Microsoft's jaw-dropping acquisition of Activision Blizzard earlier this week has fundamentally changed the gaming landscape as we know it. The reported $68 billion buyout shows just how ridiculously deep Microsoft's pockets are — and that financial bulk is something that Sony simply cannot compete with.
It leaves the PlayStation maker in an unenviable position. Especially with the rampant success of the PS4, Sony has led the industry for so long that this megaton acquisition almost feels surreal — it is quite literally Microsoft buying its way to a future of potential market domination, and at this point, it's unrealistic to think that this is the end of the Redmond firm's spending.
But for the purposes of this poll, let's forget about the future. For now, we ask the question: what should Sony do at this moment in time? What can it do to strengthen PlayStation's place in the current gaming ecosystem?
We can start by looking at the facts. First off, it's easy to forget that the PS5 is selling extremely well, breaking records at launch and charting a trajectory that suggests immense popularity for years to come. And this is against the backdrop of a global pandemic, which continues to strangle the current-gen console's production. It's no secret that even a year after its release, the PS5 remains an elusive product for the average consumer — but that's not really something that Sony can rectify right now.
It's also no secret that the PS5's release schedule looks very, very strong in 2022. Exclusive titles like Horizon Forbidden West and God of War Ragnarok are set to be critical and commercial hits, and will no doubt be yet more fine examples of Sony's first-party prowess. There's an argument to be made here that Sony should just stick to its guns and keep doing what it's doing — at least for now.
But there will be others who feel that Sony must make a move, and soon. Microsoft's cash-flashing will steer any and all conversations for the foreseeable future — but Sony could negate some of this momentum with a big announcement or two. Or three. Again, the Japanese giant is never going to be able to go toe-to-toe with Microsoft on a financial level, but it can still cater directly to its audience. Is it time to reveal that heavily rumoured PS Plus overhaul? Or would this new subscription service — suppsedly codenamed Spartacus — look downright desperate in the face of a $68 billion buyout by the company that seems hellbent on transforming gaming into Game Pass?
And then you've got the people who are already demanding that Sony buys up some AAA publishers of its own — a cheeky Capcom or suggestive Square Enix sounds like a sure-fire win to the casual onlooker. But as we know, this just isn't how Sony does business. Its whole model relies on supporting its first-party studios in order to create games that will draw people into the PlayStation ecosystem — a strategy that's supplemented by striking timed exclusivity deals with third party publishers. It's not console sales that drive Sony's profits — it's the money made through the PlayStation Store that has propelled the platform to the top over the last decade or so.
But, you could argue, that we now live in unprecedented times. Maybe Sony does have to alter its philosophy if it wants to maintain its throne. Perhaps it has little choice but to fight fire with fire — at least to some degree — in order to ensure that it's not left behind in what is a rapidly changing industry.
As far as we're concerned, all of this makes for a fascinating conversation — and so we want to know what you think. What should Sony do now? Does it have to respond to Microsoft's acquisition, or can it continue down its own path? Vote in our poll, and then elaborate on your thoughts in the comments section below.
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They shouldn't ruin themselves financially but it's just a shame they can't get PS5's on the shelves.
That's a boost right there.
They definitely need to take a look at their existing plans and see how the Activision thing affects them. Of course I have no idea what those plans are so it’s not impossible that they’re still perfectly fine. I’m sure they’ll just do what’s best for them 🤷♂️
There's very little Sony can do, they can't compete with Microsoft, Concentrate on brand building and possible the ps+ services that are changing.
Eh, I don't think Sony should go out panic buying just because of the recent acquisition from MS. They should just continue working with the current studios that they own. They already have all the talent and all they have to do is to keep ironing out their library of exclusive games.
Personally, I think Sony will be fine. 2022 is going to be huge on the software front, but I am anxiously awaiting that PS Plus overhaul. Hope it's not just a rumour.
as long as they keep making exclusive top quality single player story driven games they be fine
I don't think it's all doom and gloom for Sony, imo Sony usually is at its best when being threatened and tends to rest on its laurels when it's on top. We've talked a lot about how distant they've been from their player base in the past few years compared to late PS3/early PS4 years (and that was when trying to catch up to the 360's success).
I think feeling the pressure will be good for them in the long run, hope we see new, original IPs from them, and who knows, maybe revivals of a few old ones.
Whatever Sony ends up saying and doing, I think Microsoft have pretty much poured cold water on Sony's plans to become the console market leader in the West. There is literally no way Sony can compete on this scale. It makes them look even more foolish for almost entirely bailing on the Japanese market.
Realistically they don’t need to do anything.
Just keep dropping the absolute best games in the industry.
Keep on keeping on. I could care less about Activision. I’ll miss the Bethesda games, but Sony being Sony has always produced the best gaming experience. Microsoft hasn’t done anything to improve that.
What did pimple juice say?
Anywho, I think sony should sit pat, especially with their first party games coming soon, not to mention their exclusivity deals are still in place with other devs/pubs. No need to hit the panic button, unless their future is a lot murkier now.
No immediate rush, just focus on their strengths for now. Horizon Forbidden West and GT7 will be big releases, and I'm sure there's lots more to announce when they're ready.
PSVR2 will be a big story for them this year, too. Obviously they need to keep improving, but I'd expect them to do that anyway.
At this stage, there's not much more they can do I don't think.
Can you add an option for "Good lord, talk about storm in a tea cup."
Please?
PS Vita 2 should be an option 😊
If Sony are worried about their share value, they should hold their next showcase sooner or later and do what they do best - show some quality games.
In my opinion Sony doesn't have to rush out and buy some publishers (although i would love to see them increase their presence in Japan). But they should look back at their dormant IP and start commissioning remakes and reboots of titles that could set them apart from their competitors.
I think we are another step closer to game pass coming to Playstation to be honest - if EA or Ubisoft get snapped up by Microsoft it is surely just a matter of time.
I honestly don’t know what Sony should do but I do wonder what that rumored Project Spartacus is. I need to know what that is
More games like Returnal.
@Voltan I do wonder something. Maybe this could get Sony to ramp up their first party game production. Like have more of their 1st party games get announced.
Iirc, they said they about 25 games in development which half are new IPs. I wonder if Sony will make those announcements soon.
They should keep doing what they are doing as its clearly been working since the PS4 days.
They should utilise their vast library of games they have from PS1-PS5 and reveal their spartacus gamepass competitor.
For now there is no cause for concern since this won't go into effect until 2023 at the earliest but I am sure Sony is discussing behind the scenes
@Slippship well Activision games aren’t that profound on Nintendo systems. Sure the switch got a lot. Like crash bandicoot, Spyro, tony Hawk, overwatch and more.
But compared to PS, Nintendo doesn’t really need to worry compared to PS about Activision.
I’ve seen a lot of different views online, and I’m in the camp of “they need to shift gears.” This could mean more acquisitions including one big one (Square Enix, Capcom), or pushing Spartacus to do more PS5 titles. They might have had the foresight of Microsoft doing something big, and have been building their studios and services accordingly.
Otherwise, they need to be more aggressive. Sorry, they just do. They will lose countless millions in the long run from this acquisition and they won’t make that revenue back from their first party releases. They need something huge.
Also a state of play or something really soon, that would be nice.
Think sony just need to kwep on releasing top quality games and then just make plus and now better with the spartacus think they will be fine just look at nintendo qual8ty 1st party games and sell well
Sony has done just fine introducing new IPs to the world. Microsoft can buy existing IPs, but if they can’t create new ones, they’re just a hamster in a wheel, going nowhere. If Sony keeps their production level at its current rate, everything will be just fine.
@anoyonmus Yeah, but even if they do announce some things earlier than originally planned, we’ll never know if that was the case
A steady output of quality first or second party exclusives and improved stock is all the y need...sorry but cross-gen titles don't cut it anymore..You have to show off the new machine.
@Rob_230 I think now is the time for them to seriously consider making a strong handheld device. Microsoft's mobile cloud gaming will eventually get better and better, and will creep its way into Japan at some point. A new handheld, a studio dedicated to high quality JRPGs, and (MAYBE) starting some negotiations of any kind with Square Enix, Sega, and/or Capcom would be a start to gaining some lost ground.
@get2sammyb while I agree, they need to look to the future. Left unchecked Microsoft will buy EA, Ubisoft and others. Sony needs an answer to what is clearly Microsoft’s strategy
They should revive Socom and maybe do it as an FPS. It was a bigger deal than Call of Duty back on ps2. If not Socom a new Killzone or Resistance would be great. Also focus on more Japanese studio acquisitions like From Software, Kojima, Gen Design, and Nihon Falcom. They should definitely consider acquiring Capcom, Sega and/or Square Enix.
@Enriesto I agree with you 100%. This traditional trajectory they're on isn't going to work in the long-run. Some half-baked Game Pass competitor isn't going to cut it either.
It's difficult to take on MonopolySoft Just keep on doing what you are doing SONY and maybe buy a few quality developers(cheap ones but good ones) and hopefully all will be ok.
It wouldn't hurt for Sony to make some announcements to build up hype. I don't think they need to race to acquiring other companies, just remind people of the perks of being a PlayStation owner. I'm currently using my PS5 to play the Yakuza series, but my PS5-hype crashed overall after I played through Astro's Playroom and Demons Souls 😕
Sony needs to keep delivering great products, content, experiences, hardware, software, and services. I'm a huge fan, I'm optimistic and excited as a customer to enjoy the awesome stuff they keep delivering, but if they fail and the PlayStation business flops that's their loss more so than our loss.
The more I read about Activision, the more I think we're overreacting.
MS bought Bethesda and Activision because both publishers needed to he bought.
Bethesda were struggling for direction, and Activision were a dumpster fire.
Chances are if they hadn't been bought both would have failed eventually.
A publisher that's doing well, like EA or any of the others, just won't want to be bought.
Having said that, I feel we're at a point now where Sony need to secure key partners and franchises like Square and FF. I keep going on about it, but buying Square would be like skipping levels as far as jumping in to mobile is concerned, and FF XIV is a monster. Those subs must be making trousers shrink over at Square.
Other than that though, Sony have the IP, the studios, and the second party partnerships to move away from their reliance on Cod and Fifa.
You know the way some people have been complaining about how Sony are greedy for working on a few online projects instead of only making single player games?
