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[SaucyJack]

But Sony isn't playstation. They can't put all 10 billion into playstation.

They have their music, TV hardware and so on as well.

While Microsoft also have Windows, office and so on, earns around 10 bill every quarter

According to this site, then Microsoft earned 70 billion dollars for 2022, and Sony earned around 7.5 billion in 2022.

Sony is not poor, Microsoft is just much more wealthy.

It takes over 8 years for don't to earn what Microsoft does each year.

Microsoft already earned the price back for Acti Blizzard, while Sony are still nowhere near to afford it from the date of the reveal of the acquisition.

Sony would have no difficulty in financing an acquisition of T2.

Not all mergers and acquisitions are cash (the majority are not) and Sony would have no trouble raising the finance required if they chose to do this.

 

[Gojiira]

You've been saying this since Microsoft Zenimax acquisition. That was like 3 years ago.

We're still waiting...?

Lol I think you’re thinking about someone else, never the less in that time Sony bought Bungie, Nixxes, Bluepoint etc so not wrong either

 

[RGB'D]

Always amused that people think Sony is this poor company that cannot afford anything.

Sony generates about $10 billion income each year.

I think it's more about leveraging net worth than yearly income.

 

[bluecowboys]

Nothing to stop MS just paying more and buying it as well?

MS could buy Ubisoft and Square and nothing would happen I think because those companies are struggling financially and need someone to stay alive.

Small studios like team ninja would be fine as well.

The big publishers like EA and rock star would need approvals and clauses keeping their games from becoming exclusive which MS won’t mind since putting games on game pass would satisfy them enough.

 

[Flutta]

Sony can’t afford T2. Its a pipe dream for fanboys.

 

[Elios83]

Made up news. It would be an other legal mess, it would be super expensive and given that the big Rockstar game have super long dev cycles I don't know if it's totally worth it.
If Sony targets publishers it will be in Japan. From Software/Kadokawa (they already bought 14% of From), Capcom or Square.

 

[bluecowboys]

Made up news. It would be an other legal mess, it would be super expensive and given that the big Rockstar game have super long dev cycles I don't know if it's totally worth it.
If Sony targets publishers it will be in Japan. From Software/Kadokawa (they already bought 14% of From), Capcom or Square.

Wouldn’t help imo. Majority of their fan base are already on PlayStation and won’t increase their market share.

MS on the other hand can buy out capcom and Sega. That would increase their market share in Japan and get a decent amount of PlayStation fans on Xbox.

Sony needs to look at CD project Red and Ubisoft quickly. I have no doubt MS is eyeing those publishers especially Ubisoft where no regulator is going to stop them.

 

[Roman Empire]

No fucking way they buy Take-Two before something like Square/Platinum/Capcom. I don't even know if they could possibly take that risk. Isn't Take Two Interactive worth something like $20bn+?

 

[Elios83]

Wouldn’t help imo. Majority of their fan base are already on PlayStation and won’t increase their market share.

MS on the other hand bought out cap com and Sega would increase their market share in Japan and get a decent amount of PlayStation fans on Xbox.

Nothing can be taken for granted if the market is in a consolidation phase.
The fanbase is there right now because the games are there right now but that could change if other big tech or chinese companies decide to step in and change the status quo.

So yes protecting the kind of support they have now by preventing others to step in, totally makes sense for them.
Also for example Kadokawa is interesting because it fits with other Sony ambitions in the anime/manga business and they have already effectively invested in them although it's a partial thing.

 

[bluecowboys]

Nothing can be taken for granted if the market is in a consolidation phase.
The fanbase is there right now because the games are there right now but that could change if other big tech or chinese companies decide to step in and change the status quo.

So yes protecting the kind of support they have now by preventing others to step in, totally makes sense for them.
Also Kadokawa is interesting because it fits with other Sony ambitions in the anime/manga business.

Sony can protect those companies just by buying market share and refusing to sell their shares. They already did that for from software.

Like I said, there is a lot of Xbox fans who would switch to PlayStation in a heart beat if assassin creed or Witcher goes PlayStation exclusive.

Therefore Sony needs to look at Ubisoft or CD project Red.

