900°

Bethesda Acquisition Is a Kick in the Balls for PS5, But Sony's Goals Won't Change

PushSquare: “Xbox has acquired Bethesda for a frightening sum of money, putting that oft-referenced Microsoft warchest to use at last. The purchase price, an eye-watering $7.5 billion, eclipses the sum Disney spent on Marvel and Star Wars combined – it’s a frankly flabbergasting figure. It’s also potentially a giant blow for the PlayStation 5, but we don’t think Sony’s plans will change.”

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NecrumOddBoy1309d ago

It spits in the face of gamers more than anything.

SaveFerris1309d ago

Just business, and MS is smart. Think of all those gamers signing up to Gamepass to play Bethesda games including future titles.

Sonic-and-Crash1309d ago (Edited 1309d ago )

as you said just business ...even if i am mostly a PS user i say its justified move for MS .....if it is a real kick in the balls for Sony though i say this is nonsense as no Bethesda game is considered system seller or at least good enough to reach Sony s first party quality

Brazz1309d ago

@ Sonic-and-Crash
let me correct you... no "current" Bethesda game is considered system seller.
In past gen. Bethesda delivered 2 gigantic sytem sellers:
Skyrim and Fallout 3.

Now, Doom eternal and The wolfenstein are greta games, and Fallout 4 delivered amazing results. Bethesda of today isn't bathesda of 2011 with skyrim, but they still got strong IPs with strong names. Ms made a great deal here.

Marquinho1309d ago

From the artice:

"PlayStation, still the global market leader by a country mile, has become an underdog overnight"

Coming from a hardcore PS website. I guess that summarizes how big of a kick in the nuts this was. However, I still don't think Sony has become the underdog at all but the game has radically changed, that's for sure.

Marquinho1309d ago

@Sonic-and-Crash

"I say this is nonsense as no Bethesda game is considered system seller or at least good enough to reach Sony s first party quality"

Skyrim beat Uncharted 3 on GOTY 2011.

We'll see about that when Starfield, Elder Scrolls and refreshed titles already in development come out after this acquisition.

bouzebbal1309d ago (Edited 1309d ago )

I couldn't care less about this acquisition.. I never played a Bethesda game and I'm not fan of western RPG in general.
I'm a Japanese console gamer, I grew up with Seg a and Nintendo.. I would have been sad if they bought Square Enix or Capcom instead. And what made 360 the most popular xbox to date is the Japanese games it got.

I understand Bethesda/xbox fans being so happy about this, but let's be honest...what's the last good game Bethesda released? Last couple games were broken, Fallout 76 was a joke.

fiveby91309d ago

It doesn't bother me Zenimax was purchased by MS. At this time I'll still be getting a PS5 first once I can pre-order one. I'll probably just use my PC still for any MS exclusives.

fr0sty1309d ago

As long as Bethesda keeps self-publishing games, it doesn't matter whose pocket the money for that game ends up in... it will still be multiplatform. MS was smart to take this approach, much like they did with Minecraft.

Microsoft is positioning themselves to be a competent third party games publisher. I wouldn't be shocked to see Sony start doing this too (Horizon, for instance), acquiring new studios or entire publishers and then letting them keep releasing games multiplatform.

Marquinho1308d ago

@fr0sty

LOL. Do you actually believe what you're saying?

Try to hardcore this in your mind: Microsoft now OWNS Bethesda. Games aren't going anywhere Microsoft decides not to. That's the whole concept of Owning a developer/publisher.

There's some tiny hope for you though. Microsoft didn't completely rule out publishing their games on other consoles. They actually said they would decide on a "case by case basis".

Whether you believe they will be in the mood of releasing Starfield on PS5 after knowing Sony wanted it to be a timed exclusive is just a matter of how high is your faith. I wouldn't hold my breath on it =)

Sunny_D1308d ago

All this does is it's going to cause Sony to acquire something significant and people who are celebrating now will be crying about it later. The gaming industry will be changing in a probably not so good way due to this precedent. But we'll see what MS does with Bethesda games.

b163o11308d ago

FO4 was and still is a disappointment, even with all the DLC. Bethesda is a shadow of the company it once was...