Maybe they smell what's on the wind.
tldr: secure a Japanese publisher, and bring back SOCOM, Killzone, Resistance.
And keep working on those 20+ unannounced first party titles.
PlayStation is fine. We'll still be playing on Sony consoles in 10 years.
I'm genuinely very optimistic and excited about what happens next.
I think they will let February and March go by with its big releases before they announce anything but they need to announce something.
Arguably not because of the Microsoft news, just because PlayStation’s relative silence for the past few years is not working for them, and never has.
Games like Uncharted, Last of Us 2, Horizon, God of War, Spider-man, Ghost of Tsushima are actually what made me to buy Playstation. I just think Sony should keep doing what it's doing
Sony certainly needs to do something. Microsoft now owns double the number of studios and so many IPs. Quality is better than quantity, but there's nothing stopping Microsoft from beefing up their 33+ studios into studios like Naughty Dog or Sucker Punch. Plus, we must remember the most important (and dangerous) part about these Microsoft acquisitions: Microsoft DRAMATICALLY increases their portfolio of games while simultaneously weakening Sony's. It is not simply a gain for Microsoft.
so here's my take: I would like to see Sony acquire Sega's publishing arm. I don't care for Persona but there's no denying it's an important Sony identity. For my own reasons, I'd like to see it as Sony are hot on remakes lately, and I would very much like Sony to kick Sega into gear and do an Unreal 5, PS5 exclusive remake of Skies of Arcadia (and perhaps a sequel, though the original tied itself up nicely). Hell, if I was good enough at 3D modelling, I already know how to code...I'd start it off myself. Spoilers: I suck at 3D work.
I will predicate my post on the worst case scenario. Worst case scenario is that Call of Duty goes completely exclusive starting in 2023 and Microsoft and Sony cannot agree on introducing Gamepass to Playstation. This is what I feel Sony needs to do under those circumstances.
1. Reintroduce shooters back into the first party portfolio. This has been a weakness of Sony’s for the entire eighth generation, with only one big release (Killzone: Shadow Fall). Revive Killzone and SOCOM. Both names carry weight in the larger shooter community. Killzone as a traditional big budget shooter and SOCOM as a live service Battle Royale with hardcore gameplay elements. MAG would be a good thing to bring back as well since Dice and EA can’t make a big squad based shooter worth a ***** anymore.
2. Get Spartacus up and running. And release first party multiplayer games on the service day and date. They can keep single player AAA experiences off of it for a year then bring them over.
3. Purchase Capcom. It’s one of the few big publishers Sony could afford to buy outright. It would give them a ton of big franchises to help shore up Spartacus and maybe win back some good will in Japan.
They don't need to do anything. They have good first party games and the average person is likely still trying to get a PS5 as they don't follow gaming news so are oblivious to Microsoft's recent actions.
It's difficult. MS have the money to drop their 1st party games on gamepass day 1 (without DLC and with Microtransactions though). Sony just can't do that with Spartacus without seriously lowering their studios' budget. So I'm afraid they won't be able to compete on a subscription level and definitely not on a acquisition level.
What they can compete with is their quality, which is far superior. So I think they should just keep doing what they're doing.
I don't like the whole timed exclusivity that they've been doing and I definitely don't like MS buying up publishers with established multiplatform IPs. But Sony might be forced to make some minor acquisitions themselves.
It’s almost a shame- Sony were doing great with amazing console exclusives and now Microsoft is just buying companies instead of creating great games. I suppose that’s business. Money is king. I’m interested to in the future. Probably not in MS interest to outright destroy Sony as I’m sure they’ll make a fortune with their games on PS platforms.
Sony making big acquisitions will just make it easier for Microsoft to justify making even more of their massive acquisitions. Sony really needs to just focus on stellar first party games. If they need to get developers they should do what they normally do and acquire smaller companies or at least companies with a strong history of playstation specific games
I honestly have no idea what they can do.
Even if they came out with their Game Pass equivalent and shocked us with day one games, they don't have enough studios to sustain that sort of model.
If streaming is the future of games - which Sony is already invested in and made a deal with MS to bolster cloud services last year - then Sony needs to focus on bumping up its roster of Studios and developing a MUST HAVE storefront. PS Pass and PS Store to compete with Gamepass and Valve. Consoles are probably dying unfortunately and casual gamers will buy a chrome cast like device to stream and play the one or two games they play.
Focus on single player story games are their strength multiplayer games is a crowded space for sony to try and get into.
why isnt anyone mentioning konami!? should have been done before the activision takeover, now more than ever. The IPs they have collecting dust is ridiculous. Metal Gear Remake/Sequel would shift consoles as would Silent Hill.
It's scary to think about. Third parties should stay as third parties. Untouched to create their usual stuff and put them where they please.
On the other hand. How do we know how long third parties will stay third party? If Microsoft are left unchallenged will they just gobble everything up from under the industry's nose and leave nothing for everyone else laughing because they listened to the 'we're protecting the industry' nonsense?
There should be an agreement that third parties are to be left alone unless they outright ask to be acquired and create a fair situation for bidding.
What's wrong with both Sony and Microsoft creating brand new studios and brand new IP's Instead of eating what's already there? How does that help the industry?
How many more studios is Microsoft going to take from everyone else before there's nothing left to play for anyone else?
Sony can't compete with MS financially so it's best they focus on multiplayer for their IPs. Multiplayer games in general have been better on MS than PS this gen (and more titles) but whenever Factions 2 comes out and hopefully others, it should stem the bleed somewhat.
No. I think they have their own plans and should stick to those and I am sure they are not really surprised by Microsoft purchasing Activision. I hope they go big on PSVR2 and I hope they can keep the price at 299. That would be awesome. And if they also manage to release real triple A VR games that would be incredible!
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Some kind of event before GT7's launch which has good messaging. If the acquisition didn't happen, something like the October State of Play but with a focus on Ghostwire Tokyo would've been fine but I feel now it needs to be bigger.
@OMGitsLiamT that’s a great idea. Although a quick Google check shows they are apparently worth £5 Billion? Not sure how accurate that is.
Be great to see these format franchises make a glorious return.
Sony Interactive Entertainment is in a deep rut. ReMakes and Remasters is all they are currently doing. Their hayday was in the PSX and PSX 2 era. So many odd, different, gene mashing games were made. There's no way we'll see stuff like "Mr. Mosquito", "Jumping Flash", " Bushido Blade", " LSD Simulator", "Killer 7", "The Thing" etc, etc, etc ever again.
If i was Sony I wouldn’t make any big buys. What I would do is set up multiple other devs, each dedicated to a specific genre, then hire people from all the devs MS bought, offering a great salary and complete creative freedom (something MS will not offer given what they have paid for IPs).
Sony need to replace the Bethesda games lost and now COD with new IPs, but it is the developers themselves who have the talent, and whilst the companies can be bought out, the devs are free to go to those offering the best opportunities.
Sony should seek to systematically gut these dev teams MS have acquired. I mean, given what we have heard about the company culture at some of these places, it shouldn’t be impossible.
@PSXDave under what rock are you living?
The only thing that gets to me about the way Microsoft has approached this, is that they have bought all the best first person shooters. The only ones I can think of that Sony has is Killzone. Microsoft now own DOOM, RAGE, Halo, Fallout, Elder Scrolls (if that counts), Outer Worlds, Call Of Duty etc….. back in 2005 I bought an OG Xbox just to play DOOM 3.
Sony had better do something. They went into this gen with the arrogance they had with the PS3 coming off of the PS2 gen and it's already biting them in the rear.
They don't have the financial means to compete with buyouts but they need to make some moves. Show some of their hand... PSVR2 showcase, new game announcements, and partnerships that'll show interesting games will come to PS5.
So far the PS5 gen has been boring at best and has little exclusive to it that makes the system worth buying on its own. Everything exciting for PS5 (IMO) is either also on PS4 or also multiplat beyond Playstation. If PS5 didn't play PS4 games... it would be a rather pathetic gen thus far.
Acquisitions are NOT the way to go and wind up being terrible for the industry and the consumer.
That being said, Sony needs to kick the current mold that they have right now, which seems to be focusing on big single player "movie quality" experiences. As much as I love single player, they really need to bring back a good multiplayer exclusive. Maybe Killzone? Socom? They need their own shooter from their own studio so that Microsoft can't just snatch it up. They also need to build their relationships with Japanese publishers, otherwise they'll wind up losing those to Nintendo. Many games that one might expect to be on PlayStation (Disgaea 6 for one) skipped the console and went to Nintendo instead, so Sony need to encourage the Japanese publishers to stay with them, since that's one market Microsoft will never be able to break into.
@PSXDave i respectfully disagree , they have tons of stuff being worked on , but i'd rather they wait till they have something to show instead of wasting time to get a few seconds clip for the sake of them showing something.
I think they are fine very much in the same way Nintendo are fine. If you make great games the sucess will continue.
But, the amount of risk they are finding themselves in atm, with the possibility of Microsoft having an exclusive or better CoD does put them in a difficult situation.
As i say, EA would the ideal choice to counter the MS aquisitions, but i don't see it.
So, there really isn't much they can do, besides what they are already doing. Keep investing in studios and good games. I would say they need to increase variety too. Not just deliver open world after open world.
Also, they need to put Naughty dog at better use. This mp game they are making is a waste of the studio's resources and talents.
They should be looking at increasing their output to 2 games every 2 years.
An adult one and a more family friendly one. Basically an Uncharted/TLOU/mature game with a Jak and Daxter type game. Much like Insomniac in a way.
Of course, a "smaller" aquisition like SE or Capcom would not hurt in theory, but this that MS is doing is really bad for the market and consumers. No one is gaining from this. Xbox is not getting more content from this. It's just denying it to Playstation. That is just not healthy. MS could have invested all this money into making new games. But, no. They prefer to do this. It's like they admit they can't do it, so instead of exiting the market, they are just gonna buy it all out.
It’s not so much right this year 2022 or even 2023.
It’s what to do 2024 onwards.
Microsoft have amassed a lot of studios and invested in cloud gaming and game pass.
Not totally sure how you compete with all that.
Nintendo do it with slightly different consoles and a massive exclusive game base that has been around for many decades, everyone knows Mario Kart for example, young and old etc entire generations of families.
The Sony executives have some good future board room meetings to have planning the future.
