530°

Microsoft Isn't Done Acquiring Game Studios and Is Setting Its Sights on Asian Developers Next

Microsoft isn't done acquiring game studios, said Phil Spencer at X019. In fact, they are setting their sights on Asian developers next.

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wccftech.com
codelyoko2044d ago

They should buy Team Ninja and let them remake Ninja Gaiden.

Obscure_Observer2044d ago

They should be go big and acquire From Software or Sega!

Sonyslave32044d ago

And capcom or if not get some of devs from these companies sega& capcom and let them make their own new studio like the intative from ground up.

Shiken2044d ago (Edited 2044d ago )

There are laws in Japan that prohibit foreign companies from buying Japanese companies. If the big three, only Nintendo is in a position to do that. Maybe Sony still can, but I am not sure now that they are based out of California.

So by Asian, they are probably referring to countries like China or Korea.

ReadyPlayer222044d ago (Edited 2044d ago )

@Shiken

That's a complete lie. There are many Japanese companies owned by foreign investors. It would absolutely kill an economy as huge as Japan if you limit foreign buyers that strictly, no investors in their right mind would trade there then. Sharp is an example, they're now own by Foxconn.

Segata2044d ago

Kadakaowa owns From Software. They are a massive multimedia corp and no leave SEGA alone. That is not happening ever.

Sophisticated_Chap2044d ago

@ Shiken

If that were the case, then they wouldn't be allowed to sell their shares in any stock exchange around the world.

KillBill2044d ago

@Shiken... it takes but a moment with Google to prove that wrong.
https://www.quora.com/Can-n...

rainslacker2043d ago (Edited 2043d ago )

I think the laws only apply to hostile takeovers by foreign investors. Otherwise, I dont think it applies to privately owned companies, or a foreign company gaining a majority share.

MS couldn't buy playstation unless sony sold it. Playstation is a privately owned subsidiary. Its questionable if MS would see value in buying PS considering the costs. MS could in theory take over Sony through gaining enough shares, which would give them control of PS, but I doubt that's worth it to them.

Nintendos pretty much in the same boat, except its not a subsidiary.

RedDevils2043d ago

xbox fans are so desperate, that they want M$ to buy every companies hilarious.

ifrit_caress2043d ago

I think Activision bought From Software. Look at Sekiro, developed by From Software, published by Activision.

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 2043d ago
timotim2044d ago

That would be awesome! Could even use them on future KI titles. Makes a lot of sense.

2043d ago
Segata2044d ago

Won't happen. team Ninja is no longer a dedicated team. The the entire internal staff of Koei Tecmo. It's a brand now.

FallenAngel19842043d ago

Why would that require Microsoft buying them? Koei Tecmo would just commission that themselves

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 2043d ago
Chris_Wray2044d ago

It makes sense that they would, expanding their output of games into that of a different variety. Microsoft would also be smart looking at asian devs that make F2P & mobile titles, a massive market and source of revenue in Asia.

RpgSama2044d ago

Please no mobile developers or freemium developers, we don't need more of that here.

timotim2044d ago

Speak for yourself. I love games I can play on the go and get achievements with. Just maxed Make it Rain on my Surface Go. Did the same for Halo Spartan Strike, Dragon Mania and others. Still playing Rayman Fiesta Run, Gears POP, Asphalt 9, Forza Street and others. Microsoft wants Xbox on every device...sure, xCloud will cover a lot of that, but smaller games that can be played on a phone or tablet is valid too.

rainslacker2043d ago

Most of those are owned by tencent. Somehow I doubt ms is going to buy them

Battlestar232044d ago

Buy Square Enix and make Final Fantasy exclusive to Xbox.

Ricegum2044d ago

What a waste of money. JRPGs don't sell at all on Xbox.

2043d ago
No Way2043d ago

They would, if it's the only place to get Final Fantasy.

rainslacker2043d ago

Hope not. Square is one of the few big publishers left that actually still make good SP games. MS buying them would probably change their output to nothing but service based games.

Obscure_Observer2043d ago

@rainslacker

Funny how you like to acuse Microsoft of turning game studio´s into "GaaS factorys" when Sony just promoted a guy who is know to make service based games as Head of Worldwide Studios. Hypocrise has hit a new low!

Wasabi2043d ago

@rainslacker

***"MS buying them would probably change their output to nothing but service based games"***

How many Xbox Games Studios service based games can you actually list rainslacker?

rainslacker2043d ago

Yeah, funny. Especially since all the games they just showed, except maybe Everwild since i don't know much about that, all seem to be GaaS games.