Marquinho1308d ago

Those complaining about Microsoft buying Bethesda, are the same that the same crying out loud that MS had no exclusives.

That cr#p ends this generation.

1308d ago
Wrex3691308d ago

I'm one of them. I signed up 2 weeks ago

DOMination-1308d ago

"say this is nonsense as no Bethesda game is considered system seller or at least good enough to reach Sony s first party quality"

You're really going there?

+ Show (13) more repliesLast reply 1308d ago
Jin_Sakai1309d ago

Seems like Bethesda wanted out and Microsoft was their answer.

https://twitter.com/jeffgru...

RaidenBlack1309d ago

"Why Bethesda's stakeholders wanted to sell. AAA gaming's future is unsustainable and murky, and it would take a lot of effort, money, and luck to reorganize for that future. Makes more sense to sell.
I personally don't get worked up about Sony buying exclusives, but I do think there's a distinction.
Microsoft is buying Bethesda to enable its studios to continue making games. That's different than paying a company to keep an existing game off of a competing platform."

AngelicIceDiamond1309d ago

So Zenimax predicted their forecast of more spending on AAA games vs actual sales or profits being made back to them is not sustainable.

Meaning they're fine now but later they will struggle through out the gen. They sold to MS to secure, their jobs, studios and games.

CaptainHenry9161309d ago (Edited 1309d ago )

WOW lol but Bethesda games has been going downhill lately.

crazyCoconuts1309d ago

I don't know... if this is really true, why MS? Sure they have deep pockets but they're not exactly known for being turnaround-kings for game developers. Why would MS expect to be successful where Zenimax was not? And at that MAGNITUDE, it's just a huge undertaking if some kind of transformation to GaaS needs to take place, all those studios hitting you at the same time could be bordering on chaotic.

jznrpg1309d ago

That’s BS . They sold because it made many people a shitload of money . 7.5billion

dcbronco1308d ago

That's what gamers don't understand. And that's why Game Pass is the future of AAA development.

If Microsoft has enough studios to release a highlighted AAA game each month it will keep people subscribed. If enough do it allows your games to receive financing as development goes on. Currently 15 million subscribers gets Microsoft 225,000,000 a month in revenue. If you're supporting 12 main games with 50 million dollar budgets you have covered your cost for them after 3 months of payments. Even if the subscribers only liked four of the AAA titles they will find plenty of other titles to play along with favorites like Battlefield and Fifa. So they keep paying.

An independent developer or one depending strictly on selling copies to cover cost has to be successful. They might have bank loans for development cost and will need financing for the next game. The Game Pass developer knows they have financing. They know can take chances on ideas. As long as they hit from time to time a failure doesn't mean the developer could die.

It's the best way to finance games, keep prices stable and allow developers to take creative risk.

Ulf1308d ago (Edited 1308d ago )

Microsoft bought Zenimax, not Bethesda -- Zenimax owns Bethesda, and everything associated. Your perspective is a little off.

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 1308d ago
CrimsonWing691309d ago

Not if you are buying an Xbox.

Look, I'm team Sony, but let's not pretend like exclusives never existed and this is how you keep the market competitive.

If Sony starts losing consumers to Xbox because that's the only place they can play Elder Scrolls 6 and Star Field, well Sony will step up their game and try to make stronger exclusives to keep from losing consumers.

Sure, you can be salty about it, but at the end of the day these businesses are in a boxing match. MS has been on the ropes this whole gen so now it's nice to actually see them fight back for once.

medman1309d ago

@crimsonwing69
I agree. As a multiconsole and pc gamer, I always look at it from the perspective of if you want to play the games badly enough, you will buy the devices that allow you to play the games you like. For me, Sony has more of the exclusives I love, so ps5 is no-brainer. I'm also getting a series x, but mostly because I skipped xbox one this gen so on day one gamepass has games there that I haven't played this gen. It's funny how people keep saying this deal is bad news for Sony, but never seem to mention Nintendo. All these companies are in the same boat, competing for our dollars. I have zero problems with this move by Microsoft, I'm only hoping that some of their now 23 studios produce some great single player content, and don't turn every production into GAAS.