But then again, Sony dropped the ball after the Walkman and let iPods in.
Also dropped the ball being TVs market number one and now they are way third with Samsung and LG above them.
They seem to create great technology sit on it to long and let others over take them.
King Sony and the global PlayStation empire will be fine!!! In a few years when Micro$oft aka microshaft is out of the console business the ‘Xbox’ app (gamepass) will be available on the then current PlayStation hardware, as well as the Nintendo’s. PlayStation first party titles are second to NONE!!! And will fill the gap should microshaft go console exclusion with their IP the remaining years of the current generation. As a collector my only concern is games going all digital. Long live King Sony and the global PlayStation empire!!!
Im not particularly fine with all this as arnt many others but its happening so we need to get over it i guess.
The one positive i can take is that sony will (hopefully) get their asses in gear and make some positive changes and some new announcements soon. Project spartacus needs addressing as i think it will be a big player. Whats the tiers?, whats the cost?, is backward compat from previous gens coming in to play? We dont get told enough and for those on the fence i think its crucial.
Whatever happens, they’ll be just fine I recon. The loss of COD doesn’t really bother me but I know Causal gamers are important to a platform’s success. I guess we’ll just have to watch this space.
I will say though, the overreaction from gaming media and the gaming community on the whole has been enjoyable to watch 🤣
Sony need full exclusive so people want to buy their console in usa (if yearly cod become exclusive to xbox), one of the reason switch sells really well is because the console got a lot of great exclusive that you can't play anywhere else (including pc).
I actually think Sony will be fine as long as they continue to craft some of the absolute best single-player experiences in the industry. This also may end up being a good thing for PlayStation gamers as Sony, in my opinion, has never been better than they were in the late days of PS3 and early days of PS4 when there was good competition from XBOX. That said, I do think they should respond to Microsoft’s acquisition in a couple of ways, and I don’t necessarily think they need to run out and buy a bunch of studios. First, they need to double or triple down on PS5 production. I understand these are unprecedented times with supply chain shortages, but not once have I seen a single PS5 in any retail store for the last 14 or 15 months. Second, I think now would be a good time to announce new projects or revive one of their FPS IPs, like Resistance or Killzone
I did not buy a PS5 to play Activison games (I did not buy a 3080 for that either)
Give me a new Wolverine/GOW trailer. I'll be happy... keep focusing on their own stuff (and fund KENA2)
The more I've thought about the MS/Activision deal, the more I've realized that this will not impact Sony near as much as it seemed at first. MS is going to spend $70 B for a few major titles. CoD is the biggest console title amongst the company on the console, and Sony had contracts with Activision for this entire new-gen lifecycle. What else did they get? Mostly PC games which don't affect Sony in the slightest. The only other big games that potentially are going exclusive at some point are Diablo and Overwatch. I doubt they will do that, especially if Sony starts acquiring major publishers as well, such as EA. I think right now, Sony just needs to keep doing what they're doing, but an announcement for the new subscription service would be welcomed. I've never cared for gamepass or psNow, but we'll see what they release. I used to think playing older games would be fun, but when I had the ability to do so on the PS3, I didn't play a single PS1/2 game like I thought I would. Backward compatibility is just not important, IMO.
Sony still has the best lineup of RPG/story-driven games. MS isn't improving in that arena at all. Halo is crap, and they have nothing else besides the upcoming Elder Scrolls 6. That doesn't even come close to GoW, Uncharted, Spider-Man, Horizon, Ghost of Tsushima, Ratchet & Clank, and the many other amazing games Sony has pumped out since releasing the PS5.
I normally wouldn't want Sony to make reactionary aquisitions, but unfortunately, it seems we're at the point where that's the only way they can ensure third party IP will continue to release on PlayStation. Otherwise, there may come a time when all PlayStation releases will only be from their own studios.
@Uncharted2007 Honestly, PSVR is what they should have dropped. VR Headsets will never hit critical mass due to confort and health issues and developing for it is just diverting resources necessary for the real market. I don't think it's the best time to be playing with dud peripherals.
The good news is any real impact from the deal won't take effect for at least a couple years so they have time to take a breath and think about how to move forward with or without COD and who knows maybe those talks they had with Phil recently went really well and at the very least COD will continue to come to PS for the foreseeable future.
So for now I say take it easy while continuing to show off what you got while just paying attention to any opportunities that would work for a possible acquisition without breaking the bank.
I think SONY just needs a better variety of games.
If Tencent has approached Square and Capcom, Sony should really preserve them by buying them.
They have firewalk, firesprite (twisted metal), deviation, haven studio, guerrilla and naughty dog working on multiplayer games. Hopefully there are 2-3 shooters on that list. I think that's enough. One of them has to be a hit, right? I think they'll need more than one because Cod is just too big.
They bought EVO but don't have a fighter of their own. It's why I suggest they buying Capcom. They'll recoup that in no time. They also get RPG Ips. Sony loves RE. Capcom is also making movies and sony is doing that. They focus on graphics. Even before Activision, Sony couldn't just win again with only single player hollywood games again.
They can let make MH for nintendo switch too. Personally biased but I don't want to lose Capcom to tencent. They cameback after 2017 with re7 and became my favorite third party publisher.
Said it in a different article, but just do a pc PS store (launcher like steam), stick as many classic games (from ps1-5) on there that they can, and gain some much needed extra £ that way. They're in the process of bringing their library over so just streamline that, especially whilst manufacturing issues remain for the consoles themselves.
Maybe buy SquareEnix or Capcom (both are viable). And sort out some exclusivity deals with From.
How about...I don't know lol
A little bit of everything?
I think they do need a bigger media presence, Uncle Phil seems to have the media eating out of the palm of his hand whilst Sony's silence is almost deafening. It's high time to change the narrative.
I don't really care about Activision and their games at all. But it would be huge if Sony could create or buy studios that could do things that Bethesda is doing in the RPG arena. Losing those games is going to be a blow.
Yes they do need to make some big moves. First thing they should do is announce full emulation BC and let people know that games they buy from now on will be BC with any future systems so they keep people invested in the Playstation ecosystem.
Then they really need to make a publisher acquisition. People act like Sony has no money to spend and they have no idea of what they're talking about. Obviously they don't have MS money, only like 4 other companies on the planet do, but they can easily buy a major publisher. Playstation division alone makes Sony billions of pure profit every year.
Take Two would be a massive gain and making GTA Ps5 and PC exclusive would be a huge counter punch. If not them then Capcom, Square, or Konami would be a good move. The only problem with either of those 3 is that most people buy those games on Sony platforms to begin with, but still they need more content to compete now. Consolidation is bad for the industry and taking multiplatform games and making theme exclusive is even worse, but MS is not going to stop doing this until they brute force control of the industry so it's time Sony starts too. I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo goes after Capcom or Square.
More and more acquisitions in the industry would lead us down a very boring road. One where all games would be exclusive. Sony needs to announce their response to GamePass ASAP. Sony has way better games and needs to flex that with this service.
Sony probably can't really do much of anything.
If the Activision deal goes through (and I am more optimistic than others that it gets blocked), Playstation is going to diminish substantially. The counterargument put forth by Microsoft that it would still be in third place in the videogames industry after the merger is so demonstrably disingenuous, I don't know where to begin.
I do think that the Playstation brand is too strong to die. My guess is that either Google, Tencent, or Amazon will probably want to save the Playstation brand at whatever cost.
Sony needed to take action BEFORE the Activision buyout, but there were complacent to market changes and I can't fault them too much for not wanting to rock the boat that was floating nicely. But this should be the kick in the pants they needed.
They don't need to knee jerk and engage in tit for tat mergers.... They'll never win a spending war. They just need to look inward, see where they are outdated in their approach, where they look weak in consumer value, too hubristic and impractical in their output, what have been their continuous strengths from the beginning and solidify their position. If it's clear they can't be #1 long term they just need to identify what their market position, long term, will be, and learn how to work in that space. If arrogant Nintendo could figure out how to do that for 25 years, so can Sony.
Sometime last gen they abandoned their Japanese niche and went chasing the x360 market. That's backfired. They just need to regroup and think about what does work for them rather than trying to hold onto what works for bigger players. Smaller ps isn't worse ps.
I'd like to see Sony increase the diversity of their first-party output. They currently have a bunch of little games in various genres that generally tend to be mediocre, and then the standard "GOTY" "10/10" stuff always seems to be cinematic third-person action-adventure fare.
I think Sony will be fine this gen in terms of sales, but... they need to shift their approach soon. When next gen comes, if consumers are faced with similarly expensive consoles, but one is demanding $70 for its games and the other is offering a fleet of iconic properties like Call of Duty, Diablo, Elder Scrolls, DOOM, Halo, etc. as part of a relatively inexpensive subscription service, I think most people who aren't already Playstation diehards are going to be jumping ship.
@Col_McCafferty Interesting post. I do think Nintendo and Sony are suffering from losing affable public figures who used to be the respective faces of their companies. Nintendo is being led by random businessmen without any sort of charisma (big downgrade from lovable personalities like Satoru Iwata and Reggie Fils-Aimé), and SIE is headed by the "Why would anyone play this?" guy who seems to stick his foot in his mouth every time he speaks.
Love or hate Phil Spencer, he's a very charismatic leader. Exactly what Xbox needed after the destruction wrought by Don Mattrick.
I read some comments and some people need to realize. They just can't make single player games only.
Everyone who likes single player narrative games, will already buy a playstation.
They need a fighter, rpgs, jrpgs and lots of multiplayer games (pvp and co-op).
And the more I listen to other people opinion, Tencent could grab one of these publishers. They got remedy, platinum and turtle rock (actual buy). I fear more Tencent than Google, Amazon, Facebook which they're yet to acquire anything.
@Ralizah Charismatic? I think he's full of ***** myself but then again people voted for Trump and Boris so what do I know?
In an ideal world they'd make a really good Game Pass equivalent, expand their range with some shooters, more kid/family games and still maintain their place as THE place for single player games. Oh and develop a handheld for those that like that sort of thing.
So, not much then lol.
Obviously they can’t beat Microsoft in terms of throwing money at a problem, but I do think they need to expand their first party output heavily with multiple acquisitions while also releasing some titles day and date on PC. AAA third party is disappearing and I don’t think people realize the amount of games that won’t be coming to playstation in the not so distant future.