MS buying Activision is really smart because having COD marketing rights with Xbox and day one on game pass is a bigger system seller than all of PlayStation and Xbox exclusives.

 

[Elios83]

Sony can protect those companies just by buying market share and refusing to sell their shares. They already did that for from software.

Like I said, there is a lot of Xbox fans who would switch to PlayStation in a heart beat if assassin creed or Witcher goes PlayStation exclusive.

Therefore Sony needs to look at Ubisoft or CD project Red.

Umm nope if the shares are just a minor non-controlling, non-voting stakes.

Ubisoft is just a mess and a sinking ship at this point, they don't know where to go, they didn't get the success and money they expected from the gaas strategy, they won't go back to AAA single player games, it's a stucked mess with huge costs.

CDPR could be a good target to add to the WRPG genre, I agree, but the relationship has not always been ideal and that's a thing Sony values a lot. A minor problem though if there is an actual business interest.

 

[bluecowboys]

Umm nope if the shares are just a minor non-controlling, non-voting stakes.

Ubisoft is just a mess and a sinking ship at this point, they don't know where to go, they didn't get the success and money they expected from the gaas strategy, they won't go back to AAA single player games, it's a stucked mess with huge costs.

CDPR could be a good target to add to the WRPG genre, I agree, but the relationship has not always been ideal and that's a thing Sony values a lot. A minor problem though if there is an actual business interest.

Sony can increase their shares too as time goes on and having enough shares that can convince the majority stake holder to not skip PlayStation.

I don’t think Sony has anything to fear right now because no company wants to skip out on the revenue that they can make on PlayStation. Not even MS

Ubisoft still make assassin creed games and far cry games. Also, GAAS can be good and make more money than single player games.

Sony is trying to make GAAS games and would kill for a game like rainbow six siege.

 

[Ar¢tos]

I find it really hard to believe.
But they wouldn't really need to buy Take Two, just enough of it to have majority control, so it wouldn't be the whole 20bn.

 

[bitbydeath]

Lol, this guy is their source?
Jeez, this guy has been ironically making up outrageous rumors for quite a while, probably as some sort of parody on leakers.

You might be onto something there, there was a leak recently in the Activision acquisition thread about “three sources” (just happens to be three for both) saying the European Commission won’t request MS divest COD. Might be a play on it.

 

[Loxus]

They don't, they aren't going to get get billions in loans to make an acquisition of this size. use some business logic. If you don't have the money you don't make this purchase.

There would likely be buyers that would pay more anyway.

The fact this rumor is starting at this period in time where the CMA & EU are making their decisions make it suspect to start. Imo if Sony were trying, or even talking about a deal ( with a company they actually despise internally -- that's a different story...) this would come up in the data for the acquisition of Activision. It would strengthen Microsoft position, and put Sony under high scrutiny for business practices. Sony are far more likely to foreclose on availability of a multi-plat title after a purchase (Also, no I don't believe them when they say bungie can do what they like. I have no reason to believe that based on past track record and history of supporting multiple games. ).

I'm already seeing this picked up by so called "gaming media" websites and repeated like it has validity. Same website claims microsoft will sell off the xbox division if the activision deal doesn't go through. Talk about stupid....

So I decided to do some digging around.

Take a look at this.
Sony Total Assets 2010-2022 | SONY

Sony assets took a huge hit, $52B in assets gone. This is probably not related to acquisitions but the fact Take-Two's premium is probably ~$35B has me wondering.

You can check out other Companies too.
Microsoft for example.

As for if they can acquire Take-Two. Yes they had $44B in cash at one point, which mysteriously took a huge hit.

This is just speculation, nothing more.

 

[akaFullmetal]

I don't get anything more for Sony buying take2, i still get gta games like I would normally. I rather Sony invest in new studios or collaborations. Consolidation is going to really start to effect things if all the 3rd party developers are bought up.
Some games we can't get sequels to because the game companies got bought.

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

Just like MS was gonna buy Sega....

.....aaany minute now......

.... is it Wednesday yet?

 

[Clear]

Its a no-brainer for Sony to prep for a big acquisition in retaliation for MS' taking ABK. Could it be T2?