NecrumOddBoy1309d ago

Can you give me an example of a fully third-party studio that has been purchased by Sony?

FlavorLav011309d ago (Edited 1309d ago )

Yea but Sony also grew the majority of its studios organically, thoughtfully, purposefully, and over time. Microsoft is just throwing fistfuls of money at its lack of exclusives problem between generations, buying an entire publisher and hoping that resolves all their slacking for the last gen and a half. I wish them luck, I will be there with a new Xbox to check it out, but I don’t think this turns around the ship so to speak on MS’ Xbox leadership or as publishers themselves, especially if they turn many of these beloved franchises into GAAS & Services BS for every other title, only time will tell.

CrimsonWing691309d ago

@NecrumOddBoy

Does Insomniac count?

derek1308d ago

Microsoft is big fat bloated entity that has no business being involved in the gaming industry. They will run Bethesda into the ground and lose interest in this latest gambit of theirs once it proves to be a useless leverage play.

Army_of_Darkness1308d ago

It's time Sony. Get a development studio to make an awesome western RPG to compete with fallout and elder scrolls.

1308d ago
darksky1308d ago (Edited 1308d ago )

Elder scrolls is a massive ip. So sad if it goes exclusive to Xbox.

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 1308d ago
mrsolidsteel201309d ago

I’m not sure if Bethesda/Zenimax negotiated in the deal that they still want to make multiplatform titles, but regardless MS has the final word on what they can do.

I will never co-sign any of the big three publishers outright buying third party developers, because by doing that you’re alienating a huge portion of the gaming community.

That is why first and second party studios exist so they make exclusive software for that particular platform.

I will never understand MS, they could’ve easily created multiple studios of their own with the amount money that they spent on Zenimax.

Let’s hope MS actually does something with these studios that are under their umbrella now.

I don’t want to see another Rare incident.

Atom6661309d ago

"Creating studios" isn't exactly easy though.

Nintendo has been cultivating its internal teams since the 80s. They're kind of the exception.

When Sony entered the market, they had to jump start that process and buy teams of their own. Something they continue to do.

MS did that a little, but lack of effort on their part over the years resulted in the abysmal 1st party we saw up until Spencer and Co. opened the wallet and floodgates in 2017ish.

It absolutely should have been sooner, but buying established teams is the only realistic way to get things moving quickly. To go from 5(?) 1st party teams to 23 in three years?

Plus, you can try to build a great team with talent like the Initiative, but that's far from easy, and who knows how it pans out for them. You cannot put a price tag on teams made of people who have worked together, trust one another, and know how to get things done already.

mkis0071308d ago

Im curious if MS can manage this many studios, when they have had problems with the small number they had up until recently. Like just being able to buy them is one thing. Keeping them all happy and successful is another. It is why Sony works directly with those they buy for years before they buy them.

Marquinho1309d ago

Games from Bethesda will become more accesible without losing quality under Microsoft umbrella. That's pure joy for consumers. You don't even need an Xbox for Game Pass (or xCloud)

AngelicIceDiamond1309d ago

Before MS July event it was rumored that MS had a major acquisition and mic drop moment.

My guess is MS couldn't get the deal done in time but really wanted to announce the Zenimax buy out. That would of been huge in July. Looks like they were just in time to secure the deal just a day before pre-orders

derek1308d ago

@Marquinho you Gamepass dudes sound just like cult members the way you evangelize that service.

BillyG0AT1309d ago

If that's a spit in the face then what Sony has done over the years is pissing on our ancestors graves.

Jokes aside though, it's business. It happens in every aspect of it, too. It's like rule one of business club - Offer something the competition can't. Regardless of how you do it. If it's not illegal, it's just tough init.

AngelicIceDiamond1309d ago (Edited 1309d ago )

Just like Spider man only on the PS4 version of Marvel's Avengers. It's just buissness then right?

Street Fighter is only on ps4. Its buissness don't be upset.

Final Fantasy 16 only on PS5? Just buissness.

