PlayStation Wants to Acquire Firms with Abundant Creativity to Enhance First-Party Portfolio

Bluepoint Should Be First On That List.Followed By a Japanese Studio.

Great idea, 1st party games are definitely exclusives Sony should be going for. Housemarque would make a lot of sense since they've released so many PS exclusive games.

Housemarque and Bluepoint are at the top of my list, but I have confidence in whoever they purchase

Bluepoint and whoevers making Black Myth

@sajoey @ThroughTheIris56
Yup, Housemarque was going to be the one I mentioned. Gotta lock 'em up before Facebook gets 'em.

Sony are already way ahead of Microsoft in terms of console exclusives and their quality so they may as well double down and keep them coming!!! BIGGER & BETTER!!

Buy nobody. Conglomerates are stupid, celebrating companies being bought out and losing creative freedom is nonsense.

@nessisonett if you think Media Molecule could've made things like Tearaway and Dreams without Sony owning them, you're insane

@sajoey Why couldn’t they have funded them instead of buying them outright?

@nessisonett because no one is going to fund something like Dreams for as long as they did if they weren't a first party studio. Sony saw so much talent and creativity in Mm that they wanted to give them the full suite of funding and resources that can only reasonably be provided when you are a first party studio. ND wouldn't have their output quality without being first party. Neither would 343 on the Xbox side (financially speaking, at least. Quality is debatable), or Retro studios on the Nintendo side. For the higher ups, investment like that can only be justified on a studio they own. If the output of a developer is high quality, and there's a good relationship there already, like with Insomniac, then it makes sense to buy them. And the developer still has to agree to it. You know that, right?

@sajoey Maybe Sony would have funded it anyway. We’ll never know.

@nessisonett oh, good strawman. I do love a classic whataboutism

@sajoey well said

@sajoey Uh, might want to brush up on Debating 101 there. Whataboutism would be if I said that Nintendo didn’t buy Rare and yet Goldeneye was good. A strawman argument falsely refutes a similar statement to yours, while asserting that it thus refutes yours. I’ve done neither, I just don’t agree with you.

Housemarque for me. I've really enjoyed all their games and a great fit for sony

Renedy and bluepoint games.word up son

"Sony believes that first-party games are the cornerstone of its PlayStation business"

Could've fooled me 😏 I'm satisfied with them just keeping what they have.

Games from current gen (xbo/ps4)look great. Now if we could get this kind of graphical fidelity, with much improved gameplay, I'd be an early adopter. But when you have games look really pretty, but gameplay is off, it kills the moment. For example, h:zd, real pretty game, does the weather affect you like botw, nope. GoTsushi, killed mongols and samurai litter villages and roads, even after they should've been picked up or decomposed. Gta v, awesome, can I go into buildings or destroy property, nope.

What's the point?
They will be making multiplatform games anyways, just like Guerrilla now does.

BluepOint Games & Housmarque Games

They should buy EA games. The are always finding new ways to be hated a little more. Sounds like creativity to me.

I see a lot of misleading info in the press. It doesnt necessarily mean they are going to buy new studios but states that is part of their strategy. It could be that happens again, and we all already knew it, but different than the clickbait headlines I see on the internet.
Heres the relevant quote I found on Twinfinite:

“Game titles are the primary content IP for Game & Network Services. First-party titles, developed and sold by the platform owner, are particularly important as content IP for future value-creation and earnings.

In addition to improving the personnel and work environment in its own studios, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) continues to invest in, or acquire, firms with abundant creativity and cutting-edge technologies to build up Worldwide Studios (WWS), an association of first-party title production studios. Most recently, in August 2019 it acquired Insomniac Games, a longtime Sony partner that has developed many hit titles.

As of May 31, 2020, WWS owns 14 studios and has become one of the world’s leading game-developer networks. With hit series like The Last of Us, God of War, and Uncharted, it is a strong engine for content IP production.'

@nessisonett
You are wrong.
Things are never so simple.
Just look at Indomniac to reflect on how acquiring a studio can be a good thing.

If they want more studios then Bluepoint and more 1st party Japanese studios please

@nessisonett We might as well start calling this site ToxicSquare because the trolls are reaching 4chan levels of critical mass.

Anyways second party studios make sense, but let's not hope that a ton of third party companies with zero affiliation to the big three get eaten alive and lose their creative freedom.

@nessisonett I agree.

So they're going to spend lots of money acquiring new studios in order to make more first party games, which they will crow about.....only to put them on PC a few months or years down the line.

🤔

Save your money Sony and don't bother.

@PhhhCough 🤦🤦🤦

@Col_McCafferty. Wtf is he talking about.tell him say no to drugs.haha.word up son

@JJ2 they are not one of the world leaders game developers.they are number 1 👑.word up son

@Col_McCafferty
I'm not fond of using resources to develop for PC but it sounds like Sony sees it as a limited approach only to promote the PlayStation platform.

