Bethesda plz acquire IOI & Asobo
2 Likes
We have found the loophole while they are still busy with ABK! Now we have to tell Phil and Satya the plan 
We are such geniuses
3 Likes
There actually is a bit of a playbook as @profjjj has repeatedly tried to educate people here on, and a lot of that tends to fly in the face of what’s being mentioned by the aforementioned two.
Yep. Hostile takeovers do, in fact, warrant greater levels of scrutiny for governing bodies and Microsoft has spent nearly two decades repairing its relationship with at least one of the most prominent governing bodies. The insistence that they’d jeopardize that is hilariously absurd. I do think there’s never been a mass exodus following an acquisition though, to lightly push against that initial assertion.
The point is still being missed: Japan Studio’s closure has nothing to do with Final Fantasy exclusivity. The downtrend of Sony’s popularity in Japan, JS’ typical Japanese-focused titles, and Sony’s focus on Western markets contributed to Japan Studio’s closure far more than the support of a singular exclusive which has little to no demographic overlap with JS titles.
I think you mean all of WB right? Figured, I’d fix that for you 
Separate note: I know a lot of people think that any acquisition is possible with a big-enough bag of money, but history has proven time and time again that’s not always the case - ethics, cultural underpinnings, and other intangible factors have crashed and/or prevented acquisition attempts more times than you’d think.
8 Likes
To be honest - not really. @profjjj did not provide that many new points. The difference is that I and some other folks are committed to certain ideas (like we believe that if something were to happen, it would happen for reason X), rather than providing the general point of view.
I believe the point was that having a direct presence in Japan (I think they have some team there though) for Sony is not necessary as they are getting all the games they need by having Square Enix and market share in their pocket. Nobody believes that Persona 6 or FF16 or some other bigger game will skip Playstation. Some small ones? Possible but highly unlikely - at best some Nintendo switch time exclusive, but still launches on Playstation later. Of course no Xbox version in sight 
Even when Microsoft announced Sega alliance, Sega came out and said that it did not mean exclusive games. With Kojima deal, KojiPro came out and said that they would still have good relationship with Playstation. Hell, even with time exclusive games, we always know when the Xbox time exclusive game is coming to Playstation, while with Sony we are not even sure if the deal won’t be extended.
The dynamics between Xbox and Playstation are different, so Sony has much more leeway in their actions. At least for now. They can do more with less. They can do nothing and still we can expect Resident Evil to come to their platform for example.
3 Likes
Hmm, so you think MS would face magnified scrutiny and serious regulation measures if they intend to acquire more publishers after ABK, specifically in case of no other similar acquisitions being attempted in the market at large?
That’s not what I’m saying; I explicitly said hostile takeovers would garner more scrutiny… because they do and always have.
1 Like
So you’re adverse to giving any credence to someone providing professional expertise? Got it, totally healthy means of discussion…
8 Likes
It appears you’re mixing my post with the other argument about hostile takeover. My post/argument and the points that @TheBrightestSun @WAHderfulGoldenStar made to was about whether MS would be allowed to be the only ones buying big publishers. It wasn’t about Capcom or the hostile takeover thing.
I now realize they also participated in the hostile takeover thing and yeah things probably weren’t so clear in the thread lol
Well…I didn’t want to get too greedy but…
2 Likes
What? You implied that whatever we were saying was wrong in comparison to the points made by people that are more familiar with that stuff. I just answered that our points were not that different. Yes, they were not that eloquently articulated, but it did not make them fly in our faces - we are just more committed to certain reasons for the acquisition.
Like for example whether the company is bloated vs Microsoft needs more people, exclusivity vs engagement etc.
5 Likes
I was crossing wires between the points about hostile takeovers and whether MS could theoretically pick up additional publishers - specifically the former. Apologies, let the tomato tossing ensue.
3 Likes
anyway, am I the only one who think MS doesn’t care as much about Japan as people act? I am not saying this in a bad way as obviously they are putting in effort into trying to get Japanese games on xbox and game pass but in terms of acquisitions I don’t think it is as big of a plus as people like to act
The only presence Phil had on the last show was stating the importance of Japanese content. You can interpret this however you want, but I choose to believe he really meant that.
4 Likes
I am not saying they don’t care if these games skip xbox, I meant in an acquisition sense
Why wouldn’t they? They clearly are impressed by the Monster Hunter numbers and FFXIV is an MMO more successful than WOW.
I just don’t see why MS would priories capcom over T2 for example just because they are from Japan. I think they may eventually pick up a Japanese publisher but I don’t see them doing it because the companies is based in Japan
Why did they priorities Zenimax over TakeTwo? It depends where they want to get stronger or where a smart opportunity arises. I mean why stop there? Why priorities TakeTwo over EA?
2 Likes
See, that’s the issue with the argument.
I don’t believe anyone is saying that a publisher needs to be bought purely because they’re Japanese, that’s only a segment of the actual reason.
Many of the Japanese pubs are some of the oldest businesses in the industry, and with that age comes not only a catalog of IP, but expertise, staff, relationships/connections, brand awareness, etc.
Part of the reason (imo) we see so many posts about Japanese studios and publishers is because there are so many of them, many of which are independent.
Also helps that Phil has set the precedent that getting Tango Gameworks was “a step”. Here’s the quote:
“I’ve talked for a long time about our desire to have more of a first-party presence in Japan. This is a great step there.“
Link for quote: https://www.thegamer.com/phil-spencer-tango-gameworks-xbox-japan/
6 Likes
People reducing the idea that Xbox and/or fans want to pick up a Japanese publisher simply because they’re Japanese and attributing it to something any of us have said is disingenuous misrepresentation. Most of the big Japanese titles sell considerably more in the west, which tells us that there is a foundation for that type of content and baking it into first-party would fill that need.
7 Likes