Sony didn't just promote a guy whose known to make service based games, he just has had service based games in his portfolio. He also was part of producing other games as well.

@Frag

SoT.
Forza games have heavy service elements, but I'll be willing to remove that because it's nothing out of the ordinary for the series, and people don't understand that service based games have been around for a while.
Gears 5 MP is service based.
Halo Infinite is likely to be service based.
Crackdown 3.
Gears POP
Minecraft
Killer Instinct
SoD2

Upcoming

Bleeding Edge
Grounded
And I'm going to assume Gears Tactics

Probably some more. That was off the top of my head. I don't care to look up any more.

Wasabi2043d ago (Edited 2043d ago )

@rainslacker

The only game from your list that I agree with is Sea of Thieves, You seem to be using a very broad definition of what defines GaaS to justify your comments.

When I think of GaaS, I think of games like Destiny, Anthem, WoW and as you quite rightly highlighted SoT.
You seem to be defining GaaS as any game with DLC, do you consider Insomniac's Spider-Man a GaaS title?

As an example, You include Gears 5 multiplayer in your list, would you also define Naughty Dogs The Last of Us as GaaS?

https://www.destructoid.com...

We can also discount games that are unreleased, this is pure speculation on your part and not in any way fact. Neither you nor I can argue either way, so...

"Halo Infinite is likely to be service based" and "I'm going to assume Gears Tactics" don't really stand up in court.

In addition, both Crackdown 3 (Free DLC) and SoD2 feature DLC, but neither contain microtransactions,

https://www.tweaktown.com/n...

https://www.n3rdabl3.com/20...

For comparison, both TLoU and Rockstar's original RDR have fantastic DLC available for them, would you define these classic games as GaaS?

Killer Instinct is free to play, that is the business model, hardly a negative.

Minecraft was created by Mojang not MS, they bought the company, they didn't implement the business model.

You also include Gears POP, I'd be interested to hear your views on Super Mario Run, Mario Kart Tour and Animal Crossing Pocket Camp and whether you'd include Nintendo in your list of companies that specialise in GaaS?

So from your original list of 12 games, There is only 1 that we can clearly define as GaaS, hardly justification for your original comment of;

***"Hope not. Square is one of the few big publishers left that actually still make good SP games. MS buying them would probably change their output to nothing but service based games"***

DiRtY2043d ago (Edited 2043d ago )

Being on GamePass does not make your game a “Service based” game. FYI there are great single player games available on GamePass.

Outer Worlds, Forza Horizon, Tomb Raider, The Witcher, Banjo Kazooie, Devil May Cry etc. are service based games then? I doubt it.

What defines a service based game anyway?

A multiplayer game? If so, is Counter Strike a service based game for example? Or Halo? Or Age of Empires?

This catch phrase makes zero sense. It is a buzzword for some haters though. At the end of the day you just wish that your console manufacturer of choice would offer something like GamePass. Don’t hate Microsoft for it though.

Wasabi2043d ago (Edited 2043d ago )

@DiRtY

***"What defines a service based game anyway?"***

Aware that your comment was aimed at rainslacker, but allow me to define what defines GaaS in my opinion and also in the eyes of the law (US and European), as it will provide some clarity for rainslacker in his inevitable response to my post.

A service based game (GaaS) is a game that utilises a Client and Server relationship to work, the user has part of the software installed on their system (the client) the remaining software required to make the product work is located externally to the user (the server).

Examples of this are Destiny, Anthem, SoT etc.

Without the server GaaS will not work at all, you cannot even log in. You are effectively purchasing a product that requires a service (the server and server software) provided by the company to use.

A game that features single player gameplay as well as online an online component that ceases to work when servers are shut down is not GaaS.

GaaS may feature DLC, but a game with DLC is not automatically GaaS.
GaaS may feature microtransactions but a game with Microtransactions are not automatically GaaS.
Games as a service are always online, but a game with online components is not necessarily GaaS.

Games that are accessed through a subscription service such as PS Now or XBGP are not GaaS, unless they meet the above criteria.

My definition of GaaS is based upon the defining of a product vs a service in the eyes of the law, a product being something that works standalone, on its own without further support from the manufacturer.

Using methods of travel as an example a car or bike is an example of a product, whereas a rail journey or airline flight are examples of a service.

Kribwalker2043d ago

wow fragnun, you really got him there. I’ve never seen rainslacker so speechless. Normally at this point we would have had a 3 page long rebuttal that didn’t really make much sense and didn’t really prove anything, and we still haven’t gotten that.

