Microsoft wants to acquire a major Japanese game company, but game industry analysts are not optimistic

Long before Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard at a sky-high price, Phil Spence, the chief executive of the game department, expressed an attempt to acquire a major Japanese game company several years ago, but a Tokyo game industry analyst said that based on Japan’s closed corporate culture and industrial structure, Microsoft game mergers and acquisitions The chances of success are not high.

In 2019, Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft’s game department, expressed his desire to acquire Japanese game manufacturers many times to make up for the weakness of Microsoft’s Asian market and increase the cost of Xbox Asia’s competition with PlayStation.

However, Dr. Toto Serken, CEO of game industry consulting company Kantan Games, said in an interview that due to Japan’s special “Keiretsu” system, many Japanese companies and banks in different industries will establish loose alliances with cross-shareholding. Japan When the company’s operations are likely to be acquired by foreign countries, they can help prevent Japanese companies from being bought by foreign countries and reduce the outflow of Japanese technology.

Coupled with language and cultural barriers, and the diversification of many Japanese game companies, such as Konami owns a chain of gyms, SEGA operates resorts, etc., strengthening the connection with other industries, making foreign game manufacturers want to acquire More technical hurdles must be faced.

Therefore, the mergers and acquisitions of major Japanese game companies, such as Koei Tacmo, SEGA Sammy, Bandai Namco and Square Enix, are all Japanese domestic companies. Combined, even if you want to talk about mergers and acquisitions with game console manufacturers, SONY has more home field advantages than Microsoft.

But Dr. Toto also believes that any possibility cannot be ruled out today. If Microsoft really successfully acquires any major Japanese game company, it will shock the global game industry more than the $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

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SONY announced the $3.6 billion acquisition of “The Last Battle” developer Bungie

Half a month after Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, SONY announced its $3.6 billion acquisition of Bungie, the developer of “Manifest Destiny” and “The Last Stand” games, on January 1.

SONY CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said in the announcement that Bungie creates and continues to develop the world’s most popular game series, combining value with a passion for sharing the gaming experience with millions of users worldwide. Although Kenichiro Yoshida’s statement did not mention any of his peers, it was clear to everyone that the SONY deal was a knock-on effect of Microsoft’s sky-high acquisition and an arms race for SONY to counter Microsoft’s dramatic increase in gaming volume. Bungie will be acquired by Bungie after the acquisition.

After the acquisition, Bungie will become an independent subsidiary of SONY’s interactive entertainment business and will continue to operate independently, with the right to make independent decisions on game distribution. Bungie was founded in 1991, employs more than 900 people, and has developed popular games such as “Manifest Destiny” and “The Last Stand”.

SONY became the direct target of Microsoft’s full-scale game business upgrade. The day Microsoft announced its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, SONY shares plunged 13%, the biggest one-day drop since 2008. 30% of SONY’s revenue comes from the game business, and investors are worried that Microsoft’s acquisition of an important game company may directly affect the attractiveness of SONY’s game business.

PS5 console case and new color DualSense handle released | Learn how to change the case

Although the PS5 is still very difficult to buy, I believe that there are still many PlayStation players who have already started, and may want to change their new machine at home to welcome the new year. At this time, the official PlayStation launched the original multi-color PS5 console case, as well as 3 new colors of the DualSense handle. Earlier, the reporter started with the new accessories, and found that if the case is matched with a mandarin duck color, it will be more stylish. Immediately take a look at the details of the new PS5 case and the new color DualSense handle.