Numerous DLC and expansions hitting the PS4 only or timed is just buissness also.

Sony was even making Starfield exclusive to PS5. If that deal went through its just buissness right? shrugs*

You can argue that MS acquisition dwarfs all of Sony's dealings combined (which it does) it doesn't matter, because it doesn't change the fact that Sony has been slapping ppl in the face this whole time.

P_Bomb1308d ago (Edited 1308d ago )

Is this your first gen gaming?

“Just like Spider man only on the PS4 version of Marvel's Avengers. It's just buissness then right? “

Just like Hulk, Dr Doom, Magneto, Sabertooth, Venom, Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Hawkeye exclusive to Xbox in Marvel Ultimate Alliance. You know Xbox had an exclusive Aquaman game too, right?

“ Street Fighter is only on ps4. Its buissness don't be upset. ”

Witcher 2 on XB says hi. Dead Rising 3, Sunset Overdrive. Quantum Break, Alan Wake. Wanna go back to Saints Row 1?

“ Final Fantasy 16 only on PS5? Just buissness.”

Been there done that with Splinter Cell Conviction only on XB. Then 1 year of Rise of the Tomb Raider. Still waiting for Portal: Still Alice and Trials: Evolution.

“ Numerous DLC and expansions hitting the PS4 only or timed is just buissness also.”

You don’t remember the $50 million deal for GTA Gay Tony/Lost and Damned first on Xbox?All the COD map packs first on 360? Tomb Raider Underworld still has exclusive XB DLC.

“ You can argue that MS acquisition dwarfs all of Sony's dealings combined (which it does) it doesn't matter, because it doesn't change the fact that Sony has been slapping ppl in the face this whole time.”

If only you were around in the Mass Effect era. I had to pay extra just to get the ME1 disc on PS3, many years after XB had it. Talkin’ to me about hard times...

outsider16241308d ago

"Sony has been slapping ppl in the face this whole time."

Wow! Holding a grudge are we?
So does that mean You forgive MS for slapping you this whole gen. I mean now that they bought exclusives.

Like PBomb says this must be your first time gaming.

itsmebryan1309d ago

How does it spit in the face of Xbox and PC gamers? They get access to all of these games at a low price. It's not MS job to worry about Sony gamers. They are not their customers. Did Sony worry about Xbox gamers when they bought ghost wire and Deathloop as exclusives for PS5? Isn't that a spit in the face of gamers?

Sony could only afford timed exclusives and MS could afford the whole company. No one is more noble than the other.

angelsx1309d ago

i don't play Bethesda games so i don't care.

Kiwi661309d ago

Would it be a spit in the face of gamers if any other company had brought them?

sampsonon1309d ago

I will play their games and play my ps5. It's nice having a pc.

Tedakin1309d ago

If Sony had bought Bethesda would you be saying that? At least MS will still put the games on PC. Sony would hog them all on their Playstation.

Christopher1309d ago

Not if they keep the known IPs on the platforms upon which they're known to be playable. So far, they're keeping their other purchases on other platforms as well (Outer Worlds, Wasteland 3, etc.). But, new IP? They might keep those on their own platforms.

Furthermore, Bethesda is going to remain in publishing, so that tells me they are going to be publishing to all platforms with the games they publish.

I feel like Bethesda was a low price for such a company (Minecraft was $2.5b) and that while Microsoft "owns" Bethesda, Bethesda still does its things and there's an agreement to keep things on other platforms while giving Microsoft the ability to control where it goes digitally/cloud-wise as well as deciding on benefits for utilizing Xbox platforms over others. I feel like this whole purchase was more symbiotic in nature rather than just straight up only on Xbox. Microsoft gets profits and surety, Bethesda gets to continue doing what they were doing.

RightFootGames1308d ago (Edited 1308d ago )

A low price...

If Bethesda sold their games for $70 at 100% profit they would need to sell 107,142,857 games.

In all 34 years of Bethesda being in business there is zero chance they have made 7.5 billion total in profit.

Wulfer1308d ago

Then you and many others should have shut your trap about MS and Xbox not having games! What did you expect Microsoft to do leave the market? This was never going to happen no matter how many fanboys wished it!

