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[GHG]

Fellow ponies. Let's stand in a circle and hold our hands together (uhhh hooves) and pray to make this happen!!!

James Sawyer Ford @rofif GHG @Ass of Can Whooping @Three @demigod DeepEnigma

I don't even care whether or not this goes through, it has zero impact for me either way.

I'm just here for the deserved pain and suffering of the rats.

 

[Porcile]

Sony actively despises physical media so it would be sad to see Kadokawa who are a big magazine and book publisher fall under their umbrella.

 

[Varteras]

Fellow ponies. Let's stand in a circle and hold our hands together (uhhh hooves) and pray to make this happen!!!

James Sawyer Ford @rofif GHG @Ass of Can Whooping @Three @demigod DeepEnigma

Break it up!

 

[Tarin02543]

Prepare for DEI injection, demon souls remastered was just a taste

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

On top of that just seems smart to keep a good working relationship with Tencent. From what I understand to do business in China you have to work with a Chinese company.

That's what I was thinking, too. Why ruffle feathers that don't need to be ruffled? Of course if Tencent want to sell those shares, that's a completely different story.

Mibu no ookami Realistically, how likely are Sony Corp to go through all of that to get the remaining 30% of From Software?

MS only needs a 20% premium

But Sony needs a 500% premium that will bankrupt the company (it wouldn’t even if that price were true)

Guy is really showing his true Green Rat colors in full display. Fitting for a lawyer (liar)

He also has a family member (or friend of the family) who works at Microsoft, so on top of being stupified from being a shill, he has that going for him too.

I stopped watching his content early last year when he was capping ultra-hard with Sony FUD, and the last exchange we had on Twitter was just more of the same. Unfortunate, but between him and SoloKingRobert Florian Mueller these legal guys all seem to be stupid for Microsoft.

At least Idas tries being more neutral & less a douche, even if they also lean towards MS/Xbox. I can at least tolerate their takes and they weren't afraid to criticize the ABK stuff (to the point where fanboys on Twitter and the purple forum were getting mad at them).

 

[Thief1987]

Prepare for DEI injection, demon souls remastered was just a taste

Taste of what?

 

[Tarin02543]

Taste of what?

 

[GHG]

Are you stupid?

Here he is in the original:

Be a bit more subtle with your racism next time.

 

[Heisenberg007]

What are we looking at?

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

"OMG A DEI!!"

[...clowned one post later....]

YOU:



ME:

Whooooo it's been a long day...

 

[Fabieter]

No other Fromsoft game has had near the level of commercial success that Elden Ring has had despite them all being critically acclaimed, you're kidding yourself thinking being on PC wasn't a huge contributor to that.

While PC is likely the largest platform for FromSoftware games, there’s still potential to expand their audience with consistent, high-quality releases.

Atlus serves as a great example of this. Persona 4 sold better than Persona 3, and Persona 5 outperformed Persona 4. If *Metaphor* were to be exclusive, it would still likely sell better and faster than Persona 5. Atlus has built its audience and reputation over time, and FromSoftware could follow a similar trajectory, even on a single platform.

Now, imagine if FromSoftware had debuted with *Elden Ring*. There's no way it would have sold as well as it ultimately did without years of prior games building their reputation.

Anyways it would still get pc releases tho.

 

[EDMIX]

"OMG A DEI!!"

[...clowned one post later....]

YOU:



ME:

Whooooo it's been a long day...

i'm saying, its like they didn't even play the original, yet want to go around spreading this clown shit lol

 

[nowhat]

Way better than tencent or eraser group gobbling them up.

I don't think Embracer is in no position to do any acquisitions anymore? As a matter of fact, I'm surprised they're still afloat.

 

[nowhat]

i'm saying, its like they didn't even play the original, yet want to go around spreading this clown shit lol

Didn't you know? Playing the original is woke.

 

[DenchDeckard]

Ok, there seems to be more to this.

I would rather a Japanese company stayed Japanese so if they are selling no matter what it should be Sony that purchases them.

Would be rubbish if some other country owned kudokawa

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Ok, there seems to be more to this.

I would rather a Japanese company stayed Japanese so if they are selling no matter what it should be Sony that purchases them.

Would be rubbish if some other country owned kudokawa

Some speciation I read which makes sense:

“I am willing to speculate, that the leak was intentional with the purpose to prevent a takeover by other players like Kakao. If Kadokawa prefer Japanese buyer and the talks are between them and Sony with a some kind of set price before the leaks, the rise of the price is affecting directly a potential hostile takeover.”

