Could Sony buyout Insomniac if FUSE fails?

In the beginning, Insomniac's future seemed secure. They now had a second source of income due to being multiplatform. They still had their ties to Sony as they continued with the Ratchet and Clank franchise. And lastly, they still managed to be an independent company.

[Godchild1020]

If Fuse fails, I don't think Sony will buy them out as quickly. They will have to earn and gain Sony's trust and money again. How well the game after Fuse does determines if Sony would seek to make them first party (but that is any company).

I don't want Fuse to fail, but I don't really see any buzz around the title and with the delay, I don't know how it will do.

[guitarded77]

Insomniac has said they don't want to be bought by Sony, and that they like their relationship with Sony the way it is. I don't think FUSE failing would wipe out Insomniac, they have a pretty good track record, so if FUSE did fail, I'm pretty certain they could recover. All they'd have to do is put out a decent R&C game, and they'd be in good position again. I doubt they'd risk making another resistance if FUSE failed as sales of R3 weren't spectacular if I remember correctly.

[guitarded77]

@ TrollExterminator

Sure, but it's a hell of a lot easier to bounce back when you have Sony funding a Ratchet or Resistance game for for them to make.

[HyFackingDro]

first of all fuse will fail, insomniac never made anything good, R&C was ok and RFOM was decent because ps3 had nothing at the time if the game came out today even with updated graphics it would be trash. All that said Sony has never been in the business of buying out anybody, why do you think they lost every exclusive they had from 3rd party devs last gen?

[madjedi]

@hyfackingdro(why am i even bothering) "first of all fuse will fail, insomniac never made anything good, R&C was ok and RFOM was decent because ps3 had nothing at the time if the game came out today even with updated graphics it would be trash."

Biggest post of bullshit i have read in a while. R&C is a hilarious and solid series, rfom was a kickass game then and it would be even better with upgraded graphics.

Perfect example of a bandwagon fanboy mentality to me, insomniac was a good dev till they went mp, then the games became just okay or shitty.

Insomniac is still a good studio regardless of if they are exclusive or mp. You have fanboys, then you have the lost in space ones.

The only remotely bad game insomniac made this gen was all 4 one, and that is because it was not a regular r&c game.

" All that said Sony has never been in the business of buying out anybody, why do you think they lost every exclusive they had from 3rd party devs last gen?"

Maybe because expanding it's first party lineup is smarter than trying to buy 3rd party exclusives, which have essentially died off due to dev costs.

And how many former 3rd party exclusives are doing well these days, most of the japanese ones minus street fighter not so much.

[gaffyh]

While I don't see FUSE selling well at all (Pachter seems to think it will sell 5 million), I also don't see Sony buying them out. Insomniac has said that they want to be independent, and that won't change unless they are really in trouble and don't want to downsize. Plus, FUSE won't be the only game they are making as they have three teams I believe.

[Jazz4108]

@trollexterminator.....you can ask Sony that same question. Not trying to start a flame war but i believe insominac is in much better shape then sony even though most of the n4g faithfull are trying hard to forget about sony problems but unfortunaley they are Rea and I truly believe once all next gen sytems are laid out on the table with nomore rumors to go on this will be right back in the spotlight when then competition starts. Remeber its not about games or console sales when it comes to sony its abiut profit and that is why they are in trouble. Im sure i didnt say anything anyone else did not allready know. Im looking to be a gamer and own both consoles like last gen and keep off these opinion boards more then ever as they have no say in the big picture.

[dcbronco]

I'm not sure what insomniac is worth, but what makes anyone think Sony can afford to buy them. Sony is selling assets and closing studios. They already have the rights to R & C. Why would they buy the company if they could afford to?

[_-EDMIX-_]

Agreed. Though Insomniac is a fantastic studio, I don't feel Sony wants to buy a team that doesn't want to be bought. (remember Rare...)

[chaos-lockheart]

Sony should not buy Insomniac, Sony owns some Square Enix stocks, so I think they should pay the rest and buy them out. And demand them to make better games and more JRPG's.

[Root]

Sony buying Square Enix would be amazing....