TheEroica1308d ago

Can someone pass this guy some me kleenex?

outsider16241308d ago

I wouldn't say that. I mean we were the ones shouting out "MS has no Gamez!". Ms got angry and said fine and took their cheque book. I never expected MS to put up quite a fight like this though.

1308d ago
obz1308d ago

Oh shut up. You utter hypocrite. It's only okay when Sony has exclusives huh broke b*itch?

Ursozord1308d ago

I felt the same when Street Fighter remained exclusive on the Playstation. In fact, I have felt it many times over all the old generations of console: Always with some specific game it magically changed direction. One thing that helps a lot is to have a PC and just jump over those walls, as i played Street Fighter 5 with PC help.

MTVBG1308d ago

@Marquinho

You're embarrassing yourself.

Bethesda will still self-publish and their agreement with Microsoft protects that. No company in their right mind - especially one whose games sell least well on Xbox - would agree to be exclusive to Microsoft in that manner.

fr0sty is correct, and you don't seem to understand that business ownership does not always mean absolute control over everything the 'owned' company does.

Bethesda and Microsoft have both already clarified that Microsoft do not have final say over what platform Bethesda chooses to publish on.

Reading your comments has been physically painful. In future, say nothing unless you know what you're talking about.

You've been heavily ratio'd here repeatedly for good reason. Take a hint.

1308d ago
Nintentional1308d ago

But I bet you’re totally okay with FF VI being a PS5 exclusive and rejoiced when you heard the announcement 👌🏼

If it was announced that Sony purchased Bethesda (they can’t afford it though), you’d probably be on cloud nine 🙃

+ Show (21) more repliesLast reply 1308d ago
isarai1309d ago

that has yet to be seen. Yeah it CAN be a "kick in the balls" but from the sounds of it things will still be multiplatform focused like the Mojang/Minecraft acquisition. I think they would like to recoup that money fast, and making their games exclusive chokes that prospect. But hey, maybe they will, who knows🤷‍♂️

CorndogBurglar1309d ago

MS will want to start recouping some of that 7.5 billion they spent. One of the best ways is to keep all these games multiplatform for the forseeable future. Why limit hour sales for those games to only Xbox users when you can more than double it with PS5 customers also?

crazyCoconuts1309d ago

Because it's a carrot to try and get PS players over to MS platform where they make even more money on future game and service purchases?

darthv721309d ago

That is their plan. Already existing and well established multiplat franchises will remain that way. New IP's will be exclusive to xbox/pc.

Elda1309d ago (Edited 1309d ago )

Including Nintendo & Stadia. Keeping most of those games multi-plat would be a wise business decision if they want to reap the rewards of money but if this is all about MS wanting exclusive bragging rights then the future of Bethesda may be exclusive to the MS/XB platform solely which would hamper them making that multi-platform money.

Atom6661309d ago

I don't know. Why spend 7.5 billion when you could spend a whole lot less on some kind of exclusive deal on stuff? Based on the net earnings I've seen floating around on Zenimax, they're looking at 15+ years to recoup the purchase price if they continue with business as usual.

Even if they just wanted to drive Gamepass numbers, they could sign a deal to deliver Fallout 5 or whatever on gp day one. Would be a lot cheaper.

You make a deal like this when you're thinking big picture. Say ES6 sells 10 million on PS5. Subtract Sony's cut, and reduce to reflect sales and just net proceeds, and you're looking at a nice $200-300 million netted over a couple years.

Now think of what it means if games like ES or Fallout or Starfield attract just 5 million new gamers to Xbox because they are exclusive...