Sure it could, especially if the precedent is set that mergers of up to $70b are acceptable to international regulators. More and more consolidation was always the likely outcome because just the perception of weakness is enough to hurt stock prices.

 

[SteelCurtain 59]

Would suck considering there's a 0% chance Sony wouldn't make everything exclusive immediately with all their fans celebrating and ignoring the fearmongering they've been doing over Xbox's Activision acquisition. I seriously doubt it happens though, as that would be super expensive for Sony, if Sony were to counter with a big acquisition I'd imagine they go after getting a near monopoly on Japan minus Nintendo, getting a publisher or two like Square Enix, Capcom, Sega, rather than Take Two

 

[Gideon]

Take two has fucking gta 6 in development that will outsell every game sony will put out combined in the year it comes out lmao why would they sell themselves?

 

[SoloKingRobert]

Just like MS was gonna buy Sega....

.....aaany minute now......

.... is it Wednesday yet?

Everyone thought is was Sega until Microsoft suddenly drops a bombshell a few months later...

 

[Godot25]

Lol sure.
I'm sure Take-Two shareholders would want to sell when share price of company would skyrocket moment they announce GTA VI.
Also, isn't that 30+ billion investment? I'm sure Sony (company with 100 billion market cap) can afford it

/s

 

[Camreezie]

Source : New Tales From My Ass

 

[Thirty7ven]

Loving all the fear from the people praying to the gods Sony doesn’t have the means to do it.

They absolutely do. Whether they will or not is another matter.

 

[Pedro Motta]

This is nothing burguer, that guy is buffon and a scammer. Don't believe this crap.

 

[Loxus]

Take two has fucking gta 6 in development that will outsell every game sony will put out combined in the year it comes out lmao why would they sell themselves?

Activision outsells any Microsoft exclusive by an even bigger margin, but still let Microsoft acquire them.

 

[AmuroChan]

In the hypothetical world where Sony would acquire Take-Two, it is more likely that it exists as an independent vertical outside of PlayStation Studios much like Bungie. This would increase Sony's revenue significantly as they will now take 100% of the profit on PlayStation platforms and 30% on other platforms. Also, it will squash any monopoly concerns if they make it clear from the beginning that Take-Two will remain multiplatform. As an additional benefit, Sony will be able to leverage Take-Two IPs in their film/TV endeavors. Sony doesn't need to make Take-Two's games exclusive as PS5's 1st party portfolio is already so strong and the console is selling extremely well. Plus, Take-Two's biggest IP is already closely associated with PlayStation anyway. From a business standpoint, this would make the most sense.

 

[ZoolNL]

Moehahahahaha.

 

[Godot25]

Activision outsells any Microsoft exclusive by an even bigger margin, but still let Microsoft acquire them.

I mean...yeah. But Microsoft also isn't currently second biggest gaming company in terms of revenue, right?...

...which was one of arguments from Microsoft in front of regulators...stuff like "we are smallest, we sold fewest consoles, we are third in revenue from console makers" etc.

 

[daninthemix]

The best part about this unlikely rumour? The fact that, as a PC gamer, I would probably benefit from this aquisition. I wouldn't be locked into crappy launchers (T2 / Rockstar Social Club) and could instead enjoy the care and quality that Sony put into their PC ports.

 

[oldergamer]

So I decided to do some digging around.

Take a look at this.
Sony Total Assets 2010-2022 | SONY

Sony assets took a huge hit, $52B in assets gone. This is probably not related to acquisitions but the fact Take-Two's premium is probably ~$35B has me wondering.

You can check out other Companies too.
Microsoft for example.

As for if they can acquire Take-Two. Yes they had $44B in cash at one point, which mysteriously took a huge hit.

This is just speculation, nothing more.

1. Listing total assets for Microsoft doesn't show you they had over 200 billion in the back collecting interest.
2. You're forgetting sony are involved with many businesses. They aren't going to spend all their cash on hand to make a purchase. That would be epic levels of mismanagement. They had allocated X billions previously to make playstation related investments, but it was a much smaller amount of the total money they had available.\

overall the idea that sony would want to make a purchase that large is both silly, and unlikely. It wouldn't be approved by governing bodies just based on their current market position

 

[Black_Stride]

This would be HUGE. And hilarious if MS still has to have COD multiplatform to buy Activision but Sony can make GTA exclusive .

