Support NeoGAF

[Tomi]

So they will buy Sony

 

[adamsapple]

So they will buy Sony

I think Sony's market cap is a little over 13bn lol. EA is also way above $13bn if I'm not mistaken.

If they're already in serious talks to buy a publisher, it's either Ubisoft or Namco or hell even Square Enix.

 

[Bo_Hazem]

Not sure about that. Chinese money has infiltrated every part of the US economy, including at the highest level of government. US is much easier to infiltrate by foreign money than Japan is.

Maybe some companies, but MS is very connected to the military and other security-related branches. I simply can't see it going to a foreign company grip.

 

[Wastelander92]

Please be Ubisoft so I can continue to not give a shit about them.

 

[Futaleufu]

It has to be Capcom. They already own 5-10% and are pushing for esports.

They didnt buy SNK overnight. First they got 10%, then 49% then the whole company.

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

Their first two games:

“Why Jamal Khashoggi Deserved It”

And

“Phil Mickelson’s LIV Tour 2k23”

 

[John Wick]

Take Two bought Zynga for 12.7 Billion
Tencent bought 84% of Supercell for 9 Billion
Activision bought King for 6 Billion


Take a seat junior

So which one of these was the size of Zenimax junior?

 

[Hosam6xavi]

If it was me it will be between namco bandai and ubisoft

 

[remember_spinal]

So they’ll stay multiplatform? Works for me

 

[yurinka]

So they will buy Sony

No they would need like 4 or 5 times or more money than this budget and to apply all that budget only in this acquisition, not in multiple acquisitions and investments. And Sony would have to want to sell, which isn't the case. And the Japanese government shouldn't block to tech companies like Sony from being sold to foreigners as it's the case of Sony.

Please be Ubisoft so I can continue to not give a shit about them.

Ubisoft doesn't want to sell and covered their ass against unwanted acquisitions recently with the help of Tencent. So won't happen.

I think Sony's market cap is a little over 13bn lol. EA is also way above $13bn if I'm not mistaken.

SIE alone makes $25B per year. Sony's market cap is around $84B and this is considering the yen is very weak now, with a stronger yen would be higher. And well, to acquire it would mean to pay a premium, which in recent big gaming companies has been around 40%, 60% and is rising. So let's say they only would pay a 50%, then to buy Sony would cost around $125B or more. And that would be if Sony would and to sell and if the Japanese government would allow it, which isn't the case.

 

[adamsapple]

So which one of these was the size of Zenimax junior?

At least 2 of them are more than what MS paid for Zenimax.

I shouldn't have to pull out a calculator for you here bro seriously lol

And all these happened before that acquisition, so thicc_girls_are_teh_best 's earlier assertion that MS enabled this is completely and utterly wrong.

Not to mention the Kingdom has been investing billions in all initiatives, including gaming, for years now., This is not a sudden/unprecedented move.

Now let's hug it out.

 

[OZ9000]

As long as this stops the woke fest I see in games nowadays then I don't mind.

I kind of miss gaming in the late 90s and 2000s - there was no drama and BS; just good quality vidya gaims.

 

[.Pennywise]

Doesn't seem to be a serious investment to be honest, that's like the spare change they got from buying something from their actual pocket change to them.

 

[GHG]

The worry is that this can change, at any point, in the near to semi-distant future. In fact, there's a good chance of that happening because when governments are directly pumping money into entertainment, at some point propaganda always rolls along.

Doing some looking into government-assisted propaganda in Hollywood, for example, is pretty eye-opening to say the least. And I'm not talking about the modern propaganda; I'm talking about stuff dating back to the '50s, '60s and '70s.

You're saying this like the western woke propoganda we're currently witnessing is any better.

 

[SlimySnake]

You're saying this like the western woke propoganda we're currently witnessing is any better.

It is. Id rather see two lesbians kissing than CCP, Russian and fundamental islamist propaganda.

 

[GHG]

It is. Id rather see two lesbians kissing than CCP, Russian and fundamental islamist propaganda.

If only it was just 2 lesbians kissing.

 

[Jinzo Prime]

I think that would be a couple billion short for Namco Bandai based on their market cap

https://companiesmarketcap.com/bandai-namco/marketcap/ [14.5 B]

https://companiesmarketcap.com/capcom/marketcap/ [5.6 B]

https://companiesmarketcap.com/square-enix/marketcap/ [5.3 B]

The Japanese publishers other than Sony or Nintendo are pretty small and may be targeted by these Saudi investments.