I think at this point they should definitely be looking at Capcom and Sega as well as some independent teams. Especially Remedy, Techland, Ember Lab, Hello Games, Frictional Games & Supermassive among others. I think them partnering with Bethesda on two games just have them bought by their biggest competitor shows they have to focus more on first party and can’t rely on having big third party games consistently in the future.
SQUARE ENIX!
I shall say no more
It's a matter of perspective. Here's another one:
For over 25 years Sony has been fairly steady in the gaming business. They've been on top in 4 of the 5 generations of consoles they've been in. They had a notable blip with the PS3 but righted the ship with a focus on innovated gameplay and solid exclusives. This continues to the current day, where the PS5 is selling faster than any new console in history and they have excellent exclusives coming out imminently.
It is MICROSOFT that is desperately trying to succeed. They've been in last place for four console generations in a row (though I'll readily concede the 360 wasn't perceived this way at the time). Their Xbox brand has reportedly never turned an operating profit.
THEY are the ones desperately flailing for ideas. They are like a cornered dog, frothing and posturing. They are the insecure ones who believe they have no options other than to spend desperate amounts of money.
I hope with their partnership with Deviation Games that they produce an FPS game.
As long as Sony intends to buy any company, Microsoft and Tencent may pay double to compete.
Focus on their strengths and do a State of Play to get us excited. Regardless of the Activision acquisition, Xbox’s lineup is nowhere near as exciting as Sony’s. In my mind, Xbox isn’t the problem, but rather the other tech giants that have plans to break into the gaming market.
I'm sort of surprised so many people are impressed when they see money being spent.
I know a guy who constantly spends his money. He makes a lot so he can, but he has so many financial obligations he seems sort of miserable. He seems kind of phony sitting in his fancy car.
I know another guy who doesn't make much but he lives within his means - wears normal clothes and drives a ten year-old Toyota. He seems way more on top of his finances (and life generally) than the first guy. He also seems way less stressed.
I guess I'm surprised people are more impressed with the first guy than the second.
The last thing I want to see is an arms race to acquire as many studios as possible, but that seems like the inevitable direction that we're headed.
@Col_McCafferty Yeah, I always saw Phil Spencer as incredibly oleaginous and insincere. Like, I don't like Jim Ryan and I regularly forget that Doug Bowser exists, but they act like businessmen that are running businesses.
I think Phil Spencer is the kind of person that is charismatic to a certain demographic of people. Like the kind of people that want their grocery store cashier to smile at their job and pretend like it's the best job ever.
I honestly think they already have.
Sony isn’t a noob company that could be surprised by Ms. They saw it coming.
Makes me think of when Tom (console) Warren was saying Ms want to surprise Sony with the SX. Of course Sony knew and Ms knew what both had and Spencer was pretending he didn’t know. No surprise there and it was naive to think so. Actually Sony surprised Ms who looked like they genuinely thought it was all about TFLOP and Spencer was bragging about the hardware ‘advantage’ that would show at launch. Just some little recent history showing Sony knows what they’re doing.
for people saying ubisoft is next , i highly doubt it. last time some one was trying to buy them , they fought against being bought and won. they seem pretty happy not being owned by some one else.
The one thing I think they should do is COMPLETELY rip off COD and name it Socom. If they can do better, good, but bare minimum I think they should make a fantastic clone of COD.
I personally don’t give a crap about COD, but they need an answer to losing so many FPS’s. COD, DOOM, Wolfenstein, Fallout, Elder Scrolls, etc. They lost a lot.
Sony can't hope to ever beat Microsoft directly at big "studio buying" business.
BUT - they can mix it up.
Quality over quantity will keep Sony on top, despite Microsoft's big deep pockets.
They CAN compete with Microsoft by continuing to produce the awesome games that they do, in existing IP's and new ones.
This is their biggest asset - superbly done games.
Microsoft is buying big studios, but the best IP's out there right now are in Sony's portfolio.
AND they can make a single smart studio acquisition:
buy From Software from Kadokawa. They don't need more than that right now.
They have a long and good relationship with this studio already, they should only tie the knot.
In the service department: they should perfect the PS+ and especially PS Now with project Spartacus, to compete and even surpass Game Pass.
They need to envision and put in place a good plan, and stop ignoring the big requests/complaints that their customers keep making regarding those services.
people forget they have the 2 games from the 2nd party studios coming , the one from the former destiny guys , and then the game from the former cod guys.
Sony should just keep doing what they're doing and stick to their schedule. MS is fully aware that it takes Sony's new consoles a couple of years before its engines are fully revved and destroy everything in their path. This is just another in a long line of attempts to slow the unstoppable force. Any hasty action now will be forever seen as a sign of weakness.
Last year they acquired both Bluepoint and Housemarque, companies they had worked with. I'm playing Kena at present and Ember Labs would be a very smart purchase.
I doubt they'll buy a major developer or publisher, instead they'll cast the net wider and bring more companies into the PS 'family', by offering them the freedom to make the games they want to make.
Build relationships, don't get into a bidding war. I also suspect that there are many third party companies that like their autonomy and don't wish to be purchased by anyone. I think they'll be much more keen to with with Sony than MS.
So, adding fire to the fire creates.
.
.
Wait for it...
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A bigger fire. I'll be out. I like what Sony do with their games, they have great ones. If I had money for a super high end pc I might be there more than the PS store, for sure, but I don't and so I stick with the ps4 games currently available and there's an abundance and the deals seem endless. For me, there is already more than enough and with them focusing a lot on VR, I'm only hoping they make a wireless model down the line. I'll be on ps5 when it happens.
@Jayofmaya I think you mean Firaga.
I'm not a fan of a hypothetical consolidation war, but if it's going to happen, it'd be nice if Sony started participating.
@Col_McCafferty personally i'd love to see them purchase all 3 studios they are teaming up with and have them 1st party studios. im guessing maybe their first games is a test run maybe. but i also belive bluepoint and hosemarque can be pretty big pick ups down the road.
There’s been at least 15 different posts about this acquisition since it occurred. I know I’m missing more because my phone is bugging out. Can’t you writers minimize it a bit? Maybe it’s time to make one “Mega Post”? It just feels like click-bait at this point which obviously I fell for because I clicked to get here. There’s a lot more to write about in gaming than the same topic with a different poll question attached to it. I get it was an industry changing business move. But it’s becoming overboard.
It’s ridiculous that we have this console exclusivity problem - no other medium has this issue.
@z0d15g0d lol yeah. Ff VIII Remastered was 5th in my most hours spent for this years wrap up. Firaga is a dangerous spell!
@twitchtvpat Absolutely. The studios Sony have purchased weren't industry-leading, they're become that under their stewardship. They nurture talent and encourage creativity. This is something they need to continue.
I do think they need some good press and quick. The gaming media out there are indifferent if not outright hostile towards PlayStation right now and have been for a while if you ask me. Change the narrative, make it known that Sony are here to stay and it's really all about games, games, games.
@KippDynamite So what you're saying is that Microsoft has always been in last place and always trying to catch up to Sony so therefore they will always be in last place till the end of time?
Very dangerous mindset, nothing is written in stone especially in the tech market. For all we know Microsoft is currently laying the ground work to completely dominate the following gen, Sony shouldn't be covering their eyes and pretending everything is peachy.
Answered "continue doing what they are doing" but I think they should slightly adjust overall strategy. Namely, pay more attention to their console store and maybe open a PC store, if they are set to release significant number of games there. Making their console more welcoming to indies wouldn't hurt.
@ShogunRok "It's also no secret that the PS5's release schedule looks very, very strong in 2022. Exclusive titles like Horizon Forbidden West and God of War Ragnarok are set to be critical and commercial hits"
The PS5 is in dire need of some next gen ONLY titles - the ones mentioned here are all on and designed for the PS4 - and the existing ones are hardly system sellers!
PS5 needs a showcase of upcoming PS5 only titles because at the minute, I see no reason to upgrade from the Pro. I need to know what's coming and when before I part with £450.
Imo they should hold their guns and concentrate on what they’re doing. They have and can carve out their own market despite MS.
Having said that if we really are in a time of market consolidation, I’d argue they need acquisitions as the threat is more real than ever, not just from MS but also Google, apple etc who are all increasingly looking at gaming…
I will be buying first party games God of war 2 and horizon2 this year. I'm also going to make a simple personal statement that I appreciate playstation by buying each of these games twice. Brand new.
Sony just needs to keep doing what sony does, the same way nintendo does. It feels like these guys are no longer competing with eachother anymore. U hav nintendo going for the family/indie group, sony going for high quality consoles n exclusives, n xbox pushing their subscription n legacy features. I think the gap will continue to become larger this generation as they each fit into a seperate niche. Xbox couldnt beat sony at their game last gen, so they went a different route, a route sony cant compete in, yet neither can do what nintendo does (as proven by kinect and ps move). Theres no loser, all are excelling on their chosen path. Just pick which console fits you best, lay off the salt, and enjoy an exciting era in gaming!
@NinjaSixx Define 'fun'.
I had a lot of fun with the Sony games I played on the PS4 and that will continue with the PS5.
I'm not against them adding even more variety to their existing portfolio but not at the expense of their big AAA SP titles, but in addition to.
@NinjaSixx I agree - but the whole remake of a remake concept doesn't drag in new customers or entertain the existing gamers (apart from a few rabid PS5 owners, desperate for anything 4K/60fps)
I suspect that Sony need to tie up with some developers/publishers (Capcom, Ubisoft, etc.) to provide exclusive/guaranteed future releases to protect themselves from any further buyouts.
An antitrust position I'm sure would be joined by more than just Sony.
Alot of talk of Sony diversifying their portfolio with multiplayer shooters and I agree...but what do you think Deviation Games is for. A 'strategic partnership' Sony already announced consisting of former Bungie and Infinity Ward alumni if memory serves.
@Col_McCafferty i kind of like their approach though , they are holding a lot of cards atm they haven't shown off. they did this with ps4 too , for a long time we didn't know what the studios were going to come out with , and they showed off games like horrizon , and ghosts.
@Shakybeeves there is Deviation games , and then there is also Firewalk Studios. Deviation is Dave Anthony and Jason Blundell who are the former cod guys , Firewalk is Tony Hsu who did destiny and cod.