I mean they'd have some work to do with Squares side like stop them making crappy FF games and focus on getting the series back on top form, but on Enix's side...all the things they publish Hitman, Deus Ex, Just Cause would be theirs...even Tomb Raider and Kingdom Hearts. That would be amazing

[CommonSenseGamer]

They should have purchased PixelJunk as I see they have announced their next game for PC and have also optimised it for the 360 controller.

[Mr_Writer85]

They own like 8% I don't think they could afford to buy the rest.

[Knushwood Butt]

@ CommonSense

PixelJunk is just a brand name, not the name of the studio.

The studio is called Q-Games, and they've made stuff on a load of different platforms, including Nintendo.

[BitbyDeath]

Sony own 18.6% of Squares shares.

http://au.ign.com/articles/...

[chaos-lockheart]

@BitbyDeath

"Mr_Writer85" is correct, the 18% was before enix. Enix bought more shares then Sony, and was the 2nd share holder. Sony now owns 8.25%. "Sony acquired 18.6% interest on Square. Sony owns 8.25% after the Square Enix merger."

[joab777]

Me either but it will by their standards. Then it will be a great time to buy. Its sad but the market is saturated and they wont get the advertising they would need. It will probably be a solid game but bioshock, defiance, the last of us, E3 etc. will make it really tough.

[rainslacker]

The hype definitely isn't there for this game. Even before they changed it, I never saw a lot of people talking about it...even in articles about the game.

It's rather strange since Insomniac games tend to be pretty well hyped by the media and gamers alike. Even if you don't know the company, you've likely played one of their games in the past.

I'm worried that this game will just get drowned out in the sea of other shooters on the market, because so far I haven't seen much to make it stand out.

On topic:

I doubt they have to do much to earn Sony's trust. They have a great working relationship with them. Insomniac didn't burn their bridges, they just looked to expand. I'm sure Sony would welcome them back with open arms.

Other than that, anything else i believe is summed up pretty well by guitarded. They have more than one basket to keep their eggs in.

[TheDivine]

Prob is Insomniac only received hype from PS fanboys who now either hate insomniac or have total indifference. I never liked any insomniac games other than resistance and only R3 was a great game. Never liked Ratchet either. They've always been a mediocre developer who made mediocre games that fanboys hyped due to being exclusive.

Insomniac does have talent and def has it in them for good games as R3 proves but il wait and see. Sony making them crank out yearly Ratchet titles for the past decade didnt help. Sony forcing them to create a Halo type game didnt help. And now EA is forcing them to make a realistic shooter. They would do better with full control IMO but that's the way of the world I guess.

[SilentNegotiator]

Agreed. It's a bad idea to buy a horse with a broken leg.

[showtimefolks]

I don't think it's a question of if Fuse fails because it will fail

It just doesn't look interesting but overstrike now that had a charming factor about it.

Also lets not forget insomniac has 3 teams, they been voted the best developer to work for like 5 straight years and Ted price is awesome. I still think insomniac will do or dedicate one team for playstation brand that way they keep making money on the side from ratchet,resistance or a new IP.

The way gaming business is sooner or later insomniac will have to all to survive, in next 3-5 years small developers will have hard time existing. When big publishers like THW fall these small development house have no choice

Than there is the matter of should Sony buy insomniac? They have ready at dawn and QD to buy before insomniac I would think

[Bathyj]

I dont think theres any point buying a studio that doesnt want to be 1st party, even if theyre coming of a failure and are a bargain.

Sony would be better off buying Quantic Dream.

Then again if MS start sniffing around, maybe Sony would want to buy then as they dont want to lose them completely, that would be a shame, but I think Insomniac are even less likely to sell to MS than they are to sell to Sony.

[BladerunnerZX]

agreed.

There doesn't seem to be much interest in Fuse.

[blastcorp64]

Earn Sony's trust? I'm sure it was nothing personal and just a business decision

[Godchild1020]

Trust as in, funding their next game (New IP) without being worried about the quality of their game.

Not on a personal level, but a business level. Would you do business with someone that you can't trust to make a high(er) quality title? As I mention before their games fell off a bit with Resistance 3 and the Ratchet & Clank series. But that could be due to going multiplatform.