I agree with you 100%. If the games rainslacker listed were GAAS then he should be adding a tonne of other games. I believe sony has more GAAS games this gen based off that list
Killzone Shadowfall had free dlc and MTs
UC4 had MTs
MLB the show 2014-2019 all have fifa ultimate team elements and MTs
TLOU Rematered is service based with MTs
GT Sport, you betcha
drawn to death
Dreams is 100% service based
driveclub, yep service based
on the mobile side sony has Fate/Grand order, one of the biggest mobile service based games out right now

I sure hope sony doesn’t buy anymore studios or they’re gonna be making strictly service based games

Obscure_Observer2043d ago

@rainslacker

"Sony didn't just promote a guy whose known to make service based games, he just has had service based games in his portfolio. He also was part of producing other games as well."

He´s a pro-GaaS developer/director so quit with the damage control BS! It´s pretty clear to me that no just you, but a bunch of PS fanboys has double standards when comes to GaaS! Sony has a guy that has a positive stance regarding GaaS as Head of Worldwide studios and that´s an undeniable fact! Next time, try and choose your worlds more carefuly! You know what they say:

"People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones"

rainslacker2042d ago (Edited 2042d ago )

@Frag

GaaS is a very broad definition. It's inclusive of a lot of different types of game distribution paradigms. It can mean games like Destiny which have continuous patch updates which can be distributed through various means. It can mean a subscription based game, such as an MMO. It can mean a standard release game, which also has added DLC after the fact, or MT right at release. Can mean games which completely require user connection to a server, then connect to other players, such as farmville.

All GaaS is is a nice little wrapper marketing term, but it's inclusive of a lot of practices that many people didn't like for most of last gen.

That is the way Spencer first used the term, that is what it means. Just because you want to reduce the list of GaaS games for your own argument does not change what GaaS is. Not all GaaS games are bad, and I've said that many times. Some distribution models are really good, others are really crap.

We can't discount unreleased games because my original comment was about MS output, both past, present, and to come, if only by implication.

In the end, it doesn't really matter what you think GaaS is, all that matters is what it actually is. I use the term the way the industry uses the term, and they'll continue to use the term until the idea of GaaS sours in people's minds, and they have to think of some new term to distract that they're doing stuff consumers don't like, even if some of it they do like.

@Dirty

Never implied that Game Pass is what made it service based. I implied that MS is making games which are based around service models, as described above. They're putting these games on Game Pass. Those games you mentioned would fall into the category of GaaS, however, they're more on the side of things that people actually like.

Believe it or not, GaaS is not a new term within the industry. What's new is that it's now a marketing term used to lump together any and all games that get post launch support through content updates, paid or otherwise, content distribution, paid access to games(like MMO's), or games which work on some service based method, such as all those facebook games. I would include TLOU and Gears 5 in the list, and maybe some of those games Frag is trying to distract from my point with, or at least their MP. Like I said above, sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad. With or without game pass, these games would still be service based to some degree. The reason it's now a marketing term is because it gave the industry a new way to market ideas that have been getting more push back since the beginning of this gen.

@Krib

If the only way he can get me is to redefine what GaaS is, then he didn't get me.

@Obscure

I'm not damage controlling. What I said is true. I do believe he's pro-GaaS. But as of now, he hasn't shown that he's taking Sony's game that direction in a heavy handed way. That may come in the future, but I was speaking about what we know of MS now, not what Sony may do in the future. I also don't doubt that Sony will have service based games, but they still have plenty that aren't, and I believe SE is one of the few big SP publishers which doesn't spend as much time focusing on the less attractive side of GaaS.

Wasabi2042d ago

@Kribwalker

***"Normally at this point we would have had a 3 page long rebuttal that didn’t really make much sense and didn’t really prove anything"***

As you predicted, right on cue.

rainslacker2041d ago

Sorry lots of words confuses you guys.

I'll make a TL:DR version.

GaaS is a broad term that MS is using for marketing purposes. Redefining what it is to support your own arguments doesn't make what I said untrue.

If you think it doesn't prove anything, then that's because you don't care to challenge yourself to think anything different than what you believe.

+ Show (8) more repliesLast reply 2041d ago
ccgr2044d ago

They're getting serious now

Kurisu2044d ago (Edited 2044d ago )

As a PlayStation gamer I'm really considering getting a Scarlett at launch over a PS5.