@Mhoney You say that, but even stuff like CD's back in the day had exclusive content. Digipacks, or even Japan exclusive songs or whatever. Obviously not so much of an issue these days due to streaming and youtube, but they certainly used to be a big thing.
Films have extended cuts and directors cuts. Hell, Disney had the fabled vault where they would literally lock away films. If there is a way for publishers to fleece more money out of the customers, they will find and exploit it.
@Shakybeeves
Deviation Games is developing a First Person Shooter game based on a original IP in partnership with PlayStation, is what I understand from the articles I read. Off course multiplayer should be a important part of the product.
Firewalk Studios is developing a multiplayer game focused game in partnership with PlayStation, also based on a original IP. Something to compete with the likes of Fortnite, I would image.
Sony please, please do not buy EA
@nookie_egg yeah I get what you’re saying but not to this level. Thor examples you could still watch the same content but the main selling point is extras.
Imagine only being able to watch a specific movie on a specific format. Like Mario only on Nintendo.
When I think about it it’s bizzare. Ironically you could argue that Nintendo (as an example) would make more money but having its products on the all consoles such as the 100+ million PS4s etc.
@Mhoney Again, nowadays there's exclusive content on streaming services, Netflix, D+, Peacock, Appletv, everyone wants a slice of the exclusive pie, it's just packaged differently depending on the way media is consumed at the time.
Although I certainly do agree with what you say.
@nookie_egg that’s a really good point- the only other similar thing is the exclusive content on streaming platforms. Another is Music I suppose where some music isn’t available on Spotify.
I dream of when this console war is over where I can play any game on the console of my choice much like a CD Player Mario on my PS5, and then Geard of War followed by Uncharted. What a beautiful day that would be.
Sony needs to diversify their first party offerings and stop relying so much on third party paid exclusives.
If you are not a fan of third person cinematic adventure games, there is some, but very little out there that is truly first party and exclusive.
Where are the first party RPGs? Platformers? FPS? Tactic games?
Acquisitions, or simply making their studios diversify, but they need to start casting a wider net.
Resurrect Jax and Dexter, Resistance, Twisted Metal, Dark Cloud, SOCOM, Syphon Filter, Legend of Dragoon!
@Mhoney right there with ya. Who wants dozens of subs and plastic boxes and god knows what else when one would do it all. One day.
So as a fan of Sony, but also someone who enjoys PC a little bit more. (Pc - Playstation - Nintendo - Xbox) I think they need to do something, but nothing rushed. Take time to make sure they stay relevant, but don't push things in a way to make them desperate. (also make things more available for consumers)
We need more games available as a whole, and more consoles for ps5. The PS5 is having the same issue as the PS3, alil overpriced, and no games besides a small handful. (that and scalpers are ruining it all) They need to be humbled again, because Sony tends to get cocky as all can be after a good few years of good sales.
of course they do . they just lost the biggest developer in gaming
@TheRedComet would rather have Sony make timed exclusive deals with Capcom rather than buying them out front.
I don’t want Capcom to be bought by ANYONE
It's crazy times. This could hurt Sony, but it might not be as bad as many have predicted.
Maybe Sony should look at getting a war game up and running. It seems people like war games based on actual wars or grounded in similar history.
But other than that, like others have said maybe a Square Enix, Capcom or Kadokawa acquisition.
That said, how much can Microsoft spend? It wouldn't be the first time a large corporation went and made itself bankrupt. Microsoft is embedded in people's lives quite well, so it probably isn't likely, but it's an interesting side view.
@anoyonmus
I get that and agree.
It’s not the world we live in, though.
This acquisition has changed everything. Sony will need to get radical in the future to survive.
@Gravity_Bear
Microsoft is worth more than some countries.
Going bankrupt would be nearly impossible for them.
Reevaluating their value proposals for this gen could go a long way. 90$ CAD titles, lacklustre ps+ monthly games, the price of plus and now, I think they took the wrong approach by sort of positioning themselves as this premium product (remember the all the diamonds in the branding?). The industry around them is quickly making that look ridiculous now, IMHO. It’s not just Microsoft. Epic gives away SO many good games a year for the price of simply signing up, Steam sales are impressive and frequent, etc.
@TheRedComet would rather have them buy frontsoftware or Square Enix they will be much better for Sony I think
The right answer is not clear simply because it's impossible to predict how the market will evolve in the coming years. And I'm talking specifically about subscription services versus games ownership. The gaming industry has a number of unique characteristics that may pose considerable roadblocks to the dominance of the subscription model. Microsoft knows that, so they're brute forcing this path down on us. Sony might have no other option but to succumb, and rumors point in that direction. But they'll have to be very careful because Sony cannot compete head to head. The new service will have to be attractive to the consumer both on its own and in comparison to Microsoft's. But at the same time, it cannot make the current model unattractive and obsolete. It's a real tough situation to be in. But the silver lining is that great things have come out of Sony when they were pressed against the wall like that before.
Sony is a gaming company. Along with Nintendo it makes and has historically, the best games.
Microsoft is after another another market...it's looking to be a gaming Netflix...it's fighting a slightly different battle...it's also one that I don't like as a subscription serves all in the future is not why I gamed for over 40 years. Sony and Nintendo will move forward as that's life but I don't think they will follow Microsoft as it's not Sony...and it's certainly not Nintendo.
Gaming is about games and Sony provides a superior level of in house titles and has more than enough studios to keep us happy..
Next 4 months. SIFU, Forbidden West, GT7...Ghost Wire Tokyo...four exclusive games...could say five with the updated Uncharted Collection?... On top of that is Elden Ring...HUGE big games.... Why all the drama?. Enjoy gaming.
Yes they should, because I would love to see if the gaming media and fans of Sony will react the same. Will we see talks about a Monopoly? Will we have over 5000 articles written about will this or that game will come to Xbox and Nintendo? Will fans of Sony stick up for other console players and say games shouldn't be exclusive to playstation? Wish everyone would just calm down about this until we see what Microsoft plan on doing with this Activision purchase. Microsoft could very well keep everything multiplatform for all we know.
@Malmall20 I do hope COD will at least remain multiplatform but Xbox gets exclusive content and stuff. That’s a better deal imo.
But it might not happen for all we know.
What Sony should do is ramp up the 1st party development. It’s pretty good right now but they should expand and do more
No. Sony buys dev talent, not a basket of franchises it really has no need for. One of Sony’s strengths is its willingness to drop seemingly popular franchises for new ones.
During the PS4 era they could have had Guerrilla crank out another Killzone but they took a bet on HZD. They could have forced Sucker Punch to do another Infamous but instead we got Ghost of Tsushima. They could have got Kojima to do another stealth title but instead backed Death Stranding. They bankrolled Shenmue 3!
I fully expect the PS5 generation to be the same. Honestly I’d prefer a risky bet like Death Stranding to another bloody Halo or Call of Duty.
@anoyonmus
Not enough variety.
Squenix is stronger than From Software as a possible fit. But even then, they don’t have the diversity.
If Sony’s goal is to match Microsoft’s purchase in terms of value and variety, Capcom offers the widest variety of franchises from different genres and developers who make the widest assortment of different games.
to answer the question: nope. don't know why people are losing their marbles. it is the price tag that is making the press hyperbolic about this. cod is cod. ok. what else is there? ancient blizzard IP but without the studio talent that made those classic games? so what? studios are only as good as the people who work there and we all know blizzard of old is dead. microsoft got a few semi telented studios in the deal such as toys for bob and infinity ward, but that does not warrent so much sensationalism.
microsoft will never measure up to sony's first party lineup. end of story. sony is just fine, with or without call of duty haha. microsoft could have purchased capcom, s-e, sega, konami , bandai namco and ubisoft combined for the same price — now that would have been scary. (that isn't to say any of those publishers would sell to microsoft, but i am just putting this purchase into context). microsoft made an idiotic business decision here.
with all that being said, there are a few japanese publishers that would be a match made in heaven for sony and would certainly be an asset and elevate their success. not mandatory but beneficial. those publishers are sega and s-e to cover the jrpg side of things. the jrpg userbase is a very passionate niche that would be 75% covered with these two publishers alone. with sony at the helm, i would demand a number of remakes from s-e which would set the world on fire. i would also try to scoop up capcom. they are incredibly valuable, not just in terms of their IP, but with the talent currently kicking around at their studios. they would offer sony completely different genres than what sega and s-e offer which is great for diversity of software on playstation. i would argue that capcom is far more valuable than activison in terms of IP alone since there are so many avenues you can travel. dmc, resident evil, monster hunter, breath of fire, okami, dino crisis, onimusha, street fighter, darkstalkers, rival schools, mega man... the list goes on. the final japanese publisher i would look at is konami, but only for its IP because lord knows the talent is no longer present at the company. even if konami did not want to sell the IP seperately and was only open to a complete takeover, i would still make the deal happen. silent hill, metal gear and castlevania alone would make the deal worthwhile for sony to cover even more genres on playstation. all 4 studios would cost sony roughly $20-25b which is a steal next to the trash microsoft got in exchange for 3X the asking price haha.
@TheRedComet I see. Maybe you are right. Maybe.
Doesn’t Sony have dormant IPs though? This could be a good idea too if they can review some. I think Siren is one that is dormant but I am not sure.
Yeah you are right about Capcom about the variety stuff but I believe Capcom probably doesn’t want to be bought because they recently said about wanting to be 50 50 with consoles and PC. They said PC sales are equalizing with consoles sales so they are trying port more to PC
I think the main thing Sony needs to deal with is the value issue. I bought 3 Xbox Series S for my nephews as a Xmas gift. They also got 12 months of Game Pass. Now I'm sure they would like to play Sony's big hitters but £70 is to high if kids want to play more than 3 or 4 games a year. Its fine to say we paid X amount in the 80's and 90's but Sony is not competing with the past.
They need to do something. I just don't know what. They got good first party games but they are few and far between.
@TooBarFoo well, we don't need to purchase every game at launch for full price. no harm in waiting 12 months and picking them up at half price. i don't think anyone has the time and stamina to play every new release anyways. in most cases, people buy more games than they know what to do with and they stay in the shrink wrap collecting dust.
