Don’t Expect A Major Publisher Purchase for Sony

There’s a rumour that Sony may be about to announce another acquisition. Naturally, everybody is naming names – but some of the names are a bit too big.

From Ubisoft to Warner Brothers and even the likes of Take Two, the list of fan acquisitions are wide and varied. This just isn’t likely.

I’m not going to get into massive detail on what Sony can and can’t afford. That’s mostly because I think most major companies will find a way if they set their heart of something. If Sony wanted to spend tens of billions of dollars, they could. Maybe not all in cash, and maybe not all at once, but someone would find a way.

It’s not impossible that Sony might surprise us all and buy a major publisher. Insiders have frequently teased Square Enix, which suits them. I don’t think they will – in fact, there’s no need to. PlayStation is the home of Square Enix games, and the only reason to buy them is to stop someone else from buying them.

But that’s the point: it would be a surprise. With every major purchase of the last 18 months or so – and there have been a lot – there haven’t been rumblings for months or even years before. They have caught the community completely and utterly by surprise. That’s how these things work. They’re not leaked down to low-level employees who reach out to journos like art or story details might be.

Don’t expect Sony to buy a major publisher because if you expect it, it’s not going to happen.

Sony’s Purchase History

The gaming industry is changing. How we play and pay for games is changing. Sony knows this, and it’s self-evident in their recent purchase history.

They’re looking for service games. They’re looking for titles that aren’t one and done. Although I hope they don’t intend to drop that entirely – The Last of Us wouldn’t necessarily exist under this model – it makes sense. Games that you can frequently update and change are cheaper in the long run and have higher player engagement.

That includes, in Bungie’s case, the possibility of releasing games on Xbox. Microtransactions and DLC are where a huge chunk of a publisher’s money comes in. It’s where Sony and Microsoft are making money too.

So shelling out on Ubisoft or Take Two seems unlikely. These companies are struggling modernising their own business. Rockstar releases games so infrequently that they’ve released two sets of lackluster remasters to fill in the gap. And while they’ve had one super successful game (and that might be an understatement), it has been nearly a decade since it originally released.

Ubisoft is just as messy. Caught in controversy and with so many games in development hell, it would be a difficult task to take on.

I’m not going to say the words ‘organic growth’ because it’s ridiculous. It’s a marketing term for forum dwellers to latch onto. But Sony’s targets so far have been smaller. And that’s okay.

If they announce tomorrow they’ve bought a major publisher, I wouldn’t be surprised. It’s not insane – they have to do something. If they announce tomorrow they’ve bought a couple of minor studios, that seems just as likely. The point is not to try and expect the unexpected.