Comments 2,509

Re: PlayStation Boss Promises More Acquisitions Are Planned

NomNom

@Rmg0731 Microsoft's biggest problem isn't buying studios...it's managing them.

I believe they have had 2-3 allegations in the past year from their studios. I doubt that'll get any better once Activision/Blizzard becomes first party.
They should stop acquiring and work on fixing what they have.

Re: This Week Could Be Big for PlayStation, Say Swirling Rumours

NomNom

I can see Sony buying Deviation Games.
Similar to Haven, founded 2021 by former AAA devs.
Sony signed them for an exclusive game. Likely a live action, based on their past experience being with Call of Duty and Bioshock.
They recently expanded to a second team in Canada.
To me, it makes too much sense after Haven acquisition.

Re: New Witcher Game Announced, Developed on Unreal Engine 5

NomNom

Exciting news. When all else fails, go back to your bread and butter.

I'm surprised Microsoft hasn't tried to acquire them. They have a close relationship and the whole cyberpunk fiasco has weakened the company.

I am happy they remain independent however and hope they use this opportunity to re-establish themselves in the industry.

Re: Sony Acquires Haven Studios, the New Developer Led By Jade Raymond

NomNom

As a Canadian, I am happy to see more Canadian studios.

Sony must have really liked what they saw to buy them without seeing how the game does commercially.

They gave Lucid and Ready at Dawn both a test which they failed.

Housemarque and Bluepoint killed it and were then acquired.

I am curious what Haven is working on.

Re: Gran Turismo 7 PS5, PS4 User Score the Lowest in PlayStation Exclusive History

NomNom

@MattBoothDev you can't 0/10 review a game simply because you dislike mtx and online service set up.

Graphics, game play mechanics, story mode, car modification, track feel, controller haptics.
ALL OF THAT IS TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT FOR A REVIEW.

At worst, even with the online component and the microtransactions in the game, giving the game less than a 7 is not an honest review. It is one made out of disdain for personal beliefs that you push on to the game, studio and the publisher. And to me, this devalues the review and reviewer.

Re: Gran Turismo 7 PS5, PS4 User Score the Lowest in PlayStation Exclusive History

NomNom

These protest reviews only come off as whiny to me.

The game itself in a vacuum is a masterpiece.
The server downtime was unfortunate, and the need for "always online" definitely hurt the game's overall score. And microtransactions don't help either. But the overall modification of the credit layout was just meant to stop people from farming one map over and over again.
I get it, makes the game grind feel like an eternity, but I'm not gonna see another numbered Gran Turismo game in probably a decade, I have time.

Anything between 5-7/10 is reasonable. Anything below and people forget what a 4 out of 10 game really feels like. I remember and I still cringe at the thought.

Re: Sony More Likely Than Microsoft to Acquire a Japanese Game Company, Analyst Explains

NomNom

I was curious about how Sony refers to Bungie as a publisher despite the acquisition. My thoughts are that Sony knows that anything they would generally buy need to be exclusive. They might use Bungie to acquire studios for their live action potential and keep them multi platform under the Bungie brand. I.e. Deviation.

Deviation is newly formed from former Call of duty devs, so they have a pre-existing relationship with Sony. Upon opening their new studio, without even announcing an IP, Sony signed them to a publishing deal. They've recently expanded with a new studio in Canada. How do they have the money? They have been acquired, the paper work won't be finalized until their game is released.

That's my running theory. Let me know what y'all think.

Re: Sony 'Vastly Overpaid' in 'Desperation' for Bungie, Says Outspoken Analyst Michael Pachter

NomNom

Sony obviously over paid, but who actually gets an acquisition at cost? There is a level of Goodwill that goes into purchases to help incentivize shareholders to part with their shares. Although they weren't publically trading, the same rule applies for Bungie. Bungie was worth about 2-2.5 billion pre-acquisition. Using the Activision acquisition as a comparison, Microsoft paid 40% (approx over the valuation of the time) in the buyout. If that were the case, 2-2.5 billion x40% markup = 2.8 - 3.5 billion dollars.

This lines up with roughly the purchase price Sony paid for Bungie.

The main takeaway of this acquisition for Sony is three part from what I read surrounding this deal:
1) consistent revenue stream : Bungie makes 200-250 million in profits year over year. If nothing else changes, Sony will have made their money back in about 15 years.
2) Bungie are a leader in the FPS and live gaming markets. SIE first party studios gain quite a bit of intrinsic value from the knowledge they bring to the community. Especially if the rumoured second studio of Guerrilla is believed to be making a Multiplayer game (possibly Killzone), they'd gain immense value, improving on the Lore and feel of the gun/shooting mechanics.
3) Bungie apparently was working on some next generation technology, Sony was reportedly impressed by whatever it is, that Bungie was working on. My two cents say that this has something to do with VR technology, and Sony wants to really nail the PSVR2 this coming year. Whatever this tech is, Sony is looking to future proof themselves moving forward.

All this to say, the value is more than meets the eye. I am glad they are remaining a multi-platform studio, but I can see why Sony was so interested in them, especially with these uncertain times, full of huge acquisitions. Better to lock down some talent under your studio's umbrella whenever possible.

Re: Reaction: Sony's Bungie Buyout Means Little for PS5, PS4 Fans Right Now

NomNom

@OmegaStriver actually it's the opposite. Sony isn't moving new games into PC, they are moving their best hits after several years to PC. Traditional PC gamers are the target audience to expand PlayStation. I saw several reviews on Steam, where people tried GOW for the first time, loved it, and wanted a PS5 solely to play the sequel... Sounds like good marketing to me.