 

[MScarpa]

Unless the Saudi buyers somehow interfere with the nuts and bolts of development, it's a way better option compared to, let's say, MS acquiring the publisher and making its titles exclusive. But that's just me...

I'm not locked in to just one platform unlike some people. In your example with MS, it's day and date on Gamepass, so thats a great thing.

 

[Majormaxxx]

Mohammed from Qatar has been doing it for years. If you know, you know. EDF EDF EDF

 

[Futaleufu]

Mohammed from Qatar has been doing it for years. If you know, you know. EDF EDF EDF

Mohammed from Qatar got stiffed by CGR

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Take Two bought Zynga for 12.7 Billion
Tencent bought 84% of Supercell for 9 Billion
Activision bought King for 6 Billion


Take a seat junior

Take Two/Zynga was after MS purchased Zenimax and after MS announced intent to buy ABK

Supercell were 100% mobile focused, no one in console gaming gives a flying crap about them

King is also 100% mobile, no one in console gaming cared about Activision buying them plus Activision was still a 3P publisher afterwards.

It has to be Capcom. They already own 5-10% and are pushing for esports.

They didnt buy SNK overnight. First they got 10%, then 49% then the whole company.

Yeah, this is the worrying part. Similar investment trends between SNK and Capcom, though IIRC it's a different branch that owns SNK not tied to this one talking about buying its own publisher.

It's all funded by the same source though, and that's a bit of a problem. These branches or whatever are basically just subsidiaries.

So they’ll stay multiplatform? Works for me

I mean, that's the only silver lining in this. It's still industry consolidation, it may still potentially mean LESS games, worst value for the customer. But at least they still stay a 3P.

No they would need like 4 or 5 times or more money than this budget and to apply all that budget only in this acquisition, not in multiple acquisitions and investments. And Sony would have to want to sell, which isn't the case. And the Japanese government shouldn't block to tech companies like Sony from being sold to foreigners as it's the case of Sony.

Not only that, but Sony's also a protected company under Japan's laws, since they're involved in Japanese finance, medical, and military fields. So they're simply off-limits for any foreign entity to even think about purchasing.

They also have investments from Japanese banks and IIRC are setting up their own bank in Japan. So yeah, Sony shouldn't even be a part of this conversation in terms of companies these Saudi groups or any group/company/firm for that matter would look to buy, especially if they're non-Japanese.

At least 2 of them are more than what MS paid for Zenimax.

I shouldn't have to pull out a calculator for you here bro seriously lol

And all these happened before that acquisition, so thicc_girls_are_teh_best 's earlier assertion that MS enabled this is completely and utterly wrong.

Not to mention the Kingdom has been investing billions in all initiatives, including gaming, for years now., This is not a sudden/unprecedented move.

Now let's hug it out.

You seem to be ignoring that in the other examples you listed, those were all still 3P publishers remaining 3P publishers after buying independent developers, or whatever. The open market for independent 3P publishers remained the same, and remained stable. It's nowhere near the same as a literal platform holder buying up big 3P publishers and removing them from the open market of 3P companies, causing that segment of the market to effectively shrink.

I guess by "the Kingdom" you're referring to United Kingdom or Britain? OK, and? That's one thing, and as long as they either do that through investing into other organizations, firms etc. that then invest into the games, that at least limits the influence they can have on the games in terms of censorship. Also let's not pretend that the UK or Britain are "just as bad" as Saudi Arabia when it comes to modern human rights or civil rights; obviously those nations have their history of BS but vast majority of people have a better chance at a decent quality of life in the UK or Britain over living in Saudi Arabia.

You're saying this like the western woke propoganda we're currently witnessing is any better.

Trading shit for shit still leaves you with shit in your hand :/

 

[John Wick]

At least 2 of them are more than what MS paid for Zenimax.

I shouldn't have to pull out a calculator for you here bro seriously lol

And all these happened before that acquisition, so thicc_girls_are_teh_best 's earlier assertion that MS enabled this is completely and utterly wrong.

Not to mention the Kingdom has been investing billions in all initiatives, including gaming, for years now., This is not a sudden/unprecedented move.

Now let's hug it out.

What are you going on about? Non of those companies is the size of Zenimax. They are mainly mobile developers/social media.
Why have you bought valuation into it? I never mentioned the valuation or sell price.