Best case scenario for MS is if they ignore the short term sales they'd get on PS5, and try to grab more market share for long term profits by making them exclusive.

isarai1309d ago (Edited 1309d ago )

@crazyCoconuts and darth72

Excpept according to Phil they aren't interested in console sales, and why would they try and leverage this for more XSX sales they are taking a loss on when they can toss them on multiple platforms and reap far more for less investment. But like i said, who knows, we'll just have to wait and see

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 1309d ago
TheDibbler1309d ago

It is all speculation at this point but I don't think the majority of these games will go multiplatform. I see the Minecraft example very differently as that game was already on PS4 when the acquisition was made. Trying to pull the game at that point would have only hurt them and the active player base on the platform. They released Minecraft Dungeons there after the fact just due to already having the base in place. This on the other hand is different because we are talking about unreleased games like Starfield, ES6, etc. I'm betting they keep these games exclusive for the sake of selling more GamePass subscriptions. Consistent revenue that you can depend on is always better than one-off purchases and this is where building up your content portfolio makes sense. Netflix wouldn't bother to acquire content from other sources only to also allow it on Amazon and Hulu. Microsoft doesn't care if you buy an Xbox or not but if they can get PS5 owners to use Xcloud and GamePass for $15 a month then that is a win and cheap for the PlayStation user.

darthv721309d ago (Edited 1309d ago )

to put it simply, Minecraft was already a multiplat release. MS knew the value of keeping it that way and expanding on it even more than the original creator thought possible. Merchandising and marketing... the game got huge. Like what Disney did with Star Wars vs what Lucas wasnt doing. And MS will keep key multiplat franchises exactly that... multiplat. New IP's from these studios will be on the case by case basis which means XB/PC get dibs (right of first refusal). MS was not stupid, this is a huge win for their platform and esp game pass.

crazyCoconuts1309d ago

MS still cares about the Xbox because it provides them a captive audience that will buy all other games through their service, giving them the 30% cut. That's something they don't get unless you have an Xbox. I don't know what the % profit is for GamePass, let's say it's 30% as well (and I feel I'm being very generous here), one full price game purchase via their store = around 6 months of Game Pass profit. That's still gotta be a big part of the equation

jedagab7511308d ago (Edited 1308d ago )

I get paid over $90 per hour working from home with 2 kids at home. I never thought I'd be able to do it but my best friend earns over 10k a month doing this and she convinced me to try. The potential with this is endless. Heres what I've been doing,

HERE► https://is.gd/WeWork1

Ulf1308d ago (Edited 1308d ago )

Unquestionably, MS will position their multiplat titles with deals that place them prominently in other stores, net them large returns, etc.

Gamers will see it the same, but the business behind the scenes will favor MS. MS makes more money from each copy of Android sold than Google does, thanks to patent licensing -- ponder that for a moment.

In the end, they don't care whose brandname you buy. They care about making money from the transaction. All the better for them, if someone else does all the work.

masterfox1309d ago

Is indeed a big news, but this wont change the reasons on why Playstation brand is the number one gaming device in the world, PS4 is on top not because of Bethesda dont forget that.

MS doesnt have a good history of handling single player games , that's why is worrisome this adquisition by them, overall in the end the ones that will be affected are all gamers and Bethesda devs, but yet again this is only my opinion.

-Foxtrot1309d ago (Edited 1309d ago )

I swear to God if they force or influence Bethesda to add co-op or multiplayer in the next MAIN Fallout or Elder Scrolls game I'll be p*****

It's been shown Bethesda can't do online things and the amount of new bugs co-op alone would bring is just simply not worth it. Elder Scrolls Online got off to a really rocky start and Fallout 76 is trash.

I'd rather them focus on keeping the single player bugs down and adding new features than worrying for months just trying to get co-op working, it's not a "at the push of a button" feature a lot of people seem to think it is.

BillyG0AT1309d ago

^This 100%. I just hope MS actually helps them make games less buggy as well.

ClayRules20121309d ago

I never considered this. Oh my, I wonder how messy this could be if Microsoft did force or influence Bethesda to do this..😱

aconnellan1309d ago

That’s definitely a fair call, and I’d be disappointed if they went down that route.

That said, Bethesda has already made Elder Scrolls Online and Fallout 76 - if they went ahead and made more multiplayer games (or single player with multi tacked on), I don’t think it’s fair to say that’d be solely from Microsoft’s influence, because they’ve started doing that already

TheDibbler1309d ago

I have to slightly disagree with your assessment here. Microsoft's studio did a bad job with Halo 5..........Infinite looks disappointing graphically at this stage but that is still to be determined but Gears 4 and 5 were awesome single player games. Bungie's games were single player back in the day as well and they were excellent. I think it is more about having the right leadership at the studio than just being owned by Microsoft in general.