I have nothing against Insomniac going MP, I know they are still great Developers and I just think there is no buzz around their title. Maybe after Army of Two: Devil Cartel releases?

[blastcorp64]

I get what you're saying but I think Sony understands, probably more than anyone, the inherent risk of releasing a new ip. Sometimes success and failure of a game, especially a new ip, is beyond the control of the developer or publisher. Look at vanquish, it's an awesome game and much more enjoyable than, say, gears of war but it didn't sell at all. I believe Sony wouldn't have any doubts about insomniac's ability or talent based on their long running relationship.

[El_Assenso]

In all honesty Sony should buy Quantic Dream. I remember in an interview David Cage answering the question of "Are you open top becoming 1st party devs for Sony?" to which Cage replied "In the future...you never know but we're open....Sony and QD are the perfect partnership. We are the artists, whereas Sony are our backers who give us full creative freedom to do whatever we please. The best example is Heavy Rain." BUY QUANTIC DREAM SONY!

[NastyLeftHook0]

i agree with what you said. especially since resistance 3 was a commercial (failure) but a fantastic game! such a shame.

[Delive]

Insomniac goes multiplat and ms gets access to fuse. Bungie goes multiplat and sony gets access to destiny. I dont think sony is too concerned with insomniac. They own the rights to r&c and rfom was never made up to what it should have been.

[lapiopoop]

agreed god child

[yewles1]

Insomniac didn't want to be bought in the first place, why would you think they would suddenly flip-flop if one game fails when they're still making PS3 exclusives for them on the side anyway?

[lodossrage]

True, they didn't want to be bought. But if FUSE fails, with the way studios are starting to drop, they may not have a choice if they want to survive.

The question though is more close to what Godchild1020 just noted to, will Sony actually care enough to buy them after going multi?

[Knight_Crawler]

You do realize that even if this game fails Insomniac wont be affected financially...thats the beauty of having a big company like EA or Activion publish your game.

Remedy is a good example of this...they game did not sell well but since MS was the publisher they were not hurt.

I do not see these guys being bought by Sony.

[lodossrage]

That's not exactly true.

True enough, a publisher does pick up the bill. But if FUSE fails, just because Insomniac isn't the one paying for it that it doesn't hurt their wallet.

If it fails, they'll have a situation of "who will want to publish the sequel for us". EA's track record shows they have no problem giving up on even decent franchises (look at Dante's Inferno)

The difference with Remedy is that from the very beginning Microsoft, a first party publisher had a huge stake in that because MS owns the IP.

EA however, will care less because part of their deal with Insomniac is that Insomniac owns the IP. So they' discard them in a hot minute if FUSE goes south

And it's clear Insomniac can't self publish or they would have done it considering they "want their freedom". So now it becomes where does my next pay day come from because the new question of the day will be "Who will want to publish our next title?"

[Donnieboi]

This may sound harsh, but anyway: No Sony should not buy them back. What kind of message would that be to future would-be deserters? Yeah a studio should have the freedom to leave, blah, blah, blah. But as a business, Sony shouldn't concern itself with another companies freedom. If u leave, then we're done. No need to ever work together again.

[rainslacker]

@donnie

Sony wouldn't be buying them back, because Sony never owned them in the first place. They did publish a lot of their games, but that was a decision on Insomniacs part to get a game published.

Sony is in the business to make money. If there is some gain for them in buying Insomniac then they will do so. They don't have to send a message. Sony is one of the biggest and most powerful publisher in the industry, and because of that people give them the respect they deserve. Business is just business, and Sony understands that.

[MrBeatdown]

@Knight_Crawler

"You do realize that even if this game fails Insomniac wont be affected financially...thats the beauty of having a big company like EA or Activion publish your game."

They have to keep making games to stay in business.

How many publishers are interested in publishing the follow up to a commercial flop?

[Root]

They didn't want to be bought because they wanted their "freedom"...yet they go with EA, a company well known for restricting developers for things, dumbing down ideas and make developers do things which will sell, not what they want.

I don't see the logic in Insomniacs decision to be honest.

