Thanks for the info, still think as a gaming company they are not very good. but they have some amazing ip. Still have fond memories of playing Castlevania as a kid, it probably one of if not my favorite IP of all-time
True, Castlevania SOTN is in my top 10 of all time and the handheld metroidvania entries are GOAT.
Even if Castlevania came back I want it to be like that, not a “Soulslike” or “action adventure”.
I’m glad Bloodstained actually did deliver IMO, and the 2 8 bit spin offs by Inti Creates are also fantastic.
And for Konami, well it sucks they stopped caring about us in the West. Their JP focused games sell millions though and fill that need very well, so I won’t say they’re “a bad company” in that regard (the Kojima situation was brutal and horrific though). Would like a new 2D Castlevania though.
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In defense of journalists, Konami has dug themselves a big hole on various fronts.
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Kojima vs Konami
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Konami workplace leaks/rumors
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Trash Fire Major Releases (MG Survive, Contra Rogue Corps)
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Scaling down global appeal
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Blacklisting critical takes on their products
Of course Konami is more than just pachinkos, but outside of Japan they’re not doing a lot. The fact that we’re celebrating one F2P Yu-Gi-Oh! game when we use to receive multiple a year is insane to think about imo.
Here’s to hoping they can recover in a bigger way and pull a CAPCOM on us.
To keep it on topic though, I feel like they’re one of the few Japanese publishers that currently do not make sense for an acquisition.
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The best path in the short term for Xbox imo is to buy individual studios that can be pushed through without scrutiny from the FTC in order to build their studio production quickly. Then after acquiring 8-12 independent studios, then they can acquire another publisher.
For example make sure they acquire studios like Asobo, Certain Affinity, IOI and then build on their base with some studios they don’t currently work with but are superbly talented like Supergiant, Hello Games and Hazelight.
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I know people really want Asobo (me included), but I truly feel like they’re trying to inflate their price tag at this point.
They’ve brought up on multiple occasions about wanting to stay independent. I feel like IO kinda fits in that same mold.
But like anything, words only mean so much to so many companies when a check starts getting written.
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I don’t see Microsoft going after small mid sized developers. They are all in on big IPs with high engagement values and popularity.
There is no difference between acquiring multiple studios and a publisher. Depends on size of the studios of course.
The home it takes to finish those acquisitions. I’m saying the best path forward is to buy and quickly close on a bunch of independent studio acquisitions before tying themselves up with a publisher and delaying their buildout further.
They should also be after diversity of content and there is (likely) no Japanese option that is looking to sell.
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You could arguably say that Sega has been streamlining itself for acquisition over the past 18 months.
I mean, yeah, but the still have substantial non-gaming business.
No, they are more than likely evaluating all potential acquisitions, not just big IPs.
I agree with you 100 percent, but I think ubisoft is next they are prime for a buyout
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Ubisoft is definitely looking tasty if they want regular content for GP!
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Ubisoft has made pretty clear they don’t want to be acquired haven’t they? What they seem to be aiming for now is financial backing to retain independence rather than to end up under a larger publisher. Honestly probably a good thing with Activision ongoing and WB Games/Square Enix looking to sell things could do with cooling down a bit.
I don’t think Microsoft needs Ubisoft and instead they should try to work a deal to get Ubisoft+ on gamepass. I’d rather Microsoft look at getting studios like Asobo, IO Interactive, WB Games, Certain Affinity, Crytek, Avalanche, Stoic, Kalypso Media, Playtonic Games, or a Japanese studio or publisher.
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Sure but they’re legally required to consider any offers that are made - that doesn’t really say much. They are supposedly in talks with finance firms but the last I heard it was reported they were looking to use their help to retain control over the company rather than selling it outright.
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I really enjoyed Eiyuden Chronicles Rising and it scored decent for such a small team on their first game (71 meta) especially with it just being a companion title. Their real game Eiyuden Chronicles Hundred Heroes comes out next year. The studio behind both is Rabbit and Bear Studios. This studio is showing they are efficient and they have the creators of Suikoden. This could be a really smart Japanese purchade and perhaps Xbox could even buy the Suikoden IP for them.
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True but there is a difference in legally reviewing offers (as required) and publicly stating your open to offers.
I don’t think it will be long until they sit under another publisher (if they stall it this year), the question IMO is when.
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Master Duel is doing super well, i hope whoever buys them supports yugioh better