I had an Xbox One (never owned an Xbox console before) but I sold it after playing Quantum Break. I don't have a PC so it was the only way to play it. It was stupid buying it for one game but if Game Pass was a thing back then it would have been a reason to keep it. I mean, it's really good value.

littletad2043d ago

I'm still getting both. With Yakuza, that was the last main franchise I was hoping would make the jump. That leaves only Spider-Man and God of War for the games I would play on a Sony machine. But still, I think serious competition will make both companies churn out great stuff down the road. It's a great time to be a multi-console gamer.

Sonyslave32044d ago

Team ninja is a must and also some of these small devs that make mmos and mobile games if they want too increase their presence in Asia.

Segata2044d ago

They belong to Koei Tecmo and TN is the entire internal dev staff. It's not a small dedicated team anymore.

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220°

Yoshida claims PS believes Xbox is their only competitor, truth is they don’t have one any more

Former PlayStation boss Shuhei Yoshida claims PlayStation still believes Xbox is their only true competitor, not Nintendo.

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videogamer.com
4d ago
Terry_B2d ago

True, they have pretty different audiences..and some People just have both at home or a PS and a PC that emulates more or less everything from Nintendo.

Knightofelemia2d ago

Xbox hasn't been a competitor since the XB360. Last generation and this generation Sony has been running circles around Xbox. As for Sony vs Nintendo Sony runs circles yes but I don't really see Nintendo as competition. Nintendo does their own thing and it works.

2d ago Replies(1)
Lightning772d ago

Details are important. Console sales yes. Overall games Xbox seems to be doing fairly well in that department.

LoveSpuds1d 13h ago (Edited 1d 13h ago )

MS were doing so well that they had to start selling their games on their main competitors system which in turn results in around 30% of each sale going to Sony as the platform holder.

I do think tjat MS' fortunes will improve now that they are actually selling games rather than giving them away for pennies on the dollar.

Something that occurs to me is that the more success MS published games have elsewhere, the more stark it will become that selling games is much more profitable than renting them. If that becomes highly noticable, I wonder what the shareholders (who ultimately run the show) will make of a service which has stagnated for years?

crazyCoconuts1d 10h ago

PlayStation doesn't compete with third party games, they compete on consoles. They profit from third party games. If you're not comparing consoles there's no point in comparing.

drivxr2d ago

Console wars are over.

Eventually, everyone else will catch up to this fact.

attilayavuzer2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

I think it's all PS fans have left at this point. Console wars were always a competition for fourth place behind Nintendo, PC and mobile. If Xbox evaporates into a hybrid virtual platform, then PS will be perennially left in last place.

Christopher2d ago

Strange, I recall all those FCC documents and witness testimonies saying the exact opposite... Guess Microsoft doesn't know what it's talking about?

PanicMechanic1d 16h ago (Edited 1d 16h ago )

Great analysis. Just joking.

Pretending like companies give a f about where they “rank” against each other is just super retarded. This isn’t the World Cup.

Tell me, how does “PC” compete against a brand like PlayStation? It just doesn’t make sense at all. What you just said, is complete and utter nonsense

BlaqMagiq11d 8h ago

I don't think PS cares about being in this so-called "last place" you came up with when they're making profits hand over fist.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 1d 8h ago
Destiny10802d ago

microsoft wanted to crush sony into dust and they had the money to do it, but with such weak leadership it was always going to fail

Reaper22_2d ago

Had the money? They still have the money but the industry has changed since xbox 360. Microsoft is the number one publisher in gaming. I'd hardly call that failing.

IRetrouk2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

The industry hasn't changed though, just ms, Microsoft was the no1 publisher for a month in december 2024, the actual no1 for fy2024 was tencent if game sales are all that's being counted.

Profchaos2d ago

Money doesn't mean you'll be successful large corporations have entered and failed before like Nec

Show all comments (23)
70°

Interview: Plants vs. Zombies Composer Talks Charm, Humor, and Musical Mayhem

Game Rant interviews Plants vs. Zombies composer Peter McConnell about honoring the series’ quirky roots, adapting its themes, and now going vinyl.

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gamerant.com
VenomUK3d ago

The score for the first Plants Vs Zombies is such great, iconic music that it has a timeless quality. Not quite the level of Minecraft, but wonderful in its own right.

70°

'A Deluge' Baldur's Gate 3 Karlach Actor Samantha Béart Talks New and Upcoming Video Game Roles

Game Rant speaks with actor Samantha Béart about their new and upcoming video game roles in Tron: Catalyst, Fading Echo, and more.

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gamerant.com