This immediately buys Sony/Kadokawa time to get the deal done before other participants intervene

 

[DenchDeckard]

Some speciation I read which makes sense:

“I am willing to speculate, that the leak was intentional with the purpose to prevent a takeover by other players like Kakao. If Kadokawa prefer Japanese buyer and the talks are between them and Sony with a some kind of set price before the leaks, the rise of the price is affecting directly a potential hostile takeover.”

This immediately buys Sony/Kadokawa time to get the deal done before other participants intervene

Thanks dude.

Yeah, fuck a hostile take over. Now I've read this kind of stuff my moneys on Sony.

Best outcome here imo.

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

The Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) has issued an alert to investors regarding Sony Group’s reportedly ongoing acquisition talks with Kadokawa. The reason given for the alert is: “Unclear information regarding acquisition has arisen.”

News that Sony is trying to buy FromSoftware’s parent company Kadokawa broke on November 19, with Reuters reporting that a deal could be made within weeks. This has, unsurprisingly, had a big impact on the market, with Kadokawa’s shares skyrocketing yesterday and today, and Bandai Namco’s stock price taking a significant dive. It appears movements caused by the rumor were big enough to prompt a warning from the TSE.

The TSE puts out such alerts when rumors, leaks and other forms of unclear information deemed likely to have material impact on investment decisions become public. The last such alert was issued in June this year, when reports of Japan’s digital comics platform Infocom being bought by the US’s Blackstone surfaced.

Tokyo Stock Exchange issues alert about Sony acquisition of Kadokawa being “unclear information” - AUTOMATON WEST

The Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) has issued an alert to investors regarding Sony Group’s reportedly ongoing acquisition talks with Kadokawa.

automaton-media.com

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

"monopoly of japanese culture"
"we may be screwed as a society"
"consolidation never seen before in HISTORY"
"catching such big fish"

And i thought gaf was entertaining...holy shit. i wish this comment was from here lmao.

 

[Dafegamer]

Sony would own a large portion of anime media if that happens

 

[nowhat]

And i thought gaf was entertaining...holy shit. i wish this comment was from here lmao.

I don't visit that purple place, but at least the username checks out.

 

[DenchDeckard]

I don't even care whether or not this goes through, it has zero impact for me either way.

I'm just here for the deserved pain and suffering of the rats.

C'mon bro, we all know that you are really the greatest blue pony who delivers the receipts. That's why we love you.


On topic though, why is everyone upset with Crunchroll etc. am I out of touch on something?

I think Crunchyroll is pretty good isn't it?

 

[mansoor1980]

now i am become sony the destroyer of worlds

 

[Mibu no ookami]

C'mon bro, we all know that you are really the greatest blue pony who delivers the receipts. That's why we love you.


On topic though, why is everyone upset with Crunchroll etc. am I out of touch on something?

I think Crunchyroll is pretty good isn't it?

They aren't really. They're looking for an angle in which they can have hopium that the deal is blocked.

They've made Kadokawa into this anime/manga juggernaut as if they were the top company in the industry.

It's actually hilarious.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

That's what I was thinking, too. Why ruffle feathers that don't need to be ruffled? Of course if Tencent want to sell those shares, that's a completely different story.

Mibu no ookami Mibu no ookami Realistically, how likely are Sony Corp to go through all of that to get the remaining 30% of From Software?

First, you need to remember that Sony already owns part of the 30 percent you're referring to.

This would bring Sony to 83.75% ownership.

So it's a near certainty that they would squeeze Tencent out.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

"monopoly of japanese culture"
"we may be screwed as a society"
"consolidation never seen before in HISTORY"
"catching such big fish"

And i thought gaf was entertaining...holy shit. i wish this comment was from here lmao.

the momentum is crumbling in front of their eyes.

 

[UltimaKilo]

With MS we wouldn't be worried about no PC. Situations like Bloodborne where a game is left to rot on PS4. Sure, you can play it on PS5 but it looks and runs like shit. Demon's Souls, after 4+ years is still PS only for example. Maybe that wouldn't be the case with From Software, but we don't want it to chance.

It's not just being able to play a game. I have the Pro, I'm fine with buying games for PS, for me Mods are huge. I put more time into Dark Souls 3 mods than the base game. If Demon's Souls was on PC a year later, we'd have 3+ years of mods to extend the life of the game. I'm fine with Sony buying FS if we get games on PC a year later. I have no problems double dipping. But their amazing games festering on a closed box? No thanks.