I'd rather them be bought by Sony then be bought by someone like EA.

[RuleofOne343]

The ability to maintain ownership of the IP ,failure or successful was the point in them choosing to leave.

[majiebeast]

I dont think Sony would buy them at this point. They have Naughty dog a studio that can probably do everything Insomniac can do, but do it better. Sony is better off buying Quantic Dreams if they want any studio.

Sony gave Insomniac enough chances to join SCE, but they wanted more freedom and its looking to bite them in the ass. I bet if FUSE was published by Sony it would still have its original artstyle, instead they had to listen to dudebro's in a focus group that EA set up.

[xXBlondieVanHarlowXx]

%100 Agreed.

But, it's not a matter of "if it fails" it's a matter of when it fails. I'm sorry but someone had to say it. I really liked the Overstrike concept, LOVED the Overstrike concept Fuse looks like any generic shooter, i'm sure it'll have that special uniqueness only Insomniac can deliver but i'm not sure if it'll be enough to make me want it.

[Ravenor]

Yeah Generic coop shooters with the kinds of weapons shown in the trailer show up all the time. The concept for the game is the exact same thing it's just the art style that has changed, the abilities of the individual agents is the exact same.

[rainslacker]

@Ravenor

The thing is, art style did set this game apart from the generic. It may have all the same features of the original game, but outside our bubble a lot of people don't really look at that.

I'm sure the game will be good, because Insomniac is an amazing developer, but good doesn't necessarily mean that the game will sell.

[adorie]

Dudebros... LMAO. Focus groups aren't really a great thing either.

[medziarz]

Well said.

[Derekvinyard13]

Maybe

[Soldierone]

If anything, Insomniac will just go back to SCEA for publishing. They don't want to be bought out, they wouldn't even let EA do it. They want to be their own company.

Plus why would you want them too? Say FUSE fails then they create a new IP for Sony and it fails. They will eventually end up like Zipper.....

[Godchild1020]

The thing is if Fuse fails, Sony may not fund their next game. Look at how they left Resistance and look at how Ratchet and Clank has been handle lately.

They didn't even want to or they just let a random third party studio make the Vita version. If they really cared about the IP, they would have let Sony know they wanted to do the port themselves. And maybe the HD Remake (Not the HD Collection, the Ratchet Deadlocked HD remake) as well?

If they wanted to have their own freedom, they would have seeked publishing rights for their own games. Isn't that real freedom? Or maybe they just wanted a way to make more money and have someone else get burned if their next game fails?

If Fuse fails, Sony might not fund their next new IP or they won't even let them touch an existing IP. With that said, they might have to lay off a members of the studio and may use Kickstarter to fund their next game.

[Soldierone]

Insomniac didn't have the manpower to do it themselves, plus I don't think they have ever made a handheld game. It has always been another studio.

They also did seek publishing rights, but that is just something Sony does. That's why they went third party, to have their rights to the IP. EA put them under the new sub name so Insomniac did keep rights. I believe they also stated they don't have the money or access to distribute themselves, or they would have done it. Again the reason they went to EA.

It just sucks for them because everyone wants full rights to them. Since they are under that new label and keep rights, EA isn't pushing it as hard as their other games. Since they have always been second party to Sony, their games always got overshadowed by first party titles.

I don't think a single game not doing well under EA terms will do anything for Sony. If Insomniac says "hey we want to make Resistance 4 for the PS4" Sony will be all over it.

[clintagious650]

Nah I think Insomniac is better the way they are now. Aslong as sony has a great relationship with Insomniac thats good enough to ensure some exclusive ip in the future. Id rather sony buy QD instead. Besides Insomniac has always said they like being independent.

[GrandTheftZamboni]

They just need to make a true Resistance 1 sequel or spiritual successor and they're fine. I appreciate that they made R2 and R3 look and feel different, but I think they should have followed the R1 formula: dark gritty style, strong narration, mechs, bigger arsenal.

[clintagious650]

True but reviews make things so hard nowadays on developers & resistance & tomb raider are a good example of it. Insomniac tried to build on the 1st & make it better but was battered by reviews by it. This is what happens when u go away from the formula that worked & try to refreshen the gameplay.