 

[GhostOfTsu]

Take Two bought Zynga for 12.7 Billion
Tencent bought 84% of Supercell for 9 Billion
Activision bought King for 6 Billion


Take a seat junior

Mobile games and none of them are platform holders

Log off and delete your account

 

[Amiga]

Mwahahahha!

...or have a minority stake in

 

[adamsapple]

You seem to be ignoring that in the other examples you listed, those were all still 3P publishers remaining 3P publishers after buying independent developers, or whatever. The open market for independent 3P publishers remained the same, and remained stable. It's nowhere near the same as a literal platform holder buying up big 3P publishers and removing them from the open market of 3P companies, causing that segment of the market to effectively shrink.

We've seen this discussion elsewhere as well, the market share is not shrinking, it is gaining more visibility, especially considering the biggest franchises some of y'all boil it down to, i-e Call of Duty, will remain multiplatform.

I guess by "the Kingdom" you're referring to United Kingdom or Britain?

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, just short-handing Kingdom for it.

What are you going on about? Non of those companies is the size of Zenimax. They are mainly mobile developers/social media.
Why have you bought valuation into it? I never mentioned the valuation or sell price.

What else is there to talk about right now but valuation, since we literally don't know which publisher KSA are looking to acquire, just a ball park of their budget for the acquisition.

We're weighing the scale of their purchase in monetary value against other similar acquisitions. thicc_girls_are_teh_best 's original post which I quoted was talking about companies buying big publisher, there was no mention of platforms and/or exclusives etc.

Mobile games and none of them are platform holders

Log off and delete your account

I still owe you an adaptive hug.

You're saying this like the western woke propoganda we're currently witnessing is any better.

MBS is a hip mofo, he hasn't forced them to put on a veil on Blue Mary so far.

I think we're gonna be OK

 

[onnextflix5]

Look at some of the post's here and see how the media reacts

Non of them know anything other than what the state owned Media tell them

Ask anyone who lives here and see what he says about the country

So how dose that make them racist

 

[Amiga]

If it was me it will be between namco bandai and ubisoft

Better to avoid the big publishers with bloated stock prices. Go for smaller but talented developers then build them up. Imagine Y's with the graphics of Horizon Forbidden West instead of the graphics of a smartwatch. Another good value idea would be to buy Konomi's IP and then buy Kojima Productions.

 

[AmuroChan]

Maybe some companies, but MS is very connected to the military and other security-related branches. I simply can't see it going to a foreign company grip.

I don't see that happening either, but I also don't think a foreign entity needs to buy out Microsoft to acquire military or national security secrets. That information is already compromised as far as I'm concerned. We had a sitting congressman who literally slept with a Chinese spy. Foreign entities have much easier ways to acquire our national secrets than to buy up a software company.

 

[GhostOfTsu]

I still owe you an adaptive hug.

Don't want your viri

 

[Yoboman]

So all anime waifus in hijabs

 

[NickFire]

I Know it’s controversial within the sport but they’re trying to grow a PGA competitor. Lots of guys making easier money from their investment. They also have a decent pro wrestling following I’m guessing since they have a big show there each year. If they want to try out gaming then best of luck and hopefully they bring something fresh and interesting. Lots of potential jobs for people too. Only thing I’m not too keen on is buying a pub. I’d rather someone making a new investment that big start a new one, get some devs and open some new devs, and hire top talent from elsewhere and let proven recent results run the technical stuff.

 

[Neolombax]

Theyre looking to diversify their income. Gaming can be quite lucrative nowadays, esp with microtransactions and such. Its all business, I dont think theyre looking into changing gaming into a more halal business lol.

 

[jhjfss]

tencent should take square enix
saudi should take capcom
MS should take sega
Sony should take... a nap.

 

[Panajev2001a]

We've seen this discussion elsewhere as well, the market share is not shrinking, it is gaining more visibility,

You are not really believing this right?

 

[Andrew Evenstar]

HELL YEAH. no more beta identity politics in games.

 

[nial]

hey, at least games would still be multiplatform.

"We're introducing the Savvy console, the home to experience Assassin's Creed, Grand Theft Auto, Resident Evil, Tomb Raider and Battlefield all in one place! Only for $750."

 

[custardbun01]

Acquire the Flight Simulator IP from MS...