Shane Kim1309d ago

You can't have played Gears 4.

Elda1309d ago (Edited 1309d ago )

I agree. I would think it would be wise for MS to let Bethesda keep doing what they do & all MS needs to do is sit back & collect those coins.

crazyCoconuts1309d ago

i get where you're coming from, but that's not the way acquisitions typically work. almost always there's a change required to make it make sense. otherwise no sense in a transaction taking place.
so whether it's as simple as combining shared services or more transformatiive like shifting to more of a GaaS approach, there have to be changes afoot - things cannot stay the same.
Plus, wasn't Bethesda in a bit of a rut lately? Something has to change that trajectory - MS has to make that happen

ClayRules20121309d ago

@medman

I agree back with you haha.

Bennibop1308d ago

I give it a couple year for Microsoft to shut and amalgamate some of these studios if they are not successful.

yellowgerbil1308d ago

IT is a problem if you look at the near monopoly overnight in the popular western RPG genre.
Now they own.
Fable.
TES
Fallout
Outerworlds
Wasteland
and that Obsidian game trying to be TES.
Sony has
quasi RPGs of Horizon and God of War, neither being true RPGS but action games with RPG elements. Sony needs to work quickly to get a western RPG, Maybe the can convince EA to sell them Bioware or something to get a ready team (seeing as EA is ruining Bioware and probably will shut them down like every other developer ever).

masterfox1308d ago

you know let's think a minute here, is it really going to affect Sony?, hmm the answer is nope not all , not one bit, probably the ones that it will be affected will be instead all the gamer customers and Bethesda Devs, why ? well that's because before the buyout their games only depend of Bethesda ideology but now it depends of Bethesda and final word is from MS, yeah that's going to turn out pretty well right?, so why it won't affect Sony?, well take for example Fallout 4, this games was released 2015, now take for example Fallout 3 this games was released in 2008, Elder Scroll V Skyrim was released at 2011, and the sequel of Elder Scroll was release in...oh I'm sorry they haven't release a sequel yet lol, so see what I'm getting into here ?, meanwhile MS will be waiting for new games from Bethesda and recover their investment Sony will keep releasing new games, new experiences, and Playstation will keep growing while MS will keep waiting ;)

Playstation winning formula is about thriving in technology and use this technology to create new games, new experiences, evolve classic fan favorite games using the new technology, and you know what this winning formula it was well known in the past by NIntendo and Sega, but this formula was forgotten by them and only Sony retain the gaming formula (the gaming industry roots) and this why PS is the number one in this gaming industry, so you think one gaming company that has some multipltform IPs will affect decades of gaming experience that Sony has?, lol I think not ;)

outsider16241308d ago (Edited 1308d ago )

Sony don't need to buy any. They can get any of their studios to make one. If guerrilla who made Killzone series can make a semi rpg game like Horizon then im sure others can too.
They just need a good story to tell.

1308d ago
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1309d ago
Lighter91309d ago

You really missed the opportunity to say, "Ain't that a kick in the head?"

ClayRules20121309d ago

I have that song in my head now...thanks🤦🏼 ‍♂️😂

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60°

Embracer Group Re-organizing Into 3 Separate Companies

Hopefully this gets Embracer group back on track

Read Full Story >>
gamersocialclub.ca
TheColbertinator20h ago

Embracer really destroyed itself faster than I ever expected.

Hedstrom5h ago

Yea! But thats what happens when you have 2,2 billion dollar in debt and the interest rise from 0,5% to 5% in a year

150°

With Larian Out Of The Picture, Will The Baldur's Gate IP Be In Safe Hands?

Huzaifah from eXputer: "With Larian Studios washing their hands of the IP, what is the ultimate fate of the legendary Baldur's Gate series?"