As for tomb raider the old formula worked but after so many outings the game began to become stale. The new tomb raider doesnt even feel like the old tomb raider game. Its a fresh start & is a great game but I bet there are old fans who are disappointed in its new direction. Again the reviewers show that its ok for a change but they also show the that they aren't consistent with all reviews & in it either can make or break a franchise. I guess it just doesnt work for all devs in the end but reviews shouldnt be the reason u buy or dont buy a game u love. Your decision is the one that counts most IMO.

[Eyeco]

R3 was everything that made RFOM great but better IMO it was gritty, it was dark it was twisted, it had superb weapons it had great narration it had great online, the only thing it was missing was R2 superb 8 player co-op besides that the game was great , one of the more overlooked Ps3 games

[Dagobert]

Haven't liked a single game they have created.

[clintagious650]

I thought the 1st resistance was badazz, the second was pretty good but wasnt as good as the 1st but i didnt try 3. Loved the Ratchet & Clank series.

Edit: I didnt disagree wit u just left my 2 cent reply of games I enjoyed by Insomniac. We all have our own opinion.

[Campy da Camper]

Ratchet and Clank are good games. However, the last one was not great. This is a studio who has past great hits but is currently in an identity crisis. With production costs soaring one game can make or break a studio. I think in the Sony family is just what they need. Sony allows creativity and also has a very dev friendly console coming out. They would be crazy not to become adopted IMO.

[e-p-ayeaH]

insomniac needs to get away from the shooters if it wants my attention.

[talocaca]

Sadly...they are starting to remind me of Rare. I used to love their games .

I don't see how Fuse will compete against something like Vanquish.

[Ravenor]

Fuse and Vanquish aren't in any way comparable, the only way I can reasonably comprehend why you would say what you just did, is because you just picked a random game out of a hat.

[talocaca]

Basically I wanted to compare a third person shooter with personality and one with...well...none.

(Maybe I'm just hurt by the latest Ratchet and Clank disasters)

[Adolph Fitler]

True they are still making games on the side for Sony, but also true is the fact that since they have done so, the quality of there games have suffered. The Ratchet series has progressively gotten worse after the awesome A Crack in Time, & even though Resistance 3 was best in series, & one of THE BEST fps's this gen., it sold terribly, for some unknown reason. I mean, if that COD trash still manages all those 10's of millions in sales, why can't a game as quality possessed as R3? It's a travesty & a shame at the same time.

The fact is, Insomniac have basically spat in Sony's face time & again, as Sony has tried/offered to buy them out, time & again. So, he question is, will Sony just say, well, you said, "f%$k you", when we wanted to buy you, as a 1st party developer, so now we say say, "f$#k you".
I mean, Insomniac really are dumba$@es for not selling to Sony, then going straight out & making a deal with one of the three big devil publishers. They ranted & raved about how great there relationship was with Sony, for year upon year, through PS1, PSP, PS2 & PS3.....so why wouldn't you? I mean, it's not as though Sony constrict every bit of creativity out of there developers & make them puppets that create mass market type games....in fact, the opposite is true of Sony, they tend to encourage creativity & such from there developers to get the best from them. So, it seems that Insomniacs troubles came from within, I think. I just think it is crazy in such an industry, to pass up on a deal with a publisher you've worked with for over 2 gens (exclusively anyway), & work from under there wing, where your game will be intelligently marketed & released (certainly not released alongside Killzone 3, a fellow exclusive, in the same genre, that has waaaay more hype}. Sony would have given R3 a far better chance of success than it got. And, although Sony were the publishers of both titles, I think they were trying to put the squeeze on Insomniac & taking a hit on Resistance 3, to better there chances of Insomniac selling out to them, thus cheapening things massively for Sony. This is my opinion anyway.

[GrandTheftZamboni]

I think Sony is bigger than to tell them "f%$k you". They even promoted Enslaved in one episode of Qore in which Antoniades guy said that the game wasn't going to use gimmicks like Heavenly Sword clearly hinting at Sixaxis. All that after blaming Sony left and right for HS "failure" to sell 10s of millions.