For the foreigners who live in Japan they really let us down there is no way you can get a ps5 here.I have done for the past year over 100 lottery systems and have not won a single thing to get a console . While I get mails in my home country I am the lucky winner 3 times in a row to buy a ps5. Just take the risk to import a system overseas and be sure it is not damaged, is that fair. I think not. And here you have articles how ps5 sold over a million in Japan smh. They have left this country long ago.
Sony has the best 1st party teams in the business and ms knows it ,anything ms does with its new acquisitions Sony can do better,id rather them concentrate on what they do best, instead of buying up companies who are inferior,ips are only as good as the team who makes them ,headhunt individual talent ,its cheaper,microsofts acquisitions are similar to game pass a few good games but mostly garbage.
@AstraeaV you gotta ask yourself given the choice what would you rather play one of sonys 1st party games or one of the games ms has acquired, acquisitions are great for the fannyboys,realistically the majority most gamers can live without anyway.
Let’s all take a second and let the dust settle. Everyone will have great games. And the kinds of games most people come to PlayStation for are still going to be here. I want to see the PS+ overhaul be something really cool. But either way I’m still pumped to have a PS5. And I’m excited to see what the next five years has in store for all the consoles. Happy gaming!
@Tharsman yeah I'd love a first party rpg from Sony, they could destroy elder scrolls ,maybe for the ps6
@F1at8mot0 people buy ps for a reason and its mostly single player 1st party exclusives, that ain't gonna change
Sony should just keep doing what they are doing. They have been coy and mostly have made the correct decisions with the Studio acquisitions. The VR2 is coming out this year and so will a new tier to the current subscriptions, my take on it it will be a sort of merged Plus and Now with lots of VR content. Personally Im not fussed much about COD really hate the game especially online modes. Im more for sing player games. Bethesda I was more fussed about though Im over it and never ever going to sign up with Microsoft just to play a game or two. I have nothing against XBox but Microsoft just like Facebook they have only 2 desires knowing everything about you and money.
I know this may be an unpopular opinion, but I really don't think Sony needs to go out and try to secure some huge acquisitions of its own, for two main reasons:
(1) I really, really hate this consolidation of the game industry that's been going on left and right over the last few years. It just feels toxic.
(2) Sony already acquired five studios last year, including Housemarque and BluePoint, both of which felt like a long time coming.
I really don't want Sony to indulge in acquisitions to happen just because they're desperate for an edge. I want them to happen as a result of partnerships, of Sony forming positive relationships with developers and deciding how good a fit they are for PlayStation. But yeah, sadly, MS isn't going to stop. And what's more, they're probably not interested in just acquiring small studios like Double Fine or Ninja Theory anymore. At this point, they're likely going to want every future acquisition they make to be another major publisher. And this might mean that PlayStation loses out on a whole lot of content, but they simply cannot beat MS at their own game. So it's just going to be better for them to focus the first party devs they do have into a force that can truly be reckoned with.
Removed - unconstructive feedback
Sony is definitely gonna buy more studios.ember lab is gonna be the next one.and more to come.word up son
Sony has been buying high quality studio's. Insomniac and Bend Studio's where an amazing buy. Than they added BluePoint Games, Firesprite, Housmarque, Valkyrie Entertainment and Nixxes Software all in 2021. Great game studio's and high quality support studio's.
PlayStation has a ton of ip's and even more studio's with exciting idea's for new ip's. They bought a ton of quality developers to support all that creativity, something Activision/Blizzard lack and MS lacks too otherwise they didn't need to buy ip where top developers already left due to the working conditions and other crap that is going on there. PlayStation is doing great and should continue what they are doing.
Will MS take away multiplatform games, sure. If you want to play them buy a Xbox or PC. For me, at the moment, there is no need to go green. I'm looking forward to everything Sony is making and these games are always my highlights.
@Jayofmaya I hope they give 8 the remake treatment. I avoided the remaster just in case they do. So messed up that I studied for the SEED tests more than I did for tests in school at the time.
1. Sony should stay away from NFTs, Blockchain, and Cryptocurrency and other nonsense.
2. Be the champion of indie devs — don’t let Switch and Gamepass and Steam Deck win the indie market. That’s where you get growth and goodwill.
3. Multiplayer and shooters. Have something to compete with Halo.
4. Make fun games that are joyful. More Team Asobo please.
5. You don’t need a Gamepass clone to succeed. It depends what success means.
@anoyonmus agree 100%
Sony should absolutely not try to get into the buying space anymore than they have already. I'm a PlayStation owner and a proud fan because of what they already do.
I'm also a huge Nintendo fan and have been since 1985. Nintendo has always tried to create it's own niche in the games industry and that's why they're still here. They had 2 consoles in a row that were perceived as failures against the PS1 and PS2. They smashed the competition in sales with the Wii and then had a huge dose of reality with the Wii U.
Now the Switch is the fastest selling console they've ever had. If Nintendo made a Switch 2 tomorrow they would make millions for the following 10 years.
Xbox is a far better place for Activision Blizzard than Tencent, Apple, Facebook, Google or Amazon.
Xbox earned their place in the console industry. They built a console from scratch just like Sony did. They built a console against the wishes of their parent company just like Sony did. Nobody at Microsoft wanted to get into the hardware business. Sony directors thought it was ridiculous to try to launch their own console. But they both did it and massively improved the industry.
None of the biggest tech firms I'm worried about have ever done any of that work. They've never put any effort into improving things for gamers. They want to latch onto the thing we hold dear to our hearts (gaming) and dilute it for the most populous player.
Sony need to realise their strengths and play to them. They will never be able to compete in a money war (nor Nintendo). They need to prove why PlayStation is essential to being a gamer again. VR and the list upon list of wonderful PlayStation IP are the things they need to focus on.
Xbox aren't the bad guy. I genuinely believe that Xbox don't want the other soulless tech giants to push Nintendo and PlayStation out of the industry.
Sorry. Big rant. I just love games.
@Juanalf
I'm saying that - when it comes to video games - Sony has a pretty good track record for adapting and knowing what they are doing, and Microsoft does not.
We should not just assume Microsoft knows what it's doing just because they are going to spend a lot of money. They are really good at marketing and setting the narrative, but not so good at making a profit with video games.
@koffing i keep seeing new trailers for indie games on ps5 almost every day, not sure how good they are but they are doing something , they should get more coverage imo.
@art_of_the_kill
Honestly, I'm more interested in the output of Housemarque than all of Activision.
Sony won't have to worry until 2023, right now they should prepare for the worst possible scenarios and continue doubling down on first party exclusives and not get sloppy in any area
As long as Sony is alive and producing fantastic AAA titles with a sprinkling of some non-AAA games I will always be a Sony fan and never XBOX.
I mean come on.. the XBOX controller just looks wrong... really how do you use that thing?
Sony should just focus on what it has and GOD DAMN IT LET BEND STUDIO MAKE A DAYS GONE 2 ALREADY lol.....
Cheers.
@Malmall20 with which statement? With Capcom not wanting to be bought? or that Sony has dormant IPs it could resurrect from the ashes of the dead.
(Not literally btw, just a joke)
@LightningLeader well with that, not only will they be affecting Sony but also Nintendo as well
@koffing now that you speak of this, I believe that the PS creator isn't impressed with the metaverse/NFTs . Kutagari- san I believe created Playstation.
https://www.cnet.com/tech/gaming/playstations-creator-not-impressed-with-the-metaverse/
here is the article. But he also snubbed Virtual Reality too here as well
I have a theory, here me out, This is all in my opinion.
Phil Spencer said that he talked with the leaders of Sony right? I think it could imply they might come to some sort of deal. We don't know that deal is? BUT, after the talk, Sony isn't very worried I think which means some deal with MS has probably benefited them as well as MS. We don't know for sure but if they have come to some sort of bad deal, Sony would have been panicking and start buying up more timed exclusive deals or buying some other studios which we could have heard it by now (or later, I don't know for sure). We also could have heard a state of play right about now or soon. But after the MS talk with Sony about COD, we haven't heard much from Sony. This implies they have come to some sort of agreement that benefits both parties.
Also with Bethesda, Sony didn't really complain that much compared to Activision situation. They complained more about Activision. The fact that Phil Spencer talked with Sony leaders meaning they have come to some agreement that will benefit both parties
Here are the following that could happen (this is so far right now I could think of)
1. COD Warzone will still be supported on PS, along with older COD titles
2. COD will continue to be released on PS, but Xbox will get exclusive content and stuff
3. COD will be equally the same on Xbox and PS ( NO exclusive content at all)
4. COD will continue releasing on PS, but other Activision games will be Xbox/PC only
Sony made their bed, they need to lie in it.
Get a cheaper SKU of PS5 that can meet demand, go big on VR, and FFS invest in Japanese talent again.
If you can’t survive not being the de facto Call of Duty box, don’t bother making a PS6.
Ofc they have a huge problem. Gamepass is turning into a Netflix/Spotify for games. Sony is still offering its AAA games for 80$. Its like iTunes vs Spotify model. Even if Sony games are better gamepass model will prevail in the long run. Sony can't really afford to offer something as good as Gamepass. Microsoft is bleeding money rn but they make it up from other divisions. But Sony should offer something like Gamepass lite for selected titles. They will have to say bye bye to short term profits but its more important to stay on the game.
As I'm looking to get next gen, I'm sitting here wondering which do I want:
the one that'll have Crash and Spyro or one that won't.
Sony needs to make a splashy acquisition.
Sony's doing fine as far as I'm concerned...but acquiring a few more studios wouldn't hurt.
Buying Konami would be very beneficial...
New Castlevania, New Silent Hill, New Metal Gear, plus PT Completed.
The fact that Konami stop making games increases the desire for these games.
Buy them out and move the old games to Spartacus, then announce new games.
Sony needs to be careful during this entire market correction - do not overextend and hoard some liquidity
The most interesting thing is that fans tend to think the exclusives are most important. But exclusives aren't what makes a platform money. They're just what draws people into the ecosystem. It's the 3rd party that makes the money. Has been since the Atari days.
Sony still follows the Nintendo playbook, but it doesn't work with Western 3rd party aaa budgets thaey shifted to. They need to either focus on really copying Nintendo including their budgets and focus less on big blockbusters, or they need to look what other platforms are doing and focus on what can make PS appealing as a platform and ecosystem, not just exclusive content but why players would want to buy a game on playstation rather than get it on game pass or some other service. Right now they treat ps as a box to play ratchet on. But they want their money to come from multiplats.