RaidenBlack5d ago

If anybody's gonna mention BioWare, then look at Archetype Entertainment, they're the new BioWare
or else
Obsidian is still a good choice but not independent anymore.

anast5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

No, WoTC is pivoting to mobile. They can use Larian's work to justify DnD Go and everyone will accept it.

RiseNShine5d ago

Short answer, nope. Long answer, f*ck nope.

robtion4d ago

Correct answer. Most people don't realise that the companies that are still making good games using common sense and a customer focus are generally not American. They are from Poland, Belgium, Japan, or other countries that have not yet become completely corrupted by 'extreme capitalism'.

Before you down vote me into oblivion I am not anti-american. I just don't like greed and corruption which unfortunately seems to correlate with power.

I would guess the next Baldurs gate will probably be filled with GaaS.

RiseNShine2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

This is simply not true, probably the most capitalistic company in the world is Ubisoft right now, actually claiming that we have to get used to not owning games and asking 130$ for the ultimate edition of star wars outlaws with paywalled day one exclusive DLC, and they are from France, which is a socialist country with all kind of public services for everything, so it's not something exclusive to America or directly related to highly capitalist countries.

Of course, communist countries like China don't have problems like this, since workers don't have rights to strike since 1982 and unions are affiliated to the national government, so you'll never hear of any labour rights issues on these non-capitalist countries, they simply can't make their voices heard on their working conditions, neither by strikes or independent unions, that's better for you i suppose.

Christopher5d ago

Honestly, we're talking completely new engine and none of Larian's built-in stuff with regard to environments and the like that they had from their past divinity game. No one is going to have that just ready to go. So, they need to shop for a dev studio that has a past game that shows what they want.

Obsidian doesn't have that, maybe the closest being Dungeon Siege 3 or Pillars of Eternity, but those are very basic, not as open, very little environment related and altering capabilities. So, we're talking a step way back on what Larian delivered. Zero scene experience to line up with what was done in BG3. Okay conversation tree designs, but still needs more complexity.

inXile has Wasteland 3 as a base model engine, and I think that's better than Pillars of Eternity from Obsidian. But, still needs to be more open world, more environmental effects, and a much heavier rules set adaptation. But, not a bad overall engine as a base, but still a ton of work. Zero scene experience to line up with what was done in BG3. Needs a ton of work on that entirely.

Tactical Adventure did the Solasta game. Really good and more accurate as far as 5e rules than BG3. But, again, if the expectation is similar to what made BG3 a big hit, engine isn't designed for moving the camera, is a bit outdated in graphics, doesn't have in-game scene elements, and needs much better writers/voice actors.

Owlcat of pathfinder games is another choice, even though they've recently moved on to WH40k licensed games. Again, though, the engine is the biggest issue here to match up, but it's a much better option overall than Tactical Adventure. Another question is writers/story telling, as much of their overall story telling bits are very limited with a lot of random worldbuilding elements that are just +\- of some attributes.

TBH, no matter who takes over, it's just not going to be like BG3 much like how BG3 isn't at all like BG1/2. And BG3 was so successful because of how much Larian was able to put in with their engine and how focused they were on players having ridiculous control over the story being told. I just don't see the next BG being the same and depending on what it is, it might be good but I'm not as big of a reach as BG3. It's way more likely players are going to go into BG4 (or its spiritual successor if it moves away from Baldur's Gate and into Neverwinter or something like Plansescape) expecting much of what is in BG3 with more options, new and older characters, and the same level of control over what they're doing. If it doesn't have that, regardless of who makes it, it won't be as successful, IMHO.

exputers4d ago

Yes, I completely concur.

As good and talented as inXile and Obsidian are in their own specific way of making their particular games, none of them have Larian's attention to detail, dynamic worlds, and reactivity, so even if they end up making a new Baldur's Gate, it's going to be a significant step-down in terms of gameplay if not narrative.

CrimsonWing695d ago

Probably not, but maybe… just maybe…

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30°

Human Fall Flat 2 Delayed, Devolver Details Major 2023 Sales Decline

As part of its latest financial report, Devolver Digital has announced that upcoming physics platformer Human Fall Flat 2 has been delayed beyond 2025.

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