Mergers & Acquisitions

[Dig Dug]

10 hours ago, Cyhwuhx said:

 

Then they aren't indie any more by definition.

It’s a frustrating topic. People consider a lot of games Indie now despite being developed by a sizeable studio. The Shantae series is considered indie when it absolutely isn’t and you’ll be surprised how much push back you will get when trying to make that point.

[Captain Kelsten]

43 minutes ago, Dig Dug said:

It’s a frustrating topic. People consider a lot of games Indie now despite being developed by a sizeable studio. The Shantae series is considered indie when it absolutely isn’t and you’ll be surprised how much push back you will get when trying to make that point.

Being “Indie” isn’t dependent on size of the studio, it’s dependent on being an independent developer. 
 

Having said that, I also agree a series which has been going for 20 years across dozens of games and multiple platforms doesn’t really fit what most people consider “indie”. 

[Dig Dug]

19 minutes ago, Doctor Shark said:

Being “Indie” isn’t dependent on size of the studio, it’s dependent on being an independent developer. 
 

Having said that, I also agree a series which has been going for 20 years across dozens of games and multiple platforms doesn’t really fit what most people consider “indie”. 

Also worth considering that the series has had games co-developed by the like of Inti Creates and the first game itself was published by Capcom.

 

Way Forward is more journeyman if anything as far as studios go.

 

I think it would be good to have more distinctions. It feels wrong having games made by studios being put on equal footing as games made by as few as 1 or 2 people because they are all “indie.”

[Cyhwuhx]

And here's Unity merging with... ironSource.

 

Quote

Unity announced today that it has entered into an agreement to merge with ironSource, harnessing the company's tools, platform, technology, and talent to form an end-to-end platform that enables creators to more easily create, publish, run, monetize, and grow live games and RT3D content seamlessly.

 

https://blog.unity.com/news/welcome-ironsource

 

Well, that doesn't say much. So what is ironSource?

 

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ironSource is a global software company backed by Carmel Ventures, a Viola Group affiliate, as well as CVC Capital Partners. The company focuses on developing technologies for app monetization and distribution, with its core products focused on the app economy.

 

Ah. Right. Should've known they'd cover that up with corpspeak.

[Cyhwuhx]

It’s even worse than just scummy monetization. 
 

 

Judging by Twitter, devs are not happy about this at all. Seems like suddenly the time is ripe for a Unity alternative. 

 

[Cyhwuhx]

Nintendo buys a company.

 

Quote

Nintendo to acquire visual content company Dynamo Pictures

To be renamed Nintendo Pictures upon closing.

 

Nintendo has entered into an agreement to acquire Dynamo Pictures, a Tokyo-based company that plans and produces visual content, the company announced. The acquisition is expected to close on October 3.

According to Nintendo, the acquisition of Dynamo Pictures will allow it to strengthen the planning and production structure of visual content in the Nintendo group.

Upon closing, Nintendo will change the company name Dynamo Pictures to Nintendo Pictures to focus on development of visual content utilizing Nintendo intellectual property.

 

https://www.gematsu.com/2022/07/nintendo-to-acquire-visual-content-company-dynamo-pictures

 

🤔

[Siri]

2 hours ago, Cyhwuhx said:

Judging by Twitter, devs are not happy about this at all. Seems like suddenly the time is ripe for a Unity alternative. 

 

I'm not overly surprised by this turn of events - I recall Unity being the development system of choice for casino 'gaming' software, at least enough to have a tidy stall at casino industry events and cosy up to big cabinet makers.

 

I would imagine Godot Engine will see a boost in users, although it's not like I'm anywhere near aware of the advantages/disadvantages that it has compared to Unity.

[layten]

6 hours ago, Cyhwuhx said:

Judging by Twitter, devs are not happy about this at all.

[TehStu]

11 hours ago, Siri said:

Godot Engine

I'd never heard of this until this Unity thing. I don't blame them, micro transactions are where the money is at and they want a slice of that mobile pie.

 

But obviously, fuck them. Will uninstall and look at Godot instead. Open source!

 

Edit - for tinkering with the kids, I should add. Not a professional dev.

[ghosted]

I'm a profressional dev and our last release was built with Unity. I've always had great things to say about the engine and fully appreciate that there will always be grumblesome elements to any pipeline. In the last few years I've been watching their behaviour with a somewhat cynical eye but the recent news, combined with their dev layoffs and the shelving of their Gigaya project (especially their official justification) has suddenly tipped me over the edge into a complete 180. I've just lost all confidence in them being a safe foundation for our development process. The engine, and those that use it, appear very low on their list of priorities. And even if it isn't, they've thoroughly failed to communicate that. I suspect a lot of teams are thinking exactly the same way and carefully considering their options for the future.

[mushashi]

John Riccitiello (you may remember him from past greatest hits like leaving EA and joining Elevation Partners to buy up and merge BioWare and Pandemic (RIP) and then leaving to rejoin EA and convincing the board of EA to buy BioWare/Pandemic) is currently the CEO of Unity.

 

They seem to be pivoting to concentrating on their Operate Solutions division (tools for managing and monetising content) which was easily already the largest part of the business. This merger would tend to support that theory.

[Vemsie]

 

[layten]

Only Nintendo left to go now.  

[SMD]

Why would Nintendo buy Sony? They're on a downward trajectory. They'll be a Spiderman and anime company within 20 years.