@Medic_Alert oh God come on. You are and the commenter you agree with are acting like these studios are being held at gun point to to sign over their companies. Companies like Sony and Nintendo tend to do well with their studios. Plus, the studios have to agree before the buy. Insomniac is proof of how well this works. They made games for Sony for years and they were their biggest hits. They tried other platforms but PlayStation was where they made their money. Now they have continued backing from Sony. Instead of only backing when working on a Sony only game. They get their creative freedom and the security to go with it.

There are companies though that are bad for business. EA and Vivendi are 2 of them. EA has shown what their devs can do if given the right resources and time but that came after Disney most likely called them up. Vivendi tried to takeover Ubisoft thru a hostile takeover and it failed. But that company proved to be just as poison. So yes there are companies out there just to make money and nothing else but Sony has proven it cares about the games. Just look at the lineup of franchises they have.

This whole bs about taking from another platform is a joke. You get the few whiners and criers online who say exclusives are bad and hurt the devs or customers. But when those multi platform games sell poorly on one platform you don’t see those people saying anything then. Games like FF7, KH3, and many other games that were exclusives to the PlayStation don’t sell as well on say the Xbox.

Xbox bought a ***** ton of devs and this worries me. As they have the backing they tend to cancel or shut their devs down. Had Sony or Nintendo bought Inxile or Obsidian I be happy but MS out of the 3 is a worry. Look at the state of Halo Infinite. Bragging about how powerful the XSX is and then they show that Halo demo.

What's everyone going on about these first party studios "losing creative freedom"? Where in the ether did you guys pull that from? Is there any indication - and I mean any - of a Sony first party studio not being able to do what it wants to do creatively?

I'd just come in and say Sony's deep pockets give them more creative freedom. AAA games are expensive to make and even one flop can spell the shuttering of an independent studio. More money equals less risk for those experimental ideas. And we've seen that in action with games like Concrete Genie, The Last Guardian, plenty of new IPs... Most of the first party games have been above average in quality.

I mean, we're not talking about EA here, they don't just blindly shutter studios for one underperforming title (Evolution Studios notwithstanding... RIP).

Guys, there's plenty to whinge about with Sony I'm sure, but it's not them trying to buy up studios. We've seen the results in their output.

@Makina I wouldn't call porting a game to the PC a few years after launching on PlayStation going multiplatform. Death Stranding was known to have a year of exclusively before it launched. PC isn't their competitor in the slightest, so it's just more money in their pockets. I imagine it will still be a select few that get ported opposed to the numerous titles that will be PS exclusives for the foreseeable future.

@Face76

Yeah I don't know where this argument is coming from. I can break it down real easy for people who are worried. Sony puts out highly-rated first party titles. That's a win for you, the gamer. If they can make more first party games, that's an even bigger win for you the gamer in the sense you have more high-quality games to play.

These games would probably not exist, or at least not in as high a quality, without Sony funding them. Because games take money to make.

The extra choice given by these higher quality and quantity of games still exists even if you are an Xbox or Nintendo player. They are still there, on Sony's console. You are not barred from playing them in an absolute sense, which is what these complaints make it sound like. Sure you gotta pony up the extra money for a Sony console but that is the cost you accepted as a consumer when you purchased a Xbox or Nintendo console for all their respective great exclusive games. Which I, as a Sony console owner, would likewise not be able to play without the extra purchase.

Sony is not removing choice. These games probably wouldn't exist otherwise.

@UnlimitedSevens And the franchises we love from whatever third party devs get snatched up by Sony would probably disappear or take a back seat to whatever first party IP is handed to them as their next project. Sony makes amazing games, don't get me wrong, but best case scenario the acquired third party's own IP releases would slow to a trickle or worst case disappear entirely.

@nessisonett because it's about return on investment. Look, I get where you are coming from, but Sony have ensured that creative studios have been able to continue being creative. Look at the work Insomniac did with EA and Microsoft versus Sony. Thing is I would rather studios be funded by the likes of Sony, studios do require financial stability, it's a major problem in the industry, the culling at the end of a project is brutal, it's well known in the industry that Sony don't do that, sure they messed up with the likes of Evolution, Zipper and Incognito. I would prefer they expand the number of teams in a studio like Insomniac or Naughty Dog. Keep multiple projects going and switch resources as they go and develop. However, there are studios that are known to be literally one paycheck away from going under. I would prefer for those to have stability and from a publisher that respects creativity like Sony or Nintendo.

@nessisonett I'd also like to point out Nintendo did own Rare when we made Golden Eye, or at least a controlling stake, they chose not to increase their capital stake when Rare floated further share issues and divested.