Relax. Sony is increasingly embracing PC. The age of console exclusives is almost over as games require more sales to break even.

 

[Sensei]

Official confirmation from Kadokawa that they have received the proposal:

https://ssl4.eir-parts.net/doc/9468/ir_material7/240956/00.pdf

There are some articles on the acquisition of KADOKAWA Corporation (hereinafter "the Company") by Sony Group Inc. However, this information is not announced by the Company. The Company has received an initial letter of intent to acquire the Company's shares, but no decision has been made at this time. If there are any facts that should be announced in the future, we will make an announcement in a timely and appropriate manner.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

Official confirmation by Kadokawa that they have received the proposal

https://ssl4.eir-parts.net/doc/9468/ir_material7/240956/00.pdf

There are some articles on the acquisition of KADOKAWA Corporation (hereinafter "the Company") by Sony Group Inc. However, this information is not announced by the Company. The Company has received an initial letter of intent to acquire the Company's shares, but no decision has been made at this time. If there are
any facts that should be announced in the future, we will make an announcement in a timely and appropriate manner.

Oh this is about to get interesting.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Oh this is about to get interesting.

Talks seem to be really early and the leak probably makes the deal more difficult to be honest. It'll definitely be interesting to see how this shakes out.

I've always felt like there are 3 purchases that would help transform Sony into being a company that could be entirely self reliant without the need for 3rd party support.

1. T2
2. CDPR
3. FromSoftware

FromSoftware always made the most sense out of the 3 and CDPR is probably never going to sell to them.

FromSoftware can definitely bring Sony's revenue up substantially. They have a lot of interest in this going down smoothly.

 

[DenchDeckard]

They aren't really. They're looking for an angle in which they can have hopium that the deal is blocked.

They've made Kadokawa into this anime/manga juggernaut as if they were the top company in the industry.

It's actually hilarious.

Yeah, I just don't understand it.

Sony owns Crunchyroll and the other one, what is so wrong with them as a service. I use Crunchyroll and it seems great?

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

Talks seem to be really early and the leak probably makes the deal more difficult to be honest. It'll definitely be interesting to see how this shakes out.

I've always felt like there are 3 purchases that would help transform Sony into being a company that could be entirely self reliant without the need for 3rd party support.

1. T2
2. CDPR
3. FromSoftware

FromSoftware always made the most sense out of the 3 and CDPR is probably never going to sell to them.

FromSoftware can definitely bring Sony's revenue up substantially. They have a lot of interest in this going down smoothly.

What? I feel like it's the opposite. Kadokawa coming out confirming they are in negotiations means that not only is this not a rumor (which w weren't 100% sure), but they also could shut down this rumbling with a statement and did not. Instead it sounds like not only they are considering but this has been going on for a while. Not that it's in early stages.

Sony and Kadokawa have been partners for decades. There's also rumors of a hostile take over from a Korean company which might sway Kadokawa to sell to Sony like this.

At this point it's almost a "when" they will announce this, not "if".

 

[DaleinCalgary]

A good investment is to buy before they release something like Elden Ring and not when it has an inflated price after. You need to see future returns that match the current ones to justify a price. Unless they know what is coming.

 

[RickMasters]

I am here to read how good are acquisitions now.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

What? I feel like it's the opposite. Kadokawa coming out confirming they are in negotiations means that not only is this not a rumor (which w weren't 100% sure), but they also could shut down this rumbling with a statement and did not. Instead it sounds like not only they are considering but this has been going on for a while. Not that it's in early stages.

Sony and Kadokawa have been partners for decades. There's also rumors of a hostile take over from a Korean company which might sway Kadokawa to sell to Sony like this.

At this point it's almost a "when" they will announce this, not "if".

What suggests that this is early is that this is a letter of intent and not a tender offer.

It suggests there is still a due diligence period to come. Depending on how extensive and given the number of subsidiaries they have it could be quite extensive, it could take weeks if not months if Sony wants to do proper due diligence. Then you have to worry about counter offers. That the stock exploded my put more pressure on a higher premium than what was in the letter of intent.

I'm not saying this doesn't go down, I'm just saying there is a lot we don't know and the road ahead isn't paved.

 

[alphachino]

Here's the release. This has gone from "doubt", to 99% certainty it's going to happen for me.

edit: I see it was already posted with official link.