They put themselves in the middle. Their exclusives cost too much and sell too little to drive earnings. And their platform and services aren't compelling on their own for third party. Buying publishers won't help them align with any market, and more exclusives won't fix their weaknesses. Ms needs more to fill out their content for subscription. Where Spartacus goes will say a lot about their strategy (or lack of one)
Sony's response should be bringing back its long line of franchises it has left alone for far too long. Syphon Filter, Resistance, Jak, Sly, Killzone, The Getaway, a lot of dormant franchises that could reasonably replace what Microsoft could make exclusive. Also buy Square Enix and Capcom, as well as Konami IPs.
Sony won't do ***** until its to late. The only reason the PS5 is selling so well is because of the PS4s success. Once the effects of MS purchases start to take effect then Sony will lose the market and wished they would have done more than sit on there hands like they have been since Ryan/Hurst took over.
I know the knee jerk response it to try and play Microsoft’s game. I think that would be a huge mistake they just can’t compete on those terms. (They are one tenth the value of MS, with significantly less cash, Activision’s buyout was over half Sony’s market cap!)
Instead they need to keep doing what they are doing. Buying smaller talented studios, nurturing & expanding the ones they already have and tighten up their services. PS Now in particular is a competitive failure.
A few easy consumer friendly wins would help e.g.
If they were to pick up another slightly larger studio it should be something smaller but beloved like FromSoft, the Konami IP. I think getting as big as Capcom or SquareEnix is dangerous and will just provoke a disproportional response from MS.
I suspect EA, Ubisoft, TakeTwo are out of reach, but again if it becomes a war of who’s buying the biggest studios there’s only going to be one winner and it ain’t Sony.
@Ken_Kaniff I'd imagine Jim is feeling the wrath of the shareholders at the moment. Not 1 but two huge publisher acquisitions and a 20 billion dollar stock drop since he's come. They'll be absolutely tanning his ass.
I’m going to be brutal, people may not like it but it is what is. Sony did incredibly well last gen.The problem was they then sat back, put their feet up and became complacent. Worse still - they did so at a time when Phil Spencer, backed by Enormous financial firepower from Microsoft, set about building an amazing eco system for Xbox and PC players. And here we are.
To put Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard into context, in purely financial terms that is the equivalent of Microsoft buying Nintendo outright. Just think about that. That was enough money to Buy Nintendo. That’s frightening.The thing is, I don’t think Microsoft are done yet. They could quite easily spend another $70 billion if they wanted to.
In the long term, I do find it quite difficult to see how Sony can compete with that power. Phil Spencer is no fool, he knows exactly what he’s doing and has all the backing and resources he could ever need to achieve it.
CoD - think I’m right in saying it will remain on PlayStation for another 2 or 3 years due to agreements. Microsoft have rightly said they will honour those agreements, not that they have a choice but hey. After that? I think they will tell Sony CoD can stay on PlayStation, the caveat being Sony allows a GamePass app on their consoles. Upon subscribing to GamePass, PlayStation owners too can have CoD day and date etc.
Of course, Microsoft would be very happy with that situation. More subscribers to their eco system. Exactly what they want. I think all Sony can really do is double down on their exclusives and make some acquisitions. Maybe From Software, Square Enix etc. It’ll be interesting to see what they come up with with Spartacus. I’m not sure fans will be overly keen if it doesn’t match what Gamepass gives. I’m not sure Sony has the stomach to put their exclusives on there day and date, for example. We will see.
@hypnotoad
I think Sony should admit they lost the battle and should focus on trying to win the war.
One of the many reasons why I don't want a PS5 is because of how massive (and ugly) it is. I can do ugly. But massive is too much.
I travel regularly and I carry my PS4 Slim with me, (even the PS4 Pro is easy to carry). The truth is that the PS5 is just impractical
So maybe Sony should to something about the console itself and make sure that the thing is landing in the right hands.
Then it seriously needs to stop thinking about remastering things. For example: the fact that one of the main headlines of the showcase event was GTA V Enhanced instead of GTA 6 (or a completely new title... you get the point)
Sony can turn this around. But it needs to show willingness and commitment (so far nowhere to be seen)
I've been a Playstation user all my life, its the only console I ever had.
In a year or so I will upgrade and for the very first time, I am seriously considering Xbox. Hope that won't happen.
@Gamakazil Haha.
Own a PC, do ya?
😉
I'm not sure that releasing games on PC is actually in their interests, indeed I think it's what MS wanted Sony to do.
No, of all the things that are important for Sony to do, expanding their range on PC is right near the bottom of the list.
Oh and GP seems like a great deal now but when it's doubt or triple the price? Hmm, some people might regret trusting MS when that happens but it might be too late.
@Mega-Gazz How would you want to compete with that they have unending funds Microsoft with a contract with the US Army they wont be short on cash any time soon.
@DotM Sorry mate but your rant is total nonsense they have changed the to near silence, have tons of great games for thats the what i want. Consoles always get downsized because of evolving tech but i rather have a big console thats silent with tons of great games. You rather have a console that is small and takes liftoff during gameplay with no games? AS a longtime Playstation user you should know GTA is not the call of Sony if they release GTA6....
@Flaming_Kaiser
to be honest I wasn't ranting. The series-x, for example, seems to be more powerful and yet it's design is more compact.
I know its not Sony's call if they release GTA 6, but it is Sony's call to focus on original titles instead of remasters, remakes etc...
So far, I still haven't seen a new title that convinced me to buy a ps5.
Gamepass right now sits at 25 million subscribers..PC and Xbox,trials and cheap 1 dollar offers combined...I don't see it as successfull as people claim..They need to pass the 50+ million mark in the next 2-3 years..will it happen? i don't think so..
@DotM I think the new Xbox looks worse a box and im sorry to disagree with you but Sony has made so many different IP's over the year. And to play some older remakes or remasters didnt hurt me for a second and not everyone has played the older games.
In the short term, 1-2 years, nothing much will change but in 2+ years the balance off power will shift and Gamepass will be the the general rule
I think MS have won the long game by changing the rules without Sony noticing. Sony has to change its reliance on selling hardware because gamespass has over a billion potential customers, anyone with a phone, tablet, PC or Smart TV is now a customer that can be tapped into
MS were mocked by not releasing Xbox console sales figures but the money is in software and user engagement and they knew this. Boxes shipped by MS is becoming far less important to them
@dimi thing is sonys 1st party games to me are worth 60 quid,microsofts are not ,they are games I come back to again and again over the years,for me the majority of game pass games at the moment are throwaway garbage that I wouldn't buy at launch anyway.
@Gamakazil they have HFW and GT7 coming very soon and Forspoken in the summer.
Not much past 6 months compared to Xbox but the 6 months prior? Sony released plenty, Xbox? Hmm not so much.
You might be able to pay double or treble the price, some people might not.
I'd rather they didn't release any of their 1st party games on PC, the sale are minimal and it dilutes the brand whilst making it even less likely a predominantly PC player would buy a PS5 at some point down the line.
Gamers now are an entitled bunch.
🙄
They don't need to go toe to toe with MS in an acquisition face off which they likely can't afford anyway.
Why do they need to have the same? Why does Sony need a gamepass clone?
Time for Sony focus on what can differentiate them from MS. VR, fantastic 1st person exclusives, Discord integration for better community features.
And then there is Spartacus. Ideally a retro collection for those who want it, maybe discounts for members instead of day 1 releases (to make PS5 games price points more palatable).
Support for indie studios, not every great game is AAA as we know, focus more on pointing the community to great indie games, put them in the spotlight more.
Loads of ways they can play it without resorting for a tit for tat acquisition spree which, let's face it, makes gaming worse for us.
I dont think Sony need to change too much, the first party titles are personally the reason i own a Playstation.
However, if they wanted to truly go head to head - in their shoes i would be talking to Nintendo.
Admittedly this is very unlikely to happen, but a partnership whereby essentialy Sony cover the big screen sector and Nintendo the mobile would be awesome.
@Flaming_Kaiser why are you sorry to disagree? Aren't you entitled to your own opinion?
Honestly, just keep doing what they they are doing. Keep the games coming at a high quality.
One way to stir up the pot.. with the new ps plus info remoured, they could create separate tiers.. but maybe offer the basic package for free - so go back to free online play. That would definitely create a buzz in the media, and then offer the next tiers at a compelling price scheme. And obviously make it worth the money.
I read an interesting article the other day about the possibility where Microsoft asks Sony to put Gamepass on the PlayStation.... I have to admit that I actually wouldn't mind that at all, with a dedicated app that let's you buy gamepass if you want. By doing that people will still get to buy what ever console they choose without losing out on games being exclusive to Gamepass but I doubt that would happen and if it did I very much doubt Microsoft would do it unless Sony gave thier 1st party titles to gamepass or made them for Xbox too. Way to crazy of an idea I think but you never know.
@Gamakazil on ignore you go, yet another boring PCMR representative full of their own self-importance.
@Gamakazil carefull cause a last gen title is turning heads in steam..i'm talking about god of war..now imagine how pc-gamers will starve for more and i can't blame them..
@DotM Its a bad tick i have apologies for a lot of stuff cant help it. 😅
@Gamakazil What you don't get, unlike Sony execs, is that the PS5 is the best way to get their software into as many homes as possible over the next decade.
Of course it's great to see more titles on PC, but I've been playing on PC since Windows 95, and even I find myself choosing to rebuy something that was on my Steam backlog to play on PS5, or choosing to pay slightly more for a cross-platform title to get it on console, because it's just so much less hassle, especially in today's hardware market. If that's my attitude, given my history, and my levels of tech savvy as a developer, what makes you think that people who've always had a company laptop for productivity and a console for their games are about to go out and build a £2000 rig and demand that Sony release their games there?
Games are games are games, and for the vast majority of people, they don't care what they're playing on as long as after a hard day's school, or work, or after the kids have gone to bed, they can fire up something to relax to, or something that lets them compete with their mates. The cheapest and easiest way to do that is with a home console, with it being cheaper to buy both the XSX and PS5 at the moment, than any combination of CPU and GPU capable of outperforming either. Most people will choose one, and pocket the rest towards something they care about more, like a holiday.
@Shepherd_Tallon I agree that for Activision and Bethesda, the buyout was almost like a rescue. We're now more optimistic about future titles of the IPs from those studios.