 

[Majormaxxx]

Mohammed from Qatar got stiffed by CGR

Bummer :/

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

Gaming is not the only industry oil/resources money is gunning for now and off into the future.

 

[Panajev2001a]

Gaming is not the only industry oil/resources money is gunning for now and off into the future.

They are aggressively diversifying… which mmh does not spell a huge confidence on their oil reserves on the medium to long term lol, but I prefer to hope they are just greedy or discovered finance.

 

[EDMIX]

Why?

Is Saudi Arabia a particularly large gaming market? Is it a fast-growing one?

Is the intention here to position SA as a new gaming development hub in order to grow its own domestic gaming market by producing nationally developed games for its respective audience?

I don't really get this.

It almost feels like a case of the Saudi Prince being an avid gamer and is just dicking around with his country's vast oil wealth to fuel his passion project.

Maybe, but any gamer with that type of wealth regardless of where they are from would probably do the same.

P Panajev2001a true, but a lot of it is based on diversify that portfolio as its clear the biggest markets on Earth for driving, United States, China, India, UK, Germany, Japan etc have already set their dates on banning the sale of the combustion engine. China imho being the most massive to make that shift as they dictate the entire world's economy with this shift.

So 2030 to 2035 is the target for many countries right now and its clear Saudi Arabia like many countries can see the writing on the wall. From now to 2035 in regards to tech and investments, thats a very, very short time frame and folks need to act now and invest wisely, so I'm not shocked you are seeing this. Oil of course will still be a huge money maker for many industries, but its clear those days of massive returns is behind them. I don't even see how it can continue to this exact same height now by 2035 tbh.

 

[drganon]

Id prefer no buyouts, but I'll take them over yet another Microsoft purchase.

 

[MadPanda]

Why?

Is Saudi Arabia a particularly large gaming market? Is it a fast-growing one?

Is the intention here to position SA as a new gaming development hub in order to grow its own domestic gaming market by producing nationally developed games for its respective audience?

I don't really get this.

It almost feels like a case of the Saudi Prince being an avid gamer and is just dicking around with his country's vast oil wealth to fuel his passion project.

They want to diversify and move away from being too dependent on oil. It's a smart idea, we'll see how they execute it.

 

[kyussman]

Allauh Akbar!

 

[P.Jack]

Saudi Arabia own 5% of Capcom and Embracer Group and Nintendo, You should also never buy from them

Don’t forget EA, Take Two and Activision Blizzard.

I hope the people boycotting are content with playing mostly indies.

 

[Poltz]

Well with all the M&A activity it was only a matter of time.

 

[Frank Horrigan]

What's the problem with this? More money to create more games it's a good thing to have financially stable developer's.

The industry has more money than it has ever had. It also has the most scummy practices, more unfinished and broken games launching, mtx, p2w, invasion of privacy....

Having more money enables more greed. When it was artists and needs making games first and foremost as a passion project, the industry was in a more healthy and stable situation.

This splintering between massive corporations that frankly couldn't give a fuck if gaming succeeds or not - outside of making a loss on their portfolio, leads to the disaster of an industry we have today.

 

[Lunarorbit]

Why?

Is Saudi Arabia a particularly large gaming market? Is it a fast-growing one?

Is the intention here to position SA as a new gaming development hub in order to grow its own domestic gaming market by producing nationally developed games for its respective audience?

I don't really get this.

It almost feels like a case of the Saudi Prince being an avid gamer and is just dicking around with his country's vast oil wealth to fuel his passion project.

FUCK BIN SALAAM. He is an avid gamer that's one of the major reasons this is happening. He's using tax money to invest in gaming to diversify and also to clean his image cause face it most gamers either don't care about his totalitarianism or turn a blind eye to it.

 

[Lunarorbit]

Best News of the day

We are the biggest market in the middle east and we should invest heavily in gaming

I will be enjoying the tears of western propagandists Media as always

Bro.... Gimme a break. Your rulers are terrorists

 

[oldergamer]

Since Sony can't make acquisitions like these...it's better than MS acquisitions. At least those games will remain multiplatform.

I disagree with you. Its better if ms are making the acquisitions. Id rather a console maker and multiplatform publisher buy game companies then some billionaire or investment firm that knows nothing of the industry. Ms is a software company and games are software. Period.

We already saw google get in and out of gaming very quickly. They are probably closing studios. Apple has little interest, and amazon hasnt made a splash