 

[Heisenberg007]

Official confirmation from Kadokawa that they have received the proposal:

https://ssl4.eir-parts.net/doc/9468/ir_material7/240956/00.pdf

 

[twilo99]

 

[Heisenberg007]

And so the crying begins ...

This will be a smaller acquisition than Bethesda Zenimax. Yet they were cheering for Bethesda games to go Xbox exclusives lol.

 

[FalsettoVibe]

Prepare for DEI injection, demon souls remastered was just a taste

Are you stupid?

Here he is in the original:

Be a bit more subtle with your racism next time.

People in this forum getting triggered at the sight of any non-white character in games nowadays never ceases to amaze me. I'm not a fan of DEI myself, but this ain't it.

 

[ShaiKhulud1989]

Hope this guy understands that intra-Japanese mergers are not the subject of western scrutiny simply because companies like Kadokawa legally couldn't be sold to non-Japanese entities. This whole deal is about keeping Kadokawa afloat and Japanese since the founding family left the business due to bribery scandal, it's just pure luck that the Sony's interests are fairly adjusted with takeover like this.

Sony even bought and sold Square shares to keep the company safe, big business culture in Japan is very different from Western.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

The fact people are even comparing the acquisition of a company like Activision / Blizzard that included the biggest console IP at the moment and some of the biggest mobile games ever as...FromSoftware lmao. Also, the fact that Xbox's slice of the market is getting smaller and smaller doesn't help them. FromSoftware sales on Xbox is probably smaller than 20%. COD sales on PS consoles was what...60/70%?

 

[Heisenberg007]

The fact people are even comparing the acquisition of a company like Activision / Blizzard that included the biggest console IP at the moment and some of the biggest mobile games ever as...FromSoftware lmao. Also, the fact that Xbox's slice of the market is getting smaller and smaller doesn't help them. FromSoftware sales on Xbox is probably smaller than 20%. COD sales on PS consoles was what...60/70%?

84% of Elden Ring sales on launch were already on PS + PC. Only 16% were on Xbox, and that obviously includes Xbox One + Xbox Series X|S.

Their market share has only gotten worse since that. I doubt Sony would be releasing games on Xbox for like 10% of sales. It might not even be financially viable at that point - let alone the benefits of making these games console exclusives.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Sony actively despises physical media

Wild hottakes.

The company that has pushed physical media since the floppies and beta vs VHS all the way to BluRay.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

will an acquisition of this size even trigger regulatory scrutiny?

 

[DeepEnigma]

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Thanks dude.

Yeah, fuck a hostile take over. Now I've read this kind of stuff my moneys on Sony.

Best outcome here imo.

It's funny because if you look at some of the demented ResetERA replies, almost none of them seem to care about the hostile takeover aspect. They either don't know, or choose to ignore it, yet they claim to be "concerned" about the workers.

Like, no, they're just concerned it's Sony potentially acquiring them instead of Microsoft. No one at Kadokawa wants a hostile takeover, but a lot of people seem perfectly fine with it as long as boogeyman Sony don't acquire From Software to....basically keep IP like Elden Ring multiplat anyway?

Just tons of bad takes everywhere.

Some speciation I read which makes sense:

“I am willing to speculate, that the leak was intentional with the purpose to prevent a takeover by other players like Kakao. If Kadokawa prefer Japanese buyer and the talks are between them and Sony with a some kind of set price before the leaks, the rise of the price is affecting directly a potential hostile takeover.”

This immediately buys Sony/Kadokawa time to get the deal done before other participants intervene

Who or what is Kakao? They're the ones who want to do a hostile takeover, I know that but...what kind of company or firm are they exactly?

Wild hottakes.

The company that has pushed physical media since the floppies and beta vs VHS all the way to BluRay.

Ignorance is (some) man's best friend.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

will an acquisition of this size even trigger regulatory scrutiny?

No, Activision is like 70x as large as what FromSoft is worth

It is comical how MS acquired both Zenimax and Activision, both of which are orders of magnitude larger than FromSoft and these goons didn’t bat an eye

Now they are all crying about a small 400 person studio making Sony a monopoly?

Just comedy

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Who or what is Kakao? They're the ones who want to do a hostile takeover, I know that but...what kind of company or firm are they exactly?

South Korean media company

 

[strike670]

Corporate consolidation is never good for consumers in the long haul. You need competition to produce the best products.