"Exclusive" till they release on PC

@Ken_Kaniff - i don't think it's a big deal as long as they don't release for 2+ years after playstation launch.

@Makina so they can fund good developers and make games that push barriers in the industry? Games that they would've been unable to make otherwise? What you've said is a good example as to why buying developers doesn't exactly limit their scope if Sony allows them to publish on PC anyway.

@Makina - sony porting one of their 3-year-old games to pc does not make them " multi-plat". if they start releasing games at launch on pc - THAT makes them multi-platform.

bluepoint, housemarque.........and if available, i'd want From - but i don't think that is going to happen.

I thought Housemarque was one of their recent acquisitions? Didn't it have the PlayStation Studios intro as part of their new game trailer?

Should pick up spiders games (greed fall)

@JJ2 I'd have to disagree on this because Insomniac being bought didn't really change their creative output or relationship with Sony anyway

The majority of their titles were PlayStation exclusive IPs like Resistance and Ratchet & Clank, or titles Sony published themselves like Spider-Man. If anything I honestly thought Insomniac was already a first party studio so buying them didn't really strengthen their relationship since they already seemed incredibly close as working partners beforehand

@Col_McCafferty Yeah, years down the line is the keyword

They're simply just using that strategy to entice PC players into picking up their consoles by supplying a small dosage of their best titles while not bringing everything over as a way to indicate that they are still completely committed to dedicated hardware. It's a good way to tap into that relatively neutral market which has a much larger install base than any one console, while basically advertising all the exclusives they'll get to play when they do go over to the PlayStation ecosystem

HZD came out essentially long after everyone who wanted to play it probably had the chance to at some point, while being introduced to a whole new audience who may be considering picking up a PlayStation console, especially during the coming generation. This isn't really hurting their business at all.

@Face76 neither FFVII nor Kingdom Hearts 3 are PlayStation exclusives. They don't sell as well on Xbox for obvious reasons but they were never meant to be exclusives from the start

@eddie429 Once it releases on PC, it is then a multiplatform game. Honestly man this is the first gen im hesitant on buying. Because I rarely have the money or time to buy every "exclusive" at launch, so if Sony is gonna just port them to PC after a few years, I'm thinking I could save the money on the PS5 and just play them on my PC.

@HMazzy111 Microsoft used to have a lot of exclusives back in the 360 days. But instead of giving people games they wanted they gave them equipment they didn't want and now there's no reason to even buy an Xbox because mostly all their games are on PC. I feel if Sony does follow through with putting more their first title exclusives games on PC it will literally be the death of console

@Ken_Kaniff you don't even know how many of their games (and which ones) will get port to PC, or even when.... so, you are just going to wait and hope a game you like releases on PC 4 years later after its initial launch? I just found that notion to be kinda moronic, not offense.

Anyhow, to each their own... you do whatever you want if this idea of porting of some of their older games upsets you that much.

@TheFrenchiestFry
It is obvious Sony and Insomniac are both having huge advantage and both benefit.
We agree to disagree.

Housemarque for sure. Bluepoint definitely. I wanted them to get Remedy but it appears they made a deal with Epic. Since I have been playing their amazing Y's games since the tg-16 I would like them to get Falcom. Just to guarantee they stick around. Plus they make great games.

@Mike1288 Even if Sony do that I don't think the death of the console is going to be coming anytime soon. There's always going to be people who would play console over PC. Also, there will come a time when PC and consoles are so similar in what they capable of that having both would be obsolete for gaming purposes.

Yeah of course but only diehard console fans I assume. Me personally I've never liked computer gaming I've only ever like one computer game really ever Beavis and butthead do u. But I'm saying it's going to be the death of console for people who only buy consoles for the exclusives and not for the console. If they're just going to port all their games over to PC just because of the graphics alone people will choose PC over console.

they can have whoever they want as long as they leave remedy and falcom alone

@Exlee300p Falcom is unlikely. They're pretty dedicated to making multiplats and having their titles end up on as many systems as possible

plus the trails and ys games have been super successful on PC and switch now too

Square-Enix!!

(In my dreams)

@eddie429 With the new statement from Sony, they are just one step away to do exactly that. With this new CEOs its just matter of time.

And it doesn't matter if is 2 o 3 years later, Guerrilla is making PS4 and PC games now, that's multiplatform.

@Makina no it is. It doesn't have concurrent development you drama queen. It's sole development pipeline is PS5 and concentration on PS5 for all products they develop. If 2 to 3 years later a technical team then converts that over to PC that isn't multi-platform development, that's a conversion team doing a port, trying to get a PS5 or PS4 product optimized for PC. It is not a concurrent day and date release. Please stop embarrassing yourself.

When I hear abundant creativity, all I can think is Konami.

@DeanySevigny Capcom , Bluepoint , Game Science (black myth: wu kong) Now thats deaming.