[deadfrag]

Ted price and insomniac dont go down even if fuse fails.And this article is just a foolish one wrote by a fanboy,that thinks people dont have honor for thereselfs and self value.

[lodossrage]

Since it's a fanboy article, please by all means, highlight ANYWHERE in it where it talks trash or attempts to mock Microsoft or Nintendo.

[typikal82]

If it fails? More like WHEN. They should just sell it for 15 bucks already

[Evil_Ryu]

sony is broke they have no money to buyout anybody...a better article would be should Microsoft buyout insomniac

[madjedi]

God no many studios ms has touched has been ruined, at least they were smart enough to not fuck up 343 making a good game in halo 4.

Still kinda liked reach better, short of that 1 exception, look at the 360's 1st party output the first 3 yrs vs the last couple of yrs. Assuming your not tickled pink, by kinect games.

2k, ubisoft or even se or bethesda would be a better choice than microsoft, or ea/acti.

[Jek_Porkins]

Actually Microsoft's first party studios haven't released any Kinect games since Fable The Journey, most of them have been presumably working on new games for the next Xbox.

Sony has closed more studios over the last year or so than Microsoft, Zipper being a tough pill to swallow because I love Socom.

Oh, and 343i was created by Microsoft strictly to build Halo games....They are given a ton of money and tech to work on the franchise.

[MultiConsoleGamer]

Sony is in no position to buy anyone. They just sold their %13 share in DeNa and they recently closed Sony Liverpool.

They also recently sold three different buildings to raise capital for various projects. Two in Japan and one in NYC. The Tokyo building was seen as their "holy land" building.

[cee773]

Sony still got 8 billion tucked under the mattress troll harder

[MultiConsoleGamer]

No, actually they don't.

Learn harder.

[TheFallenAngel]

Although Fuse looks generic. I really don't want Insomniac to fail. They are good people and they made my favorite FPS. I will buy Fuse if it takes to keep them alive.

[lodossrage]

I don't want to see anyone fail either.

But on the offset that FUSE is bad, do you really think it's a good idea to purchase it? All that does is send a message to developers saying "I will buy it even if it's crap".

And in turn, they'll begin giving you exactly that.

[TheFallenAngel]

I know they are trying their best to make this game the best. They are Insomniac not some cash cow developer from activision or EA. They pour their hearts in their games. I know R2 wasn't too good but they kinda redeemed their selves with R3. Fall of Man still their best Resistance.

[erikthegman]

Microsoft should buy Insomniac. That would make things very interesting

[clintagious650]

Look what happened to Rare. MS ruined them. Instead of giving them freedom to work on new ip's they got them stuck on kinect games. Waste of TALENT.

[FrigidDARKNESS]

Naope insomniac is under ea and wants to be a multiplat game developer. ..but if insomniac bows out sell the company then MS will hv the inside track since EA and MS has a deal in place.

[NateCole]

I just want them to create a new Resistance for the PS4.

[Psychonaut]

Insomniac were like little kids that got away from Sony, soon as they did they lied to their mother about not wanting to be owned by a company and all that nonsense they said. They went outside to venture out on their own and EA was there with their creep van, and candy, and lured Insomniac right into its van lol.

[Bumpmapping]

.

[Ulf]

Buying Insomniac would be a mistake, IMO. They were at their best with Ratchet & Clank, and it looks like ND is taking up the animated movie character reins with the PS4.

Resistance was just not anything worth writing home about, and I kinda doubt FUSE will be, either. I don't think an Insomniac purchase would be worth the investment.

[BitbyDeath]

SCE Japan who are making Knack look to be more into the animated movie stuff. (We haven't seen anything from ND as yet).

[BladerunnerZX]

Insomniac is a good developer.

The R@C games were great and the original Resistance Fall of man was a very good game.

Although Resistance 2 @ 3 were lacking and kinda bland.

Fuse just looks somewhat mediocre.

[Sarobi]

Fuse really fell off the radar for me.. I mean the announcement for it was OKAY.. but now it just doesn't seem like that type of game I'll pick up day one.

