable for MS
Yeah that would be clever but it would be up to tencent too which could cause issues (not saying it would, I am not sure, but its a possibility)
So, i think am going to say it:
Asobo, Paradox Interactive and Cococucumber are the most likely acquisition targets for Xbox as of now in my personal opinion.
What do you think? Is it likely for all three of them?
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None of them I think. Unless of course some other company will try to purchase them, then Microsoft will make move. Not sure about Cococucumber. Did they make anything before?
Now that’s some serious commitment to the bit.
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If Flintlock Seige of Dawn plays half as good/fun as it looks I think A44 should be a target for an Exclusive game deal with more funding, and or a possible acquisition. When I think of the 3rd person action/adventure/rpgish that people say Xbox needs more of Flintlock is the kind of game I picture. Good graphics, fast fun combat, interesting setting/story. A44 has stepped their game up tremendously since Ashen. I could only imagine their potential with full funding and resources.
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Yeah probably! It would be interesting to see if Tencent are ever forced to sell their American side and who would ultimately end up with Riot ‘moneymaker’ Games.
I think Ubisoft are potentially up there too. Their stocks have plummeted but it was once a 12.5 billion company and with the sheer volume of games it has and pumps put it would have a massive impact on the landscape if acquired. Their games are also always in the top 10 sellers every year!
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I’ll always have a candle for them 
Outside of Ninja Theory and Asobo there isn’t really anyone making those big cinematic style ‘blockbusters’, which aren’t already owned by Sony’s 30+ year long acquisitions spree.
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I also see A44 as a target for Xbox alongside Cococucumber and Asobo as acquisitions.
For publisher i definitely see Paradox Interactive, Sega and Focus Entertainment being ones that they try to acquire.
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Alright. So now the showcase is over. And we are in the Fiscal year 2023 (when ABK is supposed to be completed). Lets get back to this talk 
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