Exclusive GTA , NBA titles, WWE titles, Civ and PGA Tour titles arent going to be a thing.
You can just forget that noise.
Private Division also becoming exclusive is a net negative for the games industry.

GTA comes out what once every 10 years?
Ill be dead by the time the Playstation 6 exclusive GTA title actually comes out.

 

[DeepEnigma]

It is quite common to pay premium over market cap when acquiring a company.

No shit. But they are not ABK value and affordable for Sony. But this rumor is all blah blah blah.

 

[Holammer]

This isn't even a rumor, it's a revenge fan fiction.

 

[HTK]

I've heard this same rumor about 2 years ago...

 

[StreetsofBeige]

For all the armchair accountants who analyzed MS/Activision deal, feel free to analyze this deal.

Take Two market cap is now at $20B and they lose money (lost $400M trailing 12 months).

 

[Shut0wen]

Always amused that people think Sony is this poor company that cannot afford anything.

Sony generates about $10 billion income each year.

They aint poor but they are definitely a yoyo company, they mostly lose quite alot on tvs and movies, im sure the last spiderman movie was the first time in 10 years they made profit

 

[DeepEnigma]

For all the armchair accountants who analyzed MS/Activision deal, feel free to analyze this deal.

Take Two market cap is now at $20B and they lose money (lost $400M trailing 12 months).

What deal? There is no deal nor should be any deal of the largest publishers consolidation.

 

[Shut0wen]

With gta 6 being incredibly close to releasing this is 100% bullshit

 

[SaucyJack]

1. Listing total assets for Microsoft doesn't show you they had over 200 billion in the back collecting interest.
2. You're forgetting sony are involved with many businesses. They aren't going to spend all their cash on hand to make a purchase. That would be epic levels of mismanagement. They had allocated X billions previously to make playstation related investments, but it was a much smaller amount of the total money they had available.\

overall the idea that sony would want to make a purchase that large is both silly, and unlikely. It wouldn't be approved by governing bodies just based on their current market position

I don't know how many times this needs to be said.

You don't need cash at hand to buy a company, many acquisitions are done using debt and/or equity. Sony has a very low level of debt and would have no issues issuing paper to buy any target that they deemed strategically important.

It should also be noted that whilst having a fuck ton of cash at hand, companies like Microsoft (and Apple, and Google) actually hold a lot of that offshore - because it's generated from worldwide profits - and face significant tax liabilities if and when they repatriate it.

 

[begotten]

this guy rules. wonder what his neogaf account is.

This guy is pathetic.

 

[adamsapple]

No shit. But they are not ABK value and affordable for Sony. But this rumor is all blah blah blah.

If a twitter insider says it, odds are the opposite is true.

 

[Topher]

If a twitter insider says it, odds are the opposite is true.

Still think it is hilarious MS announced the ABK deal two weeks later.

 

[SaucyJack]

It should also be noted that no Twitter-insider actually knows anything about the merger & acquisition activity of these companies.

This stuff is highly confidential, and in many cases regulated.

 

[DeepEnigma]

If a twitter insider says it, odds are the opposite is true.

 

[aries_71]

Sony should ask the CMA first…

 

[John Wick]

If Sony could, then they would already have bought Activision Blizzard.

Why couldn't Sony afford Take 2? MS if they eventually buy ABK have no chance of purchasing Take 2. So Sony could step in and buy them. I don't see Take 2 selling to Tencent.

 

[begotten]

Is he?

He's fantasy booking acquisitions and talking like WW3 is about to start.

When the deal goes through for MS - Sony don't need to respond with something like T2, let alone everything this guy is saying long-term.

 

[Dick Jones]

If Sony gets Take 2, they will have GTA Vice City and the next GTA that releases in the next 10 years (lol) on the Ouya.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

If a twitter insider says it, odds are the opposite is true.

This guy has great insider info. lol