[Evil_Ryu]

The only way Insomniac can dig itself out of the hole is by releasing ratchet and clank on the Xbox platform...North america is a huge market for Insomniac and sony is practically non existent on that continent when compared to Xbox

[GABRIEL1030]

Hey buddy....non existent... 27 millions of PS3 in North America, are you serious?

[extermin8or]

Sony Own Ratchet and Clank IP and they sure as hell wont be selling it in near future.... so no joy on that wish Ratchet etc will be staying Playstation Only for the foreseeable future :p

[GABRIEL1030]

More that a pretty face a girl needs a good personality.

Insomniac is a great studio, unfortunately They need a good writer because their games technically are the best, but their histories are bland, at exception of Ratchet that is amazing and funny ( I love the series and I'm a big fan - I bought every game of this series and I have 25 years old). An example is Resistance, a great game with incredible large escenarios, amazing arsenal and gameplay., but the history looks old and outdated. Now Fuse is a cliche of 4 guys against the evil and everybody know the end. Imsomniac needs a great history like Halo ( the best script in videogames), Uncharted o Mass effect 3, ambiented in the future and misterious, that could awake the true curiosity of the players.

[IK IR Y IP T]

Sadly I dont think Microsoft or its consumers cares if Sony buys them or not. To be honest Resistance is meh and I cant name anything else they have done besides Ratchet and Clank but hell that game hasn't been good in years! Who cares but i don't think sony is in the position to buy anything they have enough 1st party support !

[abzdine]

i think IG are not the IG we used to know. Buying them wouldnt mean much cause they have been delivering some low level games with the last 2 ratchets and now FUSE.

When FUSE fails IG have to save their asses and they will automatically go back being a Sony second party studio and make a true Ratchet platformer and a new episode of Resistance.

[extermin8or]

Tbh I care if sony buy them or not, I really do wish Insomniac had let sony buy them out in the past. I mean Sony funded the games they made before but as a 2nd party studio there would have been limits to how much sony were willing to pay, and how much help they could give. I can't help but wonder what some of their games could've been like if they'd had the full funding of sony behind them- look at Naughty dog's games, Guerilla Games Game's and Sucker punches games, just to name a few. I personally love Resistance: Fall of Man and resistance 3, I love every Ratchet game- the new one is vastly underrated just because it's a psn download I think *shakes head* and Spyro the Dragon trillogy on PS1 was awesome :p Also how insomniacs finances are I can't say but I'll be shocked if fuse sells well- and EA are unlikely to support them if the game doesn't sel well which seeing as it looks just like every other 3rd person shooter scifi game ever I'm doubtfull it will.

Also the guys right the 360 turn on their decision about resistance does strongly hint that everything isn't as bright and rosy as they'd like it to look- and they are considering options for Fuse not doing aswell as they'd like and them requiring a backup income source and returnign to resistance would do that I think. Especially after resistance 3 although not a comercial success a critical one which may encourage people to give the 4th a try should it ever release.

[chukamachine]

They should have never messed with resistance 1's grittiness. They should have just improved the graphics and had a good story. Instead of messing with weapons etc. Resistance 3 is a really good game, but again to up the graphics they messed with the rez of the game. Shame.

Love the resistance titles. And I hope it comes back all new and shinny on PS4.

My point being, it causes harm to your company when you mess with thing that don't need it. Which is why, COD,HAlO,BF. GAMES WILL NEVER MESS with what they have.

[chuckyj1]

If Fuse fails would Sony want to buy out a high profile company? Sony themselves is trying to desperately get out of the red ink. Sony's credit rating has gone to junk and they just sold their major cooperate headquarters in the U.S.

There is more to Sony then the video games business, I don't think they will be buying anyone out anytime soon, until they get their own finance situation under control.

[Tei777]

I don't think it'll be worth the money... Sorry insomniac, I used to love them but recently I'm not impressed by their efforts. Then again I'd love to see them tackle a new Action adventure IP.

[Goro]

A better title would be "Will Sony buyout Insomniac when Fuse fails"

[Picnic]

Good luck with Fuse because games that look like these usually end up being sold very cheaply very quickly - it could be called the 'Haze effect'.