For that reason, I'd kind of like to see Sony take Konami. It has a fair number of classic IPs that could use rescuing.
Sony generally prefers to buy talent rather than IPs, so probably won't happen. Nice thought though.
I think they should make more acquisitions of their own but only to expand their library and to say here's more great games you need to play on PS5 instead. Make some big competitive hitters that release around the same time as MS which says 'why play that one when you can play this one'. More shooters, more racers, bring back Sly and Jak for more platformers, etc. Keep releasing for different tastes and ages so it's not always sequels of the same series. try to reach out to gamers that aren't fans of those series
We don't know what MS will do next or who they will buy next but if Sony doesn't decide now, it could be too late. And it would be a shame for Sony to lose more. Buying more studios would help them to keep growing their library.
They do an amazing job with what they have. But i think having more studios in their pockets will keep increasing that. Keep the games coming so that we want to play PS5 games instead of Xbox games. Should all 3rd party support end tomorrow, they should have enough of their own studios to keep going.
Dropping the game price would help too and making the upgrade games free would be more consumer-friendly. Whatever Spartacus ends up being, it should have games playable everywhere even our phones so if we want to play on the go, we can have that instead of considering xCloud. Making the save files more friendly like what MS does would be useful. Play on PS4, continue playing on PS5, no uploads and downloads needed.
Personally I hope Sony doubles down on Japanese partnerships while still trying to appeal to an international market and steer away from the mainstream shooters and sports games that you can play anywhere else. A strong specialization on unique, creative and story driven games should give Sony an advantage. Nintendo also remained a power house without the likes of call of duty by playing their strengths.
@Strafio Yeah I'd like to see them rescue those franchises too. Especially Castlevania. A Sony studio working on that franchise would be incredible.
I have a feeling all these Activision games will continue to release on the Switch and not Playstation.
Also, Sony is forced to buy some other big publisher like Capcom or Square Enix. Also, If I were Sony, I'd acquire all the small Jappanese developers like Falcom, Gust, KoeiTecmo, Level 5, etc.
Stick it to the man, buy EA! 😂😂
@RBMango Sony are the console market leader and will remain so indefinitely. Current leaders is 1. Playstation, 2. Tencent Games, 3. Nintendo, 4. Xbox.
I just rly want sony to announce that spartacus ps plus overhaul thingy already...
@nookie_egg Agreed, hopefully his gone before he sinks Sonys Playstation division.
@anoyonmus
Kutaragi nearly killed the PlayStation division. He doesn’t get his opinion taking seriously.
And I say that with the utmost respect for his contributions.
@Sil_Am what? What makes you think like that. Activision games will continue releasing on Switch but not PS?
@anoyonmus Look at the Ori games for example. They are first party MS games, released on Switch.
@TheRedComet I see.
Don't blast me on this. It is a very unpopular opinion.
But I would RATHER see Sony making more timed exclusive deals rather than buying a big company.
@Sil_Am Fair enough. I don't know why MS put Ori on Switch
I don't know why gamers worry about this sort of thing. It isn't going to effect your life or anything. But if the buyout concerns you that Microsoft will have dominance over Sony let me give you some reasons for why I feel they won't.
Firstly don't be too hastily as this buyout is yet to be approved and Microsoft will face challenges. It is said the buyout won't be complete till 2023 at the end of Activision fiscal year most probably. Secondly the FTC ruling doesn't allow for market monopoly. They told MS in 1998 to split up the company which later was overturned in an appeal. FTC stopped Facebook buying out Instagram. So there's a possibility the same thing can happen again?
With that out of the way. I see the votes are in favour of Sony buying. Is that really a good thing. Who would they buy? If they bought square Enix it'll be massive but do you play any square Enix games. I played FFVII Remake and found it to be over rated imo. Don't think I've played their any other of their games for years that's come from in-house. OK so Activision has a bigger franchise that's played by millions in the western world. I personally am not a fan and Ive never played WoWC. Diablo is alright but no system seller.
Call of Duty however is a system seller but do Microsoft care about selling consoles? They don't publish figures, the forums wars about selling console don't seem to exist anymore. Things have changed. MS wants gamers on game pass and xcloud. If MS can get as many on those platforms the better. I can see a future where xcloud is on PlayStation, on your smart TV. I've already played xcloud on my Sony android phone. MS owning Activision isn't about the next call of duty exclusive to xbox selling more consoles. It'll have some push but for MS, they are investing for the future on online streaming. They would love games to be played just as well as we love to use Netflix. MS wants Activision for the huge back catalogue of games that will come to gamepass and xcloud just for your subscription fee. The future will no longer be about buying a physical copy or paying for a digital download. It's a shame as I love physical copies and I own them to do as I please. Also if every gamer is on subscription it'll change the industry forever especially for 3rd party publishers. Where they'll have to sell their games to MS for xcloud or Sony future versions of PS now instead of selling it to the consumers directly. That'll be Interesting to see. Plus it could mean improvements in game quality. MS might not want to pay for games that suck to go on their streaming platforms?
So don't worry your heads. If you still love Sony and their games you're still going to get those games. Given the option to choose between Sony exclusives or having MS, Bethesda and Activision instead. I'll take Sony games anytime. God of War and uncharted are my 2 favourite franchises of all time. There's some of those Bethesda games I'll miss like fallout but I won't as I have gamepass. Put gamepass on my ps5 and ill be buzzing as that ms all I need.
Another question especially to those who voted for Sony to buy more.
If Sony had 60 billion in cash ready to spend. Would you A: vote for Sony to buy a publisher. Or B: have Sony start up more studio's and hire top talent to make new ip's and amazing story driven games? I'm going with B.
I do wish however out of the huge list of studios under their belt. The last count was 16 studios not including the rumoured new japan studio to replace the one they strangly closed and the hand full of 2nd party studios. I wish Sony invested more in those and made them bigger. Some studios do little in comparison. Like San mateo studios that only oversee projects. And FowardWorks that only make mobile, why I wonder? Others make smaller games like everybody's golf, MLB, concrete genie and so forth. Enlarge those studios, put money into those to create tripple A titles. I'd love to see all 16 studios pumping out big budget games and each studio has a smaller team that develops a psvr version of their games that obviously is overseen by Sony so they are quality.
@get2sammyb yup, I would vote for "keep doing what they are doing" but since MS is keen to grab even important franchises (whether they place nice with COD or not) I would say Sony could use a boost to their WWS. I would make sure SE/Capcom cannot get bought up, and see if I can purchase them myself. But yeah other than that, they are betting on WWS and PSVR2, and it's very different from MS and Nintendo, which should help differ Playstation from the other two.
We should get some great experiences this gen no doubt about it...But I think with MS spending this much they should move a little faster, mostly in prep for next gen and filling any genre gaps that's possible.
@Gamakazil Nowhere have I said that PC gaming is going anywhere, but nice attempt at a straw man. People buy the systems which suit their own combination of budget, interests, and requirements. There are a lot of people who have computers, but not all of those people want to play every game on them. For me, PC is where I go for indie games and for mods, but for everything else there's PlayStation. There are almost 120 million PS4s out there, and every single one of them has the specs to play every game released for the platform. In September 2021 PSN saw 104 million active users. Steam has about 120 million monthly active users, which is more, but the Steam Hardware Survey shows how fragmented the userbase is in terms of hardware capabilities.
This is a vastly different picture than the one you paint. Sony are looking to capitalise on PC gamers by releasing games from the previous generation, and they seem to be selling extremely well. The hope is that this drives more users onto their own platform in order to sell the next generation sequels. How this works out remains to be seen, but it seems like an approach much more likely to provide somewhere for their own games, rather than other people's.
I Would like to see Sony get a few acquisitions at least. I would be most pleased to see them acquire developers like Capcom, Arc System Works, Square Enix or Konami. Nowhere near as big as the Activision purchase financially, but I would far prefer to know that the games that those companies produced, especially Capcom were safe on Playstation.
@vapidwolf1 Yes but they are getting better. Forca Horizon 5 seems like a true next gen experience by everyone standards even if ur not a racing fan and Diablo or next gen "Skyrim" are very important titles in gaming
@dimi yeah I love skyrim ,but exactly how long is the next elder scrolls gonna be ,its years away ,with regards to forza 5 its a great game but so is forza 4 and there's not much difference,you can pick up horizon 4 for a tenner and actually own it,i feel the quality of the games available on game pass will continue to decrease over the years ,ms would rather have 10 mediocre games from there studios rather than 2 or 3 fantastic ones,and let's be honest they haven't released a good game in 10 years,even with there new acquisitions sonys 1st party games destroy them in every way,its just blockbusters for the 21st century.
Yes I think they definitely need to make an acquisition. You can’t let your main competitor just swipe up 2 mega publishers and not respond, sure Microsoft is saying they will play nice but I don’t believe them at least in the long run. And let’s be honest Sony dominates single player but they really need a few devs to strengthen their multiplayer line up.
nope why should they?
… big playstation gamer. Never heard of, nor now care about this apparent “PS Plus Overhaul”🤣. Nor do I think that would be a sizably appropriate response to microsoft buying out a company for SEVENTY BILLION!. Come on get real lol. Either need to keep doing what they’re doing as they’ve still got quality first party exclusives over Microsoft, or some buyouts (… persobally wouldn’t mind a Konami buyout to potentially reunite Metal Gear franchise with its beloved creator Hideo Kojima, or a capcom buyout in that Sony would have a better chance of making the first great 3D Megaman game, let alone first good megaman game in general since the 90’s).
@ThomastheDankEngine Xbox Live was a paywall on the first Xbox. 360's issue was primarily hardware failure. Sony's arrogance during the start of the PS3 era was prevalent and seen not only in price (I'm aware of the cost of Blu-ray at the time) but also the start of horrible customer service and lies told to the Playstation community over the lack of rumble in the Sixaxis. They eventually had a change of heart but it took a rebranding of the system the likes of which I hadn't seen since Sega Genesis before it.
@ThomastheDankEngine I never said failure or disaster. I stated Sony were arrogant. I will say Sony definitely pulled PS3 out of a potential tailspin and ended the generation with great momentum that propelled PS4 into its success. The only Playstation that was a colossal failure was Vita, but that's the only Playstation in the brand history to touch that description.
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