[Harsin]

On 14/07/2022 at 08:57, Siri said:

Godot Engine

I’d be a bit wary of how long you have to wait for updates with that one.

[Cyhwuhx]

Another odd notch on Sony's belt:

 

Quote

PlayStation continues esports expansion with Repeat.gg acquisition

The technology platform will continue to support all games consoles after acquisition

 

PlayStation is continuing to ramp up its investment in esports with the acquisition of technology platform Repeat.gg. Repeat.gg hosts leaderboard tournaments that are designed to make esports more accessible. It tracks how players are performing in games, allowing them to participate in competitions without having to be online at the same time. The company has hosted over 100,000 tournaments with more than 2.3 million participants.

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2022-07-15-playstation-to-buy-repeat-gg-as-it-continues-esports-expansion

[mushashi]

I think it's just another diversification move. They recently started making inroads to PC compatible gaming hardware too.

 

Nintendo are similarly attempting some diversification to reduce their reliance on their core product.

[layten]

Sony hire a top antitrust lawyer.

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/antitrust/sony-gaming-unit-adds-uber-antitrust-lawyer-amid-expansion-plans

[Cyhwuhx]

Diversification indeed.

[mushashi]

I never bothered to look into that story until now, he has plenty of past experience when it comes to anti-competition law:

 

Quote

He spent more than 15 years as a senior litigation and policy lawyer for Microsoft Corp. prior to joining Uber in 2015. “I know it a bit from my Microsoft days when Xbox launched to compete with PlayStation,” McCurdy said.

 

[Cyhwuhx]

I really enjoyed this gem. 
 

Quote

Sony reportedly has plans to turn Bungie into a subscription service for video games.

 

[Alex W.]

Sony files public objection to MS-Bethesda deal in Brazil which reads like a terrific advert for Xbox:

 

https://www.eurogamer.net/sony-doesnt-sound-thrilled-microsoft-is-buying-call-of-duty-maker-activision

 

Quote

“Call of Duty is heavily entrenched, so no rival - no matter how relevant - can achieve it," Sony concluded. "Call of Duty has been the top-selling game for nearly every year over the past decade, and for its genre, it's overwhelmingly the best-selling game. It's synonymous with first-person shooters and essentially defines that category."

 

[SMD]

Bungie: "..."

[layten]

1 hour ago, Alex W. said:

Sony files public objection to MS-Bethesda deal in Brazil which reads like a terrific advert for Xbox:

 

https://www.eurogamer.net/sony-doesnt-sound-thrilled-microsoft-is-buying-call-of-duty-maker-activision

 

 

Seems quite a few companies were questioned, and shockingly enough Sony were by far the most negative. Most other companies don't seem to be all that bothered.

https://www.resetera.com/threads/the-official-opinions-from-sony-ubisoft-wb-bn-apple-riot-google-and-more-about-the-activision-blizzard-acquisition.614193/

Quote

SUMMARY

- Obviously, Sony is the most negative one. They believe that Call of Duty is its own game category and almost irreplaceable. They also consider that Gamepass can harm consumers and traditional publishers.

- The BigTech (Google, Meta, Amazon, and Apple) doesn't seem to care too much about it (at least from the public info). Google is the only one who says that there will still be lots of developers/publishers post transaction.

- The rest of publishers/developers (Warner Bros, Bandai Namco, Ubisoft and Riot Games) seem pretty OK with it: they don't think that the games from ABK are unique, almost all of them list competitors to the big franchises (COD, WoW and Candy Crush) and don't expect any anti competitive effect post transaction.

- Nuuvem offers a unique perspective as a digital games store from LATAM.

- Epic was the usual answer about a distribution market of digital gaming created in the last 5 years.

- I think no one mentions SEGA as a possible creator a AAA games like the ones created by ABK, what I think is weird.

 

[footle]

2 hours ago, Alex W. said:

Sony files public objection to MS-Bethesda deal in Brazil which reads like a terrific advert for Xbox:

 

https://www.eurogamer.net/sony-doesnt-sound-thrilled-microsoft-is-buying-call-of-duty-maker-activision

 

 

meanwhile Fortnite prints money.

[SMD]

SEGA

 

 

AAA

 

 

 

[moosegrinder]

I'm lazy and need people to Tl;Dr shit for me, so why Brazil and how likely is it that this will prevent the buyout?

 

Edit: read Eurogamer so now I know why Brazil.

[SMD]

I'd be surprised if the buyout doesn't go through but I imagine it'll just take a bit longer than usual. I don't think MS can get away with a similar sized deal after this though, so no EA for them.

[Cyhwuhx]

If those Sony/Square Enix merger/buyout rumours are true, this move could have one well of a hangover for Sony.

 

“Final Fantasy/Dragon Quest is heavily entrenched, so no rival - no matter how relevant - can achieve it."

[SMD]

I'd be surprised if Sony bought SE given how utterly dominant Nintendo are in Japan. It's not like a buyout would affect Xbox sales and I doubt that buying habits would change that much other than SE games selling a lot less.

 

I always figured SE would twerk for a company like Tencent but we'll see. If Sony want to retaliate (and I hope they don't), EA or Ubisoft seem like the most obvious choices but it'd be so bad for the market they probably wouldn't want to risk provoking Microsoft like that.

 

What I don't get about Sony is that they've just come off closing a whole bunch of studios over the last decade, when they could've been fostering their own teams and IP. Where's Driveclub 2 and Wipeout PS5 you cunts?