[BitbyDeath]

Still wish Sony helped out Free Radical after Haze bombed.

We need more Timesplitter games.

[remanutd55]

Insomniac needs to release a true sequel to Resistance Fall of Man on the ps4 or bring a full fledge Ratchet and Clank game to the psvita ( heck i would even take A Crack in Time port) and i think they could be back on track.

anyways i think sony should acquired Quantic Dreams or Sanzaru Games instead of Insomniac Games first.

[KingofGambling]

I think Insomnia should make Resistance 4 on the PS4.

[arbitor365]

i love insomniac. they are my favorite developer, but im worried about their future. between fuse and the recent R&C games (all 4 one, and full frontal assault), its like they are rushing the company into a coffin.

[KingKevo]

To be honest, I hope Sony will buy them. It's kinda bad that their games did relatively well and they did not want to go with Sony because of that. But I think Sucker Punch will prove that if your exclusive games are doing good it's a smart move to become a first party developer.

[jakmckratos]

Fuse looks generic as Hell. Ratchet and Resistance are in my top 10 favorite series and the original SPyro trilogy is the entire reason I love video games...it's so sad to see them try to branch out and by whoring themselves to a different publisher in an effort to appeal to more people they lost anything that made the game look interesting. Goes to show you how creative not just Sony but ALL the big 3 let studios be when working on a game...they want something originaly and novel whereas Publishers like EA go for what they think sells..it's sad to see Insomniac get tossed around and to pretend like this experience is going to be worthwhile...it doesn't even chart on the top 50 list of pre-orders where 50 is the Star Trek game with 19,000 units pre-ordered...no one knows about the game and those who do usually think it's generic

[Miacosa]

No, because this would be the third game in a row for this developer that has not done so well. Given the finical woes that SONY is experiencing it would be unwise to purchase a developer that seems to be trending down. The people there seem talented but for some reason have not been able to translate that into a standout triple A game sine the first PS3 Ratchet & Clank.

[DJ]

Fuse looks like a decent game, but for some reason it just doesn't stand out. I think it's due to the characters (all cliche) and the boring looking gameplay.

This is a co-op game at heart, and that's fine but it needs more Ooomph. It's stuck somewhere between gritty realism and cartoony characters, and I really liked how Overstrike was presented. It reminded me of Borderlands in a way.

They're good developers though, and probably just need better trailers made for FUSE.

[Raoh]

Chasing that third party success isn't as easy at it seems. Even Bungie may be in trouble.

Some devs are only successful because of their platform love. Go third party and find out that other platforms don't care for your games.
Ask ninja theory, they had one xbox game I think, then heavenly sword for ps3, which had a cult like following, no huge success but could have if they stayed on to work on a sequel.

Instead they said screw sony and its fans and lets get that third party money, xbox 360 fans will love our games. LOL.

Ask Ninja Theory how they are doing right now? I'm sure they regret not sticking with slight success over being a joke to gamers.

Insomniac are good folk, I love their interviews, they are competent developers, who have been plagued by bad decisions. Creating a shooter as your first choice for a third party game being one of them.

[Drainage]

resistance:fom was the last good game they made. ps2 ratchets were good but the ps3 ones were short and easy. r2/r3 were "cod- me-too" games with some extra bells and whistles

[Simon_Brezhnev]

I hope fuse does good. I'm not a fan of tps but i hope this does good. They always listen to fans.

[Captain Tuttle]

Why would Sony buy out a company that makes a game that fails?

Sony buys winners.

[gdguide]

I do like this dev, but not enough for Sony to buy them out. They struck some gold with R&C on the PS2 and a bit on the PS3, but I dunno.... Their games just felt a bit behind Sony first party titles. Resistance was quite good again, but just not quite good enough to make them first party.

[inFAMOUS_KRATOS]

chances of sony getting them is 0, loook at what happen to zipper, one fatal mistake and they crumble.

[mrbojingles]

So depressing that after years of great games so many fanboys simply want Fuse to fail so Insomniac, in some fantasy scenario, is purchased by Sony just for some petty console war obsession.